Interior Enforcement
Two Anti-Immigrant Bills Attacking Sanctuary Cities and Criminalizing Immigrants Passed by the House
The House of Representatives passed two harsh immigration enforcement bills this week, both of which had the adamant backing of President Trump. The anti-immigrant bills, which passed largely along party lines, are an attempt to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities and increase penalties for those who re-enter the… Read More
Court Finds Government Violating Obligations (Again) to Children in Family Detention
A U.S. District Court condemned the federal government for continuing to disregard critical protections for children in detention. Read More
How to Get the Immigration System in Line With Our Nation’s Values and Interests
Over the past two decades, much of the immigration policy debate has focused on issues related to immigration enforcement. In fact, many argue that “enforcement first”—the notion that we must adequately enforce the laws on the books before considering broader immigration reforms—has de facto become the nation’s singular immigration… Read More
In the Days of Deportation, All Immigrants Are Targets
Since the Trump administration announced its crackdown on undocumented immigrants, stories of individuals abruptly deported have pervaded the news. The accounts of longtime residents who have built families, homes, and businesses only to be deported after years in the United States may seem like outliers, but in fact are now becoming… Read More
Immigration Justice Campaign Launched to Train Legal Community to Defend Against Ramped-Up Deportation Machine
The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) are responding to this representation crisis with an Immigration Justice Campaign, a new initiative to prepare more lawyers to be cutting-edge defenders of immigrants facing deportatio Read More
Fast-Track Deportation Expansion Could Impact Hundreds of Thousands of Immigrants
The U.S. Government has deported hundreds of thousands of individuals each year over the past twenty years. Since 2009, the numbers have grown dramatically and hovered right at or above 400,000 deportations per year. However, while the total number rose during the Obama administration, the underlying numbers of individuals… Read More
Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan Is Passed by the House Judiciary Committee
For the third time in five years the House Judiciary Committee has passed a draconian interior enforcement immigration bill out of committee on a party line vote. Immigration advocates and Democratic members aptly called it the “Mass Deportation Act.” The bill mimics earlier, failed versions of the bill. However,… Read More
President Trump Unveils Harsh Immigration Budget Proposals
President Trump released his formal budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 this week, which seeks to solidify the harsh proposals laid out in his immigration executive orders. The budget aims to fund the beginnings of a border wall, as well as increase immigration enforcement, detention, and deportations. Read More
Justice Department Changes Tune on Sanctuary Cities, Acknowledging Administration’s Bark Is Worse Than Its Bite
While campaigning for office, then-candidate Trump threatened to punish so-called sanctuary cities by defunding them. Soon after his inauguration, he released an executive order on interior enforcement. The order partially focused on getting local officers to become force multipliers by assisting federal immigration agents in the identification, detention,… Read More
Summary of Executive Order “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States”
The Trump administration’s approach will have devastating consequences for immigrant communities and will undermine, rather than improve, public safety. Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
