State and Local
Statement for the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security on “Sanctuary Cities: A Threat to Public Safety”
The statement explains our recent research which shows that immigrants are less likely to commit serious crimes than native-born persons, and that high rates of immigration are associated with lower rates of violent crime and property crime. Read More
The Government Tried to Turn Local Cops Into Immigration Agents – The Result Was Disastrous
For years, the federal government has attempted to partner with local communities on immigration enforcement, raising a host of problems. This form of collaboration steers limited local resources away from community safety and toward punitive federal immigration enforcement goals. The biggest criticism of these partnerships is the chilling effect they… Read More
More Communities Say They Won’t Jail Immigrants for ICE
A growing number of communities are reevaluating their role in detaining immigrants on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Local officials in Atlanta, Georgia recently decided to stop holding individuals for ICE in the city’s jails. The city was directed to “permanently stop accepting and housing… Read More
Immigration Raid in Nebraska Devastates Local Agriculture Industry and Families
A small town in Nebraska was rocked last week when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents raided multiple businesses, arresting 133 undocumented immigrant workers in an operation which has already created upheaval in the community and its local agriculture industry. This… Read More
President Trump’s Anti-‘Sanctuary’ City Order Is Unconstitutional
A key part of President Trump’s effort to bar so-called “sanctuary” cities and counties from receiving money from the federal government has been ruled unconstitutional. Last week’s decision by a federal court of appeals is just the latest in a string of defeats for the Trump administration in federal court… Read More
ICE Targets ‘Sanctuary’ Jurisdictions in Worksite Investigations
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Tuesday that its agents had delivered I-9 audit notices to more than 5,200 businesses since January 2018, many of which were served in so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions around the country. These audit notices, known as notices… Read More
Local Limits on Immigration Enforcement Successfully Slow Deportation Machine
Immigration policies may be crafted on a national scale, under the purview of the federal government, but it is at the local level that immigrants live their lives. And it is at the local level that heavy handed immigration enforcement disrupts the lives of immigrants, as well as the lives of the native-born Americans with whom they work and reside. Read More
Largest Worksite Raid in a Decade Signals a Dark Turn in Immigration Enforcement
The largest employment crackdown in a decade was launched on April 5 at a meat-processing plant in Bean Station, a rural community outside of Knoxville, Tennessee. Nearly 100 immigrants were detained during the raid, most believed to be from Mexico. According to reports: “[Immigration and Customs Enforcement] summarily closed… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
