Department of Homeland Security
Immigration Arrests Increase While Weapon and Drug Arrests Decline, Federal Data Shows
Attorney General Jeff Sessions decried drug dealers and armed cartels at the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday, but rather than announcing a crackdown on those elements, he instead declared war on undocumented immigrants and those who defend them. Sessions announced that he was instructing U.S. attorneys to prioritize criminal immigration… Read More
Sessions Reveals Plan to Ramp up Prosecutions of Low Level Immigration Offenses
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a shift in policy for the Department of Justice on Tuesday, directing U.S. attorneys to prioritize criminal immigration enforcement and drastically expand federal court prosecutions of immigration violators across the nation. Operation Streamline and other border enforcement programs—where some border crossers are referred by… Read More
Congress Goes to Recess with No Action on Immigration
President Trump’s campaign promise to ramp up immigration enforcement and build a beautiful wall along the southern border have found little support on Capitol Hill. As Congress leaves for spring recess it’s unclear which of the president’s immigration promises they are willing to help him fulfill. Permanent changes to… Read More
Congress Grills Homeland Security Secretary Kelly in Contentious Oversight Hearing
The Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee this week. During the hearing Secretary Kelly attempted to clarify some of DHS’s controversial positions as they relate to immigration enforcement, extreme vetting, family separation, and the building of a border… Read More
Failing Prison System Gets New Life—At The Expense of Immigrants and American Taxpayers
Public and private prisons previously crumbling under financial strains, reduced population numbers, and Obama-era regulations are receiving a boost under the Trump administration, thanks in large part to the president’s promise to fill their beds with undocumented immigrants. In fact, since President Trump took office, private prison stock has… Read More
Hostility Towards Immigrants Has International Students Looking Beyond the U.S. for Their Education
Universities hoping to recruit the usual influx of international students are coming up short this year, a signal that the Trump administration’s decidedly anti-immigrant tone and policies are having a global effect on America’s higher education system. According to a report from NBC News, universities across the country are… Read More
Homeland Security Unions Testify in Support of More Staff but Not a Border Wall
As part of the President’s immigration executive order on Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was directed to hire 5,000 additional border patrol agents and 10,000 additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. With record numbers of ICE officers and Border Patrol… Read More
President Seeks Billions of Taxpayer Dollars to Support Harsh Immigration Enforcement
President Trump released a preview of his Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget request this week, as well as a request for supplemental funds for this current year (FY 2017). These proposals would begin to fund a border wall and increase immigration detention and deportations. Both requests would also… Read More
This Immigration Enforcement Program Has a Troubled History, and Trump Wants to Restart It
Buried inside the interior enforcement Executive Order issued by President Trump in January are the Administration’s plans to revive the 287(g) program. This is concerning because the program has experienced intense criticism over the years, and efforts to ramp up this program should be viewed with extreme caution… Read More
Trump Scapegoats Immigrants with Creation of Office of Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement
President Trump stated that he has “ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create an office to serve American victims during his Joint Address to congress. The office is called VOICE – Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement. Any victim of crime deserves acknowledgement and sympathy, and crime is an… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
