Department of Homeland Security
CBP Releases Report Critical of Agency, Issues Updated Use of Force Policy
When Jeh Johnson took over as Secretary of Homeland Security, he committed to increased transparency of his law enforcement agencies, thus, building trust between the agencies and the communities in which they operate. Last week, in line with this pledge, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), one of… Read More
Homeland Security Secretary Responds to House Republicans and Flawed Anti-Immigrant Report
Only days after President Obama asked Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to hold off his deportation review in order to give House Republicans space to move immigration reform negotiations forward, some of those same House Republicans in the Judiciary Committee held an “oversight hearing”… Read More
Summary Removal Procedures and Their Role in Rising Deportations
A string of new reports and analysis have resulted in competing story lines around the deportation numbers. The question of whether current policies are indiscriminate and inhumane, or whether the Obama administration is ignoring the law and “can’t be trusted” are dominating the politics around the immigration… Read More
Counties Limit ICE Detainers As DHS Secretary Says He’s Taking a ‘Fresh Look’
As a growing number of states and counties end or limit their cooperation with immigration detainers, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Thursday that he is taking a “fresh look” at Secure Communities, a program that started in 2008 that allows local law enforcement to share fingerprints… Read More
Changes Could Help Spouses of H-1B Visa Holders Work in U.S.
The spouses of some H-1B visa holders could receive work authorization in the U.S., according to a proposed rule change the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday. This change, as well as a proposal that would remove obstacles to staying in the U.S. for specific high-skilled workers,… Read More
Courts Should Hold Border Patrol Agents Accountable for Fourth Amendment Abuses
In October 2010, while Alejandro Garcia de la Paz was returning to San Antonio from his work outside of Vanderpool, Texas, two agents from the United States Border Patrol pulled the truck he was riding in over to the side of the road. Although the driver, Alejandro and… Read More
New Report Sheds (Some) Light on the U.S. Deportation Regime
A new report from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) compiles a wide array of data and analysis describing the recent history and current configuration of the U.S. deportation regime. The prevalence of deportations that don’t involve an immigration judge, the criminalization of immigration offenses, the massive expansion… Read More
Immigration Letter from 22 Senators Decries Common-Sense Reforms
Twenty-two Senate Republicans have made some political waves recently by sending a letter to President Obama expressing their “grave concerns” over the review of immigration enforcement policies now underway in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The aim of that review is to determine ways in… Read More
Drop in Court-Ordered Deportations Means Little to Overall Deportation Numbers
Last week, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)—the division within the Department of Justice that runs that immigration court system—released its FY2013 Statistics Yearbook detailing the number of deportation cases begun and completed in the immigration courts nationwide. The Yearbook showed a decrease in the number of… Read More
New Report Sheds Little Light on Deportation Debate
A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) sheds little light on the ongoing debate around who does and does not get deported from the United States. The report would have us believe that the federal government is knowingly letting tens of thousands of violent… Read More
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No one should face the immigration system alone
