Department of Homeland Security
Los Angeles County Faces Sweeping Suit Over ICE Detainers
Under the Constitution, it has long been established that the government needs “probable cause” to hold an individual in custody, and that people granted bail must be released once it is paid. In a class-action lawsuit filed last Friday by numerous immigrants’ rights groups, Los Angeles County and Sheriff Lee Baca stand accused of flouting both principles by holding inmates for weeks at a time solely at the request of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Read More
Opinion: Skilled Immigrants Are Uptapped Assets for Regional Economic Development
National Journal October 17, 2012 What do Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Dayton, Ohio, have in common? Each of these cities has endured decades of shrinking population—and each has recently identified skilled immigrants as a vital component of a healthy economy. Their economic-development agendas recognize that attracting and retaining talented newcomers… Read More
Passing the DREAM Act for Our Economy
Center For American Progress October 1, 2012 When I immigrated to Florida at age 10, it was the immigrant students who welcomed and befriended me at South Seminole Middle School. Carlos, Isabel, and a few others took English as a Second Language classes with me, while others whose families… Read More
Use of Segregation in Immigration Detention has Harmful Effects
The U.S. immigration system continues to detain more and more noncitizens in federally-operated detention facilities, in private prisons, and in state and local prisons and jails across the country. Currently, DHS detains approximately 34,000 persons every night, the majority of whom have no criminal history. Over the last several years there have been numerous reports on the miserable conditions found within these facilities. Read More
The Harmful Effects of Using Border Patrol as Interpreters Along the Northern Border
Most people are aware of increasing collaboration between state and local police and federal immigration officers. Programs like 287(g) and the Secure Communities program, as well as state laws like SB1070, create a new role for local police, who are now put in the position of identifying immigrants for possible deportation. It has meant that a simple traffic stop can lead to removal from the United States. Read More
Immigrant Detention and the Private Prison Industry
The latest data on immigration enforcement show that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained a record high of 429,247 noncitizens in the 2011 fiscal year, an increase of 18 percent over 2010. Immigration detention has been steadily increasing over the last two decades. A new report by Justice Strategies suggests this increase is largely due to the efforts of private prison companies. Read More
Parties Lock Horns Over Legislation to Boost High-Skilled Immigration
The Hill September 16, 2012 The fight over high-skilled immigration legislation is coming to a head again next week after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach an agreement on a bill by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas). Smith plans to introduce a bill early next week that would eliminate the… Read More
Press Release: More Than 150 University Presidents and Chancellors From All 50 States Sign Letter to the President and Congress Supporting Visa Reform
University presidents and chancellors with a combined student body of over 4 million students and a total endowment of over $240 billion support visa reform Today, 165 chancellors and presidents of American universities sent a letter to President Barack Obama and to all members of Congress urging… Read More
What Early DACA Application Numbers Tell Us About the Future of the Program
It hasn’t even been a month since the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) first started accepting requests for deferred action under its Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, yet the New York Times reported this week that the first approvals are already on their way. The Times also reported that the agency has received 72,000 applications as of September 11—almost double the 40,000 reported in the Wall Street Journal just the day before. That’s not bad at all for a program that was only announced three months ago and put into place by the government in 60 days. Read More
Clearing Up the Controversy over the Number of ICE “Removals”
It is by now well-known that more immigrants have been deported on an annual basis since President Obama took office than at any time in U.S. history. Late last month, however, Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) issued a statement seeking to cast doubt on this widely accepted fact by alleging that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inflated its record-breaking deportation figures for 2011. Although the accusations are somewhat complicated, the truth is straightforward: despite overstating its total number of “removals,” ICE deported the highest number of immigrants last year in the agency’s history. Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
