Executive Branch
New ICE Deportation Statistics Are No Cause for Celebration
There is little to cheer in the new deportation statistics released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). While the numbers document a 10 percent decline in the total number of deportations compared to last year, they also reveal the extent to which immigration enforcement resources are still devoted to apprehending, detaining, and deporting individuals who represent no conceivable threat to public safety or national security. In fact, the overwhelming majority of people deported by ICE either have no prior criminal record or were convicted of misdemeanors. While ICE does indeed capture and remove potentially dangerous individuals, most of its resources remain devoted to the enforcement of a broken and unworkable immigration system. The latest decline in removals notwithstanding, the U.S. deportation machine remains severely out of balance and lacking in either flexibility or meaningful opportunities for due process. Read More
Senate Confirms Mayorkas as DHS Deputy Secretary
Following the confirmation of Jeh Johnson as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary on Monday, the Senate approved Alejandro Mayorkas as DHS deputy secretary on Friday by 54 to 41. Mayorkas has served as the director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services since 2009. During his… Read More
New Legal Analysis Shows State Compliance with ICE Detainers May Violate the Constitution
Chicago, New York, and San Francisco now prevent local jails from honoring immigration detainers—requests from federal immigration officials for state and local jails to hold a person so that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents can investigate the person’s immigration status—unless an arrestee has been charged with or convicted of certain criminal offenses. And California’s Trust Act, which does virtually the same thing, will go into effect early next year. Yet, while these states have limited who can be subject to an immigration detainer, there are legal questions surrounding this selective enforcement that call into question whether detainers are legal at all. Read More
Licensing Barriers Leave Immigrant Doctors Driving Cabs Instead of Practicing Medicine
Instead of putting foreign medical and other advanced degrees to use in the United States, it is common among immigrant doctors and other professionals to work less skilled jobs, such as a taxi driver or waiter, because the complicated licensing process keeps them from applying their training in the U.S. market. According to a recent Migration Policy Institute (MPI) series of reports on improving credential recognition, the United States is experiencing a “brain waste” by preventing immigrants living in the country from efficiently transferring their foreign credentials. MPI’s most recent report concludes their series by exploring prospects for international recognition of foreign qualifications. Read More
Senate Confirms New DHS Director, Jeh Johnson
The Senate approved Jeh Johnson as the Department of Homeland Security Secretary 78 to 16 on Monday night. President Obama nominated Johnson to head the department in October following former Sec. Janet Napolitano’s resignation. At one point, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said he would hold up Johnson’s nomination until he… Read More
House Hearing Misses the Mark on Asylum Claims
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Thursday about whether or not abuse of the asylum system is “overwhelming our borders.” What the committee ended up focusing on, however, was the alleged abuse of the credible fear screening process, a preliminary step in the application process for some asylum seekers. Although credible fear is different from asylum, this distinction was lost at times during the hearing despite the best efforts of the witnesses. Read More
Supreme Court Considers Restrictive Interpretation of Child Status Protection Act
Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Mayorkas v. Cuellar de Osorio, a case challenging the government’s restrictive interpretation of the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). The CSPA provides relief for the longstanding problem of children included on a parent’s visa application who “age out” –… Read More
‘Fast 4 Families’ Moves to Next Phase as New Fasters Take the Mantle
On the National Mall today, the four core fasters leading the “Fast 4 Families” ordained new fasters and ended their 22-day, water-only fast. Members of Congress, the faith community and civil and immigrant rights groups turned out to witness the four fasters passing the baton over to others who will continue the fast until House Speaker John Boehner schedules a vote on immigration reform. Read More
Will New USCIS Memos Confuse House Judiciary Committee Again?
One of the significant lessons of 2013 is that good immigration policy matters to the American public. It’s unfortunate, then, that the House Judiciary Committee is choosing to end its year focusing not on immigration reform, but on how best to take the President to task for making use of executive authority. Read More
Report: ICE Officers Fail to Report Some Sex Abuse Claims
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers failed to report numerous allegations of sexual abuse over the last four years, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Between October 2009 to March 2013, ICE headquarters received reports of 215 allegations of sexual abuse and assault, but a GAO audit of 10 of those facilities found an additional 28 allegations—40 percent more than the 70 allegations reported by these facilities. Read More
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No one should face the immigration system alone
