Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The Border Isn’t Open. Just 1 in 3 People at the Border Last Year Could Access the Asylum Process.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published new data last week showing that over the past 12 months, the Border Patrol has carried out nearly 1.7 million apprehensions at the southern border—a record. Opponents of President Biden quickly jumped on the news to renew claims that the border is… Read More
ICE Fails to Provide Basic Oversight of Solitary Confinement and Unlawfully Destroys Records
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been known to improperly subject individuals in its custody to solitary confinement and has destroyed solitary confinement records in violation of a records retention schedule and an agreement to preserve records in a lawsuit. On October 13, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security… Read More
ICE Needs a Consistent System of Discretionary Release from Detention
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) need to establish clear guidance for when ICE should release someone from detention. So far, the Biden administration, like past administrations, has failed to issue this essential guidance. This inaction has left thousands of people needlessly detained. Read More
Biden Administration Halts Mass Worksite Raids By ICE
The Biden administration just took a significant step toward reining in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a memorandum that orders the agency to halt all mass worksite raids. The memorandum also orders the agency to shift its focus to… Read More
New Enforcement Priorities Show Some Improvement, Maintain Old Framework
On September 30, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued the long-awaited new set of enforcement priorities, entitled “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Laws.” The guidelines, which will go into effect on November 29, 2021, will replace the February 18 interim enforcement priorities memo issued to… Read More
Immigration Reform in Budget Reconciliation Is Off to a Rocky Start but Much Is Yet to Come
Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on September 19 rejected Democrats’ initial attempt to include immigration reform provisions in a $3.5 trillion spending bill currently making its way through Congress. Senate Democrats are already formulating alternative proposals for MacDonough to consider in the days ahead. Democrats had initially proposed that the… Read More
Court Allows ICE to Use Enforcement Priorities Set by the Biden Administration
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday stayed a significant part of an earlier decision by the Northern District of Texas that would have blocked the implementation of the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement priorities. In doing so, the Fifth Circuit emphasized that decisions regarding whom to detain and prosecute… Read More
TX Court Issues Stunning Order: US Government Can’t Set Priorities for Immigration Enforcement
Judge Drew Tipton of the Southern District of Texas on August 19 blocked a set of enforcement priorities the Biden administration had issued in January and February 2021 in an attempt to focus limited enforcement resources. This preliminary injunction will be in effect beginning September 3 unless it is overturned. Read More
ICE Announces New Victim-Centered Policy, Showing a Favorable Shift Toward Vulnerable Immigrants
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced this week a new policy designed to honor and protect vulnerable immigrants. The new policy addresses protections for survivors of violence, trafficking, and domestic abuse. Issued on August 11, the policy states that ICE will exercise prosecutorial discretion… Read More
New Illinois Law Expected to Go Furthest Toward Ending Immigration Detention in the US
A new Illinois law limiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention is expected to effectively end detention in the state by next year. The law goes further than those that have limited detention in other states. On August 2, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed SB 667, known as… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
