Undocumented Immigration
The U.S. Has Been Implementing an “Enforcement-First” Immigration Policy for More Than a Decade
Anti-immigrant activists often say that we must first enforce current U.S. immigration laws before even considering any reforms that might grant legal status to unauthorized immigrants already living in the country. However, as the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) documents in a comprehensive new report (and a more condensed Report in Brief), that is what we have been doing for more than a decade. Ever since 9/11, the expansion and intensification of immigration enforcement has been the one approach to immigration policy that the majority of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have whole-heartedly endorsed. This suggests that the “let’s wait a while” approach advocated by anti-immigrant groups is completely unjustified, and has been for a long time. Read More
Immigration Expert Exposes Legal Flaws in Anti-DACA Lawsuit
Shortly after the administration began accepting applications under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Kris Kobach—the author of Arizona SB 1070 and other notorious state immigration laws—filed a lawsuit on behalf of ten disgruntled immigration agents seeking to halt the program in its tracks. The lawsuit has largely been viewed as a politically motivated stunt, with little chance of success in court. Now, a new law review article by University of Virginia law professor David Martin, one of the nation’s premier experts on immigration law, systematically debunks Kobach’s legal arguments. Read More
Reasons for Cautious Optimism on Immigration Reform
There is considerable debate at the moment over the prospects for immigration reform this year. On the one hand, an electorally chastened Republican Party seems to be reevaluating its long-standing support for deportation-only immigration policies. On the other hand, it looks as though the White House and Congress are embarking upon lengthy debates over gun control and tax-and-spending policies; debates which might leave little room for a rational discussion of U.S. immigration laws. Nevertheless, reports from the White House indicate that President Obama is ready to forge ahead on immigration reform. It remains to be seen, however, what form that will take. Will the President opt for a truly comprehensive solution, or will he adopt a more piecemeal type of reform that targets only some subsets of the immigrant population? Let us hope that the comprehensive approach prevails. The fates of millions of people have been hanging in the balance for far too long. Read More
New ICE Detainer Guidance Too Little, Too Late
On the Friday before Christmas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released new guidance on immigration “detainers,” the lynchpin of agency enforcement programs involving cooperation with local police. In the new guidance, ICE Director John Morton instructed agency employees to only file detainers against immigrants who represent agency “priorities.” Unfortunately, as with prior agency memos on prosecutorial discretion, the detainer guidance is so riddled with loopholes that it could have little—if any—practical effect. Read More
DHS Publishes New Provisional Waiver to Help Some Families Stay Together
Some families facing long separations from their loved ones because of U.S. immigration laws will have an easier time of it in 2013. Thanks to a new regulation from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), immediate relatives of U.S. citizens will be able to complete part of the processing of their immigration cases without leaving the country. The “Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver of Inadmissibility for Certain Immediate Relatives” rule, often referred to as the new family unity rule, will be published tomorrow (January 3, 2013) and become effective on March 4. Read More
Happy Holidays From Immigration Impact!
All of us at Immigration Impact would like to wish all of our readers a very happy holidays! We’ll be back on January 2nd, 2013. We look forward to continuing the immigration conversation with you next year!… Read More
Countdown of the Top Five Immigration Stories of 2012
In the beginning of 2012, the landscape of the immigration world looked much different. Pro-immigrant groups were coming off of a rough few years that saw the failure of the DREAM Act, a spike in deportations under President Obama, and the passage of several state-level restrictionist bills like Arizona’s infamous SB 1070 and Alabama’s HB 56. However, immediately after the 2012 Presidential election, the discussion around immigration reform was reignited and led with legalization for the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the country. What changed? Here’s our take on five of the biggest reasons 2012 has been a catalyst for change: Read More
Federal Judges Remind Government to Consider Prosecutorial Discretion
Prosecutorial discretion is the authority of a law enforcement agency or officer to decide whether and to what degree to enforce the law in particular cases. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative continues to be a successful example of prosecutorial discretion in the immigration context. However the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) often ignores other non-DACA-related cases where prosecutorial discretion would be equally appropriate. Read More
Boston Globe Series Exposes Pitfalls of Immigration Detention
Last week, the Boston Globe ran an important series of articles on a topic that receives far too little attention: the vast network of civil detention centers that last year held more than 400,000 immigrants in the United States. The product of a year-long investigation, the series shines a spotlight on a system in which detainees often have no right to a bail hearing, are not given attorneys if they cannot afford one, and are transferred between facilities at the whim of federal immigration officials. Although one article misleadingly faults immigration officials for releasing certain detainees, the series as a whole is worth reading. Read More
Border Patrol Tightens Up Its Policy on Providing Interpretation Services
By Lisa Graybill, Visiting Lecturer in Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. In a welcome if overdue move last Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued new guidance to Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) personnel, directing them not to respond to requests for translation assistance from other law enforcement organizations. The new guidance, which has not been publicly released, requires CBP personnel, including U.S. Border Patrol agents, to instead refer requests for translation from federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations to private local and national translation services. However, the guidance does not affect CBP’s authority to respond to requests from law enforcement agencies for other types of assistance. Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
