Statement for the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security on “Interior Immigration Enforcement Legislation”

The American Immigration Council submitted a written statement to the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security for a February 11, 2014 hearing on “Interior Immigration Enforcement Legislation.” The statement shares our research and analysis from recent years regarding immigration enforcement, asylum, and protection of unaccompanied immigrant children. We highlight that U.S. immigration enforcement is at all-time highs, with efforts on quantity and not the quality of the deportations. The United States government has spent billions of dollars deporting immigrants who have only committed immigration violations which has led to substantial increases in family separation. In regard to asylum, our government has rolled back protections in family detention camps rather than ensuring that these vulnerable populations are protected. Most importantly, our government has failed to enact legislation, and in this has failed to recognize that enforcement with reform is the only effective way to repair our broken immigration system.