Border Enforcement
Migration at the border is a multifaceted issue, challenging the U.S. to secure our borders while upholding the human rights of individuals seeking safety and better opportunities. Balancing national security with compassion and our legal obligations to asylum seekers presents intricate dilemmas, and we collaborate with policymakers to advance bipartisan, action-oriented solutions.
Beyond A Border Solution
- Asylum
- May 2, 2023
America needs durable solutions. These concrete measures can bring orderliness to our border and modernize our overwhelmed asylum system. Read…
Read More
DHS Releases Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Enforcement Data
The Office of Immigration Statistics released data on immigration enforcement actions in FY 2009 (October 1 through September 30). The report finds that: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) apprehended 613,003 foreign nationals, compared to 791,568 in FY2008 and 960,756 in FY2007. Mexican nationals made up the largest percentage of apprehensions (86%), followed by Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, China, Brazil, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Nicaragua. Read More
New Data Shows ICE Fails to Focus on Serious Criminal Threats
In the past, IPC has reported on the 287(g) and Secure Communities programs and concerns that these partnerships between the federal and local governments have not succeeded in prioritizing serious criminals. New information sheds additional light on these programs and once again confirms that, despite pronouncements from ICE, they continue to identify, detain, and deport people who have not committed serious crimes and present no threat to our communities. Read More
The Immigration Debate Goes South: Politicians Make $600 Million Dollar Investment in their Political Futures
Today, after months of political wagering from both Republicans and Democrats, the Senate unanimously passed a $600 million dollar bill marked for border security which is now headed to President Obama’s desk for signature. While the sequence of events leading to this most recent capitulation to the enforcement-first crowd is a little dizzying, the bill’s unanimous passage was partly a product of a bluff called on the Senate floor. Although the substance of the bill could have been much worse, the mere fact that the only major immigration legislation passed thus far in the 111th Congress was another border bill shows how far we are from treating immigration as a serious issue, rather than a political game. Read More
Poll Numbers Reveal that Most Border Residents Feel Safe
Passage of the $600 million border bill through the House of Representatives today is a clear indication that Congress is still more interested in throwing money at our broken immigration system rather than rolling up their sleeves and fixing it. Politicians, including President Obama, continue to respond to reports of border violence by upping the budget of DHS without hard facts, relying on media reports that the safety of U.S. citizens is at stake along the U.S.- Mexico border . Read More
Detention Reform: Change We Want To Believe In
BY KAREN TUMLIN* A year ago today, the Obama administration promised a radical overhaul of the nation’s immigration detention system in response to a wave of reports revealing widespread and egregious violations of the basic rights of detained immigrants. Changes to date have been too slow and tinker only at the edges of the problem. Worse, the pipeline to immigration detention is growing: the Obama administration has lifted deportations to historic highs. This ensures that hundreds of thousands of immigrants will face months, and sometimes years, of detention in remote parts of the country and miles from loved ones. This is not the change we had hoped for. Read More
Senate Democrats Propose Alternate Border Security Bill
Today, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) released a Border Security Proposal which would provide $600 million in offset funding for various border security provisions. The bill was a counter to a different border security bill proposed by Republican Arizona Senators Jon Kyl and John McCain,… Read More
Why Some States Considering Immigration Legislation Might Be Jumping Off the Arizona Bandwagon
Following the district court’s ruling enjoining the most controversial provisions of SB 1070 last week, some states are now deciding whether or not to move forward with their own version of Arizona’s immigration legislation—or are at least considering dumping the Arizona-style provisions that U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton temporarily halted. Currently, 22 states have introduced or are considering introducing similar legislation. State legislators are citing fear of costly lawsuits and a charged political environment in which restrictive immigration legislation might not pass as factors in their decision. The city of Fremont, Nebraska, for example, recently halted the enforcement of its enforcement legislation (which prohibits the hiring of or renting to undocumented immigrants) in the face of legal challenges from civil rights groups. Read More
Judge’s Decision Doesn’t Stop Arizona from Combating Border Violence
Yesterday, Phoenix district court Judge Susan Bolton enjoined key provisions of Arizona's controversial immigration law, SB1070. The judge recognized that the federal government has primary authority over making and enforcing immigration law, and that while states have limited authority in this arena, they cannot interfere with federal enforcement or undermine federal priorities. The decision acknowledges the complex nature of immigration law and the harmful consequences of local police attempting to make immigration determinations. The judge also recognized the serious strain that the Arizona law would place on federal resources, which would detract from the federal government's ability to enforce immigration laws in other states and target resources toward serious criminals. Read More
New Reports Describe the “Green-Washing” of Nativist Hate
In a new report, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) describes the rejuvenated efforts of anti-immigrant groups to repackage themselves as environmentalists who are trying to save the United States from the supposed ecological ills of “over-population.” According to the report, entitled Greenwash: Nativists, Environmentalism & the Hypocrisy of Hate, the two-faced nature of these efforts is “astounding” given the dismal environmental records of the organizations and political candidates to whom nativist groups tend to contribute funds. Moreover, this “green-washing” of the nativist agenda also amounts to a white-washing of the anti-immigrant movement’s white-nationalist roots. Read More
Arizona Judge Delineates Between State and Federal Authority
Washington, D.C. – Today, Phoenix district court judge Susan Bolton enjoined key provisions of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, SB1070. The judge recognized that the federal government has primary authority over making and enforcing immigration law, and that while states have limited authority in this arena, they cannot interfere with federal… Read More
Make a contribution
Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
