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

America needs durable solutions. These concrete measures can bring orderliness to our border and modernize our overwhelmed asylum system. Read…

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Government Playing Fast and Loose With ‘Gang Member’ Label

Government Playing Fast and Loose With ‘Gang Member’ Label

There is no doubt that criminal gangs operating in the United States adversely impact the lives of many people living in communities throughout the country. However, in a nefarious act, President Trump is attempting to cast young people fleeing Central America as gang members—which is simply untrue. As the Immigrant… Read More

Statement for House Homeland Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security Hearing “Stopping the Daily Border Caravan: Time to Build a Policy Wall”

Statement for House Homeland Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security Hearing “Stopping the Daily Border Caravan: Time to Build a Policy Wall”

The American Immigration Council submitted a written statement to the House Homeland Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security for a May 22, 2018 hearing on “Stopping the Daily Border Caravan: Time to Build a Policy Wall.” The statement covers our analysis and research regarding the nation’s asylum system and the… Read More

The Border Patrol Is Undercounting How Many People Perish While Crossing the Border

The Border Patrol Is Undercounting How Many People Perish While Crossing the Border

Migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization frequently make a life-threatening journey, crossing the desert often with limited supplies of food and water. The Border Patrol is tasked with keeping an accurate count of how many people succumb to these challenges and perish in the desert, as well… Read More

Local Limits on Immigration Enforcement Successfully Slow Deportation Machine

Local Limits on Immigration Enforcement Successfully Slow Deportation Machine

Immigration policies may be crafted on a national scale, under the purview of the federal government, but it is at the local level that immigrants live their lives. And it is at the local level that heavy handed immigration enforcement disrupts the lives of immigrants, as well as the lives of the native-born Americans with whom they work and reside. Read More

Undocumented Parents Trying to Reunite With Their Children May Face Deportation Under New Proposal

Undocumented Parents Trying to Reunite With Their Children May Face Deportation Under New Proposal

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may soon be checking the immigration status of all potential sponsors of children who arrive unaccompanied at the U.S border, as well as any adult members of the potential sponsor’s household. The new proposal to expand screening likely will have a chilling effect… Read More

Government to Criminally Prosecute More Migrants and Separate Them From Their Children

Government to Criminally Prosecute More Migrants and Separate Them From Their Children

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced they will be stepping up prosecutions of individuals along the southern border. There is much folly in deciding in advance to criminally prosecute everyone who crosses the border. But what is most troubling is the likely prosecution of… Read More

Increase in Border Prosecutions Will Separate More Families

Increase in Border Prosecutions Will Separate More Families

Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Thomas Homan announced today that the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security will be stepping up prosecutions of individuals along the southern border—likely resulting in the criminalization of asylum seekers and more family separation. Read More

Government's Detention of Pregnant Women Questioned by Immigration Groups

Government’s Detention of Pregnant Women Questioned by Immigration Groups

The government continues the appalling practice of detaining pregnant women, most of whom are seeking safety and protection in the United States. Following an official policy change by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), immigrant rights organizations filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request this week demanding the agency… Read More

The Government Is Filing Charges Against More Migrants Than Ever Before

The Government Is Filing Charges Against More Migrants Than Ever Before

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it filed criminal charges on Tuesday to prosecute some migrants who recently crossed the border and were reportedly once a part of the caravan. The vast majority of the migrants from the caravan are asylum seekers fleeing persecution, grave violence,… Read More

Prosecuting People for Coming to the United States

Prosecuting People for Coming to the United States

Over the last two decades, the federal government increasingly has utilized the criminal courts to punish people for immigration violations. This overview provides basic information about entry-related offenses, including the significant costs incurred by the government conducting these prosecutions, the individuals who are subjected to them, and how the government’s rationale for carrying them out is not supported by the data. Read More

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