Immigration at the Border
ICE Issuing Fewer Detainers, but Compliance With Enforcement Priorities in Question
New data obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) shows that while the government’s use of detainers is decreasing, the number of detainers issued for individuals without criminal convictions remains high. TRAC’s report, released last Friday, looks at Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) use of detainers in… Read More
ICE’s Transfer of Transgender Women to Remote Detention Facility Raises Grave Concerns
Earlier this summer, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), announced new policies regarding transgender adult detainees in its custody—policies that were intended to provide a “respectful, safe and secure environment for all detainees.” While some of the announced policies were well-received, many advocates identified serious shortcomings, including the continued allowance… Read More
Newly-Released Government Docs Reveal Dangerous Flaws in Immigration Detention Contracting
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) released government documents this month that expose the severe lack of accountability in the immigration detention system. NIJC’s Immigration Detention Transparency and Human Rights Project publicly posted 90 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contracts and inspections from 2012 after a four-year legal… Read More
Where GOP Candidates and the Public Part Ways on Immigration
While some politicians on the campaign trail dial-up the anti-immigrant rhetoric and rehash old debates around birthright citizenship and mass deportation, the majority of America is unmoved. According to the Pew Research Center’s recent breakdown of their extensive public polling on immigration, and even more recent Gallup… Read More
Government Ordered to Promptly Release Children From Family Detention
In a decision issued Friday, a district court in California ruled yet again that the government is violating a long-standing settlement agreement protecting the rights of children in immigration detention. Advocates for immigrant children went to court in February to argue that the government’s family detention centers violate the… Read More
States Continue to Expand Access to Driver’s Licenses for Undocumented Residents
Currently, ten states and the District of Columbia offer driver’s licenses to undocumented residents of their states who can meet certain requirements. Two additional states, Hawaii and Delaware, passed similar laws this year, with others also beginning their pursuit of this practical public safety and economic policy. For example,… Read More
Immigrant Children Without Attorneys are Still Being Ordered Deported
It would seem to be a simple matter of conscience that no child should ever stand before a judge without having an attorney as an advocate. Younger children in particular may not even understand the significance of their day in court or how a judge’s ruling can profoundly impact the… Read More
Annual Review of State-Level Immigration Policy Still Trending Pro-Immigrant
After long legal battles over punitive, state anti-immigration laws like Arizona’s SB1070 and Alabama’s HB56, state governments learned the limits on what types of immigration policies they can set at the local level. Since then, states have begun moving in a new direction by more generally enacting state immigration laws… Read More
Government Doubles Down on Locking Up Immigrant Mothers and Children
The government continued to defend its widespread detention of asylum-seeking women and children in documents filed last week in the Flores case. Advocates went to court in February to argue that the government’s family detention centers violate the long-standing Flores v. Reno settlement agreement, which set minimum standards… Read More
ICE’s Computerized Detention Decision-Maker Can’t Work Because of Mandatory Detention Laws
In January 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) implemented the “Risk Classification Assessment” (RCA)—a computerized tool that analyzes evidence and recommends whether to detain or release immigrants facing deportation. Yet ICE still detained 80 percent of its arrestees in FY 2013, in a detention system that… Read More
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