Immigration at the Border
How to Talk Turkey on Immigration: Redux
Washington, D.C. area schools participate in the Urban Debate program, which gives middle school children the opportunity to learn the art of debate. My sixth grader signed up right away. She was surprised to learn, however, at her first tournament that many people have no qualms debating either side of an issue, no matter how they personally feel about it. She also discovered that a few kids had no problems saying whatever they had to say to win. She was in tears because another twelve year old insisted that American lives were more valuable than others in a debate over U.S. military involvement abroad. Read More
Thousands Rally for Repeal of Alabama’s Extreme Anti-Immigrant Law
Thousands gathered outside the historic 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama yesterday to demand the repeal of the state’s harsh anti-immigration law, HB 56. Religious, community and civil rights leaders, as well as a special Congressional delegation, urged state legislators to bring an end to Alabama’s immigration law—a law which continues to slow state businesses, separate families and drive immigrants from the state. The Congressional delegation also held an ad hoc hearing at Birmingham City Hall to hear how the controversial law is effecting state residents, especially the Latino and immigrant communities where, according to Rep. Luis Gutierrez, “the feeling of danger and despair is palpable.” One Congressional member, Rep. Al Green of Texas, commented that the law "deserves to be placed on the trash heap of history." Read More
Heads Up, Virginia, Anti-Immigrant Agenda Could Be 2012 Legislative Focal Point
BY CLAIRE GUTHRIE GASTAÑAGA The Virginia General Assembly that convenes in January 2012 will be much changed from the one that it replaces. Effective control of Virginia’s government—a Governor, House of Delegates and Senate— is now in the hands of legislators who have consistently sought to lead Virginia in the direction of states like Arizona and Alabama that boast of how inhospitable they are to undocumented immigrants. For example, one of the Governor's first acts after his election in 2009 was to seek 287g authority for the State Police (a request that is still pending). And this fall's legislative elections resulted in an increase in members of both the House and the Senate who ran on overtly anti-immigrant platforms. Delegate Jackson Miller (R-Manassas), one of the most anti-immigrant legislators, has just been elected as majority whip. Read More
DHS Begins Review of Deportation Cases, Issues Awaited Prosecutorial Discretion Guidelines
Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directed ICE attorneys to begin a review process of current immigration cases pending before immigration courts in order to close or dismiss those cases warranting prosecutorial discretion. The attorneys also received additional guidance on how to apply discretion in certain low priority cases. At the same time, DHS announced new training modules for all ICE field agents on prosecutorial discretion. The package of initiatives are a follow up to ICE Director John Morton’s June 17th memo which describes how, when, and why ICE officials should exercise prosecutorial discretion in immigration cases. Read More
DHS Issues Awaited Guidance on Prioritizing Deportations, Law Enforcement Letter Praises Approach
Washington D.C. – Today, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Principal Legal Advisor directed all ICE attorneys to begin a systematic review of immigration cases to determine whether pursuing deportation in each case is consistent with the Administration’s enforcement priorities. This directive follows last summer’s announcement that the Department of Homeland… Read More
Report Reveals Disturbing Truths Behind Border Patrol Transportation Raids
When news broke last month that the Border Patrol would scale back raids on trains and buses near the northern border, the response from Capitol Hill was rather predictable. In a breathless letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) fretted that the policy will “entice potential terrorists, drug smugglers, and illegal immigrants to attempt to enter the country.” But as demonstrated by a comprehensive report released by civil rights groups last week on transportation raids in upstate New York, the Border Patrol’s new northern raid policy was long overdue. Read More
Policing the Enforcers: Criminalizing Alabama Employees Encourages Discrimination
Alabama lawmakers want undocumented immigrants to be so afraid of the consequences of the state’s new anti-immigrant law (HB 56) that they leave the state. However, that’s not the only fear factor built into the law. Under section 6(f), state and local government employees must report violations of HB 56—which includes unlawfully present immigrants even attempting to complete a business transaction with the government—or face criminal penalties. In order to avoid criminal prosecution, government employees are likely to be suspicious of foreign-looking or sounding people. But the new law does not include details or require specialized training for state employees, making discrimination, mistakes and civil rights violations all the more likely. Read More
Prosecutorial Discretion Survey Demonstrates Need for More Training, Consistency Across ICE Field Offices
It’s been almost six months since ICE Director John Morton issued new guidelines on prosecutorial discretion to help ICE agents, attorneys and other officials distinguish between high priority cases (national security threats and serious criminals) and low priority cases (DREAM Act students). A recent survey released by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council takes a look at how well those guidelines are translating into actual practice at ICE offices around the country. While the results show that prosecutorial discretion was applied in some cases, the majority of cases show that ICE field offices are confused and hesitant to make decisions, demonstrating the need for more guidance and training from DHS headquarters. Read More
Arizona’s SB1070 Champion, State Senator Russell Pearce, Loses in Recall Election
Arizona state senator Russell Pearce, the leading force behind Arizona’s SB 1070 and other anti-immigrant legislation, was defeated in a recall election Tuesday. Fellow Republican Jerry Lewis—a moderate on immigration issues—won with 54% of the vote. Citing Pearce’s narrow anti-immigrant agenda and the damage SB 1070 inflicted on the state, a group called Citizens for a Better Arizona began the recall effort back in January. Today, many in Arizona and across the U.S. celebrate Pearce’s defeat as a victory for practical solutions over extremist rhetoric and anti-immigrant proposals. Pearce is believed to be the first Arizona state legislator to face a recall election. Read More
AILA-AIC Survey Reveals ICE Officials’ Sporadic Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion
Washington, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council (AIC) released a new survey today finding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and attorneys across the country are applying different standards on prosecutorial discretion despite the issuance of national policy memoranda this summer. Read More
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