Interior Enforcement
U.S. Sentencing Commission Proposes Further Criminalizing Migrants
At a time when there is a great deal of national attention being placed on criminal-justice reform, it is troubling that the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) is now proposing, new amendments to Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which could lead to increased sentences for those convicted of… Read More
How a Border Wall Would Hurt the U.S. Economy
When Donald Trump speaks of the Great Wall he would build between the United States and Mexico, he fails to account for a few inconvenient facts. For instance, there are millions of men, women, and children who live in communities that fall on both sides of the international boundary. Read More
Sanctuary Cities vs. Community Policing: A Resurging Debate
From Washington, D.C. to San Francisco to Raleigh, the debate over whether local law enforcement officers should be involved in enforcing federal immigration law is back at the fore. Read More
Senate to Vote on “Sanctuary Cities” Legislation
The Senate will vote Tuesday on whether to begin debate on Senator David Vitter’s (R-LA) “Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act” (S. 2146). The bill is an enforcement-only approach to immigration and fails to address our outdated immigration laws and the need to enact comprehensive reforms. S. 2146 attempts… Read More
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
Do the President’s New Immigration Policies Really Mark the End of Secure Communities?
The misnamed Secure Communities program has been plagued with problems since its inception—most fundamentally, its failure to make communities more “secure.” Critics of the program have cited to its adverse impact on community policing, asserted that it encourages racial profiling, and highlighted the mounting evidence that many individuals encountered… Read More
Why Fewer Detainers Does Not Equal Fewer Deportations
Throughout the last two years, states and counties increasingly have stopped honoring ICE detainer requests. This huge shift is in response to local political opposition as well as legal and liability concerns spurred by federal court rulings. Recent data shows that ICE also may… Read More
Why 250 Counties Have Stopped Honoring Local ICE Detainers
Across the nation, local sheriff’s offices in 250 counties have stopped honoring detainer requests from (ICE) officials because of constitutional, public safety, and economic concerns. After a spate of federal rulings earlier this year found that detainers were not mandatory, local officials increasingly have come to… Read More
New Study Shows Deportations Don’t Reduce Crime
In 2008, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced “Secure Communities,” which for the first time allowed DHS to check the fingerprints of any individual arrested by a local jurisdiction. Secure Communities piggybacked on prior DHS initiatives to use local police as “force multipliers” including the Criminal… Read More
Avalanche of Local Detainer Limits Underscores Need for Federal Policy Reform
Across the United States, county after county continues to alter policies to limit compliance with immigration detainers because of constitutional concerns. A spate of federal rulings found that detainers were not mandatory, so local officials increasingly seem to be coming to the conclusion that honoring detainer requests… Read More
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