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New Study Shows How Native-Born Workers Benefit from Immigration
One of the fears recurrently raised by those who oppose immigration is that inflows of immigrants negatively affect the native-born labor force in general, and less-educated working class individuals in particular. The idea upon which this assertion relies is that when less-educated workers immigrate into the host country, they systematically bring down the wages of […]
Read MoreHow DACA is Impacting the Lives of Those Who are Now DACAmented
As Congress continues to debate immigration reform, August 15th marks the one-year anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. While not granting a path to legalization and citizenship, DACA provides an opportunity for a segment of the undocumented immigrant population to remain in the country without fear of deportation, allows them to […]
Read MoreFear Mongering via Mexican Asylum Cases
Here’s how an immigration rumor gets started. Take one local Fox news station, mix in a bunch of undisclosed sources complaining about asylum seekers at the Otay border crossing, add in some inflammatory comments from the chairman of the board of the Center for Immigration Studies, and just wait for the story to get blown […]
Read MoreArizona Governor Jan Brewer Still Cannot Connect the Dots Between Immigration Reform and Border Security
Anti-immigrant politicians suffer from a chronic inability to understand that immigration reform must be truly comprehensive if it is to be effective. That is, all facets of the extremely complex U.S. immigration system must be fixed at the same time if the system as a whole is to function properly—everything from border enforcement to family […]
Read MorePressure Mounts on House To Tackle Immigration Reform
As July comes to a close and August recess begins, prospects for immigration reform in the House of Representatives are looking up. While some saw the pronouncements from House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) that the House would not take up the Senate bill as a death knell, it looked […]
Read MoreThe Criminal Alien Program (CAP): Immigration Enforcement in Prisons and Jails
The Criminal Alien Program (CAP) is an expansive immigration enforcement program that leads to the initiation of removal proceedings in many cases. While CAP has existed in one form or another for decades, there is still much to be learned about the program, how it is organized, and how it works. What is known is that CAP extends to every area of the country and intersects with most state and local law enforcement agencies.
For years, the CAP program has operated with little public attention and many of its elements have only recently come to light following FOIA litigation against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The information obtained through the lawsuit regarding CAP’s current organization and staffing suggests CAP is not a single program, but a loose-knit group of several different programs operating within ICE. Other than a small number of staff responsible for the administration of CAP at ICE headquarters, there is no dedicated CAP staff. Rather, ICE pulls personnel and resources from across the agency to perform CAP-related functions.
The ICE declarations and deposition also explain how CAP functions within prisons and jails. There appears to be little consistency in, and little or no policy governing, how CAP cooperates with state and local law enforcement agencies in different regions and in how CAP interacts with detainees in different facilities. Instead, CAP appears to function as an ad hoc set of activities that operate differently across the country and across penal institutions, raising questions about the adequacy of oversight, training, and accountability of the personnel implementing CAP.
This information confirms that there is still much about CAP that remains unknown or unclear. Given the breadth of CAP, the centrality of its role in immigration enforcement, and its large impact on the immigrant community, it is critical that ICE clarify how CAP operates.
Anti-DACA Lawsuit Dismissed!
Crane v. Napolitano, the lawsuit brought by Kris Kobach on behalf of several ICE officers opposed to implementing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) program, was dismissed today on procedural grounds in a U.S. district court in Texas. The court held that the Civil Service Reform Act, a law governing federal employment disputes, barred […]
Read MoreWhy Citizenship Matters in Immigration Reform
As the August recess approaches, the debate surrounding immigration reform and citizenship will shift away from Washington and into town hall meetings and events in local communities. In anticipation of this, today the AFL-CIO hosted an event on citizenship featuring among others, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Representative Xavier Becerra (D-CA). Both men emphasized the […]
Read MoreTackling the Toughest Questions on Immigration Reform
Despite significant public support for immigration reform among members of the public in both parties, many of the most basic facts about immigrants and immigration remain misunderstood.
Read MoreHearing Highlights Similarities Between Senate Immigration Bill and House Border Bill
Ostensibly, the July 23rd hearing of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security was about the many differences between the Senate’s immigration-reform bill and the House’s border-enforcement bill. The hearing was even titled “A Study in Contrasts: House and Senate Approaches to Border Security.” However, while highlighting very real differences between the […]
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