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All the Action on Immigration is (Still) in the States
Although their fate ultimately likes in federal immigration reform, unauthorized immigrants are getting much help from state and local officials who are taking pragmatic steps to allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition and to limit local law enforcement from honoring immigration detainers issued by federal immigration authorities. On the tuition equity front, the Republican-controlled […]
Read MoreChanges Could Help Spouses of H-1B Visa Holders Work in U.S.
The spouses of some H-1B visa holders could receive work authorization in the U.S., according to a proposed rule change the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday. This change, as well as a proposal that would remove obstacles to staying in the U.S. for specific high-skilled workers, stemmed from an overview the White House provided […]
Read MoreCourts Should Hold Border Patrol Agents Accountable for Fourth Amendment Abuses
In October 2010, while Alejandro Garcia de la Paz was returning to San Antonio from his work outside of Vanderpool, Texas, two agents from the United States Border Patrol pulled the truck he was riding in over to the side of the road. Although the driver, Alejandro and the other two passengers were obeying the […]
Read MoreFlorida Legislators Approve In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students
The Republican-controlled Florida legislature has passed HB 851, a bill allowing qualified undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities. After voting against similar bills in previous years, the Florida Senate approved the legislation on Thursday. The state House had already passed the bill in March but voted again to pass […]
Read MoreNew Report Sheds (Some) Light on the U.S. Deportation Regime
A new report from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) compiles a wide array of data and analysis describing the recent history and current configuration of the U.S. deportation regime. The prevalence of deportations that don’t involve an immigration judge, the criminalization of immigration offenses, the massive expansion of border and interior enforcement—all are well-documented in […]
Read MoreRemoval Without Recourse: The Growth of Summary Deportations from the United States
The deportation process has been transformed drastically over the last two decades. Today, two-thirds of individuals deported are subject to what are known as “summary removal procedures,” which deprive them of both the right to appear before a judge and the right to apply for status in the United States. In 1996, as part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), Congress established streamlined deportation procedures that allow the government to deport (or “remove”) certain noncitizens from the United States without a hearing before an immigration judge. Two of these procedures, “expedited removal” and “reinstatement of removal,” allow immigration officers to serve as both prosecutor and judge—often investigating, charging, and making a decision all within the course of one day. These rapid deportation decisions often fail to take into account many critical factors, including whether the individual is eligible to apply for lawful status in the United States, whether he or she has long-standing ties here, or whether he or she has U.S.-citizen family members.
In recent years, summary procedures have eclipsed traditional immigration court proceedings, accounting for the dramatic increase in removals overall. As the chart below demonstrates, since 1996, the number of deportations executed under summary removal procedures—including expedited removal, reinstatement of removal, and stipulated removal (all described below)—has dramatically increased.
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, more than 70 percent of all people Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported were subject to summary removal procedures.
Expedited Removal (INA § 235(b))
Immigration Letter from 22 Senators Decries Common-Sense Reforms
Twenty-two Senate Republicans have made some political waves recently by sending a letter to President Obama expressing their “grave concerns” over the review of immigration enforcement policies now underway in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The aim of that review is to determine ways in which enforcement priorities might be revised to avoid the […]
Read MoreDrop in Court-Ordered Deportations Means Little to Overall Deportation Numbers
Last week, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)—the division within the Department of Justice that runs that immigration court system—released its FY2013 Statistics Yearbook detailing the number of deportation cases begun and completed in the immigration courts nationwide. The Yearbook showed a decrease in the number of immigration court cases the Department of Homeland […]
Read MoreGrupo Nativista Insta al Partido Republicano a Alejarse Aún Más de la Comunidad de Inmigrantes
Los grupos anti-inmigrantes utilizan periódicamente una táctica común que consiste en hacer circular informes que advierten a los legisladores y al público en general acerca del carácter supuestamente amenazante de los inmigrantes. Estos informes tienden a retratar a los inmigrantes como una carga económica y fiscal, una amenaza para la integración social, o una amenaza […]
Read MoreWill Unauthorized Immigration Begin to Rise Again?
The record-low level of unauthorized immigration to the United States, particularly from Mexico, raises an obvious question: How long will it last? Presumably, conditions somewhere will change—either here or abroad—and unauthorized immigration will rise again. Even more important than the question of when it will happen, however, is how we will choose to respond. Nativists […]
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