Enforcement
ICE Will Not Use Health Care Application Information for Immigration Enforcement Purposes
Last Friday U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a clarification stressing that information provided by those applying for insurance under the Affordable Care Act will not trigger immigration enforcement. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for health care under the Affordable Care Act (ACA); however, this clarification should bring peace of mind to mixed-status families. Eligible members of those families will now be able to seek coverage under the ACA without fear of placing some family member at risk of deportation. Read More
Three Ways Congressional Inaction on Immigration is Hurting Children
Last week, First Focus released a new report, “The Cost of Inaction: Why Children Can’t Wait for Immigration Reform.” The report highlights the particularly vulnerable position children are placed in within our broken immigration system. Read More
Ongoing Government Shutdown Disrupts Immigration Processing
With the shutdown of the government in its second week, many immigration-related agencies continue to be closed, affecting availability of services and information necessary for applications for immigration benefits and litigation of immigration cases. Because multiple federal agencies play a role in contributing to the functioning of the immigration system, the impact of the shutdown varies from case to case and issue to issue, but the cumulative impact is placing additional strain on an already over-burdened system. Read More
ICE Detainers Continue to Target Immigrants with No Criminal Convictions
This week, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) released a troubling new report showing that only about 10% of ICE detainers target “individuals who pose a serious threat to public safety or national security.” Although the agency’s highest enforcement priorities are threats to public safety and national security, government data shows that, in recent months, the majority of detainers were issued for individuals who had no criminal convictions. Read More
Colorado Emergency Relief Efforts Impeded by Immigrants’ Mistrust of Law Enforcement
The recent flooding in Colorado, in which eight people died and property losses are likely to reach $2 billion, offers another reminder that local law enforcement efforts are often hindered by our broken immigration system. The Denver Post reported that some unauthorized immigrants risk injury or miss out on assistance because they are afraid to interact with police. For example, Augustina Tema’s husband, who is an unauthorized immigrant, was afraid to come outside when police officers went door-to-door to warn residents of the pending flood. Augustina, a legal resident, expressed fear of applying for assistance because of her husband’s status, a fear other undocumented families echoed. For the undocumented families, the tragedy of losing their homes to flooding is compounded by the loss of their “paper trail”—materials that would be needed to prove residency for any future legalization programs. Disaster-related documentation problems extend to those legally residing in the United States if the papers that prove an immigrant may legally live and work in the United States are lost as well, further hindering emergency assistance. Read More
Months After Passage, Anti-Immigrant Group Still Mischaracterizes Senate Bill
The immigration reform bill (S.744) that the Senate passed in June would fix our broken work visa programs for lower skilled, higher skilled, and agricultural workers; eliminate decades-long backlogs in our immigrant visa programs; increase job and wage protections for U.S. workers; and greatly increase our investment in border security. In addition, the bill would have fiscal and economic effects that would be overwhelmingly positive, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). If enacted, the bill would help reduce the federal budget deficit by approximately $1 trillion over 20 years, would boost the U.S. economy as whole without negatively affecting U.S. workers, and would greatly reduce future undocumented immigration, according to the CBO. However, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) released a report this week criticizing the bill. They claim S.744 offers an immediate “amnesty” for the undocumented, lacks specific metrics for measuring border enforcement, weakens the visa entry-exit system, and creates a “nebulous new system” that fails to protect Americans from illegal foreign workers. Read More
ICE Provides Critical Guidance on Limiting and Regulating the Solitary Confinement of Immigrants
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued much-needed guidance Tuesday on the use of solitary confinement in immigration detention facilities. As Immigration Impact reported earlier this year, ICE has been severely criticized for its excessive use of isolation of immigrant detainees. Every day, out of more than 30,000 detainees, roughly 300 immigrants are held in solitary confinement at the nation’s 50 largest detention centers overseen by ICE, according to federal data. Solitary confinement is one of most expensive forms of detention, The New York Times reported in March, and nearly half of immigrant detainees held in solitary confinement are isolated for 15 days or more – “the point at which psychiatric experts say they are at risk for severe mental harm.” About 10 percent are held for more than 75 days. And officials regularly place immigrants in isolation for breaking rules, getting into fights or for their own protection if they have vulnerabilities such as being gay or mentally ill. Read More
ICE Policy on Parental Rights Addresses Long Overdue Problem in Immigration System
For years, leading family and children’s advocates have argued that the bond between parent and child is often a casualty of our broken immigration system. Consequently, they have argued that ensuring parental rights in the context of immigration proceedings is critical—whether the issue is about determining who should have custody of an unaccompanied minor, exercising discretion to release a sole caregiver from detention, or ensuring that a person in immigration proceedings doesn’t automatically lose parental rights. On Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) finally released a memorandum that offers clear guidelines on these questions. Unfortunately, some people, like House Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, immediately tried to turn this into a political issue about immigration reform, instead of what it is—guidance for making sure the rights of parents and children are protected. Read More
Newark Police Department Latest to Push Back on ICE Detainer Requests
The Newark Police Department is the most recent local law enforcement agency to announce that it will refuse requests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain people who have been picked up for minor criminal offenses. Newark is the first city in New Jersey to stop honoring detainer requests from ICE, and the announcement follows news that New Orleans has also adopted a similar policy. Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio signed the policy change on July 24: Read More
New Orleans Latest Locality to Shift Costly Immigration Enforcement Burden Back to Feds
New Orleans has stopped honoring detainer requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials—the first Southern city to do so—now that the Orleans Parish sheriff’s office will no longer detain people who are suspected of being undocumented immigrants. According to The New York Times, the sheriff’s office will “decline all ICE detention requests except when a person is being held on certain specific serious charges.” For individuals with those charges, the sheriff will defer to the recommendation of the criminal court. The parish sheriff will no longer investigate an individual’s immigration status. ICE may not conduct investigations into civil violations of immigration law in the jail. If ICE wants to conduct a criminal investigation in the jail, ICE must provide reasonable notice and opportunity for the individual’s attorney to be present at any interview. Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
