Enforcement

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

The Fight to Stop ICE From Destroying Records About Deaths and Abuse in Its Custody

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to destroy thousands of records documenting horrific treatment of immigrants in the agency’s custody. The records contain vital details about people’s experience in immigration detention. They include information about deaths in detention, investigations into sexual and physical abuse, and medical and civil rights complaints. In response to ICE’s […]

The Trump Administration Is Sending SWAT Teams Into So-Called Sanctuary Jurisdictions

The Trump administration is continuing to wage an escalating war on so-called sanctuary jurisdictions across the country. This is part of an ongoing campaign to coerce state and local governments into enforcing federal immigration law. Many states, counties, and cities have adopted a variety of policies intended to serve and protect all of their residents, […]

Customs and Border Protection Officials Are Allowed Full Anonymity Under FOIA—and That’s a Blow to Government Transparency

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—the largest law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security, with tens of thousands of officers charged with policing our borders—is becoming more secretive. In fact, according to recent reporting, the agency is skittish when it comes to revealing the names of its officers through the Freedom of Information […]

These Humanitarian Aid Workers’ Convictions Were Overturned. Here’s How It Sets Precedent for Future Protection.

A federal judge in Arizona reversed convictions of four volunteers of the humanitarian aid group No More Deaths last week. No More Deaths is an Arizona-based group that works to end death and suffering for people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. In the summer of 2017, the four women drove on a restricted access road in […]

Trump Bars New Yorkers From Traveler Programs Over State’s Refusal to Cooperate With ICE

The Trump administration is cracking down on New York over its refusal to share residents’ driver’s license records with immigration authorities. Now, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has barred all New Yorkers from four of its five “trusted traveler” programs. New York residents can no longer enroll or re-enroll in the Global Entry, NEXUS, […]

Trump’s Immigration Restrictions Extend to Nearly 7% of the Entire World

President Trump issued the fourth travel ban of his presidency on Friday. This ban comes almost three years to the day after the first one brought thousands of protesters to airports around the country. People from Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar, and Kyrgyzstan are now barred from immigrating to the United States. Those from Sudan and Tanzania […]

Conditions in Border Facilities Deny Asylum Seekers Meaningful Screening Interviews

In U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody, asylum seekers are detained in horribly cold and overcrowded facilities, unable to sleep, without access to food, water, or adequate medical care, and without access to an attorney. Under two new government processes—the Prompt Asylum Claim Review (PACR) and the Humanitarian Asylum Review Process (HARP)—people seeking asylum […]

The State of Immigration in Our Union

Three years into the Trump administration, it’s become clear that we have lost our rudder. For a nation that long-provided a welcome mat to the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, our immigration policies are not welcoming. They are punitive and isolationist. We have seen a decrease in legal immigration alongside an historic increase in […]

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A Humanitarian Catastrophe at the Border: One Year of the ‘Migrant Protection Protocols’

One year ago today, a confused Honduran man seeking asylum in the United States became the first person to be turned away from the border and sent back to Mexico to await a U.S. court hearing. He would become the first of nearly 60,000 people subjected to the so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP). Under MPP—also […]