Border Enforcement

The United States has long-been a beacon of hope for individuals around the world seeking protection and refuge. Our immigration policies must continue to protect those who need it. Learn more about how America can continue to provide humanitarian protection to those in times of crisis.

Recent Features

TESTIMONY
Providing Perspective on the Application of Immigration Law at the US Southwest Border

The reality at the U.S. southern border is complicated. Dive into the role and authority of the executive branch and immigration enforcement agencies. 

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FACT SHEET
Rising Border Encounters in 2021: An Overview and Analysis

For generations, the United States has seen periodic cycles of migration. The arrival of high numbers of asylum seekers is a humanitarian protection management challenge, not a security challenge.

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All Border Enforcement Content

  • Blog

CBP Hides Itself from Public View and Lacks Accountability

March 18, 2020

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has historically conducted immigration enforcement along our borders. In this role, the agency has developed a reputation for overuse and abuse of its...

  • Blog

DHS Reveals New Details of Secretive Asylum Programs PACR and HARP

March 11, 2020

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed new information this week about two asylum programs  at the U.S.-Mexico border. These programs are under scrutiny because they make it almost...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Rules Parents of Slain Teenager Can’t Sue Border Patrol Agent Responsible for His Death

March 2, 2020

The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking damages from a U.S. Border Patrol agent who shot and killed a teenager across the U.S.-Mexico border. With this latest decision in the...

  • Blog

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

February 14, 2020

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...

  • Blog

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

February 13, 2020

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...

  • Blog

Conditions in Border Facilities Deny Asylum Seekers Meaningful Screening Interviews

February 4, 2020

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...

  • Blog

What’s Happening to Trump’s Travel Ban?

January 27, 2020

Monday marks the third anniversary of the Trump administration’s travel ban—a presidential proclamation that needlessly divides families on the basis of their religion and nationality. The...

  • Blog

Privacy Concerns Over Trump’s Demand to Collect the DNA of Hundreds of Thousands of People

January 23, 2020

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began collecting DNA from people held at the border earlier this month. This is part of a pilot program that DHS plans to expand nationwide. The program...

  • Blog

Student’s Deportation Shows a Pattern of US Government Targeting Iranians

January 22, 2020

Iranian students coming to the United States are being stopped at airports, having their visas revoked, and are being deported. Advocates warn this trend is emerging less than a month after...

  • Blog

Judge Allows Certain Family Separations at the Border to Continue

January 21, 2020

The Trump administration received an unfortunate victory in the case against their family separation policy. On January 13, 2020, Federal Judge Dana Sabraw sided with the government in a lawsuit...

  • Blog

Apprehensions at the Border Dropped 15% This Fall, Highlighting Mexico’s Role in Stopping Migrants

November 18, 2021

Data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows that the number of individuals apprehended by the Border Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico border fell by 15% from September to October,...

  • Blog

Family Separation Has Caused Life-Long Trauma Years Later

November 16, 2021

Four years ago, immigration lawyers and advocates began to see a disturbing practice emerge: the U.S. government began to forcibly separate children—some very young—from their parents at the...

  • Press Release

Recission of MPP Is a Step Toward Ending a Humanitarian Catastrophe and Restoring Dignity to the Asylum Process

October 29, 2021
The Biden administration announced that DHS will issue a new memo to formally terminate the Migrant Protection Protocols. It is an important step towards ensuring that the MPP program never returns.
  • Blog

The Border Isn’t Open. Just 1 in 3 People at the Border Last Year Could Access the Asylum Process.

October 26, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published new data last week showing that over the past 12 months, the Border Patrol has carried out nearly 1.7 million apprehensions at the southern...

  • Comments

Council and Partners Comment on Changes to Streamlined Asylum Removal Proceedings

Publication Date: 
October 19, 2021
The Council, AILA, and the Immigration Justice Campaign commented on the proposed creation of “Dedicated Docket” in immigration court to complete the claims of asylum-seeking families within 300 days...
  • Blog

Biden Administration Announces Plan for Reinstating the Migrant Protection Protocols

October 18, 2021

Two months after a federal court ordered the Biden administration to reinstate the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols (also known as “Remain in Mexico”), the administration announced that it...

  • Press Release

The Reimplementation of MPP is Betrayal of President Biden’s Campaign Promises

October 15, 2021
The Biden administration announced today that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to revive and reimplement the Migrant Protection Protocols by mid-November. The Council believes that plans to restart the program is a betrayal of the president’s campaign promises and a sign that this administration is failing to reenvision border management and the way that we treat asylum seekers.
  • Press Release

Citing Factual and Legal Flaws, Groups Urge DHS to Acknowledge Systematic Barriers in Second Memo Terminating MPP

October 14, 2021
The American Immigration Council and 29+ organizations urged DHS—in a letter offering factual and legal recommendations on how to end the Migrant Protection Protocols—to fully and forcefully acknowledge the humanitarian and legal catastrophe caused by MPP.
  • Letters

Council and Partners Offer Guidance to DHS on Terminating the Migrant Protection Protocols

Publication Date: 
October 14, 2021
The Council and 30 other organizations sent a letter to DHS offering an assessment of the factual and legal bases for terminating the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program.
  • Letters

Coalition Letter Calls on Biden Administration to End Private and Local Detention Contracts and Take Steps to Dismantle Detention System

Publication Date: 
October 11, 2021
The American Immigration Council joins a coalition letter that calls on the Biden administration to terminate local detention contracts and halt all other efforts to expand the ICE detention system...

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