Border Enforcement

Government Reverses Policy on Using Border Agents as Translators

In December 2012, then acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) David Aguilar had announced a policy restricting his agencies’ officers and agents from acting as interpreters for state or local law enforcement agencies—which had become a common practice along the northern and southern borders. However, just last month, current CBP Commissioner, Gil Kerlikowske reversed […]

"Voluntary" Returns FOIA

Based on reports from immigration advocates, CBP officers do not always provide noncitizens with information regarding the consequences of accepting voluntary return and in some cases even compel them to “agree” to “voluntarily” depart. Consequently, individuals who accept voluntary departure may be forced to relinquish claims for legal status in the U.S. or become barred from lawfully reentering the United States for up to ten years.--The Council filed a detailed FOIA request regarding these practices in June 2011.

Why Immigration Enforcement Effectiveness Should Be Measured

For decades, the United States has been pursuing an “enforcement-first” approach to immigration control, spending more on immigration enforcement than all other law enforcement combined, but failing to address our dysfunctional immigration system. A new report by the Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC’s) Immigration Task Force, called “Measuring the Metrics: Grading the Government on Immigration Enforcement,” […]

New Report Depicts Ongoing Abuses by Border Patrol

Related Content: Lack of CBP Accountability in Responding to Complaints of Abuse Deported migrants suffer a range of abuses at the hands of Custom and Border Patrol agents, according to a new Kino Border Initiative (KBI) report. The report relies on original surveys of Mexican migrants that were deported to Nogales, Mexico during the second half […]

The post New Report Depicts Ongoing Abuses by Border Patrol appeared first on Immigration Impact.

New Report Calls into Question CBP’s Use of Force Policy

Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) use-of-force policies are once again under a microscope after a new report written by former Baltimore police commissioner and Justice Department official Thomas Frazier, was released. First reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism’s Reveal, Frazier’s scathing review of CBP policy was done at the request of the family of […]

How a Border Wall Would Hurt the U.S. Economy

When Donald Trump speaks of the Great Wall he would build between the United States and Mexico, he fails to account for a few inconvenient facts. For instance, there are millions of men, women, and children who live in communities that fall on both sides of the international boundary. There are millions of tourists, workers, […]

The post How a Border Wall Would Hurt the U.S. Economy appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Customs and Border Protection Releases Independent Review of Its Complaints System

As part of its announced efforts to become more transparent and accountable, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) just released the results of a review of its processes for handling allegations of employee misconduct. The review, which was conducted by an independent consulting firm and completed four months ago, yielded 19 findings and 62 recommendations. […]

When Immigrants Are Deported Without Their Belongings or IDs, They Are Placed in Even Greater Danger

26 Mexican nationals say the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deported them from the El Paso Border Patrol sector, which covers West Texas and all of New Mexico, without their identification, money, cell phones and other possessions, exposing them to greater danger in Mexico and making it nearly impossible to contact friends and family or get […]

New U.S. Sentencing Commission Guidelines on Immigration Are a Mixed Bag

Earlier this month, the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) voted to change the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which in some cases will lead to increased sentences for those convicted of “Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States” or “Smuggling, Transporting, or Harboring an Unlawful Alien.” However, the USSC did not adopt all of their initially proposed […]