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.
December marks the three-year anniversary of the opening of the country’s largest family detention center for non-citizen mothers and their minor children located in Dilley, Texas. Referred to as a “baby jail” since it holds children under one year of age there, the opening of the Dilley family detention center was the Obama administration’s response […]
Anyone reading the news knows that immigration and the threat of aggressive enforcement have been prominent issues throughout 2017. But what the headlines often miss is how people in America—families, children, grandparents, and everyone in between—are affected by shifts in attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policy. Increasingly, research shows that policy decisions designed to limit […]
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) released a report which found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) detention facilities are violating their own detention standards when it comes to housing immigrants. The OIG, which serves as a watchdog division for DHS at large, found that ICE was providing insufficient protection […]
Doug Jones, a former Democratic prosecutor once considered a longshot in Republican-majority Alabama, narrowly won the state’s Senate race Tuesday evening in what may ultimately prove to be a needed boost for immigrants’ rights on Capitol Hill. Jones’ stance on immigration was largely captured during the contentious Senate race, in which he was repeatedly questioned […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has publicly released immigration enforcement data for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, which shows that apprehensions at the border are at their lowest levels in over 45 years, while arrests in the interior of the country have increased. The data for FY 2017 covers the final four months of the […]
This afternoon, the United States Senate confirmed Kirstjen Nielsen to be the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As Secretary, she will oversee an ever-growing agency which includes the enforcement and services functions of immigration, airport security, disaster relief, the Secret Service, and more. During her confirmation hearing, Nielsen largely committed to carrying […]
In the face of heightened threats around immigration enforcement, communities are taking action to ensure due process for their undocumented community members. These rapid response efforts are being undertaken by a growing network of community members—from students to salesmen to social workers—who are volunteering to witness arrests conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. […]
In a sweeping effort to increase local law enforcement’s role in immigration enforcement, the Trump administration is preparing to increase the number of officers who are authorized to act as federal immigration enforcers through additional 287(g) agreements. These agreements are named for the provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act that authorizes the agency to […]
The nominee to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kirstjen Nielsen, had her confirmation hearing before senators on Wednesday, during which she promised to largely carry on the legacy of her predecessor, General John Kelly. This included limiting President Trump’s plans to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Echoing […]
It has been well established for decades that the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, immigrants who have committed no violent offense are often subjected to a different kind of violence doled out by the U.S. immigration-enforcement system. Young undocumented immigrants who grew up in the United […]