Interior Enforcement

Recent Features

  • Special Report

Why Caution is Needed Before Hiring Additional Border Patrol Agents and ICE Officers

There are serious concerns that rapid expansion will bring about a resurgence of problems in the Border Patrol and also cause similar problems in ICE. 

  • Fact Sheet

A Primer on Expedited Removal

Expedited removal is a process by which low-level immigration officers can quickly deport certain noncitizens who are undocumented or have committed fraud or misrepresentation. 

  • Fact Sheet

Removal Without Recourse: The Growth of Summary Deportations from the United States

The deportation process has been transformed drastically over the last two decades. Today, two-thirds of individuals deported are subject to what are known as “summary removal procedures,” which deprive them of both the right to appear before a judge and the right to apply for status in the United States.

All Interior Enforcement Content

  • Research and Analysis

The Criminal Alien Program: Immigration Enforcement in Travis County, Texas

February 17, 2010
The Criminal Alien Program (CAP) is a program administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that screens inmates in prisons and jails, identifies deportable non-citizens, and places them...
  • Research and Analysis

A Stimulus for Fear: Anti-Immigration Groups Raise Specter of Undocumented Construction Workers and Call for Ensnaring All U.S. Workers in

March 9, 2009
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), as well as the Heritage Foundation, have recently claimed that up to 300,000 construction jobs...
  • Research and Analysis

Balancing Federal, State, and Local Priorities in Police-Immigrant Relations

June 1, 2008
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, changes in federal, state, and local law-enforcement priorities and practices have had a profound impact on America’s Muslims, Arabs, and South...
  • Fact Sheet

Money for Nothing: Immigration Enforcement without Immigration Reform Doesn’t Work

May 22, 2008
While the U.S. government has poured billions upon billions of dollars into immigration enforcement, the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States has increased dramatically. Rather than...
  • Special Report

The Social Security Administration No-Match Program: Inefficient, Ineffective, and Costly

May 1, 2008
This report provides an overview of SSA’s no-match letter program, a summary of DHS’s new supplemental proposed rule regarding no-match letters, and an overview of the unintended consequences of no-...
  • Research and Analysis

Administration Announces New "No-Match" Regulations: DHS Regs Pass Burdens to Social Security Administration, Small Businesses, and Citizens

March 25, 2008
Provides a summary of the new proposed "no-match" regulations and their harmful impact on workers, employers, and the Social Security Administration.
  • Research and Analysis

Targets of Suspicion: The Impact of Post-9/11 Policies on Muslims, Arabs and South Asians in the US

May 1, 2004
In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the U.S. government began a campaign of aggressive immigration enforcement targeted at Muslims, Arabs and South Asians. Rather than first...
  • Special Report

Have We Learned the Lessons of History? World War II Japanese Internment and Today's Secret Detentions

October 1, 2002
In the aftermath of the horrific events of September 11, 2001, our leaders have begun exercising extraordinary powers to ensure our collective safety, sacrificing the personal liberties of some,...
  • Blog

Number of Undocumented Immigrants in US at a 25-Year Low

March 1, 2019

  Contrary to President Trump’s claim that “large-scale unlawful migration” across the southern border constitutes a “national emergency” that requires building a wall, research suggests that...

  • Blog

Workers Detained in Massive Tennessee Immigration Raid Sue ICE

February 22, 2019

Workers who were detained during the first large-scale workplace immigration raid under the Trump administration filed a class action lawsuit against the government on Thursday. The raid, which...

  • Blog

More People Overstay Their Visas Than Cross the Border Illegally – Our Immigration Laws Need to Address That

January 23, 2019

New estimates of the undocumented population in the United States confirm a trend that has been apparent for several years: the number of people who become undocumented each year by overstaying...

  • Blog

Uptick in Worksite Enforcement Hurts US Businesses and Economy

December 12, 2018

In its battle against undocumented immigration, the Trump administration appears to be focused on looking tough rather than addressing real problems. Judging from the latest official statistics on...

  • Blog

Government Data Shows ICE Detention Relies on Private Companies and Remote Locations

December 5, 2018

There is a lot that we don’t know about immigration detention. Although Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been in the headlines more often than in past years, the network of facilities...

  • Blog

Nominee for ICE Director Refuses to Back Down on Family Separation

November 16, 2018

Ronald Vitiello, President Trump’s nominee to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had a nomination hearing in front of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on...

  • Blog

When Immigrant Parents Are Deported, The Entire Family Suffers, Survey Shows

November 14, 2018

Another form of family separation is on the rise—the deportation of relatives with longstanding ties to the United States. Those left behind in the United States often face significant hardships,...

  • Blog

The Government Tried to Turn Local Cops Into Immigration Agents – The Result Was Disastrous

October 9, 2018

For years, the federal government has attempted to partner with local communities on immigration enforcement, raising a host of problems. This form of collaboration steers limited local resources...

  • Blog

More Communities Say They Won’t Jail Immigrants for ICE

September 21, 2018

A growing number of communities are reevaluating their role in detaining immigrants on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Local officials in Atlanta, Georgia recently...

  • Blog

Immigration Raid in Nebraska Devastates Local Agriculture Industry and Families

August 13, 2018

A small town in Nebraska was rocked last week when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents raided multiple businesses, arresting 133...

  • Amicus Briefs

Stopping the Destruction of ICE's Records on Abuse and Mistreatment of People in Detention

August 7, 2020
In the amicus brief, the Council and partners documented the reliance on these records by researchers and advocates to monitor and expose troubling practices.
  • Advocacy

Letter Demands Greater Transparency For Cameroonian Immigrants Held in Immigration Detention

July 21, 2020

The American Immigration Council signed on to a letter calling on Congress to demand greater transparency from Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding Cameroonian and other Black...

  • Blog

ICE’s ‘Citizens Academy’ Has No Place in Communities That Welcome Immigrants

July 20, 2020

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced last week that it was launching a “Citizens Academy” in Chicago. The move justifiably generated everything from confusion to anger and fear...

  • Blog

The Jail-to-Deportation Pipeline Turns Deadly for Immigrants in the Pandemic

July 16, 2020

Another man has died in immigration detention from COVID-19. His tragic and avoidable death marks the deadly end to a jail-to-deportation pipeline that disproportionately targets Black and Brown...

  • Blog

ICE Has Been Granted the Same Level of Secrecy as the FBI

July 14, 2020

In a blow to government transparency, the Trump administration has decided to designate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “security/sensitive agency.” The move further shields ICE from...

  • Litigation

Stopping ICE From Unlawfully Detaining Immigrant Youth

This lawsuit challenged ICE’s practice of transferring unaccompanied minors who turn 18 years old to adult custody in the agency’s contracted jails and prisons, without considering less restrictive placements.
  • Blog

ICE and CBP Agents Were Deployed at Black Lives Matter Protests

June 25, 2020

People have taken to the streets across the country to protest the murder of George Floyd, who died at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. This exercise of First Amendment rights has...

  • Press Release

New Report Reveals the Impact of COVID-19 Across the US Immigration System

May 27, 2020
The American Immigration Council's latest report examines major changes to the U.S. immigration system in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unique challenges the pandemic has created for noncitizens and government agencies.
  • Blog

What ICE Must Do Following the First Coronavirus Death in Its Custody

May 7, 2020
ICE must stop transferring people—some of whom may already have COVID-19—across the country between detention centers.
  • Legal Resources and Litigation

Council Files Civil Rights Complaint Over Dangerous ICE Detention Policies During Coronavirus Pandemic

May 7, 2020
The complaint calls on oversight agencies to demand immediate action by ICE to help stop the spread of the coronavirus where social distancing is not possible, including:

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