Thread: Immigration Enforcement Details, I.C.E.

Immigration Enforcement


Immigration Action


How to Seek Prosecutorial Discretion from ICE

On November 20, 2014, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced new immigration enforcement priorities and guidance on the exercise of prosecutorial discretion entitled Policies for the Apprehension, Detention and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants Memorandum. All DHS agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will apply these priorities when deciding which aliens to arrest, detain, and remove from the United States. ICE has long used prosecutorial discretion in performing its immigration enforcement mission, and is updating its procedures and training to implement the new priorities.

The Secretary also issued a memorandum entitled Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children and with Respect to Certain Individuals Whose Parents are U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents, which, through the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, allows individuals who meet the eligibility criteria to apply, on a case-by-case basis, for DACA and deferred action. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will adjudicate all of these cases. If you have questions about deferred action or other services and benefits offered by USCIS, you may call the USCIS National Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-800-375-5283 or visit the website at www.uscis.gov for more information.

Information is provided below about how to seek prosecutorial discretion, including for individuals eligible for DACA and deferred action, from ICE under the new priorities.

For individuals in ICE custody

• In order to enhance its ability to detain and remove aliens who pose a national security or public safety threat, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) will be proactively reviewing the cases of individuals in its custody.
• If you would like to discuss your priority status or wish ICE to exercise prosecutorial discretion in your case, including if you believe you are eligible for DACA or deferred action, you should follow the detainee-staff communication procedures for your facility. These procedures are outlined in the orientation handbook you were provided when you were booked into ICE custody.
• You may also call the ICE ERO Detention Reporting and Information Line, toll-free, at 1-888-351-4024 to make your request.

For individuals in proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review

• If your administrative proceedings are pending before an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals but you believe that you do not fall within the DHS enforcement priorities, including if you believe you are eligible for DACA or deferred action, ICE may agree to administratively close your case upon request.
• You may submit your request to the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA). You (or, if you are represented, your legal representative) should submit your request for prosecutorial discretion to the mailbox of the OPLA field office that is handling your case. A link to the OPLA field office mailboxes is available here.
• Your request should include your full name, alien registration number (A-number), and the status of your case. You may also include the reasons you believe you do not fall within the DHS enforcement priorities, including if you believe you are eligible for DACA or deferred action.
• OPLA will consider your request promptly and provide a response to the e-mail address from which the incoming message was sent.

For individuals with removal orders who are scheduled for removal and are not in ICE custody

• ICE will review the cases of individuals scheduled for removal. However, if you have been scheduled for removal and believe that you merit prosecutorial discretion, including if you believe you are eligible for DACA or deferred action, you should promptly contact the ERO officer responsible for your case to discuss the matter.
• You may also call the ICE ERO Detention Reporting and Information Line, toll-free, at 1-888-351-4024. You may also contact your local OPLA office, or you may call the USCIS National Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-800-375-5283 or visit the website at www.uscis.gov for more information.

Reconsideration of ICE prosecutorial discretion decisions

• There is no formal reconsideration process, nor is there a right to the exercise of prosecutorial discretion.
• However, you may contact the supervisor of the DHS employee who made the decision in your case if you would like a further explanation of the decision. You may also contact OPLA to request review of the decision in your case.

https://www.ice.gov/immigrationaction

http://www.alipac.us/f9/we-need-comm...es-out-314927/

Immigration Enforcement

Criminal Alien Program

ERO

• Overview
• Key Initiatives

ICE places a high priority on combating illegal immigration, including targeting illegal aliens with criminal records who pose a threat to public safety.


The Criminal Alien Program (CAP) provides ICE-wide direction and support in the biometric and biographic identification, arrest, and removal of priority aliens who are incarcerated within federal, state, and local prisons and jails, as well as at-large criminal aliens that have circumvented identification. It is incumbent upon ICE to ensure that all efforts are made to investigate, arrest, and remove individuals from the United States that ICE deems priorities by processing the alien expeditiously and securing a final order of removal for an incarcerated alien before the alien is released to ICE custody. The identification and processing of incarcerated criminal aliens, before release from jails and prisons, decreases or eliminates the time spent in ICE custody and reduces the overall cost to the Federal Government.

Additionally, integral to the effective execution of this program is the aggressive prosecution of criminal offenders identified by ERO officers during the course of their duties. ERO, in conjunction with the Offices of the United States Attorneys, actively pursues criminal prosecutions upon the discovery of offenses of the nation's criminal code and immigration laws. This further enhances public safety and provides a significant deterrent to recidivism..

https://www.ice.gov/criminal-alien-program

Immigration Enforcement

Criminal Alien Program

ERO

• Overview
• Key Initiatives

IDENT/IAFIS Interoperability

Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT)/Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) interoperability is a biometric screening process that is consistent and efficient in the identification of criminal and other priority aliens. ICE leveraged an already-existing Federal information-sharing partnership between US-VISIT and the FBI that helps to identify criminal aliens at arrest or book-in without imposing new or additional workload on state and local law enforcement agencies. It has been fully deployed in all state and local jurisdictions, as well as Federal agencies, to include the DOD. Full deployment of IDENT/IAFIS interoperability has led to an increase in the number of criminal and other priority aliens identified and arrested.

When state and local law enforcement arrest and book someone into a jail facility for a violation of a state criminal offense, they will generally fingerprint the person. The fingerprints are electronically submitted to the state’s fingerprint database, and are then forwarded to the FBI. Provided that the person had been previously encountered and fingerprinted by an immigration official, a “match” will register at which time ICE is notified and an ICE officer determines the person’s immigration and criminal status to establish the appropriate immigration enforcement action, if any. If the person has not previously been fingerprinted by an immigration official, there will be “no match.” In all cases, an ICE or 287(g) designated immigration officer will need to interview the individual to determine the appropriate enforcement action.

Violent Criminal Alien Section

VCAS screens recidivist criminal aliens encountered through ERO’s enforcement efforts and local law enforcement to seek criminal prosecution to mitigate the risk of future recidivism and enhance the integrity of the U.S. immigration system. Integral to success in this effort is the collaboration with the Offices of the United States Attorneys to prosecute the charged criminal offenders.

Joint Criminal Alien Removal Taskforces

Joint Criminal Alien Removal Taskforces (JCART) identifies, investigates and arrests at-large criminal aliens with, but not limited to, convictions for drug trafficking offenses, crimes of violence and sex offenses. JCART will also identify and target aliens involved in human trafficking, smuggling and transnational organized crime for increased information collection. In addition to working with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, JCART partners with other law enforcement entities, such as probation and parole offices, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Bureau of Prisons and local law enforcement agencies to conduct special operations.

Detention Enforcement and Processing Offenders by Remote Technology

Approximately 27 percent of inmates in Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) custody are non-U.S. citizens. ERO created the Detention Enforcement and Processing Offenders by Remote Technology (DEPORT) Center in Chicago to process this population through CAP. ERO officers and agents assigned to the DEPORT Center conduct interviews of BOP inmates nationwide using video teleconference equipment. Through the combined effort of the DEPORT Center and local ERO resources, criminal aliens from all federal detention facilities are taken into ERO custody upon completion of their sentences.

Rapid Removal of Eligible Parolees Accepted for Transfer

The Rapid REPAT program offers selected criminal aliens incarcerated in U.S. prisons and jails the opportunity to accept early release in exchange for voluntarily returning to their country of origin.

Aliens who have been convicted of non-violent offenses may receive early conditional release if they have a final order of removal and agree not to return to the United States. Eligible aliens must agree to waive appeal rights associated with their state convictions. If aliens re-enter the country following removal under the Rapid REPAT program, state statutes may provide for revocation of parole and incarceration for the remainder of the alien’s original sentence.

Additionally, aliens illegally re-entering may face additional federal charges and penalties. Rapid REPAT also helps participating states reduce the costs associated with detention.

https://www.ice.gov/criminal-alien-program#tab0

http://www.alipac.us/f12/executive-a...-uscis-314981/