Militant immigrant rights movement puts government on defensive

Concessions made, but more can be won with continued struggle

By Heather Benno
December 10, 2011

Youth have held militant protests across the U.S. against Alabama’s HB-56, Georgia’s HB-87, and federal measures such as Secure Communities.

On Nov. 17, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a directive for its deportation attorneys to begin reviewing all new and pending deportation cases to determine whether certain immigrants should be allowed to remain in the United States. There are currently approximately 300,000 cases pending in immigration courts nationwide. Most cases remain pending for approximately three years, if not over a decade.

The Nov. 17 memo falls on the heels of four recent announcements, in August and June 2011, and two prior in 2010, that similarly laid out the governments' “deportation priorities.â€