New ICE policy narrows deportation pool
New ICE policy narrows deportation pool
THE AGENCY WILL DETAIN ONLY UNAUTHORIZED IMMIGRANTS WITH SERIOUS CRIMINAL RECORDS
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Gregory Bull
In this March 30, 2012 photo, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent waits with other agents outside of the home of a suspect before dawn as part of a nationwide immigration sweep in San Diego. Federal officials say they arrested more than 3,100 immigrants convicted of serious crimes and fugitives in a six-day nationwide sweep. Officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement say the sweep included every state and involved more than 1,900 of the agency’s officers and agents. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
December 21, 2012 1:44 pm • Elizabeth Aguilera
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton released a new deportation policy Friday that focuses exclusively on those with serious criminal convictions.
One of the major changes in the guidance for agents is that it "restricts the use of detainers against individuals arrested for minor misdemeanor offenses such as traffic offenses and other petty crimes."
"Smart and effective immigration enforcement relies on setting priorities for removal and executing on those priorities," said Morton, in a statement. "In order to further enhance our ability to focus enforcement efforts on serious offenders, we are changing who ICE will issue detainers against."
The new policy directs agents and officers to issue detainers for deportation only for those unauthorized immigrants who have one or more of the following:
The policy covers all programs that involve ICE with unauthorized immigrants through Secure communities, any 287(g) agreements and other ICE enforcement operations. The policy does not apply to detainers used by Customs and Border Protection which includes the Border Patrol.
The change is the latest policy to be implemented in the last several years that narrow the deportation pool for immigration authorities. Those who oppose such policies and want to see increased enforcement call these efforts "expanded amnesty."
Such policies include prosecutorial discretion, which allows immigration authorities to bypasses those who do not have criminal records and meet other requirements, and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which gives some young unauthorized immigrants a 2-year reprieve from deportation if they meet certain requirements.
We will update with responses from ICE, local immigration advocates and pro-enforcement voices as we receive them.
New ICE policy narrows deportation pool