Thread: Lawyers see return of stricter immigration enforcement

Lawyers see return of stricter immigration enforcement

Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star

After a federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked President Obama’s expansion of eligibility for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, demonstrators turned out in downtown Tucson to support the executive action.

14 hours ago • By Luis F. Carrasco

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped taking into account eligibility for deferred action programs when deciding the fate of immigrants in custody, immigration lawyers and activists report.

The reversion to stricter enforcement policies comes as a federal court injunction against President Obama’s executive action puts deferred action applications on hold.

“If people are picked up and they qualify for deferred action, they’re not going to be released like they were releasing people previously,” said Tucson immigration attorney Mo Goldman.

“The whole situation is confusing right now because it seems only a week ago we could’ve been able get people out who qualified for this executive action.”

More than 200 people were released from immigration custody in Arizona in the weeks following the Nov. 20 announcement of executive action on immigration.

ICE officials were using a simple “yes” or “no” questionnaire to determine if those in custody qualified for the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program,

Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Legal Permanent Residents or did, no longer fall within new enforcement priorities.

ICE officials did not comment before deadline. Previously, they had said those detainees that qualified were being released under an order of supervision pending a final determination in their case.

In Arizona, while deferred action no longer applies, enforcement priorities — with serious criminal offenders and suspected terrorists at the top of the list — are still being taken into account when exercising prosecutorial discretion and deciding which cases to go after, local attorneys said.

But national reports claim some ICE offices in other parts of the country are disregarding all of the new guidelines set by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.

The agency’s different interpretations of directives are all too common, said Gregory Chen, director of advocacy for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

“AILA is not surprised by the inconsistent application of the prosecutorial discretion memo and the fact that some offices are saying that they’re not going to apply it at all,” he said.

In 2011, after then-ICE director John Morton issued guidelines for prosecutorial discretion, AILA tracked its use over 18 months and found that it was poorly implemented and never consistently applied.

The recent nature of the Nov. 20 memo, and the complication of the court injunction, make it easy to give ICE the benefit of the doubt, Chen said, but added that some offices have a tendency to drag their feet.

“In the past, AILA senses that there are ICE offices that are resistant to implementing it. That it’s not simply a question of misunderstanding, but an unwillingness to implement the prosecutorial discretion memo.”

http://tucson.com/news/lawyers-see-r...950111c99.html

Hmm, a very slender beam of positive light slips through our moment of darkness.

Originally Posted by MW

Hmm, a very slender beam of positive light slips through our moment of darkness.

Agreed! But stricter enforcement is not too exciting, I am 100% expecting strict enforcement. I mean I expect it!

They advertise the 100's of thousands that they deport. That means nothing because the towns, streets and neighborhoods keep reflect hat more are getting in than they deport. But, if they LIE in campaign speeches, you have to surely believe that they lie on documentation for public eye, don't you?

Based upon honesty, is there anyone qualified for public service in the USA? Estimate: not more than one out of ten, and that one will not run because he wants remain honest. So, to get a dependable congress, all of the existing congress has to be disposed of in one swoop to prevent future corruption!