Thread: U.S. shifts approach to deporting illegal immigrants

U.S. shifts approach to deporting illegal immigrants

By Marcus Stern, ProPublica

The Obama administration is changing the federal immigration enforcement strategy in ways that reduce the threat of deportation for millions of illegal immigrants, even as states such as Arizona, Colorado, Virginia, Ohio and Texas are pushing to accelerate deportations.The changes focus enforcement on immigrants who have committed serious crimes, an effort to unclog immigration courts and detention centers. A record backlog of deportation cases has forced immigrants to wait an average 459 days for their hearings, according to an Aug. 12 report by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), which analyzes government data.


Among the recent changes:

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton ordered agency officials on Aug. 20 to begin dismissing deportation cases against people who haven't committed serious crimes and have credible immigration applications pending.

• A proposed directive from Morton posted on ICE's website for public comment last month would generally prohibit police from using misdemeanor traffic stops to send people to ICE. Traffic stops have led to increased deportations in recent years, according to Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank whose research supports tighter enforcement.

The directive said exceptions would be made in certain cases, such as when immigrants have serious criminal records.

• ICE officers have been told to "exercise discretion" when deciding whether to detain "long-time lawful permanent residents, juveniles, the immediate family members of U.S. citizens, veterans, members of the armed forces and their families, and others with illnesses or special circumstances," Daniel Ragsdale, ICE executive associate director of management, testified July 1 in the administration's lawsuit to block Arizona's controversial immigration law. The law requires police officers to determine the immigration status of suspects stopped for another offense if there was a "reasonable suspicion" they are in the USA illegally. A U.S. district judge has held up the provision pending review.

• A draft memo from ICE's sister agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, to Morton discussed ways the administration could adjust regulations so certain groups, such as college students and the spouses of military personnel, could legalize their status or at least avoid deportation if Congress doesn't pass comprehensive immigration reform. USCIS rules on applications for visas, work permits and citizenship. USCIS spokesman Christopher Bentley said the memo was intended to stimulate brainstorming on how to legalize immigrants if new laws aren't passed.

The administration's new direction puts it at odds with those who believe the nation's immigration laws should be strictly enforced and that all illegal immigrants should be deported.

ICE is "thumbing its nose at the law," said Rep. Steve King of Iowa, the top Republican on the House immigration subcommittee.

The changes have also drawn complaints from immigration advocates. They say deportations under Obama are at record highs and immigrants who remain behind are living in limbo, without work permits, Social Security cards or driver's licenses.

"This isn't a free ticket," said Raed Gonzalez, a Houston attorney who saw cases against his clients dropped last month. "The government can put them back into proceedings at any time."

Morton said in an interview that the new strategy is smarter, not softer, enforcement. At a time when more than 10 million people are in the country illegally, record sums are spent on enforcement and the federal budget faces huge deficits, it makes sense to target people who pose the biggest threat to public safety or national security, he said.

"Congress provides enough money to deport a little less than 400,000 people," Morton said. "My perspective is those 400,000 people shouldn't be the first 400,000 people in the door but rather 400,000 people who reflect some considered government enforcement policy based on a rational set of objectives and priorities."

ICE statistics show that deportations have increased dramatically from 189,000 in 2001 to 387,000 in 2009. Much of the increase results from deportations of people who haven't committed serious crimes, according to TRAC.

This year, however, that trend took a sharp turn, according to an Aug. 12 TRAC report.

The number of criminal immigrants removed by ICE "climbed to an all-time high," the report said. In fiscal 2010, which began Oct. 1, "The removal pace of criminal aliens ... is fully 60% higher than in the last year of the Bush administration, and at least a third (37%) higher than in the first year of the Obama administration."
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They want to hear from us.

This is their email address.

iceDetainerComments@dhs.gov

This is the email I sent them.

Any Federal law enforcement officer who doesn't arrested and deport ILLEGAL aliens should be fired.

If you can't, or won't, do YOUR job get the City, County and State law enforcement officers to help you, or just do it for you.

Well....there is no doubt in my mind anymore that this federal government does NOT INTEND to abide by it's existing immigration laws. EVERYTHING they and the liberal judges (who are beaten down by the ACLU) are doing is undermining any enforcement except for deporting a few thousand criminals. Illegals are just released back onto the streets to create havoc, cheat and traffic drugs, increase their ethnic stronghold, and undermine our historic and honorable U.S. republic with their demands of anarchy or socialism and financial support from American taxpayers. Frightened states and communities, trying to preserve their safety and security, are being hijacked over and over by the courts and the DOJ. The Feds insist they want supremacy over immigration but they are weak and powerless against the invasion. In fact, aside from some professional cat and mouse games, they appear to be pro-illegal immigration. In the short time frame of about 40 years, America is being destroyed from within.

Heres mine:

To Whom It May Concern:



I feed like I am living in "backwards land!" America is sick to death of this border that has been wide open since well before 9-11.



80% of us want immigrants to come here the legal way, becuase the illegals have said over and over that their allegence is to their home country. They are here to make money then go back to live in Mexico. US citizenship means nothing to them and for that matter, from what I've seen - neither do our laws.



We want our current laws enforced and illegals (whether they are into crime or not) to go home. Please enforce our laws. They do not need overhauling-just enforcement. There is nothing good about illegal immigration!

Hi everyone...I'm new to the community but am all fired up about this! I'm so thrilled that this organization exists. Here's my letter.

Dear Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),

I am responding to your request for comment on a new shift to deportations of illegal immigrants.

I realize that immigration and immigration reform can be a complex issue. The simplicity of the issue, however, is in the name of your organization: Immigration and Customs ENFORCEMENT. You are in a branch of the United States government that is set up to serve and protect the citizens of this country. If you ignore the most basic title of the people with whom you interact, illegal, you ignore upholding the federal laws of the United States.

Stealing a car is illegal. Murder is illegal. Robbing a shop owner at gunpoint is illegal. I have been following the developments of the Mexican drug cartels and border patrol for some time, and I am baffled by the fact that our government agencies do not equate immigration with being illegal. The word "amnesty" has been used so many times that I cannot count, and then the news appears about ICE reducing deportation activity, when you come into contact with an illegal immigrant! I am so angry by this that I cannot see straight -- and do you know why? Because I live in America and I am afraid. I am concerned for my own safety. I read about drug cartels and murder of state officials in Mexico, and fear that this activity is moving north. Yet ICE would like the public's feedback about measures to simply look the other way when it comes to the few opportunities you have to catch illegal immigrants?

I am in no way saying that all illegal immigrants are criminals or are involved with drug cartel activity. But, for ICE to say that you will let people go who haven't been convicted of a felony -- there's no way to know whether or not the illegal immigrants who are in this country are involved but haven't been convicted. We need to do absolutely everything in our power to protect the people who contribute to the country -- its citizens -- and that includes deportation and penalization of people who break the laws and are here illegally.

The comment that I was baffled by was that your office has the funds to deport 400,000 people. Well, that's a start, and I applaud you for your efforts thus far, but that is not even scratching the surface. Please do the responsible thing and request additional funding from the government to tackle the backlog and decrease people's wait times in jail. All of this is costing the taxpayers money in an economy that is already suffering.

There are far too many people who have fought to be where they are -- who have gone through all of the red tape for years, filling out paperwork, citizenship tests, background checks -- to simply turn the other way when it comes to illegal immigrants. They should go through the process just like everyone else.

Please consider this my humble plea to uphold the laws of this country. Please consider the others who are responding as well and make the best decision for the country, the decision that protects this country's citizens.

Welcome uptowngirl.

Glad to see you jump right in with some action instead of just being an observer.

Welcome to ALIPAC uptowngirl. Glad you found us!

It doesn't say you can only send one so I sent this one too. I'm sure I'll send many more.

NO AMNESTY

Don't reward the criminal actions of millions of ILLEGAL aliens from all over the world

by giving them citizenship.

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More than 900 comments @

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People must really be waking up..not one comment in favor of IA at USA Today.