Saturday, October 15, 2011

Implementing an Effective Immigration Enforcement Strategy

Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law, Dallas

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is focused on smart and effective enforcement of U.S. immigration laws in a manner that best promotes public safety, border security, and the integrity of the immigration system. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made a number of improvements to better advance its efforts to focus the resources of its agency Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement (ICE)’s resources on the removal of individuals who fit within their highest priorities, such as those who pose a threat to public safety or who have flagrantly violated the nation’s immigration laws, and to do so in a way that respects civil rights and civil liberties.

Priorities for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Alien’s articulating ICE’s commitment to prioritizing the use of its enforcement personnel, detention space, and removal resources to ensure that the removals conducted by the agency promote national security, public safety, and border security - with the removal of aliens who pose a danger to national security or a risk to public safety constituting the highest enforcement priority.

In August 2010, ICE issued a Memorandum entitled “Guidance Regarding the Handling of Removal Proceedings of Aliens with Pending or Approved Applications or Petitions” - outlining a framework for ICE to request expedited adjudication of an application or petition (I-130) for an alien in removal proceedings that is pending before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) if the approval of such an application or petition would provide an immediate basis for relief for the alien.

On June 17, 2011, ICE Director Morton issued a new memorandum that provides guidance for ICE law enforcement personnel and attorneys regarding their authority to exercise prosecutorial discretion when appropriate – authority designed to help ICE better focus on meeting the priorities of both the agency and the Secure Communities program to use limited resources to target criminals and those that put public safety at risk. This memorandum also directs the exercise of prosecutorial discretion where appropriate to ensure greater consistency in the treatment of individuals who do not fit within ICE’s enforcement priorities. Finally, it clarifies that the exercise of discretion is inappropriate in cases involving threats to public safety, national security and other agency priorities.

On June 17, 2011, ICE announced key improvements to the Secure Communities program. Secure Communities has proven to be a critical tool for carrying out ICE’s enforcement priorities. To continue to improve the program, DHS and ICE are committed to addressing concerns that have been raised about its operation, including the following reforms:

ICE created a new advisory task force that will advise on ways to improve Secure Communities, including making recommendations on how to best focus on individuals who pose a true public safety or national security threat. This panel is composed of chiefs of police, sheriffs, and ICE agents from the field, immigration advocates, and leading academics. The report of this advisory group will provide recommendations on how ICE can adjust the Secure Communities program to mitigate potential impacts on community policing practices and better effectuate ICE priorities. Currently, the Task Force is conducting field hearings to obtain feedback from communities across the country. DHS anticipates that their report will be issued in early September.

ICE and the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) developed new training programs for state and local law enforcement agencies to provide more information about how Secure Communities works and how it relates to civil rights and aliens’ rights in the criminal justice system.

Protecting Victims & Witnesses of Crimes: At the direction of Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, ICE, in consultation with CRCL, developed a new policy specifically to protect victims of domestic violence and other crimes and to ensure that these crimes continue to be reported and prosecuted. This policy directs all ICE officers and attorneys to exercise appropriate discretion to ensure that immediate victims of and witnesses to crimes are not penalized by removal. ICE is also working to develop additional tools that will help identify people who may be victims, witnesses, or members of a vulnerable class so officers can exercise appropriate discretion.

Detainer Form: ICE revised the detainer form that it sends to local jurisdictions to request that an alien be held for ICE to interview, to emphasize the longstanding guidance that state and local authorities are not to detain an individual for more than 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays). Once implemented (likely in September 2011) the form will also require local law enforcement to provide arrestees with a copy, which includes an explanation of how to make a complaint in six languages and a number to call if the arrestee believes his or her civil rights have been violated in a manner connected to immigration enforcement.

Civil Rights Complaints: ICE and CRCL created a new complaint system whereby individuals or organizations, which believe civil rights violations connected to Secure Communities have occurred, can file a complaint. For example, CRCL will investigate complaints of racial or ethnic discrimination by policing jurisdictions for which Secure Communities has been activated, and DHS will take steps to ensure that bias or other abuses do not affect immigration enforcement.

Data Collection and Monitoring: ICE and CRCL created an ongoing quarterly statistical review of the program to examine data for each jurisdiction where Secure Communities is activated to identify effectiveness and any indications of potentially improper use of the program. Statistical outliers in local jurisdictions will be subject to an in-depth analysis, and DHS and ICE will take appropriate steps to resolve any issues.

Disclaimer: Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law, with more than 25 years of experience, mainly practices in U. S. immigration law and is located in Dallas, Texas. He does not claim authorship for above referenced information. Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law or the publisher is not responsible or liable for anything stated above, since it is generalized information about the subject matter collected from various legal sources. For individual cases and specific questions you are advised to consult an attorney of your choice in your State of residence or contact your State Bar Organizations or local Bar Associations for finding an attorney or for any legal help. You can visit our website at: www.indiaimmigrationusa.com or www.indiaimmigrationusa.blogspot.com for information about U. S. immigration law related matters. Lal Varghese, Attorney at Law can be reached at (972) 788-0777 or at his e-mail: attylal@aol.com if you have any questions.

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