The process of opting out of the immigration enforcement program Secure Communities has been shrouded in secrecy and contradictory statements — most recently due to revelations that an opt-out process does not exist at all. In hopes of clarifying whether the program is mandatory, a coalition of immigrant More…
According to supporters of progressive immigration reform, not very well. A Republican-run House would put Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) in charge of the Judiciary Committee and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) atop its immigration subcommittee — meaning the two border security hawks would have a major say in all immigration-related legislation More…
Critics of the 287 (g) program, which deputizes local police for immigration enforcement in some areas, gained some ammunition Friday in the form of a report that federal immigration officials lost track of their spending on the program. The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, an internal watchdog More…
Senate Republicans have long criticized the Obama administration as lax on immigration enforcement, and their argument was bolstered by news this week that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is dismissing a record-high number of cases against immigrant detainees in Houston. In response, seven pro-enforcement Republican senators sent a letter More…
As Republicans push for increased border enforcement, many have sought to expand Operation Streamline, a “zero tolerance” immigration enforcement program that automatically slates all migrants caught crossing the border illegally for criminal prosecution. (Immigrant deportation is generally a civil, not a criminal, matter.) But critics of the program More…
After Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials shot down the idea of communities opting out of an ICE program, law enforcement leaders in Santa Clara, Calif., are looking at other ways to avoid stepping up their involvement in immigration enforcement. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted Sept. More…
One of the major tenets of the Bush administration’s border security plan was the Secure Border Initiative Network, or SBInet, a system of high-tech radars, satellites and cameras to monitor the borders. The “virtual wall” is being developed by Boeing, but four years after a contract was awarded More…
Houston immigration judges are throwing out an unprecedented number of cases after an internal review of the city’s immigration court docket, the Houston Chronicle reported yesterday. That means many non-criminal illegal immigrants are more likely to be released: About 200 immigration cases have been dismissed per month since More…
Three immigrants in Georgia filed what some experts said could be the first legal challenge to the 287 (g) program, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that allows the agency to delegate some immigration enforcement responsibilities to local police. The immigrants are seeking to have the case declared More…
The ACLU is accusing immigration authorities of disregarding the rights of the mentally ill in a lawsuit filed Wednesday alleging Immigration and Customs Enforcement wrongfully deported a U.S. citizen to Mexico. The man, Mark Lyttle, spoke no Spanish and is actually of Puerto Rican descent, but reportedly caught More…
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