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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:53 am
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Results for immigration (u.s.)
28 results foundAuthor: Camarota, Steven A. Title: Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Conflicted Issue Summary: This study examines academic and government research on the question of immigrant crime. New government data indicate that immigrants have high rates of criminality, while older academic research found low rates. The overall picture of immigrants and crime remains confused due to a lack of good data and contrary information. However, the newer government data indicate that there are legitimate public safety reasons for local law enforcement to work with federal immigration authorities. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Immigration Studies, 2009. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, Nov. 2009: Accessed August 18, 2010 at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2009/crime.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.cis.org/articles/2009/crime.pdf Shelf Number: 119627 Keywords: Illegal Aliens (U.S.)Immigrants and CrimeImmigration (U.S.) |
Author: Kephart, Janice Title: Fixing Flores: Assuring Adequate Penalties for Identity Theft and Fraud Summary: This Backgrounder proposes statutory language fixes to federal identity theft and aggravated felony language in 18 U.S.C. §§ 1028 and 1028A to reverse the practical implications of the May 2009 Supreme Court ruling in Flores-Figueroa v. United States. Flores crippled prosecutors’ longstanding practice of using the aggravated identity theft statute by requiring that prosecutors now also prove that a defendant knew he was using a real person’s identity information, as opposed to counterfeit information not connected to an actual person. The statute is an important tool for immigration enforcement. Proving a defendant’s knowledge about his crime is always difficult, and impossible in some cases, even where there is substantial harm and clear victims. This is especially the situation with illegal aliens who buy identity information from third parties. The inevitable result of the Flores decision is to enable perpetrators an easy defense and to tie prosecutors’ hands. The defendant in the case was an illegal alien working at a steel plant in Illinois. The fixes proposed in this report attempt to encapsulate the original intent of Congress when it broadened federal criminal identity theft law in 1998 and added mandatory sentencing guidelines for identity theft in 2004. Ensuring adequate penalties for the ever-evolving crime of identity theft and fraud and better protecting victims of this pervasive crime was of paramount importance both times federal law was amended. Flores identified an inadvertent flaw in the statutory language and has now put the responsibility on Congress to fix the language or deal with the untenable result of an additional burden of proof on prosecutors, resulting in fewer identity theft cases being prosecuted or more defendants being let off the hook for serious crimes due to a legal loophole. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Immigration Studies, 2010. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder, Jan. 2010: Accessed August 19, 2010 at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2010/Flores-Figueroa.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.cis.org/articles/2010/Flores-Figueroa.pdf Shelf Number: 119628 Keywords: FraudIdentity TheftIllegal Aliens (U.S.)Immigration (U.S.) |
Author: Earls, Michael Title: Mission Accomplished II: The Bush Record on Immigration Enforcement Summary: This study reveals that the enforcement of immigration laws during the first five years of the Bush Administration is down 30% from the last five years of the Clinton Administration, despite an increase in border personnel. Details: Washington, DC: Third Way, 2007. 11p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2011 at: http://content.thirdway.org/publications/73/Third_Way_Report_-_Mission_Accomplished_II_-_The_Bush_Record_on_Immigration_Enforcement.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: http://content.thirdway.org/publications/73/Third_Way_Report_-_Mission_Accomplished_II_-_The_Bush_Record_on_Immigration_Enforcement.pdf Shelf Number: 121447 Keywords: Border SecurityIllegal ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.) |
Author: Metcalf, Mark H. Title: Built to Fail: Deception and Disorder in America’s Immigration Courts Summary: American immigration courts are the heart of a system that nurtures scandal. Their work touches nearly every aspect of America’s immigration system. These courts are essential to recruit the bright and talented to American shores, to alleviate persecution, and to secure this nation’s borders and neighborhoods. But they cannot perform their critical work. Deception and disorder rule. These courts have become — in the words of frustrated judges — “play courts.” In reality, they are courts that are built to fail. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Immigration Studies, 2011. 28p. Source: Internet Resource: Backgrounder: Accessed July 26, 2011 at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2011/built-to-fail.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.cis.org/articles/2011/built-to-fail.pdf Shelf Number: 122168 Keywords: Illegal ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.)Immigration Courts |
Author: Koh, Jennifer Lee Title: Deportation Without Due Process Summary: Over the past decade, the United States government has dramatically expanded its use of a program called “stipulated removal” that has allowed immigration officials to deport over 160,000 non-U.S. citizens without ever giving them their day in court. This report synthesizes information obtained from never-before-released U.S. government documents and data about stipulated removal that became available for analysis as a result of a lawsuit filed under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). According to the previously unreleased data, the federal government has used stipulated removal primarily on noncitizens in immigration detention who lack lawyers and are facing deportation due to minor immigration violations. These noncitizens were given a Hobson’s choice: Accept a stipulated removal order and agree to your deportation, or stay in immigration detention to fight your case. Many of these government records reveal that the stipulated removal program has been implemented across the U.S. at the expense of immigrants’ due process rights. Government records obtained through FOIA litigation suggest that government officials offering stipulated removal to immigrant detainees routinely provided them with inaccurate, misleading, and confusing information about the law and removal process. For example, government agents overemphasized the length of time detainees would spend in detention if they chose to fight their cases and see a judge, yet failed to tell detainees that they could secure release from detention on bond while fighting their cases, or that some might win the right to remain legally in the country. In addition, detainees often had no chance to understand the consequences of signing a stipulated removal order due to systemic language barriers and the lack of quality interpretation and translation that are known to plague many immigration detention facilities. The government documents reveal that immigration judges who sign off on stipulated removal orders have expressed serious concerns about whether the stipulated removal program comports with due process. In fact, some immigration judges have refused to sign stipulated removal orders without seeing detainees for brief, in-person hearings. These hearings at least provide immigration judges the opportunity to determine whether immigrant detainees in fact opted for stipulated removal on a voluntary, intelligent, and knowing basis — as required by the current internal rules governing stipulated removal. The government documents summarized in this report present a dismal picture of the stipulated removal program — a program that, until recently, has operated with little public scrutiny. In September 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals shone a spotlight on the program when it issued its decision in United States v. Ramos, 623 F.3d 672 (9th Cir. 2010), a case addressing due process and regulatory violations inherent in the stipulated removal program. The documents analyzed for this report show that the Ramos case was not an aberration, but rather an example of the stipulated removal program’s systemic and pervasive shortcomings. In order to ensure that the stipulated removal program meets the minimum standards of due process and fairness, the federal government should implement the recommendations set forth in this report. These recommendations are geared towards ensuring that immigrants’ due process rights and the rule of law are respected in immigration detention facilities and immigration courts throughout the country. Details: Fullerton, CA: Western State University School of Law; Stanford, CA: Stanford Law School; Los Angeles: National Immigration Law Center, 2011. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 23, 2011 at: http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/arrestdet/Deportation-Without-Due-Process-2011-09.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/arrestdet/Deportation-Without-Due-Process-2011-09.pdf Shelf Number: 122882 Keywords: Due ProcessIllegal ImmigrantsImmigrant DetentionImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.) |
Author: National Lawyers Guild. Immigration Court Observation Project Title: Fundamental Fairness: A Report on the Due Process Crisis in New York City Immigration Courts Summary: This report is a summary of 414 immigration hearings observed by New York City law students in New York City’s Immigration Courts from October 2009 through November 2010. Although numerous sources have documented inadequacies of the United States’ immigration laws and Immigration Court system, this report provides a unique perspective on the difficulties experienced by the individuals and communities affected by the Immigration Court system in New York City. It concludes with recommendations to ameliorate the identified problems. Chapter I shows the diversity of the immigrant population in New York City and the human impact that deportations have on immigrant families and immigrant communities. Many immigrants observed in removal proceedings have lived in the United States for decades, and were placed in proceedings notwithstanding their deep roots in, and familial connections to, this country. Chapter II turns to three elements of the due process crisis faced by immigrants in removal proceedings: (A) detention, (B) problematic courtroom procedures, and (C) inadequate access to representation and, when represented, to competent counsel. Each issue is addressed with anecdotes demonstrating the harsh reality faced by immigrants in New York City’s Immigration Courts. Harrowing stories of detained immigrants lacking adequate medical care and incompetent attorneys prolonging immigrants’ detention or improperly expediting immigrants’ removal, show the deep-seated faults in the system. Chapter III outlines an emerging and pressing issue in Immigration Court: the lack of protection provided to individuals with mental disabilities. ICOP chose to highlight its observations of proceedings involving individuals with mental disabilities because they demonstrate the urgent need for additional procedural and substantive safeguards for all immigrants in removal proceedings. The substance of the report concludes with proposed recommendations that address the due process issues documented through ICOP’s observations. These include: A. Reforming the detention system by ensuring meaningful review of liberty deprivation, and minimizing the impact of detention on a respondent’s immigration case. B. Addressing lapses in courtroom procedural fairness by ensuring language access and promoting transparency and professionalism in the courtroom. C. Firmly establishing a respondent’s right to counsel, and promoting and enforcing adequate representation. Finally, the appendix of the report includes direction on how to implement an observation project in your city and a glossary of pertinent terms. Details: New York: National Lawyers Guild, Immigration Court Observation Project, 2011. 37p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 24, 2011 at: http://nycicop.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/icop-report-5-10-2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://nycicop.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/icop-report-5-10-2011.pdf Shelf Number: 122896 Keywords: Due ProcessIllegal ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.)Immigration Courts |
Author: Garcia, Angela S. Title: Life as an Undocumented Immigrant: How Restrictive Local Immigration Policies Affect Daily Life Summary: What happens to undocumented immigrants after the passage of anti-immigrant state laws such as Arizona’s S.B. 1070 and Alabama’s H.B. 56 or restrictive local ordinances such as those in Prince William County, Virginia, or Freemont, Nebraska? What is life like for unauthorized immigrants in these areas, and how do they mitigate the harshness of these ordinances? On the flip side, what happens to the larger communities—documented and not, immigrant and not—and how do these laws impact the ability of law enforcement professionals to keep our communities safe? Many studies have focused on the fiscal and economic ramifications of anti-immigrant legislation, but little work has been done on the harmful effects these laws have on everyday life in our communities. That is the focus of this report. This report presents one of the first studies of immigrants’ responses to local restrictions and enforcement. We demonstrate that exclusionary policies and ramped-up federal enforcement inhibit immigrant incorporation into their communities. Immigrants react to legal threats and hostile reception by going underground: They hold negative perceptions of local law enforcement, associate routine activities such as driving and walking with anxiety and the risk of deportation, and develop strategies of avoidance and fitting in to mitigate the discovery of their unauthorized status. Details: Washington, DC: Center for American Progress, 2012. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 2, 2012 at: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/03/pdf/life_as_undocumented.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/03/pdf/life_as_undocumented.pdf Shelf Number: 124790 Keywords: Illegal AliensIllegal ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.) |
Author: Camarota, Steven A. Title: A Shifting Tide: Recent Trends in the Illegal Immigrant Population Summary: Monthly Census Bureau data show that the number of less-educated young Hispanic immigrants in the country has declined significantly. The evidence indicates that the illegal population declined after July 2007 and then rebounded somewhat in the summer of 2008 before resuming its decline in the fall of 2008 and into the first quarter of 2009. Both increased immigration enforcement and the recession seem to explain this decline. There is evidence that the decline was caused by both fewer illegal immigrants coming and an increase in the number returning home. However, this pattern does not apply to the legal immigrant population, which has not fallen significantly. Among the findings: •Our best estimate is that the illegal population declined 13.7 percent (1.7 million) from a peak of 12.5 million in the summer of 2007 to 10.8 million in the first quarter of 2009. •If we compare the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2009, the implied decline is 1.3 million (10.9 percent). In just the last year the decline was 5.7 percent. •By design, these estimates produce results similar to those from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS estimates of the illegal population show a 1.5 percent decline between January 1, 2007, and January 1, 2008. Our estimates show a 1.6 percent decline over the same time period. DHS has not yet estimated the illegal population for January 2009. •There is evidence that the number of new illegal immigrants arriving has fallen by about one-third in the last two years compared to earlier in this decade. •There is also evidence that the number of illegal immigrants returning home has more than doubled in the last two years compared to earlier in this decade. •While migration patterns have fundamentally changed, it must be remembered that the overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants have not left the country, and tens of thousands of new illegal immigrants continue to settle in the country each year. •Our analysis shows that only the illegal immigrant population has declined. The legal immigrant population does not show the same decline. This is also true for Mexico, the top illegal-immigrant-sending country. •The fact that the legal immigrant population does not show the same decline is an indication that stepped up enforcement has played a role. •Another indication that enforcement has played a role in the decline is that the illegal immigrant population began falling before there was a significant rise in their unemployment rate. •While the decline began before unemployment among illegal immigrants rose, unemployment among illegal immigrants has increased dramatically and must now be playing a significant role in reducing their numbers. •There is evidence that the illegal population rose in the summer of 2007, while Congress was considering legalizing illegal immigrants. When that legislation failed to pass, the illegal population quickly began a dramatic fall. •There is no way to know if the current trend will continue. Given President Obama’s stated desire to legalize illegal immigrants and his backing away from enforcement efforts, it seems likely that when the economy recovers, the illegal population will resume its growth. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Immigration Studies, 2009. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Backgrounder: Accessed April 12, 2012 at: http://www.cis.org/articles/2009/shiftingtide.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.cis.org/articles/2009/shiftingtide.pdf Shelf Number: 120915 Keywords: Illegal AliensIllegal ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.) |
Author: Waslin, Michele Title: The Secure Communities Program: Unanswered Questions and Continuing Concerns Summary: The Secure Communities program, which launched in March 2008, has become a centerpiece of immigration enforcement efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Its rapid expansion coupled with serious concerns about the design, goals, and implementation of the program has resulted in a great deal of controversy. Under Secure Communities, participating jurisdictions submit arrestees’ fingerprints not only to criminal databases, but to immigration databases as well, allowing ICE access to information on individuals held in jails. While state and local law‐enforcement officers are not directly enforcing federal immigration law or making arrests for immigration violations, the transmission of fingerprints allows ICE to tap into information about detainees and make determinations about additional ICE enforcement action. While some may claim that Secure Communities is an improvement over other federal‐local partnerships—such as the 287(g) program, which deputizes state and local police officers to enforce immigration laws through agreements with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—the Secure Communities program still faces many of the same criticisms. A Task Force appointed by DHS to make recommendations regarding the program concluded that Secure Communities is fundamentally flawed. While roughly half of the Task Force members favored a suspension or termination of the program and half believed the program must be continued while reforms are being made, all Task Force members agreed that the program must be reformed. This paper describes the Secure Communities program, identifies concerns about the program’s design and implementation, and makes recommendations for the future of the program. Details: Washington, DC: Immigration Policy Center, American Immigration Council, 2011. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: http://www.aijustice.org/resources/advocacy/S-COMM_Special_Report_by_Immigration_Policy_Center.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.aijustice.org/resources/advocacy/S-COMM_Special_Report_by_Immigration_Policy_Center.pdf Shelf Number: 125167 Keywords: Illegal AliensIllegal ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.) |
Author: Kohli, Aarti Title: Borders, Jails, and Jobsites: An Overview Of Federal Immigration Enforcement Programs in the U.S. Summary: This report provides an overview of the current state of immigration enforcement in the United States in order to encourage and facilitate a productive discussion towards reform. The paper summarizes available background information and the latest research on the key components of the enforcement system. It describes the primary actors and programs, presents specific concerns identified by scholars, advocates and researchers, and offers preliminary recommendations. Details: Berkeley, CA: The Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity & Diversity, University of California, Berkeley Law School, 2011. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 18, 2012 at: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/WI_Enforcement_Paper_final_web.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/WI_Enforcement_Paper_final_web.pdf Shelf Number: 126372 Keywords: Border SecurityIllegal ImmigrantsImmigrant DetentionImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.) |
Author: Gilman, Denise Title: Realizing Liberty: The Use of International Human Rights Law to Realign Immigration Detention in the United States Summary: This article takes a comprehensive look at the extensive U.S. immigration detention system from a human rights perspective. The article represents a first effort to synthesize and present recently-developed international human rights standards and apply those rules to the U.S. immigration detention system. It engages in an in-depth analysis to identify the changes necessary to realign U.S. law and scale back immigration detention in accord with international human rights law. The article proposes that U.S. courts should effect those changes through the interpretation of constitutional and statutory provisions in light of the international human rights law standards. This use of the human rights standards is appropriate, because the standards represent binding obligations for the United States as a matter of international law and closely track U.S. constitutional law principles relating to civil detention in contexts less contentious than immigration. The article demonstrates how the application of international human rights law standards can bring rationality and humanity to U.S. immigration detention by revitalizing the right to liberty, which constitutes a core conception in both international human rights law and U.S. constitutional law. Details: Austin, TX: University of Texas School of Law, 2012. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 25, 2012 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2144812 Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2144812 Shelf Number: 126451 Keywords: Human RightsIllegal AliensIllegal ImmigrantsImmigrant DetentionImmigration (U.S.) |
Author: Guttin, Andrea Title: The Criminal Alien Program: Immigration Enforcement in Travis County, Texas Summary: The Criminal Alien Program (CAP) is a program administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that screens inmates in prisons and jails, identifies deportable non-citizens, and places them into deportation proceedings. In this Special Report, The Criminal Alien Program: Immigration Enforcement in Travis County, Texas, provides a brief history and background on the CAP program. It includes a case study of CAP implementation in Travis County, Texas, which finds that the program has a negative impact on communities because it increases the community’s fear of reporting crime to police, is costly, and may encourage racial profiling. Details: Washington, DC: Immigration Policy Center, American Immigration Council, 2010. 22p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 29, 2012 at: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/Criminal_Alien_Program_021710.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/Criminal_Alien_Program_021710.pdf Shelf Number: 126497 Keywords: Border PatrolBorder SecurityDeportationIllegal AliensImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.) |
Author: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Evaluation and Inspections Division Title: Management of Immigration Cases and Appeals by the Executive Office for Immigration Review Summary: The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review to examine the Department of Justice’s (Department) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) processing and management of immigration cases and appeals involving foreign-born individuals (aliens) charged with violating immigration laws. Among other duties, EOIR courts are responsible for determining whether aliens charged by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with immigration violations should be ordered removed from the United States or be granted relief from removal, which would allow them to remain in this country. The OIG found that immigration court performance reports are incomplete and overstate the actual accomplishments of these courts. These flaws in EOIR’s performance reporting preclude the Department from accurately assessing the courts’ progress in processing immigration cases or identifying needed improvements. For example, administrative events such as changes of venue and transfers are reported as completions even though the immigration courts have made no decisions on whether to remove aliens from the United States. As a result, a case may be “completed” multiple times. In our sample of 1,785 closed cases, 484 administrative events were counted as completions by EOIR. Reporting these administrative actions as completions overstates the accomplishments of the immigration courts. Similarly, those same administrative events result in a case being reported as a “receipt” when the case is opened at the receiving court. As a result, the same case may be reported as a “receipt” multiple times, thereby overstating the total number of cases opened by the immigration courts during a particular period. Further, for those cases where EOIR has put in place a timeliness goal for handling a case, EOIR does not report the total time it takes to complete the case. Instead, EOIR tracks case processing time by court. As a result, a case with a timeliness goal of 60 days that spent 50 days at one court and was then transferred to another court, where it spent another 50 days, would be reported by EOIR as two cases that were each completed within the 60-day timeliness goal. In actuality, there was only one case, and that case took EOIR 100 days to reach a decision on whether the alien should be removed, thereby exceeding the 60-day goal. This practice makes it appear that more cases meet the completion goals than actually do. Additionally, in January 2010, EOIR abandoned completion goals for cases involving non-detained aliens who do not file asylum applications, which make up about 46 percent of the courts’ completions. EOIR made this decision to prioritize and focus on the completion of detained cases, in which aliens are deprived of their liberty and housed at taxpayer expense. While the OIG recognizes the importance of the timely completion of cases involving detained aliens, EOIR also should have goals for the timely processing of non-detained cases. Despite overstating case receipts and completions, EOIR’s immigration court data still showed that it was not able to process the volume of work. From FY 2006 through FY 2010, the overall efficiency of the courts did not improve even though there was an increase in the number of judges. In 4 of those 5 years, the number of proceedings received was greater than the number of proceedings completed. As a result, the number of pending cases increased. Our analysis of a sample of closed cases showed that cases involving non-detained aliens and those with applications for relief from removal can take long periods to complete. This results in crowded court calendars and delayed processing of new cases. For example, cases for non-detained aliens took on average 17½ months to adjudicate, with some cases taking more than 5 years to complete. In addition to the volume of new cases, the number and length of continuances immigration judges granted was a significant contributing factor to case processing times. In the 1,785 closed cases we examined, 953 cases (53 percent) had one or more continuances. Each of these cases averaged four continuances. The average amount of time granted for each continuance was 92 days (about 3 months), which results in an average of 368 days for continuances per case. In contrast, the EOIR’s Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) completed more appeals of immigration court decisions than it received from FY 2006 through FY 2010. Appeals involving non-detained aliens, however, still took long periods to complete. In our sample, the BIA averaged more than 16 months to render decisions on cases involving non-detained aliens, as compared to 3½ months for cases involving detained aliens. However, EOIR’s performance reporting does not reflect the actual length of time to review and decide those appeals because EOIR does not count processing time for one- and three-member reviews from the date the appeal was filed. Rather, EOIR begins the counting process once certain work is completed by the BIA and/or its staff. As a result, EOIR’s performance reporting data underreports actual processing time, which undermines EOIR’s ability to identify appeal processing problems and take corrective actions. In this report, we make nine recommendations to help EOIR improve its case processing and provide accurate and complete information on case completions. Details: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Evaluation and Inspections Division, 2012. 80p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed Dec. 1, 2012 at: http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/2012/e1301.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/2012/e1301.pdf Shelf Number: 127090 Keywords: Illegal AliensIllegal ImmigrantsImmigrant DetentionImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.)Immigration Courts |
Author: Meissner, Doris Title: Immigration Enforcement in the United States: The Rise of a Formidable Machinery Summary: The US government spends more on federal immigration enforcement than on all other principal federal criminal law enforcement agencies combined, and has allocated nearly $187 billion for immigration enforcement since 1986. Deportations have reached record highs, border apprehensions 40-year lows, and more noncitizens than ever before are in immigration detention. The report traces the evolution of the immigration enforcement system, particularly in the post-9/11 era, in terms of budgets, personnel, enforcement actions, and technology – analyzing how individual programs and policies have resulted in a complex, interconnected, cross-agency system. Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2013. 182p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 17, 2013 at: http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Image_Galleries/immigration_enforcement_in__us_MPI_report.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Image_Galleries/immigration_enforcement_in__us_MPI_report.pdf Shelf Number: 127284 Keywords: Border SecurityCosts of Criminal JusticeIllegal AliensIllegal ImmigrantsImmigrant DetentionImmigration (U.S.)Immigration Enforcement |
Author: University of Southern California Title: Hitting Homes: The Impact of Immigration Enforcement Summary: Migrants returned to Mexico by U.S. authorities are now more likely to be older, married, and heads of household since the Obama administration made deportations from American communities a major instrument of immigration policy, according to new data from the Border Survey of Mexican Migration. In 2011 nearly half of all Mexicans repatriated from the United States had lived there for more than a year, and midway through 2012 the share was more than a third. As recently as 2008, those longer-term residents comprised only one-tenth of the repatriations, according to the survey, which captures data from both immigrants who are removed or deported after living in the United States and those returned after being apprehended trying to cross the border. As noted elsewhere in this report, compared with the great weight of economic circumstances, the shift in enforcement emphasis has not had a notable impact on either the size of the Mexican-born population or the flow of new migrants into the United States. The forced removals of Mexicans who are longtime residents of U.S. communities has, however, had a distinct psychological effect in addition to the change in the characteristics of those being returned, according to the border survey. Even during the darkest days of the Great Recession, more than 80 percent of repatriated Mexican migrants said they intended to return to the United States. That figure now hovers around 70 percent as a degree of discouragement appears to have set in. Details: Los Angeles: University of Southern California, 2013. 5p. Source: Internet Resource: Migration Monitor: Accessed February 11, 2013 at: http://www.migrationmonitor.com/3-article/ Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.migrationmonitor.com/3-article/ Shelf Number: 127571 Keywords: Illegal ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.)Immigration Enforcement |
Author: Danielson, Michael S. Title: Documented Failures: the Consequences of Immigration Policy on the U.S.-Mexico Border Summary: This report presents systematic documentation of the experiences of migrant women, men and children repatriated from the United States to cities along Mexico's northern border, with particular emphasis on the Nogales, Arizona/Nogales, Sonora, Mexico area. The report addresses five common problems experienced by Mexican and Central American migrants before and during migration and upon apprehension, detention and deportation by U.S. migration authorities. The areas of investigation are: 1. The separation of migrants from family members they were traveling with when apprehended and deported by the U.S. Border Patrol. Migrants are often separated from their families, friends and loved ones during the process of deportation. This separation places migrants—the great majority of whom are from parts of Mexico very far from the northern border or Central American countries—in situations of unwarranted vulnerability in an increasingly dangerous region of Mexico. 2. Family separation as a driver of migration and a continuing complication for families of mixed-legal status. As the number of mixed immigration status families is steadily increasing, mothers, fathers, and guardians who are deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are often separated from their citizen children, who remain in the U.S. with their other parent, guardians, other family members, or in foster care. This section also examines how many of those deported by U.S. migration authorities were attempting to reunite with immediate family members already living in the United States. 3. Violence as a cause of migration and abuses and physical security threats experienced by migrants during northward journeys, border crossing, and after deportation from the United States. As levels of violence directly and indirectly related to drug trafficking have increased throughout Mexico and Central America in recent years, violence has become an increasingly common cause of migration. Furthermore, the growing prevalence of violence along the border means migrants are often the victims of theft and physical, verbal and sexual abuse at the hands of criminal gangs, human smugglers, human traffickers and thieves, risks that ought to be taken into consideration by U.S. migration authorities when deporting unauthorized immigrants to northern Mexico border towns. 4. Abuses and misconduct committed by the U.S. Border Patrol and other U.S.migration authorities. Based on multiple data sources, the report demonstrates that there is systematic abuse and misconduct in the process of apprehending, detaining and deporting undocumented migrants. One in four migrants surveyed (24.8%) reported being abused in some way by U.S. Border Patrol agents, and data show that Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and particularly the Border Patrol, systematically deny Mexican migrants the right to contact their consulate. 5. Abuses and misconduct committed by local police in Mexico.When traveling north, as well as after deportation, migrants are in a particularly vulnerable position and can be taken advantage of by local, state, and federal authorities in Mexico.This section provides estimates of the extent of these abuses, finding that men are more likely to be abused by Mexican police than women, and Central Americans are more likely to be abused by Mexican police than their Mexican migrant counterparts. Exploration of the five themes above reveals a complex set of distinct, but interrelated problems. The final section of the report provides a list of recommendations that, if implemented, would begin to address the most pressing problems faced by immigrants and their families. Details: Washington, DC: Jesuit Refugee Services, 2013. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Report prepared for the Kino Border Initiative Nogales, Arizona, U.S.A. and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico with funding from Catholic Relief Services of Mexico: Accessed February 19, 2013 at: http://www.jesuit.org/jesuits/wp-content/uploads/Kino_FULL-REPORT_web.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.jesuit.org/jesuits/wp-content/uploads/Kino_FULL-REPORT_web.pdf Shelf Number: 127652 Keywords: Border ControlBorder SecurityHuman RightsIllegal ImmigrantsImmigrant DetentionImmigration (U.S.)Immigration Policy |
Author: Freedman, Matthew Title: Immigration, Employment Opportunities, and Criminal Behavior Summary: There is little consensus on the effects of immigration on crime. One potential explanation for the conflicting evidence is heterogeneity across space and time in policies toward immigrants that affect their status in the community. In this paper, we take advantage of provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which granted legal resident status to long-time illegal residents but created new obstacles to employment for others, to explore how employment opportunities affect criminal behavior. Exploiting unique administrative data on the criminal justice involvement of individuals in San Antonio, Texas and using a difference-in-differences methodology, we find evidence of an increase in felony charges filed against Hispanic residents of San Antonio after the expiration of the IRCA amnesty deadline. This was concentrated in neighborhoods where recent immigrants are most likely to locate, suggesting a strong relationship between access to legal jobs and criminal behavior. Details: Unpublished paper, 2013. 53p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 26, 2013 at: http://www.human.cornell.edu/pam/people/upload/IRCA_20130206.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.human.cornell.edu/pam/people/upload/IRCA_20130206.pdf Shelf Number: 127722 Keywords: Employment and CrimeImmigrants and CrimeImmigration (U.S.)Neighborhoods and Crime |
Author: National Research Council: Carriquiry, Alicia Title: Options for Estimating Illegal Entries at the U.S.-Mexico Border Summary: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for securing and managing the nation’s borders. Over the past decade, DHS has dramatically stepped up its enforcement efforts at the U.S.–Mexico border, increasing the number of U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents, expanding the deployment of technological assets, and implementing a variety of “consequence programs” intended to deter illegal immigration. During this same period, there has also been a sharp decline in the number of unauthorized migrants apprehended at the border. Trends in total apprehensions do not, however, by themselves speak to the effectiveness of DHS’s investments in immigration enforcement. In particular, to evaluate whether heightened enforcement efforts have contributed to reducing the flow of undocumented migrants, it is critical to estimate the number of border-crossing attempts during the same period for which apprehensions data are available. With these issues in mind, DHS charged the National Research Council (NRC) with providing guidance on the use of surveys and other methodologies to estimate the number of unauthorized crossings at the U.S.–Mexico border, preferably by geographic region and on a quarterly basis. The NRC appointed the Panel on Survey Options for Estimating the Flow of Unauthorized Crossings at the U.S.–Mexican Border to carry out this task. A better understanding of the magnitude, timing, and location of these flows will help DHS to better evaluate the effectiveness of its enforcement efforts and to more efficiently allocate its resources along the border. This study focuses on Mexican migrants since Mexican nationals account for the vast majority (around 90 percent) of attempted unauthorized border crossings across the U.S.–Mexico border. A discussion of the use of surveys and statistical methods to measure unauthorized border flows needs to be set in the context of border enforcement and the migration process, both current and past. The migration process is highly complex, and it is influenced by a variety of factors such as the economic, social, and environmental conditions in sending and destination areas; immigration policies; and interior and border enforcement. Furthermore, migrants and their smugglers have adapted, and can continue to adapt, to changes in resources and strategies on the U.S. side of the border, and enforcement efforts in one geographic area can have spillover effects into another. This situation argues for a broader conception of the border, not segmented into ports of entry and sectors between the ports of entry. The migration process is also dynamic and evolving, and survey designs and modeling approaches that may be well suited for capturing certain aspects of migration flows today may not be able to do so with the same reliability in the future. Thus, flexibility of design and continuous evaluation of how DHS is implementing border metrics will be of the utmost relevance. Within this context, one can assess the usefulness of different types of data to capture information on migration flows. There are a number of major surveys in the United States and Mexico that collect some information about migration and border crossing. On the U.S. side, the American Community Survey (ACS) and Current Population Survey (CPS) each target U.S. households. On the Mexican side, the “long questionnaire” of the Mexican Census of Housing and Population (administered to a 10 percent sample of the population in Mexico), the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE), the National Survey of Population Dynamics (ENADID), and the longitudinal Mexican Family Life Survey (MxFLS) target households at a national level. None of these surveys was specifically designed to study migration. The Mexican Migration Project (MMP) and Mexican Migration Field Research Program (MMFRP), in contrast, focus on studying migration, although the surveys are not based on probability sampling. The Survey of Migration at the Northern Border (EMIF-N), which has a probability sample conceptual basis, targets migrants passing through northern border cities of Mexico. Details: Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2013. 146p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 18, 2013 at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13498 Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13498 Shelf Number: 128011 Keywords: Border ControlBorder SecurityHomeland SecurityIllegal AliensIllegal ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.) |
Author: American Immigration Council Title: Two Systems of Justice: How the Immigration System Falls Short of American Ideals of Justice Summary: There is a growing consensus that our immigration system is broken. Severe visa backlogs hurt U.S. businesses, undocumented workers are frequently exploited, and record levels of deportations tear families apart. While much energy is now focused on addressing these problems, one issue that is frequently overlooked is the structure and quality of justice accorded immigrants who are caught in the enforcement net. In reforming our immigration system, we must not forget that the immigration removal system—from arrest to hearing to deportation and beyond—does not reflect American values of due process and fundamental fairness. The failure to provide a fair process to those facing expulsion from the United States is all the more disturbing given the increasing “criminalization” of the immigration enforcement system. Although immigration law is formally termed “civil,” Congress has progressively expanded the number of crimes that may render an individual deportable, and immigration law violations often lead to criminal prosecutions. Further, local police now play an increasingly active role in immigration enforcement. Consequently, even relatively minor offenses can result in a person being detained in immigration custody and deported, often with no hope of ever returning to the United States. This special report is a product of the Immigration Policy Center and the Legal Action Center of the American Immigration Council. It lays out the the incongruency of America's criminal justice system and its immigration justice system, and provides recommendations for how these problems could be fixed. Details: Washington, DC: American Immigration Council, 2013. 15p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 25, 2013 at: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/two-systems-justice-how-immigration-system-falls-short-american-ideals-justice Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/special-reports/two-systems-justice-how-immigration-system-falls-short-american-ideals-justice Shelf Number: 128116 Keywords: Illegal ImmigrantsImmigrant DetentionImmigration (U.S.) |
Author: Thomas, Chantal Title: Immigration Controls and 'Modern-Day Slavery' Summary: Are immigration controls the single biggest legal factor contributing to modern‐day slavery? In a national and international political moment in which immigration law and policy are being hotly debated, participants in the debate should recognize the impact of strict migration controls – one of the clearest results of the current U.S. immigration law reform effort – is to exacerbate conditions of immiseration that are frequently associated by anti‐trafficking advocates and reformers with "modern‐day slavery." Conversely, those who are fighting to end modern‐day slavery might be best advised to focus on immigration reform that relaxes border control and increases the rights and remedies of undocumented migrants, as the measures that could most provide immediate redress. Details: Ithaca, NY: Cornell Law School, 2013. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 13-86 : Accessed August 8, 2013 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2294656 Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2294656 Shelf Number: 129599 Keywords: Border ControlBorder SecurityHuman TraffickingIllegal ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.)Immigration Policy |
Author: Watson, Tara Title: Enforcement and Immigrant Location Choice Summary: This paper investigates the effect of local immigration enforcement regimes on the migration decisions of the foreign-born. Specifically, the analysis uses individual-level American Community Survey data to examine the effect of recent 287(g) agreements, which allow state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce Federal immigration law. The results suggest that one type of 287(g) agreement - the controversial local "task force" model emphasizing street enforcement - nearly doubles the propensity for the foreign-born to relocate within the United States. The largest effects are observed among non-citizens with at least some college education, suggesting that 287(g) policies may be missing their intended targets. No similar effect is found for the native-born. After the extreme case of Maricopa County is excluded, there is no evidence that local enforcement causes the foreign-born to exit the United States or deters their entry from abroad or from elsewhere in the United States. Rather, 287(g) task force agreements encourage the foreign-born to move to a new Census division or region within the United States. Details: Boston: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, 2013. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed November 11, 2013 at: http://www.bostonfed.org/economic/wp/wp2013/wp1310.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.bostonfed.org/economic/wp/wp2013/wp1310.pdf Shelf Number: 131621 Keywords: ImmigrationImmigration (U.S.) Immigration Enforcement |
Author: Bush, Jeb Title: U.S. Immigration Policy Summary: Few issues on the American political agenda are more complex or divisive than immigration. There is no shortage of problems with current policies and practices, from the difficulties and delays that confront many legal immigrants to the large number of illegal immigrants living in the country. Moreover, few issues touch as many areas of U.S. domestic life and foreign policy. Immigration is a matter of homeland security and international competitiveness-as well as a deeply human issue central to the lives of millions of individuals and families. It cuts to the heart of questions of citizenship and American identity and plays a large role in shaping both America's reality and its image in the world. Immigration's emergence as a foreign policy issue coincides with the increasing reach of globalization. Not only must countries today compete to attract and retain talented people from around the world, but the view of the United States as a place of unparalleled openness and opportunity is also crucial to the maintenance of American leadership. There is a consensus that current policy is not serving the United States well on any of these fronts. Yet agreement on reform has proved elusive. The goal of the Independent Task Force on U.S. Immigration Policy was to examine this complex issue and craft a nuanced strategy for reforming immigration policies and practices. The Task Force report argues that immigration is vital to the long-term prosperity and security of the United States. In the global competition to attract highly talented immigrants, the United States must ensure that it remains the destination of first choice. The report also finds that immigrants, who bring needed language and cultural skills, are an increasingly important asset for the U.S. armed forces. What is more, allowing people to come to this country to visit, study, or work is one of the surest means to build friendships with future generations of foreign leaders and to show America's best face to the world. Details: Washington, DC: Council on Foreign Relations, 2009. 165p. Source: Internet Resource: Independent Task Force Report No. 63: Accessed July 31, 2014 at: http://www.cfr.org/immigration/us-immigration-policy/p20030 Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.cfr.org/immigration/us-immigration-policy/p20030 Shelf Number: 132861 Keywords: Illegal ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.)Immigration ReformUndocumented Immigrants |
Author: National Immigration Law Center Title: Inclusive Policies Advance Dramatically in the States. Immigrants' Access to Driver's Licenses, Higher Education, Workers' Rights and Community Policing Summary: As Congress debated federal immigration reform this year, states led the way by adopting policies designed to integrate immigrants more fully into their communities. In the wake of the 2012 elections, with Latino and Asian voters participating in record numbers, the 2013 state legislative sessions witnessed a significant increase in pro-immigrant activity. Issues that had been dormant or had moved in a restrictive direction for years, such as expanding access to driver's licenses, gained considerable traction, along with measures improving access to education and workers' rights for immigrants. States also began to reexamine the costs and consequences of anti-immigrant policies for their citizen and immigrant residents. Rather than promoting a larger role for states in immigration enforcement, proposals in several states sought to build trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities. Indeed, this year restrictive legislation was markedly absent; only one such measure - barring specific documents from being used to establish identity - became law. By contrast, eight states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico enacted laws providing access to driver's licenses regardless of immigration status, five states adopted laws or policies expanding access to higher education for immigrant students, and two states enacted a domestic workers' bill of rights. Most recently, California governor Jerry Brown signed a broad array of pro-immigrant measures that expand access to driver's licenses, protect the rights of immigrant workers, improve access to education, make law licenses available to eligible applicants regardless of their immigration status, and promote trust between immigrants and local law enforcement. In his signing statement, Governor Brown challenged federal inaction on immigration reform, saying, "While Washington waffles on immigration, California's forging ahead. I'm not waiting." This report summarizes the activity on immigrant issues that took place during the states' 2013 legislative sessions, as well as efforts to improve access to services for immigrant youth. Details: New York: National Immigration Law Center, 2013. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: http://www.nilc.org/pubs.html Year: 2013 Country: United States URL: http://www.nilc.org/pubs.html Shelf Number: 129926 Keywords: ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.)Undocumented Immigrants |
Author: Capps, Randy Title: Executive Action for Unauthorized Immigrants: Estimates of the Populations that Could Receive Relief Summary: In the absence of legislative movement to reform the U.S. immigration system, the Obama administration is considering executive action to provide relief from deportation to some of the nation's estimated 11.7 million unauthorized immigrants. These actions could include an expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, extension of deferred action to new populations, or further refinement of enforcement priorities to shrink the pool of those subject to deportation. Using an innovative methodology to analyze the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data to determine unauthorized status, this issue brief examines scenarios for executive action publicly advanced by members of Congress immigrant-rights advocates, and others, providing estimates for DACA expansion or potential populations (such as spouses and parents of U.S. citizens) that might gain deferred action. Among the possible criteria for deferred action that MPI modeled are length of U.S. residence; close family ties to U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, or DACA beneficiaries; and/or potential eligibility for a green card as the immediate relative of a U.S. citizen. The brief's key findings include: - Modifications to current DACA criteria could expand the eligible population by a few tens of thousands or as many as 1.9 million. For example, eliminating the current education requirement while retaining all other criteria would expand the population by about 430,000. - Looking beyond the DACA-eligible population, 3 million unauthorized immigrants had lived in the United States for 15 or more years as of 2012, 5.7 million for at least ten years, and 8.5 million for at least five years. - An estimated 3.8 million unauthorized immigrants were parents or spouses of U.S. citizens as of 2012. - 1.3 million unauthorized immigrants in 2012 had immediate-relative relationships with U.S. citizens that potentially qualify them for green cards, including 770,000 because of their marriage and 560,000 because they were parents of a U.S. citizen. Beyond deferred action, the Obama administration is said to be considering refinement of immigration enforcement priorities to limit the deportation of certain groups of unauthorized immigrants if they are apprehended by federal immigration authorities. While it is not possible to model future apprehensions and thus predict who might be affected by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) enforcement priorities, MPI analyzed 11 years of ICE removals data (for fiscal years 2003-13) to determine how changes to current enforcement priorities could have affected past deportations, assuming removals were strictly limited to priority cases. Among the findings: - Narrowing the definition of "recent illegal entrants" to those apprehended within one year of entering the U.S. (currently the definition is three years) would have reduced removals by 232,000 during 2003-13. - Excluding noncitizens convicted exclusively of traffic offenses (other than DUI) would have resulted in 206,000 fewer removals over the period. - Excluding all non-violent crimes would have reduced removals by 433,000. - Foregoing deportation of those with outstanding deportation orders more than a decade old would have resulted in 203,000 fewer removals. The brief makes clear that the reach of potential changes to expand the DACA program or refine immigration enforcement priorities would be even greater if multiple changes were to be implemented at the same time. Details: Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute, 2014. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: MPI Issue Brief No. 10: Accessed October 2, 2014 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/executive-action-unauthorized-immigrants-estimates-populations-could-receive-relief Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/executive-action-unauthorized-immigrants-estimates-populations-could-receive-relief Shelf Number: 133550 Keywords: Illegal ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.)Immigration EnforcementImmigration PolicyUnauthorized Immigrants |
Author: Police Executive Research Forum Title: Local Police Perspectives on State Immigration Policies Summary: In recent years, several states have adopted immigration policies that have created conflict for local police agencies. These policies, such as those in Arizona's SB 1070 legislation, pose challenges for police agencies that are working to build strong ties to their communities while enforcing the laws of their jurisdictions. On December 12, 2012, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), in partnership with the Tucson Police Department and with funding from the Ford Foundation, convened a group of police executives from Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia to discuss the challenges that state immigration laws pose for local police and sheriffs' departments. The goal of the day-long Executive Roundtable Discussion was to bring together Arizona officials with law enforcement leaders from states that were in various stages of implementing legislation similar to SB 1070, so they could share their experiences and lessons learned. This publication will explore some of the commonalities and differences that exist across different jurisdictions with respect to the issues, the challenges that state immigration laws pose for local policing, how such laws are being enforced, and efforts by each locality to mitigate some of the problematic effects of such laws. As immigration policies continue to evolve, police departments across the country will continue to face the question of how to comply with new laws that require police to take a larger role in immigration enforcement, while maintaining their traditional roles of protecting public safety and fostering relationships with their communities. PERF is continuing the discussions initiated at the 2012 Roundtable and promoting dialogue in which police executives remain committed to preserving public trust. Details: Washington, DC: PERF, 2014. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 20, 2014 at: https://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Free_Online_Documents/Immigration/local%20police%20perspectives%20on%20state%20immigration%20policies.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: https://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Free_Online_Documents/Immigration/local%20police%20perspectives%20on%20state%20immigration%20policies.pdf Shelf Number: 133747 Keywords: ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.)Immigration EnforcementImmigration Policy |
Author: Passel, Jeffrey S. Title: Unauthorized Immigrant Totals Rise in 7 States, Fall in 14 Summary: This report provides estimates of the 2012 unauthorized immigrant population and estimates of recent population trends in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It also estimates national and state-level shares of unauthorized immigrants in the overall population, foreign-born population and labor force, and the share of students in kindergarten through 12th grade with at least one unauthorized immigrant parent. The report also includes estimates of the birth countries and regions of unauthorized immigrants at the state and national levels. Accompanying this report are interactive maps showing unauthorized immigrant population size, as well as shares of the overall population, shares of the foreign-born population and shares of the labor force, in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Additional interactive maps show the share of elementary and secondary school students with at least one unauthorized parent, and the share of Mexicans among unauthorized immigrants, by state. Another map displays change for 2009 to 2012 in the unauthorized immigrant population at the state level. The estimates use the "residual method," a widely accepted and well-developed technique based on official government data. The data come mainly from the American Community Survey and March Supplement to the Current Population Survey, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Details: Washington, DC: Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project, 2014. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 20, 2014 at: http://www.pewhispanic.org/files/2014/11/2014-11-18_unauthorized-immigration.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.pewhispanic.org/files/2014/11/2014-11-18_unauthorized-immigration.pdf Shelf Number: 134168 Keywords: Illegal ImmigrantsImmigration (U.S.)Undocumented Immigrants |
Author: Vaughan, Jessica M. Title: Catch and Release: Interior immigration enforcement in 2013 Summary: A review of internal ICE metrics for 2013 reveals that hundreds of thousands of deportable aliens who were identified in the interior of the country were released instead of removed under the administration's sweeping "prosecutorial discretion" guidelines. In 2013, ICE reported 722,000 encounters with potentially deportable aliens, most of whom came to their attention after incarceration for a local arrest. Yet ICE officials followed through with immigration charges for only 195,000 of these aliens, only about one-fourth. According to ICE personnel, the vast majority of these releases occurred because of current policies that shield most illegal aliens from enforcement, not because the aliens turned out to have legal status or were qualified to stay in the United States. Many of the aliens ignored by ICE were convicted criminals. In 2013, ICE agents released 68,000 aliens with criminal convictions, or 35 percent of all criminal aliens they reported encountering. The criminal alien releases typically occur without formal notice to local law enforcement agencies and victims. These findings raise further alarm over the Obama administration's pending review of deportation practices, which reportedly may further expand the administration's abuse of "prosecutorial discretion". Interior enforcement activity has already declined 40 percent since the imposition of "prosecutorial discretion" policies in 2011.1 Rather than accelerating this decline, there is an urgent need to review and reverse the public safety and fiscal harm cause by the president's policies. Key Findings - In 2013, ICE charged only 195,000, or 25 percent, out of 722,000 potentially deportable aliens they encountered. Most of these aliens came to ICE's attention after incarceration for a local arrest. - ICE released 68,000 criminal aliens in 2013, or 35 percent of the criminal aliens encountered by officers. The vast majority of these releases occurred because of the Obama administration's prosecutorial discretion policies, not because the aliens were not deportable. - ICE targeted 28 percent fewer aliens for deportation from the interior in 2013 than in 2012, despite sustained high numbers of encounters in the Criminal Alien and Secure Communities programs. - Every ICE field office but one reported a decline in interior enforcement activity, with the largest decline in the Atlanta field office, which covers Georgia and the Carolinas. - ICE reports that there are more than 870,000 aliens on its docket who have been ordered removed, but who remain in defiance of the law. - Under current policies, an alien's family relationships, political considerations, attention from advocacy groups, and other factors not related to public safety can trump even serious criminal convictions and result in the termination of a deportation case. - Less than 2 percent of ICE's caseload was in detention at the end of fiscal year 2013. - About three-fourths of the aliens ICE detained in 2013 had criminal and/or immigration convictions so serious that the detention was required by statute. This suggests the need for more detention capacity, so ICE can avoid releasing so many deportable criminal aliens. Unless otherwise noted, the data for this report are from the 2013 fiscal year-end edition of ICE's "Weekly Departures and Detention Report" (WRD), which is prepared by the Information Resource Management Unit of ICE's Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).2 This report compiles a variety of ICE caseload statistics, including encounters, arrests, detention, and removal of aliens. The tables in this report use data taken directly from the WRD. Details: Washington, DC: Center for Immigration Studies, 2014. 8p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 29, 2015 at: http://cis.org/sites/cis.org/files/vaughan-ice-3-14_0.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://cis.org/sites/cis.org/files/vaughan-ice-3-14_0.pdf Shelf Number: 135405 Keywords: DeportationIllegal ImmigrantsImmigrant DetentionImmigrants and CrimeImmigration (U.S.)Undocumented Immigrants |
Author: Capps, Randy Title: Implications of Immigration Enforcement Activities for the Well-Being of Children in Immigrant Families: A Review of the Literature Summary: Rising immigration enforcement in the U.S. interior over the past decade increased the chances that the estimated 5.3 million children living with unauthorized immigrant parents, the vast majority of them born in the United States, could experience the deportation of a parent. This MPI-Urban Institute report reviews the evidence on the impacts of parental deportation on children, and on their needs for health and social services. The literature mostly dates from a period of peak enforcement: 2009 through 2013, when there were nearly 4 million deportations from the United States. While data on parental removals during this period are limited, perhaps half a million were of parents of U.S.-citizen children. The economic and social instability that generally accompanies unauthorized status is further aggravated for children with a parent's deportation, with effects including psychological trauma, material hardship, residential instability, family dissolution, increased use of public benefits, and, among boys, aggression. At the extreme end, some families became permanently separated as parents lose custody of or contact with their children. Details: Washington, DC: Urban Institute and Migration Policy Institute, 2015. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 24, 2015 at: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/implications-immigration-enforcement-activities-well-being-children-immigrant-families Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/implications-immigration-enforcement-activities-well-being-children-immigrant-families Shelf Number: 136856 Keywords: Illegal Immigrants Immigrant ChildrenImmigration (U.S.) Immigration EnforcementImmigration Policy Undocumented Immigrants |