The Department of Homeland Security is set to release guidance on President Donald Trump's immigration and border security executive orders that aim to tighten immigration laws on asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors entering the country and could send individuals awaiting immigration proceedings in the United States back to Mexico.
The guidance, obtained by CNN, does not change anything in the executive orders on border security and interior enforcement that Trump signed during his first week in office.
But the memos from Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to agency chiefs do explain how the administration plans to put those orders in place, signaling a hard-line position on undocumented immigrants that will please the right wing on immigration policy. Among other things, the guidance makes it more difficult to seek asylum in the US, allows the detention of substantially more undocumented immigrants and gives more authority to immigration officers -- all of which could add up to a huge increase in the number of undocumented immigrants held in detention facilities by the US government.
The documents have yet to be published and could change before they're officially issued.
The border security guidance expands the use of "expedited removal" proceedings for unauthorized immigrants, allowing them to be deported more quickly with limited court proceedings.
In doing so, the memo allows for the quick removal of immigrants who cannot prove they were in the US continuously for two years before being apprehended and determined to be unauthorized.
......
The border security guidance also expands upon ending the so-called "catch-and-release" policies that allow individuals to be paroled from detention while awaiting immigration court proceedings, which can take years. The memo orders a surge in immigration judges and detention facilities to accommodate the holding of these individuals and lays out high thresholds for people to be released pending immigration proceedings.
The memo gives room to tighten the standard for meeting the initial "credible fear" test for immigrants to be considered for asylum in the US, a threshold that tens of thousands of asylum seekers now meet each year.
......
Further, for immigrants to be released pending asylum proceedings after meeting the credible fear threshold, the memo requires that an ICE immigration officer is satisfied the person "affirmatively establishes" his or her identity and that he or she presents no security or flight risk and agrees to conditions imposed by ICE for public safety reasons.
The guidance also makes it more difficult for children entering the country without authorization to be treated as "unaccompanied alien children." Under the law, the designation is for those under 18 years old who do not have a parent with them or available to care for them in the US.
The executive order notes that in some cases, individuals continued to receive protection as unaccompanied alien children even when they had a parent or guardian living illegally in the US, saying it led to "abuses" of the system. Kelly's memo calls for new guidance to end those "abuses."
The executive order also instructed DHS to enforce of a little-used provision of the law to return asylum seekers to the contiguous territory from which they entered the US, namely Mexico. The measure would potentially send non-Mexican asylum seekers from Central America over the southern border while they await asylum proceedings instead of letting them wait in the US, a policy with which Mexico would likely take issue.
......
Significantly, the interior safety order explicitly leaves intact President Barack Obama's executive orders on deferred action for childhood arrivals, known as DACA, which protects undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children from being removed and orders the low prioritization of undocumented immigrants who are parents of US citizens. The memo says, however, that the latter policy "will be addressed in future guidance."
The memo re-articulates Trump's enforcement priorities from his executive order, which prioritizes for the removal certain serious criminals and others posting public safety threats, but it also broadens the scope beyond the Obama administration's measure to include virtually any undocumented immigrant in the US if they are even suspected of a crime.
At the same time, the memo declares: "The Department no longer will exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement," which could imply that those protected by DACA could still be subject to removal proceedings.
The memos also expand what's known as the "287(g)" program, which allows the federal government to empower state and local law enforcement agencies to perform the functions of immigration officers. The language in the memo authorizes the CBP and ICE "to accept state services" on enforcement, but makes no mention of the National Guard, as an early draft reported by The Associated Press on Friday had done.
The memo gives broad leeway to immigration officers to make immediate decisions about whom to arrest and says officers should begin actions against individuals they meet in the course of their official duties.
"This includes the arrest or apprehension of an alien whom an immigration officer has probable cause to believe is in violation of the immigration laws," the implementation guidance reads, giving officers broad authority to arrest those they suspect of being undocumented.
......
The guidance also takes any money being used by DHS to advocate on behalf of undocumented immigrants to establish the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office, which is mandated by the executive order to report crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and to advocate for victims of those crimes.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/18/p...on-immigration-and-border-security/index.html
The guidance, obtained by CNN, does not change anything in the executive orders on border security and interior enforcement that Trump signed during his first week in office.
But the memos from Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to agency chiefs do explain how the administration plans to put those orders in place, signaling a hard-line position on undocumented immigrants that will please the right wing on immigration policy. Among other things, the guidance makes it more difficult to seek asylum in the US, allows the detention of substantially more undocumented immigrants and gives more authority to immigration officers -- all of which could add up to a huge increase in the number of undocumented immigrants held in detention facilities by the US government.
The documents have yet to be published and could change before they're officially issued.
The border security guidance expands the use of "expedited removal" proceedings for unauthorized immigrants, allowing them to be deported more quickly with limited court proceedings.
In doing so, the memo allows for the quick removal of immigrants who cannot prove they were in the US continuously for two years before being apprehended and determined to be unauthorized.
......
The border security guidance also expands upon ending the so-called "catch-and-release" policies that allow individuals to be paroled from detention while awaiting immigration court proceedings, which can take years. The memo orders a surge in immigration judges and detention facilities to accommodate the holding of these individuals and lays out high thresholds for people to be released pending immigration proceedings.
The memo gives room to tighten the standard for meeting the initial "credible fear" test for immigrants to be considered for asylum in the US, a threshold that tens of thousands of asylum seekers now meet each year.
......
Further, for immigrants to be released pending asylum proceedings after meeting the credible fear threshold, the memo requires that an ICE immigration officer is satisfied the person "affirmatively establishes" his or her identity and that he or she presents no security or flight risk and agrees to conditions imposed by ICE for public safety reasons.
The guidance also makes it more difficult for children entering the country without authorization to be treated as "unaccompanied alien children." Under the law, the designation is for those under 18 years old who do not have a parent with them or available to care for them in the US.
The executive order notes that in some cases, individuals continued to receive protection as unaccompanied alien children even when they had a parent or guardian living illegally in the US, saying it led to "abuses" of the system. Kelly's memo calls for new guidance to end those "abuses."
The executive order also instructed DHS to enforce of a little-used provision of the law to return asylum seekers to the contiguous territory from which they entered the US, namely Mexico. The measure would potentially send non-Mexican asylum seekers from Central America over the southern border while they await asylum proceedings instead of letting them wait in the US, a policy with which Mexico would likely take issue.
......
Significantly, the interior safety order explicitly leaves intact President Barack Obama's executive orders on deferred action for childhood arrivals, known as DACA, which protects undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children from being removed and orders the low prioritization of undocumented immigrants who are parents of US citizens. The memo says, however, that the latter policy "will be addressed in future guidance."
The memo re-articulates Trump's enforcement priorities from his executive order, which prioritizes for the removal certain serious criminals and others posting public safety threats, but it also broadens the scope beyond the Obama administration's measure to include virtually any undocumented immigrant in the US if they are even suspected of a crime.
At the same time, the memo declares: "The Department no longer will exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement," which could imply that those protected by DACA could still be subject to removal proceedings.
The memos also expand what's known as the "287(g)" program, which allows the federal government to empower state and local law enforcement agencies to perform the functions of immigration officers. The language in the memo authorizes the CBP and ICE "to accept state services" on enforcement, but makes no mention of the National Guard, as an early draft reported by The Associated Press on Friday had done.
The memo gives broad leeway to immigration officers to make immediate decisions about whom to arrest and says officers should begin actions against individuals they meet in the course of their official duties.
"This includes the arrest or apprehension of an alien whom an immigration officer has probable cause to believe is in violation of the immigration laws," the implementation guidance reads, giving officers broad authority to arrest those they suspect of being undocumented.
......
The guidance also takes any money being used by DHS to advocate on behalf of undocumented immigrants to establish the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office, which is mandated by the executive order to report crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and to advocate for victims of those crimes.
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/18/p...on-immigration-and-border-security/index.html