Enforcement

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

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May 9, 2017

The government often relies on “fast track” deportation methods to bypass due process protections in an effort to more rapidly process asylum seekers who come to the United States seeking...

May 8, 2017

After threats of a government shutdown echoed throughout Capitol Hill in early May, Congress finally passed a bill to fund the government through the remainder of the Fiscal Year. Though much of...

May 5, 2017

What can the first 100 days of the Trump administration tell us about how immigration will be handled in the next 100 days and beyond? Since his inauguration, President Trump has prioritized...

May 4, 2017

Texas Governor Greg Abbot is preparing to sign SB4, a fiercely-debated bill that will make it a crime for local law enforcement to refuse cooperation with federal immigration officials. Supporters...

May 1, 2017

Congress reached an agreement this week to fund the government through the rest of the Fiscal Year which ends on September 30, 2017. This agreement does not fund many of President Trump’s...

April 27, 2017

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a new office for Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) on April 26, declaring that its “singular mission is to support victims of crime...

April 26, 2017

In the latest judiciary blow to the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, a U.S. District Court Judge blocked the president’s plans to deny funding to jurisdictions deemed uncooperative on...

April 25, 2017

When President Trump signed three immigration executive orders in January of this year, much of the attention was focused on the travel ban and border wall. But within those orders is another...

April 21, 2017

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kelly stated this week that DHS is not targeting undocumented immigrants simply for being undocumented. Kelly asserted that the department is...

April 20, 2017

Under the Trump administration, immigration enforcement has become increasingly unfocused. Rather than prioritizing the apprehension and removal of immigrants who have committed serious crimes,...

August 6, 2019
The American Immigration Council, American Civil Liberties Union, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s new rule that massively expands fast-track deportations without a fair legal process such as a court hearing or access to an attorney.
The Trump administration wants to increase its power to deport immigrants without a fair day in court through expedited removal. We’re suing.
August 1, 2019

There is a disturbing trend in aggressive immigration enforcement that is appearing more and more recently: the detention of U.S. citizens. There are clear indications that U.S. immigration agents...

July 30, 2019
A federal district court has rejected the government’s second attempt to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's unlawful turnbacks of asylum seekers who present themselves at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border – including its attempt to choke off asylum applications through a so-called “metering” process.
July 25, 2019

A federal judge in California blocked the implementation of a new rule yesterday that would have prevented most immigrants who arrive at the U.S. southern land border from qualifying for asylum in...

July 23, 2019

Over 2,000 immigrant children are being detained by the Trump administration at a “temporary emergency” facility in Homestead, Florida. All of the children at the facility have been designated by...

July 22, 2019

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Monday morning that it would vastly expand “expedited removal,” a provision of the law that permits the agency to rapidly deport certain...

July 22, 2019
Expanding expedited removal in this manner will create a 'show me your papers' regime of immigration enforcement where individuals—including any U.S. citizens they encounter—will be forced to prove they should not be deported. The American Immigration Council will not stand by idly as the Trump administration continues its unlawful attacks on our communities. We will see the Trump administration in court
July 19, 2019

Since the mid-1980s, immigration courts have operated the Institutional Hearing Program (IHP). The program is designed to quickly deport people serving criminal sentences. Despite how long it’s...

July 18, 2019

While members of Congress were struggling to reach a bipartisan deal in February in order to end the government shutdown, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) quietly expanded its...

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