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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All Enforcement Content

August 3, 2016

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the 1997 settlement in Flores v. Reno—which governs the detention, treatment and release of immigrant children—covers both unaccompanied and...

July 20, 2016

For more than 10 years, the federal government has operated a program in federal courts along the Southwest border targeting unauthorized border crossers for criminal prosecution. The program,...

July 11, 2016

Last month, the Supreme Court announced that, in fall 2016, it will hear arguments in Jennings v. Rodriguez, a challenge to the prolonged detention of noncitizens in removal proceedings. At issue...

July 8, 2016

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the Flores Settlement (a 1997 agreement that set legal standards for the detention and release of immigrant children) applies to both...

July 7, 2016

This week, the Senate defeated cloture on motions to proceed—a motion to begin debate—on two “Sanctuary City” bills sponsored by Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). Both bills...

July 5, 2016

In December 2012, then acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) David Aguilar had announced a policy restricting his agencies’ officers and agents from acting as interpreters for...

June 30, 2016

A judge in Arizona unsealed photographs central to ongoing litigation challenging deplorable and unconstitutional conditions in Border Patrol’s short-term detention facilities in the Tucson Sector...

June 22, 2016

The House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committees unveiled and passed out of committee their budgets for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which begins on October...

June 10, 2016

This week Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) introduced his national security agenda, which included a plan to “secure the border.” As part of that plan, Speaker Ryan says, “...

June 6, 2016

Two years ago, the American Immigration Council released an analysis of data it had obtained from the Department of Homeland Security detailing an utter lack of responsiveness to complaints filed...

February 6, 2019
The Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)—also commonly known as the "Remain in Mexico" policy—will put asylum seekers at grave risk of harm by forcing them to remain in Mexico pending their request for protection. Due to these concerns, immigration advocates submitted a letter to the government with first-hand testimonies of ten families attesting to the violence and harm–including rape, beatings, kidnappings, and ransom–they faced on the Mexican side of our southern border.
February 5, 2019

Immigration will undoubtedly be a central issue during President Trump’s State of the Union address. However, it’s unlikely that any of the proposals the president advances will move us closer to...

January 31, 2019

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) drastically expanded its network of immigration jails in the last month by a startling 7 percent. ICE now holds about 48,000 individuals in its jails and...

January 29, 2019

It has been two years since the Trump administration’s travel ban went into effect. Aside from multiple court challenges, the ban has largely disappeared from American headlines. And yet the ban...

January 25, 2019

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to immediately launch a new policy to force asylum-seeking migrants to wait in Mexico for their immigration court hearing. Officially...

January 23, 2019

New estimates of the undocumented population in the United States confirm a trend that has been apparent for several years: the number of people who become undocumented each year by overstaying...

January 18, 2019

Earlier this month, the Trump administration officially closed the doors of a “tent city” holding over 2,800 immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas. The closure comes after months of public...

January 17, 2019

As the partial government shutdown stretches on, many individuals, families, and businesses around the country are struggling. At the heart of the shutdown and budget standoff is President Trump’s...

January 10, 2019

Lack of transparency has long dogged the enforcement branches of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in particular, has been the subject of...

Publication Date: 
January 10, 2019

The American Immigration Council and the Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program and Boston University School of Law filed an amicus brief in ACLU v. DHS, a Freedom of Information...

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