Border 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.

Recent Features

TESTIMONY
Providing Perspective on the Application of Immigration Law at the US Southwest Border

The reality at the U.S. southern border is complicated. Dive into the role and authority of the executive branch and immigration enforcement agencies. 

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FACT SHEET
Rising Border Encounters in 2021: An Overview and Analysis

For generations, the United States has seen periodic cycles of migration. The arrival of high numbers of asylum seekers is a humanitarian protection management challenge, not a security challenge.

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All Border Enforcement Content

  • Blog

Biden Administration Ends ‘Safe Third Country’ Agreements

February 8, 2021

For more than 40 years, the law has guaranteed any person who is physically present in the United States a right to seek asylum. In 2019 the Trump administration attempted to effectively eliminate...

  • Blog

Biden Took 3 More Executive Actions on Immigration. Did He Go Far Enough?

February 3, 2021

On February 2, 2021, following the confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of Homeland Security, President Biden signed three executive orders that take steps to further unwind the Trump...

  • Blog

Biden Took Eight Administrative Actions on Immigration. Here’s What You Need to Know.

January 22, 2021

On his first day in office, President Biden took significant steps towards undoing the harm of the Trump administration’s immigration policies—and reforming our punitive and inhumane enforcement...

  • Blog

Trump’s Presidency Begins and Ends With Demonizing Immigrants

January 11, 2021

Five years ago, Donald Trump descended an elevator and declared that Mexico was sending rapists and “bringing crime” across the border. Now, while America still reels from the deadly...

  • Blog

Discriminatory Treatment of Haitians Throughout History Informs Current Policy at the US-Mexico Border

November 19, 2020

For years, the Trump administration has argued that limited capacity at ports of entry led to its policy of turning back asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border (the “turnback policy”). But a...

  • Blog

‘We Had a Shortage Last Night of Beds for Babies.’ Congressional Report Reveals Cruelty, Chaos of Family Separation

October 30, 2020

Congress released the “first complete narrative” on the Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy on October 30. This hallmark of President Trump’s immigration legacy led to the forcible...

  • Blog

The Government Wants Immigrants to Show Up for Court—But Neglects to Tell Them How to Attend Their Hearings

October 29, 2020

Over 60,000 people at the southern border have been forced to return to Mexico under the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program. As...

  • Blog

The Senate Reveals CBP Violated the Law by Rounding Up Migrants — In Guatemala

October 19, 2020

As the Trump administration cracked down on migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, it has often invoked the concept of “national sovereignty” to justify drastic policy changes. But a new Senate...

  • Blog

Border Patrol is Going After Humanitarian Aid in the Arizona Desert—Again

October 15, 2020

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched another military-style raid on a humanitarian aid station in the Arizona desert, close to the U.S.-Mexico border. On October 5, Border Patrol...

  • Blog

This Immigration Enforcement Agency Wants To Destroy Records on Abuses by Its Own Agents

October 2, 2020

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans to destroy thousands of records documenting abuse and misconduct by its agents. The agency has requested that the National Archives and Records...

  • Press Release

U.S. Border Enforcement Prioritizes Non-Violent Migrants Over Dangerous Criminals

May 20, 2010

Washington D.C. - The Mexican President's visit to the United States allowed both he and President Obama to address the important issues of immigration, border con

  • Press Release

Disentangling Unauthorized Immigration and Border Violence

May 19, 2010

Washington, D.C.

  • Press Release

Texas Governor’s Political Stunt Emboldens Extremists and Violates the Law

July 7, 2022
In a dangerous defiance of federal authority over immigration law, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order declaring an "invasion” at the border and authorizing the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety to return migrants into custody for violations of federal law and then transport them to a border port of entry.
  • Blog

Supreme Court Permits Biden to Terminate ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program

June 30, 2022

Almost a year after the Supreme Court allowed a federal judge in Texas to order the Biden administration to restart the so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP), the Supreme Court ruled in...

  • Letters

Letter to Secretary Mayorkas Urging Protections for Victims of San Antonio Tragedy

Publication Date: 
June 30, 2022
The American Immigration Council and 102 other organizations urge the Department of Homeland Security paroled into the United States and give assistance in applying for protection to survivors of the...
  • Press Release

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Biden Administration to End MPP

June 30, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court allows the Biden administration’s efforts to terminate the Migrant Protection Protocols—an illegal Trump-era policy that sent thousands of people seeking humanitarian protection to dangerous areas of Mexico to await their asylum hearings.
  • Press Release

Tragic Loss of Life Is a Stark Reminder of the Need for a Humane Immigration System

June 28, 2022
At least 50 people were found dead yesterday in a tractor-trailer near Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. This tragedy appears to be the deadliest migrant-smuggling operation in U.S. history, following the deadliest year on record for the border.
  • Blog

In Blow to Asylum, House Appropriations Committee Greenlights Title 42

June 27, 2022

The House Appropriations Committee on Friday passed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill for Fiscal Year 2023, as part of the year-over-year process that Congress undertakes to...

  • Fact Sheet

A Guide to Title 42 Expulsions at the Border

Publication Date: 
May 25, 2022
The United States has long guaranteed the right to seek asylum to individuals who arrive at our southern border and ask for protection. But since March 20, 2020, that fundamental right has been...
  • Blog

Federal Judge Blocks Termination of Title 42: What You Need to Know

May 23, 2022

Just three days before Title 42 was set to end on May 23, a federal judge in Louisiana blocked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from ending the controversial policy. With the...

  • Blog

The Border Patrol Is Going to Eliminate Its Secretive Critical Incident Teams

May 10, 2022

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced in a May 6 memorandum that it would eliminate its Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs). The teams have faced criticism for their secretive...

  • Blog

Federal Court Orders Biden Administration to Temporarily Halt Title 42 Wind Down

April 28, 2022

A federal court in Louisiana issued an order on Wednesday temporarily preventing the Biden administration from winding down Title 42, the controversial public health policy that allows immigration...

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