Napolitano Predicting Record Deportations

On October 5, 2011, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jane Napolitano wrote an Op-Ed piece for Politico about the enforcement of immigration laws.

Secretary Napolitano sought to respond to critics of immigration policy from both sides. In the editorial, she predicted that next year DHS will break records with the number of deportations from the United States but explained that "while the overall number of individuals removed will exceed prior years, the composition of that number will consist of more convicted criminals, recent border crossers and repeat immigration law violators than ever before."

The administration's focus on prioritizing which individuals should be deported with limited resources makes sense. However, her prediction that DHS will break records for deportations next year calls into questions the hope for those low-priority individuals who seek prosecutorial discretion. Rather, it seems more likely that DHS will see that "record" number of deportations for the coming year as a mandate from above or a quota. Unfortunately, the data can be easily massaged to make it look like DHS has really sharpened its focus on high-priority aliens. By lumping all criminal offenses together, DHS can crow about the removal of criminal aliens. Secretary Napolitano stated in her Op-Ed that "50 percent of immigrants removed from our country had been convicted of a criminal offense."

Such statistics don't delve into what percentage were deported for drug offenses or violent offenses and what percentage were deported after being pulled over for having a tail light out and then convicted of driving without a license because their international driver's license is only good for a short period here in the United States.

All crimes are not the same and we should remember this for the coming year when DHS produces statistics of record deportations of "criminal aliens."

Click here to see Secretary Napolitano's Op-Ed .

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Far Reaching Human Consequences of Failure to Change Immigration Laws

In a time of consistent inaction on any issue important to the governance of the United States by the United States Congress, the question becomes how individuals work within antiquated, draconian, biased and divisive immigration laws. The United States bases its existence on the rule of law, and sees the Constitution as a living document; therefore, ensuring that one is following the immigration law is of paramount importance.

Putting aside the fact that current immigration law is a hindrance to free market economy because employers basically have to ask permission from the United States Department of Labor to hire the employee of their choice (ask any employer who has chosen the perfect person to work for him and has had to navigate business based visas, the PERM Labor Certification Process, and the minimum six year waiting period for professionals to be eligible to then apply for permanent resident status); and not taking into account the fact that permanent residents of this country have to wait years to live with their spouses and children, it is becoming ever more clear that the human toll of the immigration laws in the United States is devastating, and affect so many, it becomes difficult to fathom why Congress has refused to act.

When considering all those that immigration law affects, consider those in the gay and lesbian community. People who are legally allowed to marry in a minority of states remain ineligible to petition for their spouses to remain in the United States because of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA denies same-sex couples all federal marital benefits, such as tax preferences, Social Security and spousal immigration rights. This means that even for same sex couples that are legally married to a United States citizen that citizen in their state, the government still does not allow them to petition for the foreign national spouse to remain in the United States. There are a number of Congress men and women who believe this is unfair, and have introduced bills to repeal DOMA and allow same sex married couples to petition for one another, but in the meantime families continue to suffer under Congress’ inaction. Just because a bill is introduced, it does not mean it will be passed, or even looked at.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F10%2F05%2FMNEJ1LDPA3.DTL

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Decline in Unauthorized Aliens Residing in US

Whether it is the economy or an increase in worksite enforcement, the number of unauthorized aliens in the United States has declined since 2008. According to the Congressional Research Service report published September 22, 2001, an estimated 10-11 million unauthorized aliens lived in the U.S. as of 2010, compared to over 12 million in 2007. The report surveyed the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Surveys (CPS) published since 1986, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS) reports based on the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) since 2000.

The report analyzed data collected not only on the number of unauthorized aliens in the U.S., but also countries of origin, residence in the United States, and year of arrival. The majority of unauthorized aliens residing in the U.S. as of 2010, approximately 30% of the total population, entered between 2000 and 2004. Only 9% of the current unauthorized alien population entered the U.S. between 2005 and 2009 according to a 2010 CPS report. Unauthorized aliens migrating from Mexico have declined since 1986, from 69% to 57% in 2010, while aliens originating from Asia have increased by 6%. The greatest number of unauthorized aliens continue to reside in California and Texas. According to the report, Colorado is not even in the top ten states "with unauthorized resident aliens" with a 2010 headcount between 140,000 to 325,000.

Contributing factors to the rise and fall of the unauthorized alien population in the U.S. since 1986 included economics, legislation, and enforcement. Some analysts attributed the rise of unauthorized aliens to "lax enforcement of employer sanctions," introduced in 1986 (Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986). These analysts point to the decrease in unauthorized aliens since work site enforcement increased in 2007-2008. However, the decrease in population since 2007 may also be attributed to the 2008 housing downturn and the subsequent recession.

In addition, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) "may have inadvertently increased the population of unauthorized resident aliens." Among other penalties, the act introduced the three and ten year bars to admission for aliens unlawfully present in the US for 180 days or more. These provisions "coupled with incrased resources for border enforcement" in the wak of the 911 terrorist attacks, according to the report, have created a "caging effect" that has "stymied what had been a rather fluid movement of migratory workers along the southern border." The result of IIRIRA "raised the stakes" and "created an incentive for those who succeed in entering the United States to stay."

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