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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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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Denver Immigration Court Overloaded

An article in Sunday's Denver Post documents the overwhelming caseload at the Immigration Court in Denver, Colorado. According to the article, two of Denver's immigration judges have as many as 2,400 pending cases each at any given time.

Judge Dana Leigh Marks, president of the National Associate of Immigration Judges, is quoted as saying that the necessarily rushed nature of the proceedings with such an inundation of cases is akin to trying death penalty cases in a traffic court setting.

With the enactment of Secure Communities and other programs designed to sweep more and more people into removal proceedings, the court's caseload seems likely to get worse. In the midst of the current budget struggles, it is difficult to envision Congress passing funding for more immigration judges and court staff to ensure due process and meaningful hearings in immigration court.

To read the article in the Denver Post, click here.

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New Mexico Mandates Local Police to Inquire About Immigration Status Upon Arrest

The Santa Fe New Mexican reports today that Governor Susana Martinez has directed state police on Monday to start asking about the immigration status of people arrested for crimes. This follows a nation-wide movement toward using local law enforcement officials as lead enforcers of federal immigration law. At first glance, one might think that these laws make perfect sense. After all, what better time to figure out a person's immigration status than after she has been arrested for a crime?

The problem with mandatory directives like the one imposed by Governor Martinez is that it will cause a chilling effect between the local immigrant communities and the police. For instance, if a woman knows that her boyfriend does not have immigration status and they get into a volatile argument, might she be less likely to call the police when that argument starts to cross a line into abuse? Similarly, in some jurisdictions the police have mandatory arrest policies for domestic violence calls. If there has been a fight, many times both parties are arrested and the actual facts are sorted out later after the situation has been calmed. This possibility of a dual arrest could further dissuade domestic violence victims from contacting police. Our law enforcement officers rely on their relationship with the communities they serve in and we should think long and hard before enacting any policy which discourages victims and witnesses from reporting crime to police. As the country marches further and further toward using local law enforcement as the dragnet to round up and deport immigrants, such efforts in the name of the rule of law could actually come at the expense of the effectiveness of our local law enforcement.

To read the story about Governor Martinez ordering New Mexico Police Officers to inquire about immigration status on arrest, click here.

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Colorado to use Secure Communities Program

Earlier this week 9News in Denver reported that Colorado Governor, Bill Ritter, signed a memorandum of understanding with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to begin using the program Secure Communities. Secure Communities allows local law enforcement agencies to run the fingerprints of alleged criminals through state and federal websites to check their immigration status.

Congress set aside $1.4 billion to expand Secure Communities and ICE hopes to have it operating in every jail in the country by 2013. Thirty-five other states are currently participating in the program, as well.

To read the full story, please visit http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=173517&catid=222

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Immigrant Father of U.S. Marine Faces Deportation

The Washington Post published a story today on the possible deportation of an illegal immigrant father of a Marine in Kentucky. Juan Andres, a citizen of Guatemala, came to the U.S. as a teenager; he is now 41. Mr. Andres has five U.S. Citizen children, one of which is a Marine awaiting deployment to Afghanistan.

On December 9th of this year Mr. Andres was arrested after accompanying a friend to an immigration office in Louisville, Kentucky to act as a translator. An official in the office suspected Mr. Andres was not in legal status and he was arrested.

According to the immigration attorney of Mr. Andres, they are asking that his case go before an immigration judge. If he is granted a hearing, Mr. Andres will be seeking ten year cancellation of removal, in an attempt to become a permanent resident. Mr. Andres is currently in immigration custody awaiting a hearing.

To read the full story, please click http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/30/AR2010123002115.html

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Border Arrests Down

A southern Colorado television station reported yesterday that border patrol arrests along the U.S.-Mexico border are down for the fifth straight year. According to Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, there has been a 17 percent drop in arrests between 2009 and 2010, due to increased enforcement along the border that is slowing illegal immigration. There are currently 20,500 border patrol agents stationed along the border, which is an all-time high.

To read the complete article, please visit http://www.kktv.com/news/headlines/Border_Arrests_Down_Seventeen_Percent_105251658.html

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ICE Helps to Arrest Gang Members in New Orleans

Yesterday U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that its office, along with the Offices of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and various local law enforcement agencies in the New Orleans area, arrested twenty-eight individuals with ties to the MS-13 and Latin Kings street gangs. After a three-day operation in the New Orleans area, the twenty-eight individuals are now facing criminal charges or deportation. Of the twenty-eight arrested, eighteen are from Mexico, six are from Honduras, three are from El Salvador, and one is from Guatemala.

These arrests were made as part of Operation Community Shield, which is “an ongoing initiative by the ICE HSI National Gang Unit in which the agency uses its powerful immigration and customs authorities in a coordinated strategy to attack and dismantle criminal street gangs across the country.” According to the article, HSI’s National Gang Unit “identifies violent street gangs and develops intelligence on their membership, associates, criminal activities and international movements” in order to stop gang operations.

Operation Community Shield began in February 2005, and to-date, ICE agents nationwide have arrested more than 18,000 gang members and gang associates, who are frequently foreign-born individuals involved in human and contraband smuggling, immigration violations and other crimes with a connection to the border.

For more information, please visit http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/1009/100923neworleans.htm

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Utah investigates mailing list of alleged illegal immigrants

As reported on MSNBC.com, an anonymous group in Utah released a list containing personal information of more than 1,300 people who are supposed illegal immigrants. Information contained on the list includes social security numbers, birth dates, work places, addresses, and phone numbers. It is reported that several media outlets, law enforcement agencies and other organizations began receiving the list in the mail this week. The anonymous group demands that those on the list be immediately deported.

A spokeswoman for the governor of Utah, Gary Herbert, indicates that it will be several days before it is known whether the list was leaked by state workers. Many state agencies are being reviewed; however, the investigation is focusing on just three. This is yet another incident to spread panic through the Hispanic community since the recent passing of Arizona’s controversial immigration law. It is also reported that some Utah lawmakers are considering implementing a similar law in the state of Utah.

To read the full article, please visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38245822/ns/us_news-life/

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