During the presidential campaign, president-elect Donald Trump said he plans to do away with the DACA program. Trump has provided no specifics, and has not said when this might happen. DACA was authorized in 2012 by the Department of Homeland Security. Eligible undocumented persons who came to the U.S. as children got work authorization, protection from… Read More »
Immigration in the Trump Administration
Immigration lawyers are as unsure and uneasy as our clients about what the new Trump Administration has in store. AILA (the American Immigration Lawyers Association – of which immigration attorney Lynn Olinger has been a member for 15 years), released this YouTube video last month. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we learn more.
Dallas Says No To ICE “Holds”
Dallas County says NO to ICE’s immigration holds. As reported today by The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Co. Sheriff Valdez will no longer comply with ICE “detainer” requests to hold non-citizens for immigration. We have fought this battle for our clients for years, as we’ve previously posted. The holds were based on what law enforcement often called a… Read More »
Immigration Prisons Violate Federal Laws
Immigration prisons routinely violate federal laws such as the Prison Rape Elimination Act. The Department of Homeland Security, the agency responsible for detaining non-citizens, regularly violates their civil and constitutional rights in immigration prisons, known as “detention centers,” according to a fact-finding study by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, an independent bipartisan independent federal agency. … Read More »
Congress’ Immigration Detention Quota
The massive immigration prison system is because Congress has an immigration detention quota in the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act 2015: “not less than 34,000 detention beds.” At taxpayer cost, ICE keeps thousands of non-dangerous, non-criminal immigrants in private and local jails. Most at risk are children, women, the disabled and seriously ill, and asylum-seekers who’ve fled… Read More »
ICE Prosecutors RARELY Using Favorable Prosecutorial Discretion
In June 2011, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) announced it would not use its resources to deport “low priority” non-citizens, and would review existing deportation cases to determine which could be closed. Since then ICE rarely used prosecutorial discretion to close cases. Nationwide, only 6.7 percent of cases were closed on this basis between October 2012… Read More »
ICE Detainers Missing The Target
ICE claims its highest deportation priority is someone who poses serious threats to public safety or national security. But 4 out of 5 immigration holds (“detainers”) were used against non-citizens who have either no criminal conviction, or had at most a misdemeanor or petty offense. An immigration “detainer” is an ICE request that a local, state or… Read More »
ICE’s Anti-DACA Lawsuit Dismissed
A federal judge in Dallas, Texas dismissed a lawsuit by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who favored deporting DREAMERS. The officers opposed the Department of Homeland Security’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The court held that the Civil Service Reform Act, a law governing federal employment disputes, barred it from hearing the… Read More »
Texas Leads Record Year For immigration Prosecutions
50,000 immigration prosecutions in the first half of FY 2013 make this a record year for bringing criminal charges against aliens who illegally enter – or try to – and get caught. Texas leads the way. The Southern District (Houston) and the Western District (San Antonio) rank #1 and #2, followed by Arizona, New… Read More »
Texas Driver’s License For Undocumented Immigrants
It’s not a law…yet. You can help make it one. Under proposed HB3206, undocumented immigrants living in Texas could be issued a special “Texas resident driver’s permit.” And why not? The Texas legislature’s bipartisan bill promotes public safety and fiscal responsibility. It requires a driver’s test, background check, and fingerprints. “It will absolutely enhance safety.… Read More »
You must be logged in to post a comment.