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.

Government Coerced Parents into Signing Their Rights Away Before Being Reunited with Their Children

In all the chaos of family separation, another disturbing detail has come to light: immigration officials may have coerced vulnerable parents into signing away their right to be reunified with their children. In a complaint filed on Thursday with the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, organizations allege that Immigration and Customs Enforcement […]

Detention Is Not the Solution to Family Separation: 15 Years of Government Data Explain Why

In the wake of the government separating thousands of asylum-seeking families, the Trump administration has scrambled to reunite families. In place of family separation, the administration is pursuing the expansion of an equally horrific practice: holding families in detention camps. This practice has sadly persisted in the United States since 2001. Neither option—separation or detention—is […]

Immigration Raid in Nebraska Devastates Local Agriculture Industry and Families

A small town in Nebraska was rocked last week when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents raided multiple businesses, arresting 133 undocumented immigrant workers in an operation which has already created upheaval in the community and its local agriculture industry. This raid is the latest amid a series of enforcement […]

Family Separation, Harsh Enforcement Tactics Do Not Deter Migration

When the Trump administration began prosecuting migrant families and separating thousands of children from their parents, many in the administration predicted this would significantly deter migrants looking to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. That has not been the case. A recent study based on new data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shows this policy […]

President Trump’s Anti-‘Sanctuary’ City Order Is Unconstitutional

A key part of President Trump’s effort to bar so-called “sanctuary” cities and counties from receiving money from the federal government has been ruled unconstitutional. Last week’s decision by a federal court of appeals is just the latest in a string of defeats for the Trump administration in federal court as it continues to attack […]

The Family Reunification Deadline Passed. What’s Next for Separated Families?

The court-imposed deadline of July 26 for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reunite families separated at the southern border has passed. So far, over 1800 children have been released to their parents. However, the Trump administration has refused to reunite hundreds of others by excluding many families from the reunification process. It remains unclear how far the […]

Despite Bipartisan Amendments, House Committee Passes Enforcement-Focused Bill

The House Appropriations Committee passed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that provides the agency with its budget for Fiscal Year 2019, which begins October 1, 2018. The bill includes funding for record high levels of detention beds and billions for President Trump’s controversial border wall. Surprisingly, several amendments were attached that provide […]

ICE Targets ‘Sanctuary’ Jurisdictions in Worksite Investigations

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Tuesday that its agents had delivered I-9 audit notices to more than 5,200 businesses since January 2018, many of which were served in so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions around the country. These audit notices, known as notices of inspection (NOIs), tell business owners that ICE is going to examine […]

The Trump Administration Is Funneling Money From Health Programs to Fund Its Family Separation Policy

The cost of the Trump administration’s family separation policy continues to skyrocket. In order to finance its self-made crisis, the administration has dipped into funds that were reserved for the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) medical research and rural health services. The financial ramifications of separating, detaining, and reuniting migrant children and their […]