Enforcement

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FACT SHEET
A Primer on Expedited Removal

Expedited removal is a process by which low-level immigration officers can quickly deport certain noncitizens who are undocumented or have committed fraud or misrepresentation. 

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Detained, Deceived, and Deported: Experiences of Recently Deported Central American Families

First-hand accounts from Central American women and their family members reveal the dangerous and bleak circumstances of life these women and their children faced upon return to their home countries, as well as serious problems in the deportation process. 

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Children in Immigration Court: Over 95 Percent Represented by an Attorney Appear in Court

Many children are placed in deportation proceedings before an immigration judge, where they will carry the legal burden of proving that they should be allowed to remain in the United States. The government does not guarantee them the right to a lawyer. As a result, many children navigate the complicated system without legal representation.

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All Enforcement Content

  • Special Report

DHS Progress Report: The Challenge of Reform

Publication Date: 
March 2, 2010
The month of March marks the seventh anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its immigration agencies. It also marks the end of a sweeping internal review ordered by Secretary...
  • Fact Sheet

Protecting Children in the Aftermath of Immigration Raids

Publication Date: 
February 22, 2010
Study Finds Significant Behavioral Changes in Children After Raids Children of unauthorized immigrant parents are often forgotten in debates over immigration reform. There are roughly 5.5 million...
  • Research and Analysis

The Criminal Alien Program: Immigration Enforcement in Travis County, Texas

Publication Date: 
February 17, 2010
The Criminal Alien Program (CAP) is a program administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that screens inmates in prisons and jails, identifies deportable non-citizens, and places them...
  • Research and Analysis

New Data on Federal Court Prosecutions Reveal Non-Violent Immigration Prosecutions Up

Publication Date: 
February 4, 2010
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) reports that federal immigration prosecutions rose to record levels during fiscal year...
  • Special Report

Essential to the Fight: Immigrants in the Military Eight Years After 9/11

Publication Date: 
November 9, 2009
From the Revolutionary War to the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, immigrants have made significant contributions to the United States by serving in our military forces. Today, immigrants...
  • Research and Analysis

Keeping Migrants Here: Recent Research Shows Unintended Consequences of U.S. Border Enforcement

Publication Date: 
June 17, 2009
The Department of Homeland Security released a report this week showing that apprehensions...
  • Research and Analysis

A Stimulus for Fear: Anti-Immigration Groups Raise Specter of Undocumented Construction Workers and Call for Ensnaring All U.S. Workers in

Publication Date: 
March 9, 2009
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), as well as the Heritage Foundation, have recently claimed that up to 300,000 construction jobs...
  • Research and Analysis

The High Price of Being "America’s Toughest Sheriff": Crime and Spending Soar in Maricopa County

Publication Date: 
December 17, 2008
Over the past year and a half, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona has transformed his police department into an immigration-enforcement agency, gaining international publicity in the...
  • Research and Analysis

What Happens When Local Cops Become Immigration Agents?

Publication Date: 
August 6, 2008
Over the past year and a half, County Sheriff Joe Arpaio of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) has transformed his police department into an immigration-enforcement agency, gaining...
  • Research and Analysis

Balancing Federal, State, and Local Priorities in Police-Immigrant Relations

Publication Date: 
June 1, 2008
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, changes in federal, state, and local law-enforcement priorities and practices have had a profound impact on America’s Muslims, Arabs, and South...
  • Blog

Updated ICE Directive Fails to Deliver Meaningful Protections for Immigrant Families

July 20, 2022

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced a new directive aimed at preserving family unity and the parental rights of noncitizens. The directive, “Interests of Noncitizen...

  • Blog

CBP Concludes Investigation Into Del Rio Incident Without Interviewing Any Migrants

July 12, 2022

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has concluded in a new report that Border Patrol agents on horseback did engage in the “unnecessary use of force” against Haitian migrants entering the...

  • Blog

Florida and Texas Escalate Their War on Migrants

July 8, 2022

Since President Biden took office, he has faced attacks on his handling of the border from Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida. Both states brought lawsuits against Biden’s...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Blog

A Border Patrol Agent Assaulted a Citizen in His Own Home. The Supreme Court’s Ruling Lets the Agent Off.

June 10, 2022

The Supreme Court issued a decision on Wednesday barring a civil rights lawsuit against a U.S. Border Patrol agent for reportedly entering the property of a U.S. citizen without a warrant and...

  • 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...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in ‘Remain in Mexico’ Case

April 26, 2022

Over three years after the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) went into effect, the Supreme Court finally heard oral arguments in a case about the program, also known as the “Remain in Mexico”...

  • Press Release

Deplorable Medical Treatment at Family Detention Centers

July 30, 2015
Ten mothers came forward to lodge formal complaints about the substandard medical care they and their children received while detained by the Department of Homeland of Security.
  • Press Release

Incarcerated Children and Mothers Denied Due Process and Critical Information Before Release

July 27, 2015

Washington, D.C. – Today, Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), the American Immigration Council, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and the Ameri

  • Press Release

Practical, Comprehensive Immigration Solutions Promote Public Safety

July 21, 2015

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

Vaccine Overdose to Detained Children Another Sign that Family Detention Must End

July 4, 2015

Washington D.C. - This weekend, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council (Council) learned that, recently, medical personnel at the detention

  • Press Release

United States Agrees to Settle Lawsuit Alleging Wrongful Deportation

July 2, 2015
  • Press Release

United States Agrees to Settle Lawsuit Alleging Wrongful Deportation

July 2, 2015

Washington D.C. - After more than two years of litigation, the U.S.

  • Press Release

Immigrants Held for Days in Freezing, Unsanitary Cells File Class-Action Lawsuit

June 10, 2015

Washington D.C. — Tucson Sector Border Patrol holds men, women, and children in freezing, overcrowded, and filthy cells for extended periods of time in violation of the U.S.

  • Press Release

Immigrants’ Rights Groups to Provide Pro Bono Legal Services to Detained Families in Texas

March 31, 2015

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Failures of CBP to Respond to FOIA Requests

March 13, 2015
Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, a class action lawsuit was filed by three immigration attorneys and eleven noncitizens challenging U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) nationwide practice of failing to timely respond to requests for case information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA gives an individual the right to access information that the federal government possesses about him or her within 20 business days of making the request.
  • Press Release

Second Circuit Narrowly Interprets Aggravated Felony Bar Under INA § 212(h)

January 27, 2015

Washington, D.C.—Recently, the U.S.

  • Blog

New Complaint Shows ICE’s Use of Solitary Confinement Is Excessive

July 14, 2023

“If I spoke too loudly, solitary. If I climbed on top of a table to get a guard’s attention, solitary. If I had suicidal thoughts, solitary. When the guards would tease me about being deported...

  • Research and Analysis

Complaint Urges Investigation Into Misuse of Solitary Confinement in Colorado Immigration Detention Center

Publication Date: 
July 13, 2023
The American Immigration Council and partners filed an administrative complaint with the with the Department of Homeland Security's oversight bodies urging immediate investigation into the misuse of...
  • FOIA

Council Seeks Records on CBP’s Treatment of Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border

This FOIA request seeks information on CBP’s treatment of asylum seekers and their access to inspection appointments scheduled via CBP One, revealing potential violations of their rights.
  • Research and Analysis

Alternatives to Immigration Detention: An Overview

Publication Date: 
July 11, 2023
This fact sheet provides an overview of the wide range of programs that provide alternatives to detention (ATDs) and run the gamut from no governmental intervention to extensive surveillance and...
  • Press Release

Legal Advocates to File Lawsuit Challenging the Constitutionality of Florida’s Anti-Immigrant Law

July 1, 2023
The Southern Poverty Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and American Immigration Council have announced they will file a federal lawsuit challenging Florida’s draconian Senate Bill 1718, which goes into effect, July 1.
  • Blog

Biden’s Asylum Transit Ban – Where Are We Now?

June 29, 2023

The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency back in May meant an end to Title 42. That policy, grounded in an obscure public health law, was put in place by the Trump administration in March...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Allows Biden Administration to Reinstitute Its Immigration Enforcement Priorities

June 27, 2023

Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in U.S. v. Texas, which allows the Biden administration to resume its implementation of guidelines for immigration enforcement within the...

  • FOIA

ICE Didn’t Follow Federal Enforcement Priorities Set by Biden Administration

In 2021, the Biden administration issued policy guidance on how ICE should carry out immigration enforcement. This report is a breakdown of how ICE carried out these policies.
  • Press Release

U.S. Supreme Court Resoundingly Upholds Executive Authority on Immigration Enforcement Priorities, Rejects State Challenge

June 23, 2023
The U.S. Supreme Court held in an 8-1 decision that states do not have the authority to challenge the executive branch’s authority to establish enforcement priorities.
  • Blog

Florida Wants All New Migrants Arriving at the Border Locked Up. The Courts are Helping.

June 15, 2023

Florida officials think the federal government must detain everyone – or virtually everyone – who arrives at the U.S.-Mexico border without a visa. And it is using the courts to try to make that...

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