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.

Recent Features

All Enforcement Content

February 17, 2016

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has issued a rule allowing for the two family detention facilities in Texas to apply for licenses to detain immigrant children and...

February 16, 2016

In anticipation of Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.-Mexico border this week, a band of women will begin a day-long pilgrimage from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas. They hope to bring...

February 12, 2016

As a recent Wall Street Journal article describes, Moody’s Analytics has concluded that the mass departures of unauthorized immigrants from Arizona “reduced competition for low-skilled jobs” and “...

February 10, 2016

Two mothers from Honduras and six from El Salvador, along with their children, were finally released from family detention centers in the past several days. These families were among those swept...

February 9, 2016

President Obama unveiled his proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 which begins on October 1, 2016. While this is the President’s final budget and is largely seen as a political document, it...

February 8, 2016

For the past several months, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has taken a harsh stance on immigration, stating more than once that he would finish the wall between the U.S. and Mexico and...

February 5, 2016

The Florida House of Representatives passed a sweeping “anti-sanctuary city” bill this week that would penalize Florida counties who do not aggressively target undocumented immigrants or who fail...

February 1, 2016

On January 27, 2016, Pennsylvania state officials informed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that it would not renew and would revoke the operating license for the Berks County Residential...

January 28, 2016

Seven mothers that have been held for four weeks in a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas penned a letter to President Obama asking him to release them and their children while they work...

January 27, 2016

Since 2014, the number of federal prosecutions for immigration crimes has declined. So has the number of removals (deportations) from the United States. Contrary to some suggestions, however, this...

December 20, 2017

December marks the three-year anniversary of the opening of the country’s largest family detention center for non-citizen mothers and their minor children located in Dilley, Texas. Referred to as...

December 19, 2017

Anyone reading the news knows that immigration and the threat of aggressive enforcement have been prominent issues throughout 2017. But what the headlines often miss is how people in America—...

December 18, 2017

During its first ten months in office, the Trump administration has made aggressive immigration enforcement a priority. One of the areas in which this approach was crystalized was around so-called...

December 15, 2017

The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) released a report which found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) detention facilities are violating their...

December 13, 2017

Doug Jones, a former Democratic prosecutor once considered a longshot in Republican-majority Alabama, narrowly won the state’s Senate race Tuesday evening in what may ultimately prove to be a...

December 11, 2017

An alarming trend along the U.S.-Mexico border has escalated within the last year: the inhumane practice of separating immigrant children from their parents at the hands of U.S. immigration...

December 6, 2017

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has publicly released immigration enforcement data for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, which shows that apprehensions at the border are at their lowest levels in...

December 5, 2017

This afternoon, the United States Senate confirmed Kirstjen Nielsen to be the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As Secretary, she will oversee an ever-growing agency which...

November 28, 2017

In the face of heightened threats around immigration enforcement, communities are taking action to ensure due process for their undocumented community members. These rapid response efforts are...

November 16, 2017

In a sweeping effort to increase local law enforcement’s role in immigration enforcement, the Trump administration is preparing to increase the number of officers who are authorized to act as...