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.

Trump’s New Registration Requirement Could Forcibly Separate Millions of Immigrant Families

Sara Hamdi was 12 years old when her parents were forced to “register” with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) because they were non-citizens from a Muslim country. She still remembers the anxiety they felt as they reported to the U.S. government. As they feared, their forced registration with ICE would ultimately lead to years […]

While Federal Firings Focus on Immigration Processing, Funding for Immigration Enforcement Expands

In recent weeks, significant personnel reductions throughout the federal government made in the name of eliminating “waste” have caused concerns about the government’s ability to continue providing timely services. Agencies that provide immigration-related services have not been spared from these cuts, including those within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of State (DOS), […]

PRESS BRIEFING: Community Leaders, Prosecutors, and Local Electeds Condemn HR 32, A Direct Attack on American Communities And Public Safety

The “No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act” forces local leaders to choose between preserving funding for essential services or facing Trump's politically motivated cuts to schools, disaster relief and more.

The Chilling Effect of Trump’s Indiscriminate Immigration Arrests & Propaganda

As we near the one-month mark of the new Trump administration, it is clear that the president’s thinly veiled threats of imposing mass deportation on “criminal immigrants” are in fact a promise to target all immigrants—and sometimes even U.S. citizens. In the first weeks, we have already seen wrongful immigration arrests of people with U.S. […]

Communities Continue to Stand by Immigrants Amidst Fear, Heightened Enforcement

The first few weeks of President Trump’s second term in office have instilled a heightened level of fear, as longtime neighbors, residents, and tightly knit communities have encountered increased federal immigration enforcement, elimination of safeguards like sensitive locations, and significant shifts in immigration policies. Nevertheless, many communities continue to show up for one another in […]

Sending Migrants to Guantánamo Bay Is a Costly, Abusive Shift in Immigration Detention

Last week, President Trump ordered the Secretary of Homeland Security to expand immigration detention at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to house up to 30,000 people. Since then, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has transferred at least two flights of migrants from the United States to its detention facility there. Immigration detention at Guantánamo […]

ICE Makes Sweeping Arrests in Chicago, Endangering City’s Livelihood

By Karen Aho and Anna Shepperson Chicago has been bracing for immigration raids since the presidential inauguration, following tips that it would be the first sanctuary city targeted under the Trump administration’s mass deportation initiatives. On Sunday, “Operation Safeguard” began in Chicago, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announcing “enhanced targeted operations,” along with […]