New guidelines promulgated by a top Biden administration official on Thursday advise immigration enforcement agents that being in the country illegally is not by itself enough reason to arrest somebody.
More than 11 million illegal immigrants are estimated to be in the United States, but Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not have the resources to arrest and seek to remove all of them, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a memorandum laying out the guidelines. He urged agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an office inside DHS, to exercise “discretion” in enforcing immigration rules.
“The fact an individual is a removable noncitizen therefore should not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them,” he wrote.
“We will use our discretion and focus our enforcement resources in a more targeted way. Justice and our country’s well-being require it,” he added.
Only illegal immigrants who pose a threat to national security, pose a threat to public safety, or pose a threat to border security should be targeted for removal, according to the guidelines. --->READ MORE HERE
The Biden administration on Thursday published new rules governing immigration arrests across the country, directing U.S. officials to focus on detaining and deporting immigrants determined to pose a threat to national security or public safety, as well as migrants who recently crossed the southern border.
In a long-awaited memo, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas outlined a dramatic shift in U.S. immigration enforcement policy that will likely spare most undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years from arrest and deportation, as long as they don't commit serious crimes.
"The majority of undocumented non-citizens who could be subject to removal, the majority of the more than 11 million people, have been contributing members of our communities for years," Mayorkas told reporters. "They include individuals who work on the frontlines in the battle against COVID, teachers, individuals who teach our children, who do the back-breaking farmwork that puts food on our table, who lead our congregations of faith and contribute to our communities in meaningful other ways." --->READ MORE HERE
The Biden administration moved Thursday to further limit arrests and removals of people illegally residing in the United States.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced a plan that will prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Enforcement and Removal Operations officers from targeting an additional number of the millions of illegal immigrants in the country. Instead, ICE officers will begin conducting a “case-by-case assessment of whether an individual poses a threat” before making an arrest.
"The fact an individual is a removable noncitizen will not alone be the basis of an enforcement action against them," the DHS said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon. "The Department’s personnel are to use their discretion and focus the Department’s enforcement resources in a more targeted way."
The plan supersedes temporary measures that were imposed in February, which required ICE officers to obtain permission if arresting anyone who did not pose a risk to national security or border security or who is a convict or known gang member. --->READ MORE HERE
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| AP Photo/Patrick Semansky |
New ICE priorities carve millions out of danger of deportation
Being in the U.S. illegally is no longer enough to earn deportation, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday, releasing new guidelines that limit who Immigration and Customs Enforcement can target for arrest and ouster from the country.
With Democrats in Congress trying to legalize most illegal immigrants, Mr. Mayorkas said he doesn’t want ICE officers going after them, saying that would be working at cross-purposes.
National security threats and those deemed a risk to public safety remain priorities, as is anyone who jumped the border after Nov. 1. That’s similar to the rules ICE had been operating under since interim guidance came out in February.
But Mr. Mayorkas changed the public safety category to a broader assessment of someone’s criminal history, telling officers that if anyone was hurt or weapons were used it weighs in favor of arrest, but if they have been in the U.S. a long time or ousting them would hurt their families that should weigh against arrest or deportation. --->READ MORE HERE
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