Skip to main content

Immigration Checks at Local Jails. What Does this Mean?

Image
By Becca

According to recent reports, the Obama administration is expanding a program that was initiated by President Bush designed to check the immigration status of virtually any person booked into local jails. This crackdown on illegal immigrants who commit criminal offenses illustrates Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano’s commitment to focus enforcement measures on immigrants who commit criminal offenses, as opposed to those who are merely here in the United States illegally, but are otherwise abiding by the laws of this country.

My three cents…First, the program will unfortunately lead to immigration detention of foreign nationals who commit such grave offenses (said in a sarcastic tone) as speeding or driving without a license. Once arrested on these minor offenses, the local jail will necessarily perform a background check and determine that the person may not have status and then pass along the information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and place the person in removal proceedings. It seems to me that the net is cast far to broad, and the program should focus on serious offenders. This leads me to my second impression…

Second, further implementation of this program will lead to overburdening of the court system – potentially the straw that broke the camel’s back. Currently in the Atlanta, Georgia immigration court, final hearings are set for individuals nearly two years down the road because the court’s dockets are so crowded. If illegal immigrants are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and put in removal proceedings with more frequency, the courts and judges will be overwhelmed, and adjudication of cases – and justice will be delayed.

Third, I think that this helps set the table for comprehensive immigration reform. Clearly President Obama would be unable to garner support for reform without enforcement being a focus. Essentially what Obama is doing is appeasing or gaining the favor of the hesitant, or anti-immigrant folks by sensibly focusing on enforcement prior to initiating a path to legalization. There is simply no way reform would pass without a step up in enforcement and Obama clearly recognizes this. What appears to be a sign that things are getting even tougher for immigrants, in reality this is likely another sign that reform is on the horizon. Stay positive.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If You Are An Immigrant (even a US Citizen), Here Are 9 Things You Should Know

By
Are you a Naturalized U.S. Citizen, Lawful Permanent Resident, Visa Holder, or an Undocumented Immigrant? We recommend you take the following steps to protect yourself in our current version of America. The last couple of weeks have reminded immigrants, even naturalized U.S. citizens, that they were not born in the United States. Our office has received countless phone calls, emails, and social media messages from people worrying about what their family’s future in the United States holds. Most people want to know what they can do now to protect themselves from what promises to be a wave of anti-immigration activity by the federal government. Trump's Executive Order on Interior Enforcement has some provisions that should make most Americans shiver.  We recommend the following actions for each of the following groups: Naturalized U.S. citizens. In particular if you have a foreign accent, and you are traveling within 100 miles of any US Border (including the oceans
231 comments
Read more

Seven Reasons Why the Georgia Legislature Should Repeal HB-87

By
Recently the Alabama Attorney General called on the Alabama State Legislature to repeal parts of Alabama's horrid anti-immigration law ( HB 56), because of the "unintended" consequences of the bill (frankly, what happened was not unintended). Because of the similarity between the two laws, Georgia's Speaker of the House, David Ralston was asked whether Georgia Legislature would repeal part or all of HB 87, Georgia own anti-immigration law. HB 87 has caused almost a half a billion dollars in damage to the Georgia economy (along with untold suffering in Georgia's immigrant communities) without any noted or reported positive effect. Speaker Ralston plainly stated that the Georgia Legislature would NOT do anything to repeal HB 87 . While it understandable why a politician would not admit that a pet bill he shepherded and pushed through the state legislature was simply bad law, it is also clear that Speaker Ralston is facing a challenge on his RIGHT in th
1 comment
Read more

U.S. Recognizes Five-year Extensions of Venezuelan Passport

By
Venezuelans received welcome news this last month when the National Assembly published a decree signed by Interim President Juan Guaido on May 21, to extend the validity of Venezuelan passports for an additional five years past their printed date of expiration. The U.S. Department of State issued a  statement ,recognizing this extension for visa issuance and consular process. They also stated that Customs and Border Patrol would recognize this decree. Obtaining a valid Venezuelan passport has been a difficult, if not impossible, task that has been a source of much concern for those seeking visas to the U.S. or have pending applications for immigration benefits. This decree will allow those currently holding a Venezuelan passport that has expired to automatically add 5 years of validity from the expiration date. While this statement can provide much needed assurance, we recommend that Venezuelans who are currently applying for an immigration benefit, including travel to the U.S. w
Post a Comment
Read more