Musings on Immigration

While talks of immigration reform continue there is little spoken of the marked increased number of detained foreign nationals by ICE- the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) enforcement arm.   Congress’ expansion of the immigration detention system has created a profitable market for both private prison corporations and local governments.    In fiscal year 2013 almost 244 state and county jails were contracted to house immigrant detainees on behalf of ICE (nearly 70 percent of the detained immigrant population).  Private correctional corporations have gotten in on this boom as well.  These corporations have built facilities strictly to house immigration detainees. Currently, ICE utilizes seven Contract Detention Facilities (CDF).  Considering this reality below is a summary provided by ICE regarding ICE detainers. Q: What is an immigration detainer? A : An immigration detainer is a notice that DHS issues to federal, state and lo...

by Hiba Ghalib , Associate Attorney This past weekend was a busy one for both gay rights activists and immigrant advocacy groups.  After the Supreme Court announced last Friday that it had agreed to hear two cases that challenge laws challenging same-sex marriage, over 50 groups supporting gay rights and immigration reform joined together to write a letter to the White House requesting President Obama hold off on deciding any immigration cases involving same sex couples until the Supreme Court issues its decision on gay marriage. In 1996, Congress enacted the Defense of Marriage Act, most often dubbed DOMA, denying same-sex couples federal benefits, including immigration benefits.  (It was signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton).  This prohibited U.S. Citizens from sponsoring their foreign national spouse for permanent residency if their spouses were of the same sex. To date, the administration continues to enforce DOMA and uses it ...