Enforcement

Recent Features

FACT SHEET
A Primer on Expedited Removal

Expedited removal is a process by which low-level immigration officers can quickly deport certain noncitizens who are undocumented or have committed fraud or misrepresentation. 

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Detained, Deceived, and Deported: Experiences of Recently Deported Central American Families

First-hand accounts from Central American women and their family members reveal the dangerous and bleak circumstances of life these women and their children faced upon return to their home countries, as well as serious problems in the deportation process. 

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Children in Immigration Court: Over 95 Percent Represented by an Attorney Appear in Court

Many children are placed in deportation proceedings before an immigration judge, where they will carry the legal burden of proving that they should be allowed to remain in the United States. The government does not guarantee them the right to a lawyer. As a result, many children navigate the complicated system without legal representation.

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All Enforcement Content

  • Research and Analysis

A Rising Tide or a Shrinking Pie

Publication Date: 
March 24, 2011
Our national debate over urgently needed immigration reform is now careening through our state legislatures, city halls, and town councils due to political gridlock at the federal level. And nowhere...
  • Fact Sheet

Mandatory E-Verify without Legalization Would Hamper Economic Recovery and Cost U.S. Workers Jobs

Publication Date: 
February 10, 2011
Since 1986, controlling illegal immigration by regulating who is entitled to work in the United States has been a key component of U.S. immigration policy. The ritual of showing proof of one’s...
  • Research and Analysis

Deeper into the Shadows

Publication Date: 
February 9, 2011
Before the onset of the Great Recession, immigrant labor was cited as a boom to the U.S. economy. In towns and cities across the country, immigrant labor—documented or otherwise—filled positions in...
  • Special Report

After the Raid is Over: Marshalltown, Iowa and the Consequences of Worksite Enforcement Raids

Publication Date: 
January 25, 2011
For many years, large-scale worksite raids constituted a major element of federal immigration enforcement. While the large-scale and well-publicized worksite raids have tapered, immigration...
  • Fact Sheet

A Framework for Effective Immigration Worksite Employer Enforcement

Publication Date: 
January 5, 2011
Immigration enforcement is an extremely important national priority. Effective control of our nation’s borders is essential to our national security. The regulation and control of those who enter...
  • Special Report

Reading the Morton Memo: Federal Priorities and Prosecutorial Discretion

Publication Date: 
December 1, 2010
On June 30, 2010, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), John Morton, issued a memo to the agency that reflected the Obama administration’s oft repeated intent...
  • Research and Analysis

Non-Citizens with Mental Disabilities

Publication Date: 
November 23, 2010
In 2009, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained approximately 380,000 people...
  • Special Report

ICE’S Enforcement Priorities and the Factors that Undermine Them

Publication Date: 
November 9, 2010
As part of its strategy to gain support for comprehensive immigration reform, the administration has...
  • Special Report

Back to the Border: A Historical Comparison of U.S. Border Politics

Publication Date: 
September 2, 2010
By Katherine Benton-Cohen and...
  • Special Report

Truth Held Hostage: Dissecting the Lies about Kidnapping in Arizona

Publication Date: 
August 20, 2010
Arizona politicians who support the state’s sweeping anti-immigrant law (SB 1070) are not particularly fond of...
  • Blog

Who Is in ICE Detention Right Now? New Data Provides a Snapshot of Sprawling Detention System

February 3, 2023

Recently published data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) provides insight into who ICE is detaining and for how long. The results show that the majority of noncitizens are being...

  • Blog

Resounding Victory in a Data Case Against ICE

January 31, 2023

On January 26, the Second Circuit ruled against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a case that has broad implications for the public’s access to data held in immigration agency...

  • Blog

DHS Fails to Address Concerns about CBP One as the Agency Expands the App’s Use

January 13, 2023

On January 5, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced new measures to process people seeking asylum at ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border who are asking to be exempt from...

  • Blog

What’s Next for Title 42? The Policy Still Has the Border in Its Grip

January 12, 2023

Weeks after Title 42 was ordered to end in December 2022, the supposed “public health” policy is still effectively closing the border to many asylum seekers after an eleventh-hour order from the...

  • Blog

ICE Makes Paying Bond Extremely Difficult. This Lawsuit Wants to Change That.

December 13, 2022

One might think that posting bond in the immigration system is a straightforward process. Immigration authorities set bond. A person pays the bond amount, and the incarcerated person is released....

  • Blog

Infamous Immigration Detention Center Closes, But More Work Needs to Be Done

December 9, 2022

After years of advocacy and widespread abuse, Berks County officials announced that the federal government was ending its contract for the Berks County detention center on January 31, 2023....

  • Blog

The Supreme Court Takes on Enforcement Priorities and Other Immigration Questions in Its 2022 – 2023 Term

November 30, 2022

The Supreme Court will tackle more hot button immigration issues in its 2022 – 2023 term. Front and center is the Biden administration’s effort to set immigration enforcement priorities. But the...

  • Blog

ICE Fails to Justify Solitary Confinement Placements and Identify Vulnerable Populations

November 8, 2022

Solitary confinement is widely criticized as a cruel and unnecessary practice. It’s largely unsupported by the public as a disciplinary measure and badly in need of reform. On October 26, the...

  • Blog

New Report Shows Disproportionate Abuse of Black Immigrants in Detention

November 4, 2022

Black immigrants in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) disproportionately face abuse while in detention, a report released last week finds. Published by several...

  • Blog

Public Records Requests Uncover Details About Flights of Migrants to Martha’s Vineyard

October 26, 2022

The flights of migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in September refocused attention on a phenomenon that had been unfolding for many months—the relocation of migrants by Republican governors...

  • Press Release

Government Shows No Signs of Backing Down on Family Detention

May 14, 2016

Washington D.C. - Yesterday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced efforts to “enhance oversight” to help ensure that families are detained in “safe and humane facilities” and

  • Press Release

National Wave of Complaints Highlights Rampant Abuse by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Dire Need for Reform

March 13, 2016

Washington, D.C. – Over the past week, an alliance of immigration groups, private attorneys and a law school clinic joined forces in filing complaints targeting abuses by U.S.

  • Press Release

Eight of Twelve Families Targeted by ICE Have Been Released

February 8, 2016

Washington D.C. – After being held in detention for more than a month by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), eight of the families

  • Press Release

Central American Mothers Targeted in Immigration Raids and Still Detained Pen Letter to Obama

January 28, 2016

DILLEY, Texas – Seven women picked up and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in early January in widely publicized raids have made a direct and personal plea to Pre

  • Press Release

Court Rejects Government’s Efforts to Dismiss Lawsuit Challenging Detention Conditions

January 13, 2016

Washington D.C.—On Monday, a federal district court permitted a class action lawsuit challenging harmful and unconstitutional conditions of confinement by Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

  • Press Release

CARA: 33 Mothers and Children Protected from Immediate Deportation

January 13, 2016

Washington D.C. – In the last week, 121 mothers and children were brought to the South Texas Residential Family Center in Dilley, Texas, after being rounded up by Immigration and Customs Enf

  • Press Release

CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project Succeeds in Winning Stays of Deportation of 12

January 6, 2016

Washington D.C. – Last night, the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project succeeded in halting the deportation of four Central American families apprehen

  • Press Release

After Successfully Delaying the Deportations, Groups Demand Meeting with DHS Sec. Johnson

January 6, 2016

Washington, D.C. - Today, the American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association 

  • Press Release

Statement on Administration’s Plans to Round up Central American Families for Deportation

December 24, 2015

Washington D.C. - Late last night, The Washington Post broke th

  • Press Release

Council Statement of CBP's Body-Camera Policy Announcement

November 12, 2015

Washington D.C. – Ben Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council, responded to the announcement that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) staff will expand the agency’s c

  • Blog

New Board of Immigration Appeals Decision Sets Roadblock for Cubans, Others Seeking Green Cards 

September 28, 2023

A recent Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision bars certain recently arrived noncitizens from becoming lawful permanent residents. In Matter of Cabrera-Fernandez, the BIA held that the...

  • Blog

New Report Uncovers CBP’s Role in Policing Racial Justice Protests in Summer 2020

September 21, 2023

Co-Authors: Emily Creighton and Tsion Gurmu In the summer of 2020, after George Floyd’s murder, racial justice protests took hold in cities throughout the country. The massive mobilization...

  • Advocacy

Testifying on the Positive Economic Contributions of Immigrants in the U.S. and the American Immigrant Workforce

Publication Date: 
September 20, 2023
The American Immigration Council appeared before Congress to address the economic contributions of immigrants in the U.S. and the American economic system.
Protestors raise their hands in solidarity outside of the Fifth Police Precinct in Minneapolis in response to the death of George Floyd
  • FOIA

Beyond the Border: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Presence at Racial Justice Protests in Summer of 2020

Our new, joint report shows that CBP often got involved in policing protests without being asked by city or state officials, and that its actions went beyond its supposed mandate to protect federal property.
  • Letters

American Immigration Council leads coalition letter to DHS requesting transparency into Family Expedited Removal Program

September 19, 2023

The American Immigration Council joined 45 other organizations in calling on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Citizenship and...

  • Blog

Fifth Circuit Allows Texas to Keep Its Controversial ‘Buoy Barrier’ in Place for Now

September 14, 2023

Since President Biden took office, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been escalating both rhetoric and action in response to a rise in migration across the Rio Grande. Right now, challenges to his...

  • Blog

Biden Administration Fights to Keep Private Immigration Jails Open, Despite Promises

September 8, 2023

“There should be no private prisons, period, none, period. And we are working to close all of them.” Those are the words of President Joe Biden in April 2021, when he was called out by immigrant...

  • Advocacy

The Council and AILA submit comment on DHS rule allowing electronic service of cash bond notices

Publication Date: 
September 7, 2023
The Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association comment on DHS's Interim Final Rule on its plan to electronically serve bond-related notifications to obligors to release immigration...
  • Practice Advisories

Practice Alert: Overview of the Supreme Court's Decision in Pugin v. Garland

Publication Date: 
August 22, 2023
This practice advisory looks into the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court issued in Pugin v. Garland, 143 S. Ct. 1833 (2023). This immigration decision addressed the generic definition of the obstruction of justice aggravated felony ground at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(S).
  • Blog

Biden Keeps Ties with Billion-Dollar Business of Immigration Detention, Despite Reports of Serious Abuse

August 17, 2023

On Thanksgiving Day 2017, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested Kamyar Samimi—a lawful permanent resident with a decade-old conviction for drug possession—and sent him...

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