Interior 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.

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There are serious concerns that rapid expansion will bring about a resurgence of problems in the Border Patrol and also cause similar problems in ICE. 

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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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All Interior Enforcement Content

  • Fact Sheet

The Criminal Alien Program (CAP): Immigration Enforcement in Prisons and Jails

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2013
The Criminal Alien Program (CAP) is an expansive immigration enforcement program that leads to the initiation of removal proceedings in many cases. While CAP has existed in one form or another for...
  • Fact Sheet

Enforcement Without Focus: Non-Violent Offenders Caught in the US Immigration Enforcement System

Publication Date: 
April 2, 2013
Since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in 2003, its immigration-enforcement agencies—Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—have been...
  • Fact Sheet

A Decade of Rising Immigration Enforcement

Publication Date: 
January 8, 2013
With roughly 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States, some question whether the nation’s immigration laws are being seriously enforced. In truth, due to legal and policy...
  • Fact Sheet

Falling Through the Cracks

Publication Date: 
December 12, 2012
The Impact of Immigration Enforcement on Children Caught Up in the Child Welfare System One of the many consequences of an aggressive immigration enforcement system is the separation of children,...
  • Research and Analysis

From Fingerprints to DNA: Biometric Data Collection in U.S. Immigrant Communities and Beyond

Publication Date: 
May 23, 2012
The collection of biometrics—including fingerprints, DNA, and face-recognition ready photographs—is becoming more and more a part of society. Both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the...
  • Research and Analysis

The Myth of "Self-Deportation"

Publication Date: 
April 30, 2012
How Behavioral Economics Reveals the Fallacies behind “Attrition through Enforcement” By Alexandra Filindra, Ph.D....
  • Research and Analysis

Q&A on Office of Inspector General Reports on Secure Communities Program

Publication Date: 
April 17, 2012
In April 2012, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released two long-awaited reports on the Secure Communities Program: Operations of United States...
  • Special Report

Discrediting “Self Deportation” as Immigration Policy

Publication Date: 
February 6, 2012
By Michele Waslin The day that Alabama’s draconian anti-immigrant law...
  • Special Report

The Secure Communities Program: Unanswered Questions and Continuing Concerns

Publication Date: 
November 29, 2011
This paper describes the Secure Communities program, identifies concerns about the program’s design and implementation, and makes recommendations for the future of the program.
  • Special Report

Turning Off the Water: How the Contracting and Transaction Provisions in Alabama's Immigration Law Make Life Harder

Publication Date: 
November 1, 2011
Turning Off the Water: How the Contracting and Transaction...
  • Blog

Biden Moves to End Trump’s War on ‘Sanctuary Cities’

May 4, 2021

The Biden administration has ended a Trump-era policy of denying so-called sanctuary cities from receiving certain forms of federal funding. The policy had been used in retaliation against local...

  • Blog

ICE’s New Case Review Process Lets Immigrants Appeal Detention and Deportation

March 9, 2021

The Biden administration announced new “enforcement priorities” for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on February 18. The priorities were an initial step away from the Trump administration...

  • Blog

New ICE Enforcement Priorities Represent an Important Shift, But More Change Is Needed

February 19, 2021

For years, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has taken a harsh, punitive approach that has ripped families and communities apart. The Trump administration’s approach was particularly...

  • Blog

DHS Strikes Down Trump Deal with ICE Union, Paving the Way for Biden’s Changes to Immigration Enforcement

February 17, 2021

Just days before it was due to take effect, the Biden administration has struck down a last-minute deal made between the Trump administration and the union for U.S. Immigration and Customs...

  • Blog

Biden Took Eight Administrative Actions on Immigration. Here’s What You Need to Know.

January 22, 2021

On his first day in office, President Biden took significant steps towards undoing the harm of the Trump administration’s immigration policies—and reforming our punitive and inhumane enforcement...

  • Blog

ICE Is Targeting ‘Sanctuary’ Cities With Increased Enforcement and Massive Fines

November 3, 2020

In the final run up to the presidential election, the Trump administration has reinvigorated its attacks on undocumented immigrants in the United States by targeting so-called “sanctuary” policies...

  • Blog

ICE’s COVID-19 Death Toll Might Be Higher Than It Claims

October 26, 2020

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to mismanage the spread of the coronavirus in its facilities nationwide—and the consequences might be far more deadly than the agency wants...

  • Blog

3 Reasons Why Cities Should Not Sign 287(g) Agreements With ICE

September 21, 2020

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is expanding its power in Florida, where more than one out of every five residents in the state is an immigrant. The Florida Department of...

  • Blog

Hurricane Laura Devastated ICE Facilities, Leaving People Detained in Horrific Conditions

September 3, 2020

Days after Hurricane Laura tore through Louisiana, the situation for people held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities remains critical. ICE reportedly evacuated at least...

  • Blog

The Stories From Immigration Nation ICE Didn’t Want You to See

August 17, 2020

Immigration Nation, a six-episode docuseries that provides a rare view of the internal workings of immigration enforcement—and its impact on individuals and families—began streaming on Netflix in...

  • Press Release

ICE Agrees to Release Thousands of Previously-Withheld Records

August 2, 2013

Washington, DC – Yesterday, a U.S.

  • Press Release

Bringing Fairness to the Immigration Justice System

May 15, 2013

Washington D.C. - Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee continues mark-up of S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.

  • Press Release

The American Immigration Council Welcomes Customs and Border Protection’s New Guidance on Interpretation

December 14, 2012

Washington D.C. - The American Immigration Council (AIC) welcomes U.S.

  • Press Release

Advocates File Suit Against DHS for Refusal to Disclose Records on Enforcement Program

March 12, 2012

Washington D.C. - Last week, an alliance of national immigration advocacy organizations filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), seeking to co

  • Press Release

DHS Issues Awaited Guidance on Prioritizing Deportations, Law Enforcement Letter Praises Approach

November 17, 2011

Washington D.C. - Today, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Principal Legal Advisor directed all ICE attorneys to begin a systematic review of immigration

  • Press Release

AILA-AIC Survey Reveals ICE Officials' Sporadic Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion

November 9, 2011

Washington, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council (AIC) released a

  • Press Release

DHS: Prioritizing Enforcement and Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion

August 22, 2011

Washington D.C. - Today, the American Immigration Council hosted a briefing to discuss the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) announcement last week that it would issue agency

  • Press Release

Once Again, Congress Pursues Costly E-Verify Legislation to the Peril of U.S. Economy

June 14, 2011

Washington D.C. - On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement will hold a hearing on the “Legal Workforce Act,” another en

  • Press Release

Georgia State Legislature Pursuing Budget Busting Solutions to Immigration

March 1, 2011

Washington D.C. – In the face of a $1.7 billion budget shortfall in fiscal year 2011, Georgia state legis

  • Press Release

E-Verify: Burdens Businesses and Displaces U.S. Workers

February 10, 2011

Washington D.C. - Today, the House Immigration Subcommittee held its second hearing of the new session.

  • Blog

Biden Administration Halts Mass Worksite Raids By ICE

October 13, 2021

The Biden administration just took a significant step toward reining in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a...

  • Letters

Council and AILA Follow Up with DHS Regarding a Functioning System of Discretionary Release from ICE Detention

Publication Date: 
October 5, 2021
The Council and AILA, through their Immigration Justice Campaign followed up on their March 25, 2021 letter to the DHS and ICE with examples of unfair denials of requests for release at ICE...
  • Blog

New Enforcement Priorities Show Some Improvement, Maintain Old Framework

October 1, 2021

On September 30, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued the long-awaited new set of enforcement priorities, entitled “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil...

  • Blog

Court Allows ICE to Use Enforcement Priorities Set by the Biden Administration

September 16, 2021

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday stayed a significant part of an earlier decision by the Northern District of Texas that would have blocked the implementation of the Biden...

  • Amicus Briefs

Amicus Brief Filed with Supreme Court of Michigan in Support of State FOIA Request in Wrongful Detention Case

Publication Date: 
September 10, 2021
In the amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court of Michigan, the Council and partners reject Calhoun County's position to withhold records that otherwise would be released under the Michigan state FOIA.
  • FOIA

Seeking Records About ICE’s Compliance with DHS’s Enforcement Priorities

This FOIA requests effort seeks records on ICE reports about its enforcement activities, whether the people arrested by ICE fit into the DHS’s enforcement priorities, and information about instances when officers pursued enforcement actions against individuals who would not be considered priorities for immigration enforcement.
  • Fact Sheet

Prosecuting People for Coming to the United States

Publication Date: 
August 23, 2021
Over the last two decades, the federal government increasingly has utilized the criminal courts to punish people for immigration violations. This overview provides basic information about entry-...
  • Blog

TX Court Issues Stunning Order: US Government Can’t Set Priorities for Immigration Enforcement

August 20, 2021

Judge Drew Tipton of the Southern District of Texas on August 19 blocked a set of enforcement priorities the Biden administration had issued in January and February 2021 in an attempt to focus...

  • Press Release

Federal Judge Blocks ICE Enforcement Guidelines and Attempts to Upend Prosecutorial Discretion

August 19, 2021
A Texas judge blocked the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement priorities. The decision was issued in a case challenging ICE’s enforcement activities outside the scope laid out in the Feb. 18 enforcement memo.
  • Blog

ICE Announces New Victim-Centered Policy, Showing a Favorable Shift Toward Vulnerable Immigrants

August 13, 2021

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced this week a new policy designed to honor and protect vulnerable immigrants. The new policy addresses protections for survivors of violence...

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