Brief #115 – Immigration
By Kathryn Baron
Biden Administration Seeks to Curb Unnecessary Arrests and Deportations
Policy Summary
This week, the Biden Administration issued new guidelines for ICE in attempts to curb arrests and deportations. Anyone unlawfully in the US is still subject to arrest, but ICE will no longer deport immigrants for crimes such as DUIs, simple assault, fraud, tax crimes, solicitation, money laundering and fraud, and charges without convictions. Biden announced he aims to focus more on national security threats and individuals with aggravated felony charges and/or convictions.
Analysis
Biden announced he believed measuring ICE’s performance according to the number of arrests and deportation – as the Trump Administration did – is not sound law enforcement, but rather a method of hiking up statistics with low-hanging fruit and at the expense of migrants for minor infractions. Rather than operating with the mindset of looking for a reason to detain, arrest, and deport migrants, the Biden Administration will maintain migrants’ dignity and innocence until proven otherwise.
Engagement Resources
- The National Immigration Law Center: an organization that exclusively dedicates itself to defending and furthering the rights of low income immigrants and strives to educate decision makers on the impacts and effects of their policies on this overlooked part of the population.
- The ACLU: a non-profit with a longstanding commitment to preserving and protecting the individual rights and liberties the Constitution and US laws guarantee all its citizens. You can also donate monthly to counter Trump’s attacks on people’s rights. Recently, the ACLU has filed a lawsuit challenging the separation of families at the border.
- Center for Disease Control: the CDC provides updated information surrounding COVID-19 and the US responses
- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA): Through the Department of Homeland Security’s website, this link provides additional information regarding the Obama era program.