ImmigrationCritics slam administration’s “minor offenses” deportation stance
Critics if the administration’s immigration policies slam the administration’s last week announcement that it will no longer initiate enforcement actions against deportable aliens identified by the Secure Communities program who have committed minor criminal offenses
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency announced Friday that it will no longer initiate enforcement actions against deportable aliens identified by the Secure Communities program who have committed “minor” criminal offenses. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an organization critical of current U.S. immigration policies, says this new policy is the next step in the administration’s effort to ensure that only aliens who have been convicted of violent crimes will be subject to deportation.
Secure Communities cross-checks the fingerprints of every person arrested by state and local police against a variety of federal databases, including a DHS database of immigration law violators. Deportable aliens who are identified through the Secure Communities program are turned over to ICE, rather than released on bail. FAIR says that the new policy will dramatically limit the number of deportable aliens in state and local jails who ICE takes action against.
The new action “is clear evidence that this administration will not quit until most immigration enforcement apparatus in the U.S. is shut down and should be a clear signal that this administration believes the violation of immigration laws is entirely inconsequential. The removal of violent criminal aliens only has been the lone factor in the Administration’s ability to maintain the pretense that it is enforcing our immigration laws,” noted Dan Stein, president of FAIR.
“Programs which rely on local law enforcement, like Secure Communities and 287(g) — a congressionally established program that trains local police to identify and detain illegal aliens — have provided ICE with a pipeline to identify deportable aliens,” continued Stein. “The Administration is phasing out 287(g) entirely, and now they are limiting the use of Secure Communities so that non-criminal aliens are ultimately released back onto the street.”
FAIR argues that the latest ICE announcement is part of the administration’s effort to prevent state and local authorities from playing a role in immigration enforcement. The organization points to the Obama administration’s efforts against the tough Arizona immigration law as part of this general approach.
“We are rapidly approaching the point where violent criminal aliens will be the only people who will be subject to immigration enforcement,” Stein concluded.
