Houston Chronicle: Federal officials should consider dismissing pending immigration cases involving certain groups of illegal immigrants - including children, college students, the elderly and victims of domestic violence - according to new Homeland Security guidelines issued Thursday.
A memo laying out the guidelines, obtained by the Houston Chronicle, offers a clearer picture of the groups of immigrants who would benefit from the Obama administration's much-publicized plan to review 300,000 pending cases in immigration courts.
The review, first announced in August, is designed to cull from the nation's overburdened immigration court docket "low priority" cases - primarily those involving illegal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years without committing serious crimes.
The new guidelines allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys to carefully consider dismissing cases against an illegal immigrant who:
Is a child, has been in the U.S. for more than five years, and is either in school or has finished high school.
Suffers from a serious mental or physical condition that would require significant medical or detention resources.
Is a victim of domestic violence or human trafficking in the U.S.
Has a long-term presence in the U.S., an immediate family member who is a citizen, and has made compelling contributions to the U.S.
A memo laying out the guidelines, obtained by the Houston Chronicle, offers a clearer picture of the groups of immigrants who would benefit from the Obama administration's much-publicized plan to review 300,000 pending cases in immigration courts.
The review, first announced in August, is designed to cull from the nation's overburdened immigration court docket "low priority" cases - primarily those involving illegal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years without committing serious crimes.
The new guidelines allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys to carefully consider dismissing cases against an illegal immigrant who:
Is a child, has been in the U.S. for more than five years, and is either in school or has finished high school.
Suffers from a serious mental or physical condition that would require significant medical or detention resources.
Is a victim of domestic violence or human trafficking in the U.S.
Has a long-term presence in the U.S., an immediate family member who is a citizen, and has made compelling contributions to the U.S.
Some not eligible
Some illegal immigrants without any criminal history may not be eligible to have their cases dismissed as part of the review process if they entered the country illegally within the past three years or have an "egregious record of immigration violations," according to the guidelines.
The memo also affects legal immigrants. ICE attorneys can now review immigration cases involving legal permanent residents who have lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years and have a single misdemeanor conviction for a non-violent offense.
The latest guidelines echoed a memo issued by ICE Director John Morton in June, which instructed field agents and attorneys to consider exercising prosecutorial discretion - the power to decide which cases to pursue - before placing people into removal proceedings or moving ahead with their deportation cases.
But ICE offices across the country have interpreted and applied the June memo unevenly, leading to what critics have called widespread confusion when it comes to deciding which cases are eligible for dismissal.
DHS officials said Thursday that they have launched a nationwide training program for all ICE agents and attorneys to ensure that they understand how to prioritize cases based on the new memos.
Several leading immigrant advocates praised the administration on Thursday for providing added guidance and training to agents and attorneys in the field.
"It sends a message that they are very serious about closing the gap about what the agency wants at the top and what is happening on the ground," said Eleanor Pelta, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Conservatives including U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, blasted the plan as a kind of "backdoor amnesty."
"This massive administrative amnesty to illegal immigrants could ... allow illegal immigrants to receive work authorization and could put more Americans on the unemployment rolls," Smith said.
Some illegal immigrants without any criminal history may not be eligible to have their cases dismissed as part of the review process if they entered the country illegally within the past three years or have an "egregious record of immigration violations," according to the guidelines.
The memo also affects legal immigrants. ICE attorneys can now review immigration cases involving legal permanent residents who have lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years and have a single misdemeanor conviction for a non-violent offense.
The latest guidelines echoed a memo issued by ICE Director John Morton in June, which instructed field agents and attorneys to consider exercising prosecutorial discretion - the power to decide which cases to pursue - before placing people into removal proceedings or moving ahead with their deportation cases.
But ICE offices across the country have interpreted and applied the June memo unevenly, leading to what critics have called widespread confusion when it comes to deciding which cases are eligible for dismissal.
DHS officials said Thursday that they have launched a nationwide training program for all ICE agents and attorneys to ensure that they understand how to prioritize cases based on the new memos.
Several leading immigrant advocates praised the administration on Thursday for providing added guidance and training to agents and attorneys in the field.
"It sends a message that they are very serious about closing the gap about what the agency wants at the top and what is happening on the ground," said Eleanor Pelta, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Conservatives including U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, blasted the plan as a kind of "backdoor amnesty."
"This massive administrative amnesty to illegal immigrants could ... allow illegal immigrants to receive work authorization and could put more Americans on the unemployment rolls," Smith said.
It's not an amnesty
DHS officials said the review is not an amnesty, saying the government can reopen a dismissed case later if necessary. People whose cases are closed still will not have legal status, and will be eligible to apply for temporary work authorization on a case-by-case basis, officials said.
Since first announcing plans to spare many non-criminals from deportation in the summer, the Obama administration has faced mounting criticism from immigrant advocates who said the government has been slow to deliver on its promise and has continued to deport thousands of people with clean criminal records and strong family ties in the U.S.
ICE officials in Houston recently denied a request to halt removal proceedings for a Mexican man with five U.S.-born children, one of them with a tracheotomy, said Raed Gonzalez, a Houston immigration attorney. He said they opted not to spare a Mexican man who had lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years and has three U.S.-born children.
News of DHS' new guidance fueled hopes in Houston's immigrant community that the government would start suspending deportation cases for people on the brink of deportation, though some worried it may have come too late.
While ICE attorneys were instructed to start reviewing all new cases, the reviews of pending immigration court cases initially will be confined to pilot programs in Denver and Baltimore starting in December, DHS officials said. They hope to end the pilot by mid-January and expand the review nationwide early next year.
DHS officials said the review is not an amnesty, saying the government can reopen a dismissed case later if necessary. People whose cases are closed still will not have legal status, and will be eligible to apply for temporary work authorization on a case-by-case basis, officials said.
Since first announcing plans to spare many non-criminals from deportation in the summer, the Obama administration has faced mounting criticism from immigrant advocates who said the government has been slow to deliver on its promise and has continued to deport thousands of people with clean criminal records and strong family ties in the U.S.
ICE officials in Houston recently denied a request to halt removal proceedings for a Mexican man with five U.S.-born children, one of them with a tracheotomy, said Raed Gonzalez, a Houston immigration attorney. He said they opted not to spare a Mexican man who had lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years and has three U.S.-born children.
News of DHS' new guidance fueled hopes in Houston's immigrant community that the government would start suspending deportation cases for people on the brink of deportation, though some worried it may have come too late.
While ICE attorneys were instructed to start reviewing all new cases, the reviews of pending immigration court cases initially will be confined to pilot programs in Denver and Baltimore starting in December, DHS officials said. They hope to end the pilot by mid-January and expand the review nationwide early next year.
Missed 2nd birthday
Rose Marie Ascencio-Escobar, whose husband, Jose Escobar, was picked up by immigration agents in June and held in a detention center north of Houston, has tried to convince him to hold onto hope as summer waned to fall, and as he missed their son's second birthday.
Jose Escobar, a 25-year-old handyman from El Salvador whose parents brought him to the U.S. when he was 15, has no criminal record. He is married to a U.S. citizen, pays taxes and owns a home, all factors that Ascencio-Escobar assumed would work in their favor.
But he also has an outstanding deportation order and has exhausted his court appeals, which means he could be deported at any time.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, recently intervened in the Escobar case, requesting prosecutorial discretion on the family's behalf. So far, the agency has not responded to the congresswoman's office or to the family's request.
"I'm praying every night," Ascencio-Escobar said.
Rose Marie Ascencio-Escobar, whose husband, Jose Escobar, was picked up by immigration agents in June and held in a detention center north of Houston, has tried to convince him to hold onto hope as summer waned to fall, and as he missed their son's second birthday.
Jose Escobar, a 25-year-old handyman from El Salvador whose parents brought him to the U.S. when he was 15, has no criminal record. He is married to a U.S. citizen, pays taxes and owns a home, all factors that Ascencio-Escobar assumed would work in their favor.
But he also has an outstanding deportation order and has exhausted his court appeals, which means he could be deported at any time.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, recently intervened in the Escobar case, requesting prosecutorial discretion on the family's behalf. So far, the agency has not responded to the congresswoman's office or to the family's request.
"I'm praying every night," Ascencio-Escobar said.
No comments:
Post a Comment