DHS Head: Changes To Immigration Enforcement Potentially Coming ‘Pretty Soon’

Ianus · 04-27-2014, 11:27 AM

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics...g-pretty-soon/

Quote:

ABC News’ Pierre Thomas, Mike Levine, Jack Date, and Jack Cloherty report:

The Obama administration will announce “pretty soon” how it plans to remodel enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws and potentially “realign” deportation policies, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told ABC News in an exclusive interview.

This comes a month after President Obama asked Johnson to “conduct a review of practices” to ensure “we are carrying out these policies in the most humane way possible,” as a White House spokesman put it at the time.

In an interview with ABC News’ Pierre Thomas for “This Week,” Johnson said the enforcement of immigration laws “needs to comport with American values.”

“One of those American values is respect for human dignity … [and] one of those American values is respect for the sanctity of the family unit,” Johnson told ABC News’ Pierre Thomas.

When announcing the new review last month, White House spokesman Jay Carney cited, “the pain that families who are separated have been feeling as a result of deportations.”

As part of his review, Johnson said he has been talking to members of Congress, advocacy groups and his own workforce.

In particular, he is “consulting” officials within Immigration and Customs Enforcement – or ICE – “in a way that I’m not sure they’ve been consulted in the past,” according to Johnson.

“I’ve consulted ICE leadership on what our priorities should be, how we could realign them, potentially,” Johnson said. “I am looking for ways to more effectively enforce and administer our immigration laws. I believe there is room for improvement, and hopefully we’ll get to a better place.”

On Friday, dozens of protesters marched to ICE headquarters in Washington to confront the agency over its deportation policies.

“President Obama has been promising immigration reform, but what he has given the people is actually record numbers of deportations and violations of their civil rights,” said Jacinta Gonzalez, a lead organizer For Congress of Day Laborers.

But one day before the protest at ICE headquarters, 22 Republican senators sent President Obama a letter expressing their “grave concerns” over Johnson’s review, saying the “changes under consideration would represent a near complete abandonment of basic immigration enforcement.”

“As a result of your policies, individuals here illegally who do not meet administration ‘priorities’ are not only largely exempt from the law, but are released even if they come into contact with federal law enforcement authorities,” the letter added.

Calling it a matter of “public safety,” the administration has focused its limited enforcement resources on undocumented immigrants who have committed other crimes, especially violent crimes.

“I have to be honest, I don’t understand those who say we are not enforcing the law,” Johnson told “This Week.” “We are enforcing the law every day… There are thousands of people who are convicted criminals and others who are removed from this country [each day].”

Johnson also took aim at critics who suggest immigration authorities are skirting the law when they offer services to unaccompanied children found sneaking into the U.S.

“The law requires that we, as quickly as possible, get them to [health officials] for services there,” Johnson said. “That’s a legal requirement, and we follow that.”

Asked when his review would be complete, Johnson said he expects “to have something pretty soon.”

Regardless of what types of changes may come from that review, Johnson urged lawmakers to pass comprehensive immigration reform, saying there is no “substitute for action by Congress.”

“[It] is vitally important as a matter of homeland security,” he said. “We need more resources for border security. I also believe that we need to encourage the 11.5 undocumented immigrants in this country to come out of the shadows, become accountable and get on an earned path to citizenship.”

Johnson said there are “a lot” of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who support comprehensive immigration reform, and he is “confident that it will happen.”

“I couldn’t tell you when, but there is so much support for this in Congress, in the business community, among organized labor, and, if the polls are to be believed, by a majority of the American public,” Johnson said. “And I believe that there will come a point when Congress will act.”

On Thursday, during a lunch in his home state of Ohio, Republican House Speaker John Boehner mocked his fellow House Republicans for their seeming reluctance to act on immigration reform, saying in a mock whine, “Here’s the attitude: ‘Ohh, don’t make me do this! Ohh, this is too hard!’ You should hear ‘em.”

VeryNicePerson1 · 04-27-2014, 12:21 PM

I think the first "phase" of this policy review may be deferred action for parents of USCs, I don't think they are going to expand deferred action to all immigrants in general (as long they have no criminal record etc.) until around the last "phase". Parents of DACA beneficiaries may be in the middle "phase", best case scenario probably.

That is if this policy review leads to any temp relief at all.

swordfish · 04-27-2014, 01:28 PM

Quote:

I think the first "phase" of this policy review may be deferred action for parents of USCs

That would open a new door for dreamers who age out.

2Face · 04-27-2014, 02:14 PM

Here's praying they extend work authorization to parents of DACA beneficiaries!! That would be absolutely amazing and would complete everything for a lot of people! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Obama and DHS!!

IamAman · 04-27-2014, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swordfish

That would open a new door for dreamers who age out.

Here is hoping. I have a feeling that we'd still get screwed as the parents of DACA recipients have more photo-ops.

MIdreamer · 04-28-2014, 12:07 AM

There are other good changes the DHS can make to improve DACA, like lifting the 10 year ban.

Frank Knight · 04-28-2014, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MIdreamer

There are other good changes the DHS can make to improve DACA, like lifting the 10 year ban.

I don't believe the DHS could do that. I would argue Obama could use his pardon powers to forgive the ban. The problem is its unclear if he can do so since the pardon power is usually constrained to criminal offenses. The text itself says the President has the ability to pardon offenses against the US.

But yeah removing the bans would be helpful.

IMO I'd prefer if TPS were extended/reopened to Mexico, Central America, etc. These areas are all in long standing wars against the drug cartels and dangerous places to live. TPS is superior to deferred action since you're not in removal proceedings, whereas you still technically are under DA.

freshh. · 04-28-2014, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swordfish

That would open a new door for dreamers who age out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VeryNicePerson1

I think the first "phase" of this policy review may be deferred action for parents of USCs, I don't think they are going to expand deferred action to all immigrants in general (as long they have no criminal record etc.) until around the last "phase". Parents of DACA beneficiaries may be in the middle "phase", best case scenario probably.

That is if this policy review leads to any temp relief at all.

I agree. IF they expand deferred action, it will most likely be parents of USC minor children first. It's something they have been building upon for quite some time particularly emphasizing the impact deportations have on these kids that end up in foster care.

Quote:

Gutierrez has begun putting together a new strategy: defining the next group of undocumented immigrants that would be politically acceptable for executive action, in the same way DREAMers were when Obama announced deferred action in 2012.

The new push includes the parents of U.S. citizens and families with an undocumented immigrant who is also a member of the U.S. military.

The tabled draft of the CHC resolution stated that “an estimated 200,000 deportees in a two-year period were reported to be the parents of U.S. citizens, most of whom were born and raised in the United States” and that “there are more than 5,000 children in the U.S. child welfare system because a parent has been detained or deported, and a majority of those children are U.S. citizens.”

Some figures were thrown around and only about 4 million undocumented people would be helped.

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DHS Head: Changes To Immigration Enforcement Potentially Coming ‘Pretty Soon’