DACA?

 

Federal Judge Strikes Down DACA: What You Need to Know

Nearly a decade after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to provide protections to undocumented immigrants brought here as children, Judge Andrew Hanen of the Southern District of Texas struck down the program on July 16, ordering U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to stop issuing any new DACA benefits.

Although Judge Hanen did rule that DACA itself was illegal, in recognition of the impact of terminating DACA on the 616,000 people who currently benefit from the program, he did not require the agency to terminate any DACA protections or stop renewals while his decision goes through the appeals process. People who only recently submitted initial applications will not receive approvals from USCIS.

Background

DACA recipients vary in age and come from countries all around the world, but the typical DACA recipient is a 27-year-old woman from Mexico. And while nearly 42 percent of all DACA recipients are 25 or younger, the oldest DACA recipients will turn 40 next year. Given the progam’s requirements, all DACA recipients have been in the United States for at least 14 years. Many of them have been here for much longer.

The first major legal challenge to the DACA program came in 2014, two years after its creation, when Texas successfully sued to prevent the Obama administration from implementing Deferred Action for Parental Arrivals (DAPA) program, which would have expanded DACA-like protections to the parents of immigrant youth.

New Changes

 

Who Is Ed Gonzalez? Biden’s ICE Nominee Signals New Changes for the Agency

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may soon have its first Senate-confirmed leader in nearly five years. On July 15, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing on the nomination for the head of ICE, Ed Gonzalez, who is currently the Sheriff of Harris County, Texas.

Gonzalez’s nomination presents a unique opportunity to begin to rein in an agency that was responsible for some of the worst abuses of the last four years. Despite the significant controversies and crises that have engulfed ICE in the past years, Gonzalez signaled few major changes at ICE and expressed extensive support for the agency and some of its most controversial policies during the hearing.

If confirmed, ICE would once again have stable leadership. The Trump administration relied on acting officials throughout its entire term in office. The last nominee for ICE Director, Ronald Vitiello, withdrew his nomination in 2018 after facing opposition from ICE’s union.

Although Gonzalez comes from a law enforcement background, unlike prior ICE Directors he has not previously worked within the Department of Homeland Security. He had also previously expressed opposition to extensive cooperation with ICE, having terminated Harris County’s 287(g) agreement in 2016 on the grounds that it undermined local law enforcement’s cooperation with immigrant communities.

Arresting Stops

 

ICE Will Stop Arresting and Detaining Most Pregnant and Nursing People

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will no longer detain most people who are pregnant, postpartum, or nursing, according to a new policy released on July 9. However, ICE did not commit to a total ban, saying that there will still be “very limited circumstances” that will allow the agency to detain pregnant people.

The move is a clear shift away from the Trump administration, which in 2017 ended the presumption of release for such individuals. In the two years following that change, the rate at which ICE detained pregnant people skyrocketed by 52%, increasing from 1,380 in 2016 to nearly 2,100 pregnant people in 2018.

In announcing the new policy, ICE Director Tae Johnson said the change “reflects our commitment to treat all individuals with respect and dignity while still enforcing our nation’s laws.”

ICE’s new policy revokes the Trump-era practice. It also goes a step further than the Obama administration, which generally exempted pregnant people from detention, but did not include those who were nursing. Additionally, the Biden administration policy includes people who gave birth within the last year.

This is a much-needed step toward safeguarding the wellbeing of pregnant individuals in detention, as well as the health of their baby.

Removal Orders

 

Supreme Court Denies Bond Hearings to People Pursuing Protection Claims Who Have Prior Removal Orders

The Supreme Court issued a decision on June 29 in the Johnson v. Guzman Chavez case. The majority of the justices determined that people with prior removal orders are subject to mandatory detention, even while they pursue proceedings to stop their deportation to a country where they established they have a reasonable fear of persecution or torture.

Without the opportunity to be released on bond, these individuals face months and even years in detention as they pursue protection in what are known as withholding-only proceedings. Withholding of removal is a form of protection that prohibits the U.S. government from deporting someone to a country where they will be persecuted or tortured.

At issue in the case was which of two sections in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) apply to individuals with prior removal orders who are waiting to appear before an Immigration Judge to argue their claim for protection.

The Supreme Court sided with the government. In his opinion, Justice Samuel Alito concluded that the provision—8 U.S.C. § 1231 of the INA—that subjects individuals to mandatory detention applies to those with prior removal orders who are pursuing withholding of removal because the prior removal orders are “administratively final.”

Lawyers for the individuals seeking protection argued that another provision—8 U.S.C. § 1226—that provides the opportunity for release from detention on bond should apply to individuals with prior removal orders who are in withholding-only proceedings because a decision on whether an individual will be deported remains pending.