In 2007, during his presidential campaign, President Obama spoke out for the rights of undocumented individuals present in the country. He clearly stated to CNN in March of the same year that families who were hiding in the shadows because of their immigration status, needed to be brought out into the open.
To that end in 2011, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), Director, at the time, John Morton, released two instructional memos describing the agency’s top priorities. These included national security, security the border and the protection of public safety. Director Morton also gave permission for ICE officials to exercise a relief entitled “prosecutorial discretion.” This discretionary form of relief could be applied to certain undocumented individuals who did not have a criminal history and did not pose a threat to the community.
Simultaneously, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began enforcement of former President Bush’s program called Secure Communities. This program allowed ICE officials to be notified if an undocumented individual was arrested and following that arrest could be taken into ICE custody in order to initiate deportation or removal proceedings.
Because of the Secure Communities initiative, the rate of deportation sky rocketed to a record breaking number of more than 409,000 individuals in 2012 alone. President Obama, who had not instituted this program was seen as the culprit by immigration supporters due to the increase in enforcement and deportation. Because of this immigration advocates saw the Prosecutorial Discretion measure as fruitless.
To combat these enforcement measures, Department of Homeland Secretary Jeh Johnson has attempted to direct the government’s resources towards a comprehensive immigration reform for undocumented families, rather than focus on deportation measures.
The legal battle over a comprehensive immigration reform continues, with the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, also known as DAPA, is hung up in court. As recently as February, of this year, a federal judge in Texas filed an injunction against the Administration’s plan to allow parents of United States citizen and lawful permanent residents to be eligible for relief from removal or deportation based on their ties to the country. Because this program has been shut down for the time being, Secretary Johnson has initiated new policies and instructions throughout the immigration agencies. According to these directives, enforcement policies should not be directed at families who have ties to the country. Enforcement efforts are to be directed at recent arrivals and individuals with criminal histories.
Thanks to the efforts of the Administration’s new enforcement policies, the number of individuals who were deported last year was reduced to 229,000. That number is reduced by almost half of the number of deportations that took place in 2012.
Fewer individuals are being placed in removal proceedings before an immigration judge and there are fewer people being detained at immigration facilities throughout the country. The number of individuals arrested for immigration violations has been reduced by 20 percent in 2015 so far. Secretary Johnson has also called for a review of the immigration court system which currently houses more than 400,000 individuals. Since this referendum, approximately 3,000 individuals have been released from immigration custody.
Immigration advocates are fearful that Secretary Johnson’s changes may not be as far reaching as they should, stressing that individuals with a minor criminal infraction could still be targeted. However, praises for the new priorities are being sung as many undocumented individuals might finally be able to obtain some relief from the impending threat of being encountered by ICE and ultimately being deported.
