Norton Applauds New Risk-Based Immigration Policy

Press Release

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said today that the government's new immigration policy demonstrates bold efficiency that will also relieve some of the absurd and sometimes heartbreaking results of random prosecution and removal of undocumented immigrants. With Congress paralyzed on immigration policy, the new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) memorandum outlining enforcement priorities "will avoid wasting scarce resources on scatter-shot enforcement of the immigration laws," Norton said. "Setting prosecution priorities will also avoid lazy law enforcement that depends on tips, raids, and street pick-ups of law-abiding undocumented immigrants, while avoiding the tough law-enforcement job of pursuing gang members, felons, and others who pose safety or security risks."

Norton said that the Obama administration has already responded to the call for tougher enforcement of the immigration laws, significantly outstripping all prior efforts. However, she said, many dispiriting stories, particularly breaking up families or leaving them with no means of support, have resulted that cry out for more rational prosecutorial targeting. "Failing to target undocumented immigrants according to risk, as other law enforcement agencies do, has generated low priority candidates for deportation, such as immigrants without papers who are the sole means of support for their children or elderly relatives, longtime residents in college and graduate school, relatives of U.S. citizens, and people brought to this country as children," said Norton. "Unless the U.S. intends to embark on a program of deporting 11 million immigrants, ICE must decide the best use of its resources, especially considering the uncertainty of cuts to agency budgets." Norton particularly applauded the administration's decision to review the cases of 300,000 undocumented immigrants on a case-by-case basis to designate individuals such as those with criminal records for priority prosecution. Others, such as high school graduates, will have deportation indefinitely suspended with the possibility of a work permit, but no path to citizenship or a green card, which would of course require legislation. "The administration alone is charged with enforcement of the nation's immigration laws," she said, "and only the administration is authorized by law to decide prosecutorial priorities. Congress has abdicated its responsibility. Particularly in the absence of immigration reform, the administration is using the considerable authority at its disposal to rationalize the nation's immigration system."

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