Letter to the Honorable Jeh Johnson, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Calling on DHS to Expand, Enforce Prosecutorial Discretion Policy
Letter
Dear Secretary Johnson:
As you conduct your review of the Administration's immigration enforcement policies, I hope that you will consider the need to ensure not only that our deportation policies are humane and targeted toward violent criminals, but that the Department's guidelines are enforced uniformly across the country.
In 2010, the Administration announced that it was going to prioritize the deportation of convicted criminals who pose a serious threat to public safety or who endanger national security. This was followed by an announcement in 2011 that DHS would no longer actively seek to deport undocumented immigrants who do not have criminal records.
Deportation statistics released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), however, show that of the 368,644 individuals deported in FY2013, only 43,090 had committed serious crimes while 151,834 had not previously been convicted of any crime. In addition, I have heard numerous accounts from individuals in my district about ICE officials in Nevada who are not appropriately applying the guidelines set forth by DHS, resulting in the detainment and deportation of individuals who have not committed serious crimes.
I believe that it is critical that the Administration act to ensure that families and communities are not unnecessarily divided while Congress considers federal immigration reform legislation. This requires not simply further expanding the use of prosecutorial discretion to target only those who have committed serious crimes, but also ensuring that local DHS and ICE officials are held accountable for implementing these policies in every community.
Congress must act to fix our broken immigration system by passing comprehensive immigration reform, but until we do, I hope that you will work to guarantee that local enforcement officials are following federal guidelines designed to protect undocumented individuals who pose no threat to public safety and are vital members of our families and our communities.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Dina Titus
Member of Congress
Ensure the protection of undocumented immigrants with no criminal history
Issues:
Immigration
Congress Number:
113th Congress
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