12/4/23  In a blow to Texas’ fight against illegal border crossings, the U.S. Fifth Circuit ordered the state to remove a string of buoys it installed to block passage through the Rio Grande. According to the ruling, Texas’ claim that Federal jurisdiction doesn’t extend through certain parts of the river is incorrect. Governor Greg Abbott has pledged to challenge the decision all the way to the Supreme Court. Law aside, a lower court had cast doubt on the buoys’ potential effectiveness.

11/22/23  DHS announced its continuing commitment to assure the validity of claims for asylum and to repatriate non-citizens who do not qualify. Since May, removal flights have returned “more than 380,000 individuals”, including over 60,000 family members, to their countries of origin, including Ecuador, India, Peru, Venezuela  and Central America.

11/20/23  “Finite resources” have led Chicago’s mayor to announce that the “sanctuary city” is imposing a sixty-day occupancy limit for the more than 11,000 immigrants now housed in city shelters. “Rogue buses” that arrive packed with immigrants will also be discouraged from discharging their passengers. Chicago has asked the Feds to authorize temporary protective status and work authorization for the more than 21,000 migrants who have arrived since August 2022. Meanwhile Illinois’ Governor authorized $65 million for the city to set up another tent encampment. (See 7/28/23 update)

11/17/23  NYPD will freeze hiring and its force will drop below 30,000 cops for the first time in forty years as Mayor Eric Adams, an ex-police captain, announces deep cuts to police, education and other city services supposedly made necessary by the cost of accommodating the huge influx of migrants seeking asylum. Projected as $11 billion over two years, these costs threaten to leave next year’s $110 billion budget $7 billion in the red.

10/19/23  ICE announced that immigrants from Venezuela must now, like everyone else, present their reasons for entry to an immigration court. Individuals and families who lack legal justification to remain in the U.S. will be ordered removed. Their “repatriation” is being accomplished through charter flights, and the first one took place on October 18. (See 9/22/23 update)

10/17/23  Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the terms of a proposed settlement of an ACLU lawsuit that would end the “shameful” practice of separating children from parents who are detained for illegal immigration. Instead, families seeking asylum will be granted “humanitarian parole”. They will be allowed to remain in the U.S. for up to three years and become employed while their claims are adjudicated. One year of housing aid will also be provided.

10/9/23  In the New York Times, an unforgettable video clip depicts immigrants snaking a small child through a “triple-stack concertina” barbed wire barrier erected by Texas at its El Paso border. Along with the deployment of numerous National Guard troops, it’s part of a massive effort by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to impede illegal crossings. But unprecedented waves of migrants keep streaming in.

10/5/23  “High illegal entry” activity besets the Border Patrol region that includes Starr County, Texas. So, despite strong objections from environmentalists who fear it would destroy “a huge amount of wildlife refuge land,” the Biden Administration has waived a host of Federal laws to add about 20 miles of border wall to that sector. Immigration control advocates applaud the move as long overdue. Meanwhile New York City Mayor Eric Adams readies for a trip to Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia to convey the urgent warning that his city is unable to accommodate any more asylum seekers. “We are at capacity.”

10/4/23  More than half of all Federal prosecutions are for immigrant smuggling. Often, the best witnesses are the immigrants themselves. So they’re often held as material witnesses. In Laredo, Texas, their average stay is 13 weeks. While in jail, they’re treated just like persons facing serious criminal charges. Meanwhile the smugglers, who are usually U.S. citizens, get to bond out.

9/29/23  Unable to physically house and care for the waves of immigrants seeking asylum, DHS has released 7,800 into San Diego in two weeks, to await eligibility hearings that might not be scheduled for years. But local shelters and volunteers can’t accommodate all of the arrivals, and many without contacts are in turn flown to major cities such as Detroit and New York, where the process repeats.

9/22/23  Asylum-seekers are arriving in overwhelming numbers, with nearly 6,000 crossing into a small Texas town in two days. To help oversee the border, 800 regular military troops are being sent to supplant the 2,500 National Guard members already there. And to ease pressures on local governments overwhelmed by the costs of housing and caring for immigrants, DHS is granting temporary protected status to 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived before July 31. That will authorize them to become lawfully employed. Nearly a quarter-million who already have the status are getting an 18-month extension because of their country’s “increased instability and lack of safety.” (See 10/19/23 update)

8/21/23  Human smugglers have reportedly informed would-be migrants that families with children who illegally cross the border are more likely to be granted asylum. That, according to ICE, led to a doubling of such incursions in July and represents the highest number of families apprehended during a single month since last year. Meanwhile Texas’ eighth bus load of migrants - there were forty, including a nine-month old - arrived in Los Angeles. Most supposedly have sponsors in California.

8/7/23  ICE announced an expansion “to cities across the country” of its expedited removal program for family units that illegally enter the U.S. and apply for asylum. Families will be subject to nighttime curfews and their heads will be fitted with ankle bracelets and monitored by GPS. Interviews will be conducted to assess whether a family’s “fear of persecution or torture” is “credible,” and if not, they will be promptly removed.

7/28/23  Two immigration “sanctuary” cities that regularly get busloads of migrants courtesy Texas Governor Greg Abbott are back in the news. In Chicago, discord brews over the more than 5,000 migrants currently packing city shelters and the “hundreds” sleeping on police station floors. In Los Angeles, where the situation is far less dire (it just got its sixth busload, containing thirty-six migrants) officials rely on a “partnership between the city and county, along with faith-based groups and nonprofit organizations” to provide for their care.(See 11/20/23 update)

7/26/23  Title 42’s COVID-era rules were replaced by a requirement that asylum-seekers who arrive unannounced prove they applied for asylum elsewhere but were denied. That move, which may have substantially reduced the flow of illegal border-crossers, was just ruled illegal by Oakland’s U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar. Ruling in a suit by the ACLU and immigration advocates, he said it forces asylum-seekers to a hazardous wait in Mexico. But he gave the Administration two weeks to appeal. (See 6/21/23 update)

7/14/23  Thirty more asylum-seekers from Brownsville, Texas arrived in Los Angeles. They were welcomed by a Los Angeles-area church, which offered food and shelter. Five had already left their busload, the third in a series, in Arizona. Cooperation between private groups and officials in Texas and Southern California are apparently regularizing a process that seemingly began as a way for Texas Governor Greg Abbott (a “Red”) to express his discontent with lax immigration enforcement.

6/29/23  Four Mexican nationals living in Texas were arrested for participating in the smuggling operation that led to the deaths of fifty-three migrants last year. According to authorities, the accused knew that the A.C. unit in the trailer used to transport the migrants was broken, and that its occupants would face severe heat during their three-hour ride from Laredo to San Antonio. All face possible sentences of life in prison. The vehicle’s driver and another man were arrested soon after the tragedy. (See 7/1/22 update)

6/26/23  In a near-unanimous decision, the Supreme Court upheld the Fed’s authority to set priorities in immigration enforcement. Rejecting challenges by Louisiana and Texas, which argued that all illegal migrants must be expelled, the Justices ruled 8-1 that it was appropriate to focus deportation efforts on those who pose the greatest threats to public safety. A Federal law that forbids encouraging illegal immigration was also upheld.

6/21/23  New immigration rules imposed after the expiration of Title 42 require asylum-seekers who appear without an appointment to prove that they were denied asylum elsewhere. That’s reduced the success rate at asylum screenings from 86 percent, pre-expiration, to the current 46 percent. According to a DHS spokesperson, “disincentivizing noncitizens from pursuing irregular migration” was the purpose, and it seems to be working. (See 5/15/23 and 7/26/23 updates)

6/7/23  A September 2022 charter flight supposedly ordered by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis transported 49 asylum seekers from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. According to Javier Salazar, Bexar County, Texas’ progressive sheriff, that amounted to a kidnapping, and he’s recommending to the D.A. that charges be brought. According to original reports, the migrants were promised housing and work in major cities and had no idea they would wind up in a tiny resort where they were unexpected.

6/6/23  In recent days three dozen asylum seekers processed by immigration authorities in Texas presented themselves at a Sacramento diocese. They came to California on two charter flights from New Mexico that were reportedly arranged and funded by the administration of Florida Governor (and Presidential hopeful) Ron DeSantis. Calling the assertedly misrepresented transport a “kidnapping” - the immigrants have no ties to California and their hearings were to take place in other states - California Atty. General Rob Bonta threatened civil and possibly criminal action.

6/2/23  Overcoming objections that Chicago’s needy communities were a better place to spend the funds, its city council authorized $51 million to help care for and shelter the scores of undocumented immigrants that continue to arrive, many on buses dispatched by Texas. “The problem here is, in the frustration, we all want to yell and point fingers at Texas,” said council member Anthony Napolitano, who favored the appropriation. “That’s not right. We declared ourselves a sanctuary city.”

6/1/23  Texas’ appeal for help in securing its southern border was first answered by Florida, which is sending 100 national guard troops. Three more “Red” states - Virginia, West Virginia and South Carolina - just announced they’re joining in. Virginia is sending 100 soldiers, to be accompanied by 21 support staff. According to Gov. Glen Youngkin, they’ll help “reduce the flow of fentanyl, combat human trafficking and address the humanitarian crisis.” More “Red” states are soon expected to follow.

5/19/23  Challenging a Federal law that prohibits employing persons without legal immigration status, the University of California announced it is formulating a plan to hire students who are not authorized to be in the U.S. for on-campus jobs. Its move will benefit approx. 4,000 students who lost out on the DACA system, which no longer accepts new applications. UC’s lawyers intend to argue that the controlling Federal rule, the 1986 Immigration Act, doesn’t mention States, so it doesn’t apply to them.

5/17/23  To help Texas deal with illegal immigrants, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is sending the beset state more than one-thousand law enforcement officers, including troopers, game wardens and investigators. They’ll be there for a month. DeSantis recently signed a state bill that provides additional funds to relocate immigrants, limits their use of social services, and expands the use of E-Verify, which checks on applicants’ eligibility to work in the U.S., to all workplaces with more than 25 employees.

5/15/23  New rules require that asylum-seekers either prove that they applied for asylum in another country, or request a hearing using the “CBP One” app. and wait their turn. Those who cross anyway  face “expedited removal” and a 5-year ban from reconsideration. Homeland Security boss Alejandro Mayorkas credits the new policy with a 50-percent drop in illegal crossings as Title 42 came to an end at midnight, May 11. But skeptics claim that even so, the numbers remain at record levels. (See 6/21/23 update)

5/12/23  Title 42 (COVID) authority to summarily expel persons who illegally entered the U.S. expired at midnight. In its place, DHS issued a complex “final rule” that requires persons who seek asylum to schedule their appearance in advance using the “CBP One” app. or apply for and be denied asylum in another country. Persons who lack a compelling reason for non-compliance, such as “an imminent threat to their life,” will be “promptly removed” and barred from re-entry for five years. According to the AP,  fears that this rule will hinder future entry has led to a “surge” of illegal crossings in recent days.

5/10/23  Large groups of asylum seekers from “a ruined economy in Venezuela, bloodshed in Nigeria or state repression in China” continuously gather by Arizona’s Cocopah Indian Reservation. After an unimpeded crossing from Mexico - there are no fences - they wait for U.S. agents. Official vehicles transport them to processing centers, where paperwork gets done and they are released into the interior pending hearings. Most seem to have families and friends in the U.S., and that’s where they go. All but persons from Mexico, though, as until tomorrow, when Title 42 ends, they are summarily expelled.

5/3/23  Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that he will resume sending large numbers of asylum-seekers released pending hearings to Chicago, “a self-declared sanctuary city.” His plan was blasted by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who said that the 8,000 immigrants her city has received since last August have badly strained its finances and physical capacities. But Governor Abbott said that pales against what he faces. “How are small Texas border communities supposed to manage 13,000 in just one day?”

5/2/23  Francisco Oropeza, who is being sought for murdering five rural Texas neighbors who asked him to stop shooting his AR-15 type rifle late at night, is an illegal immigrant from Mexico and has been deported four times, most recently in 2016. His victims were immigrants from Honduras, and at least one was legally in the U.S.

4/28/23  As of May 12, the COVID-related order that allowed the summary expulsion of persons who illegally enter the U.S. will no longer be in effect. DHS announced it would expedite the regular Title 8 process so that unlawful border-crossers can be ordered removed “in a matter of days.” They will also be presumed ineligible for asylum and barred from returning for five years. Refugee resettlement centers will soon open in Colombia and Guatemala, where intended migrants can legally apply. Meanwhile, Chicago police facilities are helping shelter large numbers of the more than 6,000 asylum-seeking migrants who were released pending court hearings and arrived in the city since last fall.

3/14/23  Immigration woes continue to beset the Administration. ICE stopped “crowds” of would-be migrants at the terminus of a bridge connecting Ciudad Juarez to El Paso. Barricades were used to the same effect elsewhere. Rumors that asylum-seekers would be let through have been sparking large-scale crossing attempts. Meanwhile a San Diego newspaper published an op-ed by a long-held detainee who alleges that ICE repeatedly shuttled him between facilities for complaining about poor medical care and other negative conditions under which he and others were being held.

3/9/23  Ruling in a lawsuit brought by the State of Florida, a Federal judge agreed that the mass release of asylum seekers into the interior of the U.S. flouts existing law, which requires that persons seeking asylum be detained pending proceedings. His decision is stayed for one week to allow appellate review.

3/8/23  Released by Federal authorities to await hearings, “more than 50,000” asylum-seekers have landed in New York City in less than one year. A majority wound up in city shelters. A special city agency is being created that will partner with local organizations to handle the massive, ongoing influx and provide housing and other services. Meanwhile three of L.A.’s fifteen council members are seeking to have L.A. declared a “sanctuary city” and prohibit city employees from assisting immigration agents.

2/22/23  A proposed Federal rule would make persons presumptively ineligible for asylum if they cross the Southwest border without permission. To be considered for asylum persons must seek and be denied asylum in other countries through which they journeyed, and should only present themselves at a U.S. border crossing after making a proper online application. Persons with medical emergencies and those who face severe threats or are victims of trafficking would be excepted.

1/20/23  Immigration authorities inadvertently posted the identities of more than six-thousand asylum seekers online. Many entered the U.S. claiming to be fleeing “torture and persecution” by gangs and civil authorities in their homelands. If their claims are true, returning them could imperil them further. So far, about half have been released into the U.S., and more than two-thousand who remain in custody are having their cases reviewed.

1/19/23  After a trip to the border, where he observed “a national problem, driven by global forces, impacting regular people,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams is in D.C. Repeatedly calling the flood of asylum seekers a “crisis,” he’s demanding Federal resources to help resettle the forty-thousand who arrived in the city since the Spring. He’s also pleading that they be more quickly processed so they can get work permits, become citizens and start managing on their own.

1/6/23  A flood of asylum seekers from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti have been illegally entering the U.S. - 82,000 in November alone - and managing their stay is challenging. Facing the onslaught, President Biden has announced he will use Title 42 to deny admission to persons from these countries who arrive unannounced. Instead, he is urging them to apply online, and promises to lawfully process and admit 30,000 each month. DHS press release

12/28/22  Ruling 5-4, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a lawsuit by nineteen “Red” states who objected to a D.C. Federal judge’s order lifting Title 42. Its decision, which should come in February, will only address the states’ authority to intervene, but the effect is that Title 42 will for now remain in force.

12/26/22  Confusion about when use of Title 42 to expel immigrants will cease was addressed by DHS in an all-points memo issued December 24. According to the Feds, Title 42 remains in effect, as does the alternative of “expedited removal” and, for those adjudged to be illegally in the U.S., a bar to entry for five years. Mexico will continue to host Venezuelans, and those who nonetheless try to sneak in will lose access to special provisions that facilitate immigration from their land.

Since April, Texas has bused about 15,000 migrants released by ICE pending adjudication of their asylum claims to “Blue” Washington, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. Three bus loads carrying about 130 undocumented immigrants were dropped off on Christmas eve near Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in D.C. Local agencies and churches are providing housing meals.

12/21/22   Ruling in a lawsuit, a Federal judge had set today as the deadline for discontinuing use of Title 42 authority to summarily expel immigrants. Fearing the consequences of a tidal wave of border-crossers, nineteen States appealed to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts placed the ban on temporary hold while both sides convey their thoughts. Although the President says he favors ending expulsions, a deal seems to be in the works to extend Title 42’s use for a brief period.

12/19/22  Unless it’s superseded, a recent D.C. appellate court ruling means that summary expulsions of immigrants authorized under 42 USC 265 (commonly known as “Title 42”) because of the pandemic will expire in two days. Border cities are thus bracing for a massive influx of migrants. With homeless people already freezing on the streets, El Paso’s mayor declared a state of emergency.

11/16/22  In October alone, Title 42, a U.S. public health law that authorizes emergency action against the spread of disease, was used to expel about forty percent of the more than 200,000 persons encountered along the Southern border. But a D.C. Federal jurist just ruled that this application of the law, justified because of the pandemic, has been “arbitrary and capricious.” To allow CBP time to resume conventional practices, Judge Emmet Sullivan granted a stay of his decision until December 21. Title 42

11/14/22   Confirmed less than a year ago, embattled Customs and Border Protection Chief Chris Magnus has resigned (see 11/12 update).

11/12/22  Nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate last year, CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus, a former small-city police chief, can’t simply be fired. But he just announced that his superior, Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas, wants him to resign. Magnus is under fire from employees and outsiders over massive disorder on the border caused by a surge of immigrants. But he insists that his main job is to oversee and straighten out his own troubled agency. And no, he won’t leave.

11/1/22  In settlement of a lawsuit filed by DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, major grocery chain Giant Foods agreed, among other things, that it would no longer demand that non-citizen job applicants present a so-called “green card” to prove they are legal residents, thus eligible to be hired. Instead, the chain agreed to abide by INA anti-discrimination provisions that require potential employers to accept other forms of proof, including driver licenses and “unrestricted” social security cards.

10/24/22  CBP data indicates a 41 percent increase in encounters with inadmissible migrants along the Southwest border during the past four years. During fiscal year 2019 (Oct 2018 - Sept 2019) 977,509 persons were stopped for illegal entry. That number fell to 458,088 in FY 2020, increased to 1,734,686 in FY 2021, and increased again in FY 2022 to 2,378,944. According to the Washington Post, that’s a record high. And there are consequences. In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams is caught between his support for sanctuary and the costs and disruption of "thousands of migrants arriving on buses." CBP FY 2022 data  CBP news release

10/17/22  To combat a surge in migrants from Venezuela, the Administration has invoked Title 42, the Covid-era relief valve whose use it promised to abandon. But to limit return human traffic, Mexico, the land through which most illegal migrants enter and to which most are expelled, demands that the Administration offer humanitarian parole to at least fifty percent of border crossers. And once Title 42 expires, the legally and procedurally demanding process of detention and deportation will be back.

10/1/22  In West Texas, the warden of a privately-run prison that houses Federal detainees, including migrants, allegedly opened fire on a group of illegal immigrants who had paused to drink water from a reservoir. One migrant was killed and another was wounded. Michael Sheppard, the shooter, and his brother, Mark Sheppard, reportedly observed the migrants while driving by in their truck. Both have been charged with manslaughter, and there are calls for the Feds to file hate crime charges.

9/20/22  Immigration authorities are releasing “tens of thousands” of migrants each month into the U.S. to apply for refugee asylum or humanitarian parole. Migrants who were formerly detained for removal are being paroled to ease the strain on detention facilities; more than forty-thousand were paroled in June alone. Released migrants are scheduled for hearings and must regularly report. Immigration website: Humanitarian admissions     Refugee asylum     Humanitarian parole

9/16/22  While Mexican asylum seekers are usually expelled under Title 42 (COVID), Mexico no longer accepts migrants from elsewhere. U.S. authorities now summarily process asylum seekers from Central America, Africa and other countries and release them awaiting resolution of their claims, a years-long process during which many simply disappear. Their care has defaulted to States and localities, and some have created housing, care and employment programs to handle the new arrivals. But “Red” states such as Texas and Arizona are retaliating by busing migrants to “Blue” places including D.C. and Chicago. And even flying them to Martha's Vineyard, making promises of jobs and housing they know can't be kept (click here for AP article).

9/6/22  Mexican migrants are no longer in the majority in the Border Patrol’s busy Yuma sector. Their place has been taken by persons from “Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, India and dozens of other countries.” They’re normally admitted under asylum rules and given court dates. Not so migrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, who predominate in the Tucson sector. They continue to be expelled under Title 42 COVID rules and are told to wait their turn in Mexico.

9/2/22  Texas Governor Greg Abbott isn’t just busing unwelcome border-crossers to D.C. and New York.  Seventy-five arrived at Chicago’s Union Station two nights ago. They were welcomed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. Bemoaning the Texas Governor’s “racist practices” and lack of “shame or humanity,” a city official pledged to provide COVID-19 vaccines, housing and other assistance so that the new arrivals, and those who follow them, will have an opportunity to prosper.

8/9/22  Texas Governor Gregg Abbott has given “thousands” of immigrants released by the Feds free bus tickets to Washington, D.C. And he’s now extended his generosity to include New York City. “I hope he follows through on his promise of welcoming all migrants with open arms so that our overrun and overwhelmed border towns can find relief,” said Abbott. He’s referring to NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ “sanctuary city” policy, meaning non-cooperation with the Feds. Fifty immigrants arrived in the Big Apple last Friday. And Arizona has begun extending the same courtesies.

8/4/22  A citizen alerted Richmond, Va. police that two men were planning to stage a massacre on July 4th. Following surveillance, officers seized “two assault rifles, a handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition” at the residence of Julio Alvarado-Dubon and Rolman Alberto Balacarcel. Both came to the U.S. illegally from Guatemala, and were arrested on Federal charges of gun possession by an illegal alien.

7/22/22  Ruling 5-4, the Supreme Court refused to grant a stay to a Texas federal judge’s decision, applicable nationwide, prohibiting Immigration officials from using their discretion to defer deporting selected aliens who are illegally in the U.S. and have serious felony convictions. That, claimed the State of Texas, violates Immigration law. A full hearing is set for December. Liberal Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson were joined in dissent by Justice Barrett, a moderate Conservative. Order

7/9/22  Richmond (VA) police arrested two middle-aged Guatemalan men, Roman Balcarcel Ac and Julio Alvarado-Dubon, after a tipster said they were planning a July 4 massacre at a local fireworks show. On July 1 a search of their residence turned up two assault rifles, a handgun and “hundreds” of rounds of ammunition. Both are illegally in the U.S. and cannot legally have firearms. Ac, who has been deported twice, is allegedly connected with a Mexican criminal syndicate. DHS has filed retainers.

An investigation revealed that the horseback-mounted border patrol agents who confronted Haitian migrants last September were directed by a supervisor who agreed to help Texas troopers drive the migrants back to the Rio Grande. But his decision was unauthorized and contrary to policy. Agents "used force or the threat of force," and one acted "unprofessionally" and "unsafely." But none was found to have struck anyone with their reins. In the end, none of the migrants were denied entry (see 9/22 and 9/25 updates).

7/1/22  Three persons were arrested in the smuggling of dozens of illegal immigrants who perished of heat exhaustion in the back of a tractor-trailer. Homero Zamorano Jr., 45, reportedly messaged his accomplices that the trailer’s A/C unit had failed. He picked up the migrants from a “stash house” in Laredo where they waited after crossing into the U.S. His rig was waved through a backed-up internal CBP checkpoint. Searches at these are less likely than at border crossings, and especially now because of “record numbers” of migrants. (See 6/29/23 update)

6/28/22  A “cry for help” led to the discovery of forty-six dead migrants in an abandoned tractor-trailer near San Antonio, Texas. Later the toll rose to fifty-one. At least twenty-two were Mexican nationals; there were also victims from Guatemala and Honduras. Cause of death was presumed to be, as in most such cases, heat exhaustion. A surge in illegal migration has brought far more deaths; last fiscal year’s toll, 557, was more than twice the previous year’s.

6/27/22  A Federal judge in Texas ruled that the Administration’s policy to focus removal efforts on illegal immigrants who pose threats to public safety, national security and border security is illegal. So ICE announced its agents would no longer be bound by the directive, which also lists “mitigating” and “aggravating” factors to help guide decisions to act. But as discretion is intrinsic to its mission - agents can’t arrest everyone - the practical effects of the rollback are unclear. (See 3/12/22 update.)

5/23/22  Sporting tactical vests and armed with AR-15’s, squads of “Patriots for America” militia patrol the Texas border. Border agents and State troopers allow them to interact with detained migrants, and militia members ask them questions about their alleged main concerns: sexual trafficking of minors and drug trafficking. “We’re No. 1 a faith-based organization. We’re Christ-centered,” said a leader. His work is supported by local sheriffs, and the Mayor of Uvalde, Texas lets militia members patrol his town.

5/21/22  Siding with twenty-four States, including Arizona, that sued to block expiration of the Presidential directive that enabled summary deportations because of the pandemic, a Louisiana Federal judge has ruled that the order remain in place. Proponents feared a “wave of illegal migration and drug trafficking” if the “tens of thousands of new migrant admissions” that were certain to occur took place.

5/14/22  A feature story in the L.A. Times accuses ICE of providing poor medical care to detained immigrants, most of whom are held in privately-run facilities. Should their condition turn critical, ICE quickly processes their parole and rushes them to an emergency room, so that if death results, it is not of a person in its custody.

4/30/22  CBP records reveal that Mexican human and drug smugglers use power tools to saw through the bottoms of the newly-installed border walls. Repairs, which usually involve fitting metal sleeves, cost $2.6 million in three years. San Diego-area hospitals frequently admit persons who are injured or killed in falls from the taller, 30-foot segments, which are climbed using ropes and prove the most dangerous. These incidents accounted for 16 percent of the 230 trauma patients treated by one hospital in March.

4/27/22  Title 42, the COVID rule that allowed DHS to promptly expel two million illegal border crossers since 2020, is expiring May 23. It’s thought that border crossing attempts will double. To meet the threat DHS is substantially increasing the capacity to process, detain and transport illegal immigrants. “Central processing centers” are also being created to help multiple agencies coordinate their efforts. DHS fact sheet (see 5/21 update).

4/9/22  Federal authorities indicted eleven U.S. residents, including seven Philippine nationals and one Brazilian living in Los Angeles, for operating a years-long enterprise that created hundreds of fictional “sham” marriages between American citizens and foreigners who wished to emigrate. The plotters’ take from approx. 400 clients was “millions of dollars.” According to DOJ such schemes are not unusual

3/30/22  Illegal border crossings are going up again, and they’re expected to surge should the public health rule that Trump placed into effect, and which Biden continued, be lifted in a few days as expected. That rule allowed ICE to quickly expel migrants during the pandemic, including asylum seekers. But it doesn’t apply to arrivals from Cuba, Venezuela or Nicaragua, with whom the U.S. lacks relations. Instead, they’re released on electronic monitoring and enrolled in an adjudication process that can take “years.”

3/25/22  According to DOJ, backlogged immigration courts can take “several years” to fully adjudicate persons who could be expeditiously removed but “assert a fear of persecution or torture and pass the required credible fear screening.” To bring that down to “several months” a new formal rule will allow immigration officers, rather than only judges, to consider these claims. It will take effect sixty days after official publication and public comment is invited.

3/12/22  President Biden ordered ICE to focus its efforts on arresting and deporting “noncitizens” (formerly called illegal aliens) who pose a serious criminal threat. And the agency’s annual report trumpets the results. During FY 2021 (Oct. 2020-Oct. 2021) nearly half of the 74,082 noncitizens arrested were “convicted criminals.” Of these, 12,025 had “aggravated felony convictions,” nearly twice as many as during FY 20. Criminal records aside, the number arrested was also about 28.5% fewer than in FY 2020, a year during which ICE reported it was constrained by the pandemic.

1/12/22  State law enforcement officers served search warrants targeting Real County, Texas Sheriff Nathan Johnson. He is accused of illegally ordering deputies to seize the cash and personal property of illegal migrants whom they encounter and detain for the Border Patrol. But instead of turning everything over to the Feds, Sheriff Johnson apparently deposits the money into County funds. That, allege state officials, may constitute theft.

12/20/21  Agents employed by Homeland Security Investigations complain that they’re subject to abuse and that other law enforcement agencies refuse to work with them because HSI is a division of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Their mission, though, isn’t about detaining and deporting persons who illegally cross the border. So they’re asking that their unit be reassigned to another agency.

12/13/21  With unprecedented numbers of aliens crossing into Texas - 1.2 million so far this year - two of the State’s counties are arresting migrants for trespassing into border ranches. They’re temporarily housed in a converted prison, and after they appear in court - most cases are dismissed - they’re turned over to immigration authorities. Then the Federal process begins. “Operation Lone Star” uses State Dept. of Public Safety officers, including members of the Highway Patrol, and the National Guard.

10/28/21  A new Homeland Security directive prohibits taking immigration-related enforcement actions “in or near a location that would restrain people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities.” These “protected areas” include schools, medical offices, hospitals and clinics, places of worship, sites of religious and other ceremonies, playgrounds, recreation centers, bus stops, locations where students and young persons gather, and sites of parades or demonstrations.

10/27/21  New enforcement priorities that focus on dangerous immigrants (see 10/1/21 update) have caused routine (“administrative”) immigration arrests in the U.S. interior to plunge from 104,000 during FY 2020 to 72,000 during FY 2021. During 2017-2019 the fiscal year average was 148,000. The decade’s peak was in FY 2011, when 322,093 illegal immigrants were apprehended in the interior.

10/21/21  Federal data reveals that “illegal crossings...skyrocketed in the months after President Biden took office,” with more than 200,000 arrests during July and August alone. For the fiscal year ending October 31, CBP arrested 1.66 million persons for illegal entry, three times the 2012-2020 norm. Mexican nationals comprised 37 percent (608,000). In second place, at 22 percent (367,000) were persons from outside Mexico and Central America. That reflects a “now truly global” problem.

10/13/21  Workplace immigration raids are no longer. According to Alejandro Mayorkas, Secy. of Homeland Security, mass arrests at worksites “misallocated enforcement resources while chilling, and even serving as a tool of retaliation for, worker cooperation in workplace standards investigations.” Such raids were popular during the last Administration. One major example, a coordinated August 2019 raid of poultry plants in Mississippi, resulted in the arrest of nearly 700 illegal immigrants.

10/1/21  On Sept. 30 Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, issued a memo that identifies three categories of “undocumented noncitizens” to be actively sought out for apprehension and removal: those who threaten national security through terrorism or espionage; who threaten public safety by serious criminal misconduct; or who threaten border security. That latter group comprises persons apprehended during unlawful entry and persons who illegally entered the U.S. after 11/1/20. “In exercising our discretion, we are guided by the fact that the majority of undocumented noncitizens who could be subject to removal have been contributing members of our communities for years.”

9/25/21  According to the White House, the President’s threats to punish horse-mounted agents (they have been removed from the field and await possible discipline) weren’t pre-judgments but reactions “from the heart.” Meanwhile the Del Rio camp has been closed. So far 2,000 migrants have been returned to Haiti via air, 12,400 were allowed entry and scheduled to make their case in court, and 5,000 are in custody pending a decision on which way to proceed.

9/23/21  With as many as fifteen-thousand illegal migrants already in the Del Rio area, and thousands more reportedly on the way, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott dispatched state troopers and national guard. They created a “steel wall” by lining up miles of state vehicles to block entry. “We effectively...regained control of the border” Abbott said.

9/22/21  Images of Border Patrol agents on horseback trying to physically restrain illegal Haitian migrants from entering a massive encampment along the Texas border are ricocheting across the political landscape, causing a major problem for President Biden as he works to return thousands to their homeland. Many of those pictured are coming back with food and supplies they bought in Mexico.

9/19/21  As many as fourteen-thousand illegal immigrants, mostly from Haiti, are camped under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas, a border town of about 40,000. Under watch by Border Patrol, the migrants are being processed under the emergency provisions of Title 42, and some have begun to be placed on flights for return to Haiti. Overwhelmed by the recent crush of illegal migration, the Feds are appealing a  judicial ruling that in effect gives them only two more weeks to use Title 42 for expedited expulsion.

9/16/21   U.S. border authorities detained 212,672 illegal migrants in July 2121, the most in twenty-one years. In August the number was a slightly smaller 208,887. One in four was a repeat offender, far higher than the past average of 14 percent. According to a top Republican Senator, this “unlawful migration crisis” is due to a thoughtless “dismantling” of prior policies, with nothing to replace them.

8/13/21  CBP reports that the CDC Title 42 summary expulsion of illegal immigrants because of COVID  increased encounters with repeaters, from 14 percent before the pandemic to 27 percent at present. So far this fiscal year (Oct. 2020 to present) agents have encountered “845,307 unique individuals” compared with 796,400 during the same period during the prior fiscal year. To deter repeaters CBP has begun a program to refer those who had been formally deported for prosecution.

7/31/21  As part of Texas’ border security initiative, which includes building fences and interdicting the flow of drugs, Governor Greg Abbott ordered troopers to “stop and turn around” vehicles smuggling immigrants, supposedly to combat the spread of COVID. That finally proved too much for the U.S. Justice Department. Insisting that border affairs are not Texas’ business, it sued in Federal court.

7/26/21  In June the Border Patrol encountered 188,829 migrants at the Southern border, “the largest in years.” A profusion of migrant deaths and disappearances has led the agency to place numerous signs bearing GPS coordinates and install solar-powered, camera-equipped beacons in remote areas to help the lost and injured. As they conduct more rescues and recover more remains agents are also increasingly turning to forensic techniques to identify victims and prosecute smugglers.

7/23/21  In June DHS announced that, consistent with the new Administration’s policies, it would “end wall expansion to the extent permitted by law” and use the funds to correct “life, safety, and environmental concerns” created by prior wall-building efforts. Congress would be asked to cancel funds appropriated for building barriers and allow their use for “modern, effective border measures to improve safety and security.” As a first step, on July 23 DHS announced the cancellation of a planned 31-mile barrier project in the Laredo sector.

7/17/21  On 7/16 a Texas Federal judge declared that the DACA Program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) “was created in violation of law” and issued a permanent injunction prohibiting any further grants of protected status. However, persons can continue to apply for the program, and current holders will continue to receive DACA’s benefits pending DHS review and rulings from higher courts.

6/26/21  Vice-President Harris visited the border and met with officials and immigrants to help develop policies that address “the root causes” of illegal immigration: “poverty, corruption, violence, and a climate crisis.” According to DHS, fewer unaccompanied children (UC) and families are being encountered. But the numbers still seem very large. Projected “encounters” with UC’s in June are down 21 percent from the March peak of 19,000. Their average time in custody fell from about five days to one. In May 2019 there were 89,000 family encounters; in March 2021 the number was 55,000.

6/4/21  How best to check the identities of the “tens of thousands” of asylum-seekers awaiting entry to the U.S.? As part of the solution, DHS has implemented a facial-recognition app. that allows CBP to compare images of would-be entrants to persons already in its database and confirm whether they have officially applied or are part of the subset who may enter despite the COVID-19 policy that’s kept them out. But civil libertarians worry about the app’s security and its potential for error and misuse.

5/29/21  Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a farmwoker illegally in the U.S., was convicted of murdering U of Iowa student Mollie Tibbets in July 2018. He had been arrested the following month after being seen driving a vehicle that distinctly resembled a car that stalked Tibbetts while she jogged. Rivera blamed the killing on “two masked men” who forced him to help dispose of her body. (See 8/21/18 entry.)

4/4/21  A fifteen-year high of 170,000 illegal migrants were detained at the Southern border in March. With ICE facilities overwhelmed by the need to house “thousands” of unaccompanied children, and Mexico unable to help, many migrant families are being given court dates and released into the U.S.

3/7/21  Belief that the U.S. will liberalize admissions has led to a surge of migrants from Central America and Mexico, further straining border regions that were already besieged. “We’ve heard that [Biden] won’t separate families” said a man from Honduras who made the trip with his wife and two children.  “Title 42,” the Federal code that was used to summarily expel illegal immigrants because of the pandemic, is no longer being applied to unaccompanied minors, and accommodating their growing numbers is proving a major challenge.

2/27/21  Immigration authorities reported that in January nearly six-thousand unaccompanied minors  illegally crossed into the U.S. Their purpose was mostly to join adults already present, and they typically sought out officers and surrendered. Unlike adult entrants, minors can’t be summarily expelled. Their numbers are growing as is the difficulty of properly housing them. Critics blame the new Administration’s more welcoming posture for encouraging the influx.

2/24/21  Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed a “welcoming city ordinance” that officially ends cooperation with immigration authorities unless (click here) “they are wanted on a criminal warrant by local or federal authorities, if they have been convicted of a serious crime and remain in the United States illegally, or if they are otherwise a clear threat to public safety or national security.”

2/19/21  Acting under executive order, ICE is prioritizing enforcement of three classes of “noncitizens”: (1) national security risks; (2) persons who illegally entered on or after 11/1/20; and (3) persons who are considered public safety threats and have been convicted of an “aggravated felony” or actively participate in a “transnational” gang. Removal of noncitizens not in these categories requires special permission. Click here for the detailed ICE memo.

2/8/21  Perceptions of the new Administration’s more welcoming posture has led to a “building crisis” as a surge of migrant families from Central America severely tests border controls.

1/22/21  The proposed “U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021” would, among other things, allow persons unlawfully present in the U.S. to apply for “temporary legal status” that could become permanent if they keep out of trouble and pay taxes for five years. Immediate green cards would go to “dreamers,” persons with humanitarian temporary protected status and certain farmworkers.

12/22/20  To avert a looming shutdown Congress approved a $1.4 trillion spending package for 2021. It includes $1.4 billion for border wall construction, somewhat less than the $2 million demanded by President Trump. Some police reform initiatives such as a chokehold ban were rejected. However, $5 million was allocated to track police misuse of force and misconduct, and $5 million for an AG task force on police oversight. Nearly $200 million will be expended to help reduce evidence processing backlogs.

11/8/20  Interviews by the New York Times revealed split opinions between Blacks and Whites about the protests sparked by police use of force against minorities, with Blacks generally viewing them as reflective of their everyday concerns while many Whites expressed anxiety about the impact of the disorder on their communities.

11/4/20  A national exit poll of approx. 16,000 voters about five issues: racial inequality, the pandemic, the economy, crime and safety, and health care revealed that, for those for whom “crime and safety” mattered the most, 71 percent voted for President Trump and 28 percent for Joe Biden. Trump’s supporters made up 83 percent of those who felt that the CJ system treats everyone fairly, and 17 percent of those who felt that it treats Blacks unfairly.

10/22/20  A major DOJ report about Federal efforts to “dismantle” the MS-13 gang cites 749 prosecutions and “more than 500 convictions” during the past four years, with sentences including 37 life terms. Of those prosecuted, at least three-quarters were illegally present in the U.S.

10/17/20  According to the Department of Justice, 27,494 known or suspected aliens were serving a Federal prison sentence as of Sept. 30, 2019. Seventy-two percent were confirmed as illegally in the U.S. About half were imprisoned on drug crimes; thirty percent for alien smuggling or illegal re-entry; five percent for fraud; four percent for weapons crimes; and 3.7 percent for racketeering.

8/8/20  Agents investigating a sinkhole found what a U.S. border patrol chief describes as “the most sophisticated tunnel in U.S. history.” Stretching from San Luis, Arizona to a neighborhood in Mexico, the reinforced, 3 foot X 4 foot tunnel sported rail tracks, ventilation, water and electricity.

8/8/20  Illegal crossing into the U.S. has “soared,” with the number of arrests more than doubling. Migrants say that a COVID-19 policy that quickly boots them out encourages them to promptly try again: “what’s encouraging us now is that because of the pandemic, they are letting us go quickly.” In March the CDC ordered the border patrol to bypass detention and immediately expel illegal crossers.

7/24/20  Smuggling gangs are using portable power tools to breach new sections of the border wall, “opening gaps large enough for people and drug loads to pass through.” One problem is that the vertical sections (“bollards”) are attached only at the top, so the bottoms can be more easily pushed aside.

7/4/20  Six members of the notorious MS-13 gang, of whom at least four originally entered the U.S. illegally as unaccompanied minors, have been arrested for the ambush murder of a Wheaton, Maryland painter. According to police, the victim was targeted because he had beaten up one of his assailants for burglarizing his apartment (click here for details about the murder.) Police blame a Federal resettlement program for importing gang members into the U.S. According to the Washington Post, 42 teens who entered the U.S. unaccompanied during the last three years became involved in MS-13 violence. Nineteen have been charged with murder; three were killed.

6/16/20  The Supreme Court refused to hear the U.S. Government’s appeal of Federal court rulings that uphold California’s “sanctuary” law. Known as S.B. 54, it bars law enforcement officers from assisting Federal immigration agents except when their targets have been convicted of serious crimes.

4/13/20 New York State’s recently approved “Green Light Law,” allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver licenses and blocking ICE access to DMV records, was denounced by the Federal Law Enforcement Officer’s Association, which warns that it endangers public safety.

3/17/20  With construction suspended by the new Administration, incomplete sections of the border wall abound, creating visual and physical blight. And, according to Republican lawmakers, offering a profusion of places where persons can cross at will. But President Biden rescinded the “national emergency” that authorized using defense funds, and improving the wall’s coverage seems out of reach.

3/6/20  DOJ announced that ICE will soon begin routinely collecting DNA from “certain” persons who are detained for illegal entry. As is the case for ordinary arrestees, these samples will be included in the FBI’s national CODIS database. Officials are preparing a rule that will identify exactly whom among the scores of illegal migrants the new procedure will affect.

3/4/20  Thirteen persons lost their lives when an SUV crammed with more than two dozen illegal immigrants was struck by a large truck at an intersection about thirty miles inside the U.S. Immigration authorities reported that the SUV and a companion vehicle had breached a cut in the bollard fencing, and that the other vehicle, which carried nineteen illegal immigrants, had caught fire during the incursion. Its occupants were arrested.

2/14/20 Special teams of border agents are being deployed in nine areas, including Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, whose “sanctuary” policies preclude cooperating with ICE. Their function will be to track down and arrest immigration scofflaws who would otherwise avoid removal.

2/11/20 In a speech to a national sheriff’s group, AG William Barr announced hopes that the Supreme Court would overrule California laws that obstruct immigration enforcement. He also announced lawsuits against New Jersey, which keeps police from sharing information with ICE, and King County, Washington, which forbids deportation flights from its airport.

2/7/20 Four days ago NYPD officers arrested Gaspar Avendano-Hernandez, a two-time deportee, for felony driving with a forged license plate. As New York is a sanctuary state, police ignored a detainer and released the man without giving notice. ICE then confronted him at a home. A fight ensued and agents wound up shooting and wounding a young resident who interfered.

1/18/20 A 92-year old New York City woman was raped and murdered January 6. Four days later police arrested Reeaz Khan, 21, an illegal immigrant. ICE had filed a detainer against Khan after his arrest by NYPD in November for assaulting his father. But New York City law prohibits acting on detainers except for persons who have been convicted of serious crimes or whose names appear on a terrorist database. Khan met neither criterion so police released him without notice.

7/27/19 Title 8, section 1325 (a)(1) makes it a Federal crime for an alien to “enter or attempt to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers.” The next section, 1325 (a)(2), prohibits “elud[ing] examination or inspection by immigration officers.” According to the Ninth Circuit, many (a)(2) convictions in San Diego (the L.A. Times says “thousands”) are invalid because there was no “eluding,” so they should have been prosecuted under (a)(1). Justice Bybee concurred but noted that the Circuit’s prior decisions made proving (a)(1) too complicated.

7/26/19  Ruling that objectors (including the Sierra Cluib) lacked legal standing, the Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s decision to spend $2.5 billion in Pentagon funds on a border wall in California, New Mexico and Arizona, where he said it’s needed to fight drug running.

7/17/19 Federal authorities indicted twenty-two Los Angeles-area members of the MS-13 gang, an ultra-violent group that originated in El Salvador. Among other things, the defendants  allegedly hacked to death seven “transgressors,” dismembering them with knives and machetes. Nineteen of the accused allegedly entered the U.S. illegally during the past four years.

7/13/19 In connection with her Presidential campaign, Senator Elizabeth Warren released a proposal that would, among other things, decriminalize illegal entry, making it a civil violation. Of the candidates, only Joe Biden has come out in favor of retaining illegal entry as a criminal offense.

7/9/19 Thanks to America’s switch to fentanyl, many Mexican farm families who cultivated opium poppies “so that your kids could go to school, so you could buy clothes, so that you could get something extra” face potential ruin. For some, the fix is to emigrate (illegally) to America.

3/27/19 In 2016 Jose Zarate, an illegal alien with five prior deportations, discharged a gun in public; a bullet ricoched and killed San Francisco resident Kathryn Steinle. At the time Zarate was free on a drug case, but the city’s sanctuary policy forbid telling ICE of his release. Zarate served three years in State prison for felon with a gun. He still pends Federal charges for that offense.

3/6/19 According to the head of CBP, a pronounced increase in large family groups crossing illegally in sparsely guarded remote areas has brought the system to the “breaking point.” Illegal entries in February exceeded 76,000, almost twice the number in 2018.

2/9/19 The Los Angeles City Council declared L.A. “A City of Sanctuary.” Its only practical effect is to reaffirm long-standing policy that prohibits officers from stopping persons to inquire about their immigration status. Recent state law already includes other restrictions (see 9/5/17, below.)

2/16/19  President Trump signed a bill providing $1.375 billion to erect 55 miles of border barrier in the Rio Grande Valley (a similar request had been turned away by the GAO. See above.) He also issued an Executive Order that would redirect $8.1 billion for border barriers from funds available to Treasury and Defense.

1/31/19 Federal agents arrested owners and associates of several California-based travel agencies for running a multi-year “birth tourism” conspiracy that helped expectant Chinese mothers use false pretenses to come to the U.S. as tourists and give birth. Fees ranged to as high as $100,000.

1/3/19 In Tulare County, CA, a twice-deported illegal immigrant went on a robbery and shooting rampage, killing one person and wounding six. He was fatally injured when he wrecked his car during a pursuit in which he shot at police. Three days earlier Gustavo Garcia, 36, was released from jail after being arrested for a drug offense. Although ICE filed a detainer, he was let go because California law prohibits honoring detainers unless they are supported by a Federal arrest warrant.

1/3/19 An illegal Mexican immigrant was arrested for shooting and killing Newman, CA police officer Ronil Singh during a Dec. 26th. traffic stop. Gustavo Arriaga, who was stopped for possible DUI, had failed to appear on two prior DUI arrests, including one where he caused injury. Two other illegal aliens were arrested for interfering with the investigation.

10/5/18 Republicans are highlighting three killings to warn against illegal immigration. One is of Luis Bracamontes, an illegal alien from Mexico presently on death row for murdering two northern-California area sheriff’s deputies in 2014.

9/26/18 Los Angeles police arrested Ramon Escobar, 47, for bludgeoning three homeless persons to death as they slept and injuring a half-dozen others. Escobar, a native of El Salvador, served five years in Texas for burglary and other crimes. He has also been repeatedly convicted of re-entry after deportation. ICE released him in January 2017 pending resolution of his application for asylum.

ICE statement: “After illegally reentering the U.S. following his most-recent removal Alberto-Escobar filed an appeal of his immigration case with the Board of Immigration Appeals in June 2016, which the courts granted in December 2016. ICE released him from custody on an Order of Supervision in January 2017 pursuant to the court's decision.”

8/21/18 A 24-year old Mexican man illegally in the U.S. has been charged with murdering missing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts [see 5/29/21 entry]. In a separate case, it was confirmed that the man detained by California-based ICE agents while accompanying his wife to give birth in a hospital was wanted on a Mexican murder warrant. Agents’ actions in this case had earlier drawn severe criticism.

7/14/18 ICE filed a detainer against a 32-year old Whittier (CA) man who fled in a stolen car after allegedly attacking and injuring his wife with a chain saw. Alejandro Villegas, 32, has prior convictions for drugs and drunken driving. An illegal alien, he has been removed eleven times.

7/2/18 Separating immigrant children from their parents, an on-again, off-again practice brought on by a new policy to arrest and prosecute all illegal immigrants, has been officially condemned by the presidents of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, who warn that it places the children’s mental and physical health at serious risk.

4/13/18 New York City public defenders object that ICE arrests their clients when they appear in court on local charges, which discourages them and witnesses from showing up. ICE argues that 2014 city laws that generally prohibit jails from complying with detainers has forced agents to make more hazardous arrests in the community.

4/12/18 Ruling on a lawsuit filed by Los Angeles, a U.S. District judge ruled that Federal law enforcement grants cannot be conditioned on whether police assist in immigration enforcement.

4/7/18 In San Francisco Federal authorities aided by local police arrested ten members of a Hispanic gang for running a criminal drug sales enterprise in which they shot and killed seven rival gangsters. All were reportedly born in the U.S. but have roots in Los Angeles and Latin America.

4/7/18 In a move that parallels deployments under presidents Obama and G.W. Bush, up to 4,000 National Guard members will be sent to support DHS efforts along the U.S.-Mexico border. So far Guard units in Arizona, Texas and Nevada are expected to participate.

3/27/18 Orange County, Calif. “revolted” against state law that restricts police from cooperating with ICE (see 9/5/17) by making inmate release dates public and placing them online.

3/18/18 Turning away challenges from the state’s major cities, a Federal appeals court upheld Texas state law that requires honoring ICE detainers and allows police to ask about immigration status of those whom they lawfully stop.

3/7/18 DOJ filed a Federal lawsuit that would nullify new California laws which prohibit businesses from voluntarily helping ICE, forbid jails from alerting ICE about impending releases, and require that the State inspect and approve immigration detention centers.

1/18/18 Upping the “sanctuary State” ante, California’s Attorney General threatened to prosecute businesses for violating a recently enacted State law that bars them from voluntarily sharing employee records with ICE (Government Code, sec. 7285.2).

11/26/17 Georgia takes immigration enforcement seriously. State law lets local police inquire into immigration status, and many illegal immigrants get caught when driving without a license. Atlanta jails participate in the 287-g program and check immigration status of arrestees. ICE agents actively seek out illegal immigrants with serious criminal records, arresting them at home and at work.

9/5/17 California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 54, “The California Values Act,” which forbids law enforcement agencies from cooperating with ICE unless illegal immigrants have been convicted of a violent or serious felony or are the subject of a Federal felony warrant. It enlarges upon the 2013 “Trust Act,” which forbid holding illegal immigrants not convicted of a “serious” or “violent” felony past their release date.