DHS Progress Report: The Challenge of Reform (March, 2010). Immigration Policy Center. March, 2010 marks the seventh anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its immigration agencies. It also marks the end of a sweeping internal review ordered by Secretary Janet Napolitano, a review which as not been made public. The following IPC report finds the department is caught between the competing priorities of old broken policy and new reforms. While DHS has failed to meet key expectations in some areas, it has engaged thoughtfully and strategically in others, and has made some fundamental changes in how it conducts its immigration business.
The Criminal Alien Program: Immigration Enforcement in Travis County, Texas (February, 2010). The Immigration Policy Center's report by Andrea Guttin, Esq. provides a history and analysis of ICE's problematic enforcement program, as well as a case study of the Criminal Alien Program (CAP) implementation in Travis County, Texas. CAP--a program administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)--is designed to screen inmates in prisons and jails, identify deportable non-citizens, and place them into deportation proceedings. However, in the years since CAP was initiated, there have been concerns about whether or not ICE is actually targeting immigrants with serious criminal records.
The Secure Communities Program: Unanswered Questions and Continuing Concerns (November, 2009). As the Department of Homeland Security marks the one-year anniversary of its Secure Communities Program - the latest partnership between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local jails to identify and deport "criminal aliens"- the Immigration Policy Center is releasing this special report. The report asks key questions, raises serious concerns about the program, and provides recommendations for its improvement.
Attorneys’ Perspectives on the Rights of Detained Immigrants in Minnesota (November, 2009). This study sampled attorneys who represent detained immigrants and public defenders who are appointed to represent detained immigrants for criminal violations. The study collected reports of violations of clients’ rights and includes results on barriers to representation and medical care.
Severing a Lifeline: The Neglect of Citizen Children in America’s Immigration Enforcement Policy (2009)
Dorsey & Whitney LLP and the Urban Institue examine the events surrounding, and impact of, recent worksite and home raids conducted by ICE across the nation, and how immigration raids impact families- especially citizen children.
Immigration Enforcement and Its Unintended Consequences: The Impact on America's Children (March, 2008). Immigration Policy Center. Drawing from a longer, more in-depth study, this document covers immigration raids’ effects on children and short-term recommendations on how to minimize their impact.
Forced Apart: Families Separated and Immigrants Harmed by United States Deportation Policy (July, 2007). Human Rights Watch. Hundreds of thousands of families throughout the United States are being forced apart by punitive and inflexible U.S. deportation policies. Regularly, legal immigrants who have lived in the country for decades with family members who are citizens or lawful permanent residents are being deported from the United States.
Paying the Price: The Impact of Immigration Raids on America's Children (2007). The Urban Institute. Represents a collaborative effort between the Urban Institute and the National Council of La Raza to better understand how many children are potentially at risk of having a parent deported and/or detained as a result of worksite enforcement actions, and the potential impacts of such actions on these children.
Immigration Detention Centers under the Microscope: Recent Reports Reveal Widespread Violations of the National Detention Standards (July, 2007). The National Immigration Law Center. References smaller recent reports and looks at the conditions of detention centers. Problems and potential solutions are identified and discussed.