A Statistical Overview of Immigration Enforcement Actions in 2009

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Austin Kennedy

The Office of Immigration Statistics recently released its Annual Report presenting information on the apprehension, detention, return and removal of foreign nationals in the United States during 2009.  The report is illuminating and helpful because it uses specific numbers to describe a concept (immigration enforcement) that is all-too-often described with a blur of heated generalities.  The report's key findings demonstrate that the following immigration enforcement activities took place in 2009:

  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS) apprehended 613,000 foreign nationals, 86% of whom were natives of Mexico; 
  • The number of foreign nationals apprehended by Border Patrol decreased by 23% between 2008 and 2009; 
  • ICE detained approximately 383,000 foreign nationals; 
  • 393,000 foreign nationals were removed from the United States--the seventh consecutive record high.  The leading countries of origin of those removed were Mexico (72%), Guatemala (7%), and Honduras (7 percent); 
  • DHS removed 128,000 known criminal aliens (i.e., those who have a criminal conviction) from the United States; and
  • 580,000 foreign nationals were returned to their home countries without a removal order.  

I'm definitely interested to see the details of 2010's Annual Report.  Contrary to what is commonly perceived, in many ways the Obama Administration has really ratcheted up immigration enforcement, though they've commonly used enforcement methods that don't generate the attention-grabbing 'RAID' headlines we saw so much of in 2008-2009.   

Tags: , ,

The Basics of Removal Law (aka Deportation)

Posted on March 6, 2009 by Austin Kennedy

In 1996 Congress adopted the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (commonly referred to as IIRIRA). The 1996 laws changed the rules by which noncitizens could be physically removed (ie., deported) from the United States. Most notably, the laws expanded the category of crimes known as aggravated felonies by adding many types of crimes and lowering the threshold for other crimes to qualify as aggravated felonies. This monumentally changed immigration law because aggravated felonies are the category of crimes that, when alleged against a noncitizen, make that noncitizen eligible for removal (ie., deportation).

In addition to murder and drug or firearms trafficking, aggravated felonies now include all crimes of violence or theft when the term of imprisonment is one year or more. More broadly, a noncitizen alleged to have committed a crime involving “moral turpitude” is likely to be put in removal or deportation proceedings. In general terms, a crime involving moral turpitude is a crime that is inherently base, vile, depraved and contrary to the excepted rules of morality. Determining whether an alleged crime should be viewed as a crime involving moral turpitude (and thus making the accused eligible for removal) requires a thorough analysis of the state’s code under which the crime is defined. Having said that, the following crimes have regularly been categorized as crimes involving moral turpitude: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, fraud, theft, spousal or child abuse, incest, voluntary manslaughter and statutory rape. If removed, aggravated felons are permanently barred from reentering the United States unless the Attorney General provides permission for them to renter.

Legal changes in the 1990s also decreased other defenses against removal, even for aliens who are not aggravated felons. Currently, aliens who have committed certain crimes may be granted a waiver under limited circumstances, the primary one of which is preventing “extreme” hardship to the alien’s U.S. citizen or permanent resident child, spouse, or parent. In practice, the standard for proving “extreme” hardship is very difficult to prove. There is no bright line for what constitutes such a hardship, but typically it means that the noncitizen, if removed, will be abandoning multiple dependents without support or with limited support in the United States. Once removed, aliens who are not aggravated felons are barred from reentering the United States for five (5) to twenty (20) years.

And finally, we come to the charging document that begins the removal and deportation processes—the Notice to Appear (ie., NTA). At a minimum, the NTA does the following:

• states the factual allegations for which the person is charged with removability;
• indicates the section of the law allegedly violated;
• gives the date and time of the hearing;
• advises the accused individual of certain rights, including the right to counsel at no expense to the government; and
• notifies the alien of his or her obligation regarding change of address and the consequences for failing to appear for a hearing.

Suffice it to say, removal and deportation law is exponentially more complicated and nuanced than what I’ve described above. With that said, if you or a loved one has received a Notice to Appear, you really ought to contact a qualified immigration attorney to analyze your situation and apprise you of your rights.
 

Tags: , , ,