![]() | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(November 2017) |
Immigrant surveillance refers to the practice of tracking both illegal and legal immigrants through several methods, some of which include electronic verification, border surveillance, or federal raids. Historically, countries such as the United States have required that immigrants carry evidence of citizenship. [1] Controversies within immigrant surveillance in the United States involve the alleged racial profiling committed by police departments and negligence found in detention centers. [2] [3] Laws concerning surveillance and immigration vary by country but terrorist attacks have made the issue more prevalent. [4]
Immigrant surveillance has been a prevalent issue throughout United States history. Historians argue that policies involving immigration surveillance are a product of nativism and can be evidenced throughout United States history. [5] The Alien and Sedition Acts of the 1790s is one of the earliest cases of immigration surveillance, allowing the president to act on their own discretion in regards to whether or not non-citizens were dangerous to the country because of their nationality. [1] Congress passed its first exclusionary immigration law with the Page Act of 1875, which prohibited entry to immigrants from Asia that were thought of as undesirable, such as prostitutes and convicts. [6] In 1893, a United States Supreme Court case involving a similar issue, Fong Yue Ting v. United States , ruled that the federal government had the right to arrest and deport non-citizens if they failed to carry certification verifying their lawful residency even if there was no other crimes committed. [1]
After the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 by Leon Czologosz, the son of Polish immigrants, the United States acted to exclude the entry of anarchists or those who had violet opposition to the United States government. [7]
During World War I, Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1918 which ordered the deportation of immigrants that held anarchist beliefs in the United States. During the war, anti-German sentiments began increasing in the United States. [5] The Department of Justice began placing German nationals in internment camps as a result of the war. The number of German nationals arrested during 1918 rose to 6,300. Those who were not placed in internment camps were required to register and were ordered not to leave the country. [5]
The government began to take increasing actions against potentially dangerous immigrants during World War II. This was the result of the Pearl Harbor attack by Japanese forces. The Smith Act was enacted in 1940 and dealt with the deportation for various offenses and added registration requirements, including the fingerprinting of immigrants before being issued a visa. [5] In addition to the Smith Act, the federal government ordered the internment of over 100,000 people of Japanese descent, many of which were immigrants. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 which established legislation that authorized the payment of $20,000 to each surviving Japanese American that was affected by internment. [8]
J. Edgar Hoover also ordered for the detention of Italian and German immigrants during this time because of their connections to the war. Four days before the United States declared war on Italy, government agencies began detaining German nationals and detained them in facilities for processing before their eventual internment. [9] President Roosevelt signed Proclamation No. 2527, which categorized illegal Italian immigrants as "alien enemies." Though Proclamation No. 2527 only categorized illegal Italian Americans as enemies, Italians with American citizenship were also targeted for arrests. [9] Under Proclamation No. 2526, German nationals and German Americans were also arrested and detained.
After World War II, surveillance against alleged communists and foreign nationals became widespread. The McCarthyism Era began around 1947 and ended in the late 1950s. [1] With the rise of the McCarthyism Era in the United States, anyone who had ideals that contrasted that of the United States, such as communists, would be questioned. This resulted in the deportation of approximately 850 non-citizens to Europe. [1] This also led to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 which introduced an ideological criteria. Immigrants and visitors of the United States were denied entry on the basis of political ideology, this was used to limit communism. Though the curbing of communism was the end goal of McCarthyism, many anarchists were also not widely accepted. [1]
After the September 11 attacks, the United States increased its surveilling of citizens and non-citizens in order to prevent terrorism. After the attacks, the United States focused on issuing various forms of counter-terrorism, from internet surveillance to increased border surveillance. The United States government alongside some states, increased efforts to regulate immigration from the interior of the border. The proposals that have been drafted and passed by lawmakers expect individuals to demonstrate their lawful presence in the United States. [10] With the passing of the Patriot Act, the possibility of indefinite detentions for immigrants became possible. [11] The Patriot Act was enacted seven weeks after the September 11 attacks and allowed for the deportation of immigrants that were suspected of terrorist activity. Under the Patriot Act, immigrants that were considered threats to national security could also be indefinitely detained without the possibility of bond. Detention would also become indefinite if the immigrant's country did not want to receive the immigrant in question. [12] As a result of this, multiple civil liberties organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) began to file lawsuits against federal districts to declare the detention of multiple Muslim men unconstitutional. [12]
President Donald J. Trump first announced that he would halt muslim immigration to the United States in his presidential campaign citing the San Bernardino mass shooting. [12] Following the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, President Trump announced that he would follow through with his proposal of an immigration ban or registry system for Muslims living in the United States. [12]
Since 2002, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made the enforcement of surveillance interior of the border its main priority, focusing on undocumented workers, suspected gang members, and unlawful immigrants with the final order of removal. [13] Two of the biggest operations that targeted these groups have been Operation Return to Sender and Operation Community Shield, conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) starting in 2006.
In a legislative response to the September 11 attacks, Congress passed the Aviation Transportation and Security Act (ATSA) in November 2001. This required all baggage screeners to be United States citizens. The ATSA also created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) which ensures the safety of the traveling population in the United States. Passing of the ATSA ensured that many airports would have high security standards, but resulted in immigrants losing their jobs because of it. [7] During the passing of the ATSA, approximately twenty percent of airport screeners were legal immigrants. [7]
In 2002, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it would renew the enforcement of section 265(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which required all non-citizens to report if there was a change in their address. [7] This was met with controversy because many of those who tried to submit forms stating their change of address were not able to have their forms processed. In July 2002, it was reported that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) had approximately 200,000 unprocessed change of address forms. [7]
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has issued no-match letters, which notifies employers that they have workers with Social Security Numbers that do not match the name stated in the SSA database. The program received an expansion and issued approximately 750,000 letters to employers in 2002. In turn, the earnings made by workers that are named in the no-match letters must fix the error in order to receive them. The Earnings Suspense File, an electronic holding file for wages that cannot be claimed to earnings, has not decreased in size through this method. [7] Another technological advancement that has resulted in surveillance is E-Verify. E-Verify has the ability to determine the citizenship status of a potential employee and allows for the employer to act on their own discretion with this information. This is considered a helpful program that assists employers to protect themselves from hiring unlawful immigrants, which is punishable by law. Some critics of E-Verify argue that this further makes immigrants more vulnerable to exploitation. [14]
Since the September 11 attacks, measures were taken to keep the borders of the United States secure. President George W. Bush signed the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002. This Act provides for the increase of intelligence gathering and allows for information found to be shared among government agencies. [7] This act focused on the security arrangements between the United States, Mexico, and Canada in hopes of preventing another terrorist attack. In addition, the Bush administration signed agreements with Canada and Mexico in order to create regional security zones, later referred to the Smart Border agreements. What was initially a four-part Action Plan turned into a thirty-point Action Plan within a year. [7] Within the Mexico–United States border, there have been new implementations to surveil people that cross unlawfully. Ground-level radar is used to detect movement at the border, using computer programs to determine if it is an animal versus a human. [15] The law enforcement located at the port of entry focuses on the foot and car traffic. The documentation that is required at this port has become more difficult to forge, now requiring a biometric identification that can be found on a computer-readable strip.
The Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment is often used to argue against the federal raids that occur in the homes of unlawful immigrants, sometimes resulting in illegal searches and seizes. [9] The Fourth Amendment has been interpreted to signify that a warrant or probable cause is required in order to search a home, but this is not relevant when there is a suspicion that a person is violating a law. [9] Though the Fourth Amendment was initially created to protect the home, it protects persons from public seizes more than it does private ones. If the Fourth Amendment is violated, the person can sue the officer in question for damages in federal court. [16] In the United States Supreme Court decision, United States v. Martinez-Fuerte , it was decided that the Fourth Amendment was not violated in cases of interior checkpoints. [17] Though this became a decision because of the importance of public interest over the protected interest of a private citizen, some would argue that this allowed for racial profiling because it permits for the inspection of suspicious persons. [13]
One of the most controversial issues within immigration surveillance are the raids conducted by ICE. Though some of the programs conducted by ICE have been effective in deporting copious numbers of people, it has been met with criticism and multiple lawsuits. [16] These lawsuits came after some of the homes that were raided had outdated and inaccurate information about the persons living in the residence. Immigrant rights organizations have critiqued the methods ICE uses to detain illegal immigrants, sometimes grouping criminal illegal immigrants with non-violent illegal immigrants. Some of the critics of the program believe the behavior of ICE is coercive because of how they choose to identify themselves to residents and the lack of information they offer residents, making it unclear that there is the ability to refuse consent. [16] Those who praise the programs have done so because of the large arrest rates. Between May 2006 and February 2007, Operation Return to Sender lead to the arrest of 18,149 people. [16] The Obama Administration oversaw mass deportations that occurred in 2014, many illegal immigrants deported were of Central American descent. [12]
Arizona was in the midst of controversy during 2010 due to its passage of Arizona SB 1070, making it a misdemeanor crime if an unlawful citizen did not carry identification that determined if they were in the country legally. This legislation also allowed for officers to attempt to determine an individual's immigration status based on reasonable suspicion. [2] Arizona was the first state in the country to pass legislation that penalized employers for knowingly hiring unlawful immigrants. In addition, Joe Arpaio, former sheriff of Maricopa County, was another controversial figure at the time due to the raids he conducted in predominantly Latino neighborhoods in Phoenix. [2] The controversies surrounding the state of Arizona called for different social organizations, such as the ACLU to challenge the law. Opponents of this law cited that it promoted racial profiling and was surveilling people unlawfully. [2]
Detention centers in the United States have become a controversial topic due to the reports and allegations of mistreatment towards illegal immigrants. In 2009, the ACLU and the National Immigration Law Center filed a lawsuit concerning the treatment of immigrants within a detention center in Los Angeles. The lawsuit filed by both agencies detailed that the detainees were held up to ten hours or more despite overcrowding in the detention center and without access to water or beds. [3] In another instance, Francisco Castaneda, a Salvadoran immigrant, was denied a biopsy while in prison for eleven months for a lesion he had. He was later diagnosed with cancer and died. [3] In 2010, the T. Don Hutto Residential Center was investigated by the DHS after it was discovered that a male detention officer was sexually assaulting women that were in his custody while they were in his sole custody. This was in violation of DHS policies and the private company that was contracted to run the facility, Corrections Corporation of America, was put on probation during the investigation process. [3] Currently, there are no mental health resources or legal obligations to provide inmates in detention centers with legal representation. [3]
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety.
Reforming the current immigration policy of the United States is a subject of political discourse and contention. Immigration policy has played an essential part in American history. Some feel that the United States maintains the world's most liberal immigration policy. Others feel that areas like the European Union with its open border policies amongst the several countries points to the absurdity of such a claim. Illegal immigration is an extremely controversial issue in the United States, receiving much attention in recent decades yet yielding little legislative consensus or action. Since the failure of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, no significant immigration reform legislation has been enacted into federal law. As of 2022, the DACA program is prohibited from adding new beneficiaries but has not been ended or struck down due to the Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California.
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Division C of Pub. L. 104–208 (text)(PDF), 110 Stat. 3009-546, enacted September 30, 1996, made major changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). IIRIRA's changes became effective on April 1, 1997.
The Border Protection, Anti-terrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 was a bill in the 109th United States Congress. It was passed by the United States House of Representatives on December 16, 2005, by a vote of 239 to 182, but did not pass the Senate. It was also known as the "Sensenbrenner Bill," for its sponsor in the House of Representatives, Wisconsin Republican Jim Sensenbrenner. The bill was the catalyst for the 2006 U.S. immigration reform protests and was the first piece of legislation passed by a house of Congress in the United States illegal immigration debate. Development and the effect of the bill was featured in "The Senate Speaks", Story 11 in How Democracy Works Now: Twelve Stories a documentary series from filmmaking team Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini.
Illegal immigration to the United States is the process of migrating into the United States in violation of US immigration laws. This can include foreign nationals (aliens) who have entered the United States unlawfully, as well as those who lawfully entered but then remained after the expiration of their visas, parole, TPS, etc. Illegal immigration has been a matter of intense debate in the United States since the 1980s.
The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act was a United States Senate bill introduced in the 109th Congress (2005–2006) by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PE) on April 7, 2006. Co-sponsors, who signed on the same day, were Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Sen. Mel Martínez (R-FL), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS).
Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial. A number of jurisdictions claim that it is done for security reasons. Many countries claim to use administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism or rebellion, to control illegal immigration, or to otherwise protect the ruling regime.
The Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007 or STRIVE Act of 2007 is proposed United States legislation designed to address the problem of illegal immigration, introduced into the United States House of Representatives. Its supporters claim it would toughen border security, increase enforcement of and criminal penalties for illegal immigration, and establish an employment verification system to identify illegal aliens working in the United States. It would also establish new programs for both illegal aliens and new immigrant workers to achieve legal citizenship. Critics allege that the bill would turn law enforcement agencies into social welfare agencies as it would not allow CBP to detain illegal immigrants that are eligible for Z-visas and would grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens with very few restrictions.
During the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, the United States had limited regulation of immigration and naturalization at a national level. Under a mostly prevailing "open border" policy, immigration was generally welcomed, although citizenship was limited to “white persons” as of 1790, and naturalization subject to five year residency requirement as of 1802. Passports and visas were not required for entry to America, rules and procedures for arriving immigrants were determined by local ports of entry or state laws, and processes for naturalization were determined by local county courts.
Oklahoma House Bill 1804, officially known as the Oklahoma Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act 2007, is a strict anti-illegal immigration law introduced by State Representative Randy Terrill, a Republican from Moore, OK.
Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292 (1993), was a Supreme Court of the United States case that addressed the detention and release of unaccompanied minors.
The Chandler roundup was a law enforcement operation in Chandler, Arizona, in 1997 in which hundreds of suspected illegal immigrants were arrested. In 2004 hearings of the U.S. Senate, it was described as "the only major ethnic profiling incident actually related to immigration".
The United States government holds tens of thousands of immigrants in detention under the control of Customs and Border Protection and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Immigrants are detained for unlawful entry to the United States, when their claims for asylum are received, and in the process of deportation and removal from the country. During Fiscal Year 2018, 396,448 people were booked into ICE custody: 242,778 of whom were detained by CBP and 153,670 by ICE's own enforcement operations. A daily average of 42,188 immigrants were held by ICE in that year. In addition, over twelve thousand immigrant children are housed by facilities under the supervision of the Office of Refugee Resettlement's program for Unaccompanied Alien Children. Prior to referral to these other agencies, the CBP holds immigrants at processing centers; between mid-May and mid-June 2019, it held between 14,000 and 18,000 immigrants.
Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Delgado, 466 U.S. 210 (1984), was a United States Supreme Court decision on the limits of worksite enforcement by immigration agents. Specifically, the Court ruled that factory raids by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) were not illegal seizures under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The 2006 Swift raids were a coordinated effort by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain and deport people who are present illegally.
The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 was a proposed immigration reform bill introduced by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) in the United States Senate. The bill was co-sponsored by the other seven members of the "Gang of Eight", a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators who wrote and negotiated the bill. It was introduced in the Senate on April 16, 2013 during the 113th United States Congress.
Deportation and removal from the United States occurs when the U.S. government orders a person to leave the country. In fiscal year 2014, Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted 315,943 removals. Criteria for deportations are set out in 8 U.S.C. § 1227.
Wong Wing v. United States, 163 U.S. 228 (1896), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court found that the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution forbid the imprisonment at hard labor without a jury trial for noncitizens convicted of illegal entry to or presence in the United States.
The Priority Enforcement Program is a program by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency responsible for immigration enforcement in the interior of the United States, under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). PEP was an ICE program that worked with state and local law enforcement to identify illegal aliens who come in contact with state or local law enforcement, and remove those who are removable. PEP was announced by DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson in a November 20, 2014 memo as a replacement for Secure Communities (S-COMM). It builds on an updated list of immigration enforcement priorities released in another memo by Johnson issued on the same day.