U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 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 cross-border crime and undocumented immigration that threaten national security and public safety.
Reforming the immigration policy of the United States is a subject of political discourse and contention. Immigration has played an essential part in American history,as except for the Native Americans,everyone in the United States is descended from people who migrated to the United States. Some claim that the United States maintains the world's most liberal immigration policy.
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) is an American anti-immigration think tank. It favors far lower immigration numbers and produces analyses to further those views. The CIS was founded by historian Otis L. Graham alongside eugenicist and white nationalist John Tanton in 1985 as a spin-off of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). It is one of a number of anti-immigration organizations founded by Tanton,along with FAIR and NumbersUSA.
Illegal immigration,or unauthorized immigration,occurs when foreign nationals,known as aliens,violate US immigration laws by entering the United States unlawfully,or by lawfully entering but then remaining after the expiration of their visas,parole or temporary protected status.
A sanctuary city is a municipality that limits or denies its cooperation with the national government in enforcing immigration law.
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).
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.
Immigration policy,including illegal immigration to the United States,was a signature issue of former U.S. president Donald Trump's presidential campaign,and his proposed reforms and remarks about this issue generated much publicity. Trump has repeatedly said that illegal immigrants are criminals.
Daniel H. Ragsdale is an American lawyer and law enforcement official. From May 2012 through May 2017 he was deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He was named Acting Director of ICE on January 20,2017,but was dismissed from that position on January 30,2017 shortly after the dismissal of Sally Yates by President Donald Trump,retaining his post as deputy director. He is currently employed by GEO Group,a private-prison company.
Ronald Donato Vitiello is an American government official and former U.S. Border patrol agent who served as deputy director and acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from June 30,2018 to April 12,2019. He previously served as acting deputy commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 2017 to 2018 and chief of the United States Border Patrol in 2017. In 2018,U.S. president Donald Trump awarded Vitiello a Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive in the Senior Executive Service.
Executive Order 13768 titled Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States was signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on January 25,2017. The order stated that "sanctuary jurisdictions" including sanctuary cities that refused to comply with immigration enforcement measures would not be "eligible to receive Federal grants,except as deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes" by the U.S. Attorney General or Secretary of Homeland Security.
The Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) Office was a U.S. government agency established within the Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration in February 2017. President Donald Trump directed it be established by Executive Order 13768. The office was dissolved by the Biden administration on June 11,2021,replaced by the Victims Engagement and Services Line (VESL).
The family separation policy under the first Trump administration was a controversial immigration enforcement strategy implemented in the United States from 2017 to 2018,aimed at deterring illegal immigration by separating migrant children from their parents or guardians. The policy,presented to the public as a "zero tolerance" approach,was intended to encourage tougher legislation and discourage unauthorized crossings. In some cases,families following the legal procedure to apply for asylum at official border crossings were also separated. Under the policy,federal authorities separated children and infants from parents or guardians with whom they had entered the US. The adults were prosecuted and held in federal jails or deported,and the children were placed under the supervision of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Prior to their transfer to HHS,some children spent three weeks or more in overcrowded border control centers,where they reported minimal food,no access to clean clothes or bathing facilities,and no adult caretakers;girls as young as ten were taking care of younger children.
Abolish ICE is a political movement that seeks the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The movement gained mainstream traction in June 2018 following controversy of the Trump administration family separation policy. The movement proposes that ICE's responsibilities be subsumed by other existing immigration agencies,as was the case before its creation. Discussions are particularly focused on the enforcement wing of ICE.
2017 California Senate Bill 54,commonly referred to as "SB 54" and also known as the "California Values Act" is a 2017 California state law that prevents state and local law enforcement agencies from using their resources on behalf of federal immigration enforcement agencies. The law allows for cooperation between local,state and federal law enforcement in cases of violent illegal immigrants,and is often referred to as a "sanctuary law" due to its resemblance of sanctuary jurisdiction policies.
United States v. Shelley M. Richmond Joseph and Wesley MacGregor (2019) was the federal criminal prosecution of a Massachusetts state court judge (Joseph) and court officer (MacGregor) for helping a state court defendant evade federal immigration authorities by allowing him to leave a court hearing through a rear door of the courthouse. Both were charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice,aiding and abetting obstruction of justice,and aiding and abetting obstruction of a federal proceeding;MacGregor was also charged with perjury during grand jury proceedings. Joseph faced 20 years in prison;MacGregor,30 years. Both could have been fined $250,000. On September 22,2022,the case concluded with an announcement by federal prosecutors that the obstruction charges against both Joseph and MacGregor would be dismissed and that prosecution of the perjury charge against MacGregor would be deferred. As part of the resolution,Joseph agreed to submit to disciplinary proceedings before the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Joe Biden's immigration policy initially focused on reversing many of the immigration policies of the previous Trump administration,before implementing stricter enforcement mechanisms later in his term.
John R. Sandweg is an American attorney who served as an acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from August 1,2013 to February 21,2014. He is a partner of Nixon Peabody leading the Cross-Border Risks team.
The Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a civilian official in the United States Department of Homeland Security. During July 2010 the position's title was changed from Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Ed Gonzalez is an American law enforcement officer and has served as the 30th sheriff of Harris County,Texas,since January 2017. Gonzalez was the nominee for director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement until he withdrew the nomination in June 2022.
