AILA/AIC Survey Reveals ICE Officials’ Sporadic Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
CONTACTS:
Jenny Werwa / Amanda Walkins
202-507-7628 202-507-7618
jwerwa@aila.org awalkins@aila.org
WASHINGTON, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council (AIC) released a new survey today finding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and attorneys across the country are applying different standards on prosecutorial discretion despite the issuance of national policy memoranda this summer. The report, which includes information about all 28 ICE offices nationwide, shows that most ICE offices have not even implemented the two headquarters' memos. These discrepancies reflect a need for ICE and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leadership to issue additional guidance to its rank and file.
"We felt that ICE's June 2011 memoranda about the use of prosecutorial discretion in certain types of immigration cases were clear and straightforward," said AILA President Eleanor Pelta. "But," Pelta continued, "These survey results show that ICE agents and attorneys are not willing to use the discretion they are responsible for implementing without further guidance. They are asking for more, and the agency's leadership should help them get it," said Pelta.
The June 17, 2011, memo outlines for ICE agents and attorneys the factors that would deem an immigration case a low priority for enforcement action. They include ties to America including service in the U.S. armed forces, schooling, contributions to the community, and other equities for enforcement officials to consider when deciding what course of action to take in a particular case.
Key findings from the AILA/AIC survey, Holding DHS Accountable on Prosecutorial Discretion, highlight the fact that while a few ICE offices have begun to implement the guidance, most have not and many are actively resistant. Some officials said their jobs are "to arrest and deport."
"ICE agents and attorneys need to understand that this guidance provides them with more tools to effectively deploy their resources and weigh where they can be most effective in furthering law enforcement objectives. It also helps them to administer the law fairly, so that the six-year-old daughter of a legal immigrant won't be deported to El Salvador and a Bosnian refugee on the verge of citizenship, with a U.S. Citizen wife and two children, won't be separated from his family," concluded Pelta.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association is the national association of immigration lawyers established to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members.