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 illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety.
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 and 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.
A sanctuary city is a municipality that limits or denies its cooperation with the national government in enforcing immigration law.
In United States immigration enforcement,"catch and release" refers to a practice of releasing a migrant to the community while he or she awaits hearings in immigration court,as an alternative to holding them in immigration detention. The migrants whom U.S. immigration enforcement agencies have allowed to remain in the community pending immigrant hearings have been those deemed low risk,such as children,families,and those seeking asylum.
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).
Sarah Ruth Saldana is an American attorney who served as the fourth director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from December 23,2014,until January 20,2017,under President Barack Obama. She was the first Latina and the second woman to hold the position of ICE director. Previously she had served as Assistant U.S. Attorney,then U.S. Attorney,for the Northern District of Texas.
Kevin Kealoha McAleenan is an American attorney and government official who unlawfully served as the acting United States secretary of homeland security from April to November 2019.
The United States family separation policy under the Trump administration was presented to the public as a "zero tolerance" approach intended to deter illegal immigration and to encourage tougher legislation. In some cases,families following the legal procedure to apply for asylum at official border crossings were also separated. It was officially adopted across the entire US–Mexico border from April 2018 until June 2018. 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. More than 5,500 children,including infants,were removed and up to 2,000 still have not been reunited as of March 2024.
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.
The Trump administration has detained migrants attempting to enter the United States at the United States–Mexico border. Government reports from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General in May 2019 and July 2019 found that migrants had been detained under conditions that failed federal standards. These conditions have included prolonged detention,overcrowding,and poor hygiene and food standards.
Matthew Albence is a former American law enforcement officer and government official. He served as acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from July 5,2019 to August 25,2020 and between April 13 and May 27,2019.
This is a timeline of events related to migrant children's detention centers in the United States.
Joe Biden's immigration policy is primarily based on reversing many of the immigration policies of the previous Trump administration. During his first day in office,Biden reversed many of Trump's policies on immigration,such as halting the construction of the Mexican border wall,ending Trump's travel ban restricting travel from 14 countries,and an executive order to reaffirm protections for DACA recipients. The Biden administration and Department of Homeland Security,under leadership of Alejandro Mayorkas,dramatically reined in deportation practices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),prioritizing national security and violent crime concerns over petty and nonviolent offenses. However,Biden has also faced criticism for extending Title 42,a Trump administration border restriction that arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic,as well as restarting the use of expediting families in Central America,which can cause families to be sent back in weeks,compared to years for an average immigration case. In the fiscal year 2021,the US Border Patrol confirmed more than 1.6 million encounters with migrants along the US-Mexico border,more than quadruple the number in the previous fiscal year and the largest annual total on record. In January 2023,Biden announced a program to strengthen the admission of immigrants from Cuba,Haiti,Nicaragua,and Venezuela,while at the same time his administration will crack down on those who fail to use the plan's legal pathway and strengthen border security. In May 2023,the Biden Administration approved sending 1,500 more troops to the U.S.-Mexico border following Title 42's expiration.
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.
