- The Second
180 Days | Immigration
« Oct. 8,
2017 Trump Administration Immigration Policy Priorities
The White House
October 8, 2017
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IMMIGRATION POLICY PRIORITIES
Executive Summary
The Trump Administration is ready to work with Congress to achieve three immigration policy objectives to ensure safe and lawful admissions; defend the safety and security of our country; and protect American workers and taxpayers.
BORDER SECURITY: Build a southern border wall and close legal loopholes that enable illegal immigration and swell the court backlog.
· Fund and complete construction of the southern border wall.
· Authorize the Department of Homeland Security to raise and collect fees from visa services and border-crossings to fund border security and enforcement activities.
· Ensure the safe and expeditious return of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) and family units.
· End abuse of our asylum system by tightening standards, imposing penalties for fraud, and ensuring detention while claims are verified.
· Remove illegal border crossers quickly by hiring an additional 370 Immigration Judges and 1,000 ICE attorneys.
· Discourage illegal re-entry by enhancing penalties and expanding categories of inadmissibility.
· Improve expedited removal.
· Increase northern border security.
INTERIOR ENFORCEMENT: Enforce our immigration laws and return visa overstays.
· Protect innocent people in sanctuary cities.
· Authorize and incentivize States and localities to help enforce Federal immigration laws.
· Strengthen law enforcement by hiring 10,000 more ICE officers and 300 Federal prosecutors.
· End visa overstays by establishing reforms to ensure their swift removal.
· Stop catch-and-release by correcting judicial actions that prevent ICE from keeping dangerous aliens in custody pending removal and expanding the criteria for expedited removal.
· Prevent gang members from receiving immigration benefits.
· Protect U.S. workers by requiring E-Verify and strengthening laws to stop employment discrimination against U.S. workers.
· Improve visa security by expanding State Department’s authority to combat visa fraud, ensuring funding of the Visa Security Program, and expanding it to high-risk posts.
MERIT-BASED IMMIGRATION SYSTEM: Establish reforms that protect American workers and promote financial success.
· End extended-family chain migration by limiting family-based green cards to include spouses and minor children.
· Establish a points-based system for green cards to protect U.S. workers and taxpayers.
###
PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP’S LETTER TO HOUSE AND SENATE LEADERS
& IMMIGRATION PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES
ii. Authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to raise, collect, and use certain processing fees from immigration benefit applications and border crossings for functions related to border security, physical infrastructure, and law enforcement.
iii. Improve infrastructure and security on the northern border.
B. Unaccompanied
Alien
Children. Loopholes in current law
prevent “Unaccompanied Alien Children” (UACs) that arrive in the
country illegally from being removed. Rather than being deported,
they are instead sheltered by the Department of Health and Human
Services at taxpayer expense, and subsequently released to the custody
of a parent or family member—who often lack lawful status in the United
States themselves. These loopholes in current law create a
dramatic pull factor for additional illegal immigration and in recent
years, there has been a significant increase in the apprehensions of
UACs at our southern border. Therefore, the Administration
proposes amending current law to ensure the expeditious return of UACs
and family units.
C. Asylum Reform. The massive asylum backlog has allowed illegal immigrants to enter and stay in the United States by exploiting asylum loopholes. There are more than 270,000 pending cases in the asylum backlog before USCIS, and approximately 250,000 asylum cases before EOIR. Therefore, the Administration proposes correcting the systemic deficiencies that created that backlog.
D. Ensure Swift Border Returns. Immigration judges and supporting personnel face an enormous case backlog, which cripples our ability to remove illegal immigrants in a timely manner. The Administration therefore proposes providing additional resources to reduce the immigration court backlog and ensure swift return of illegal border crossers.
F. Discourage Illegal Re-entry. Many Americans are victims of crime committed by individuals who have repeatedly entered the United States illegally, which also undermines the integrity of the entire immigration system. Therefore, the Administration proposes increasing penalties for repeat illegal border crossers and those with prior deportations.
G. Facilitate the Removal of Illegal Aliens from Partner Nations. Current barriers prevent the Federal Government from providing assistance to partner nations for the purpose of removing aliens from third countries whose ultimate intent is entering the United States. Therefore, the Administration proposes authorizing DHS to provide foreign assistance to partner nations to support migration management efforts conducted by those nations. This will allow DHS to improve the ability of Central and South American countries to curb northbound migration flows and to interrupt ongoing human smuggling, which will also substantially reduce pressures on U.S. taxpayers.
H. Expedited Removal. Limited categories of aliens are currently subject to expedited removal, which erodes border integrity and control by impeding the ability of the Federal Government to efficiently and quickly remove inadmissible and deportable aliens from the United States. The Administration seeks to expand the grounds of removability and the categories of aliens subject to expedited removal and by ensuring that only aliens with meritorious valid claims of persecution can circumvent expedited removal.
A. Sanctuary Cities. Hundreds of sanctuary jurisdictions release dangerous criminals and empower violent cartels like MS-13 by refusing to turn over incarcerated criminal aliens to Federal authorities. Therefore, the Administration proposes blocking sanctuary cities from receiving certain grants or cooperative agreements administered or awarded by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security
ii. Clarify ICE’s detainer authority, and States’ and localities’ ability to honor that authority, so that States will continue to detain an individual pursuant to civil immigration law for up to 48 hours so that ICE may assume custody.
iii. Provide indemnification for State and local governments to protect them from civil liability based solely on compliance with immigration detainers and transportation of alien detainees.
iv. Require State and local jurisdictions to provide all information requested by ICE relating to aliens in their custody and the circumstances surrounding their detention.
v. Clarify the definition of a criminal conviction for immigration purposes, to prevent jurisdictions from vacating or modifying criminal convictions to protect illegal immigrants, and roll back erosion of the criminal grounds of removal by courts under the “categorical approach.”
B. Immigration Authority for States and Localities. The prior Administration suppressed cooperative partnerships between the Federal Government and State or local governments that wanted to help with immigration enforcement, undermining the security of our communities. Therefore, the Administration proposes enhancing State and local cooperation with Federal immigration law enforcement in order to ensure national security and public safety.
D. Necessary Resources. The relatively small number of ICE officers is grossly inadequate to serve a nation of 320 million people with tens of millions of tourists and visitors crossing U.S. ports of entry every year. Therefore, the Administration proposes providing more resources that are vitally needed to enforce visa laws, restore immigration enforcement, and dismantle criminal gangs, networks and cartels.
F. Legal Workforce. Immigrants who come here illegally and enter the workforce undermine job opportunities and reduce wages for American workers, as does the abuse of visa programs. Therefore, the Administration increasing employment verification and other protections for U.S. workers.
G. Deportable Aliens. The categories of aliens that currently qualify for deportation are insufficiently broad to remove aliens who pose a threat to the security of the American public. Therefore, the Administration proposes expanding and clarifying the type of aliens who present a danger to Americans and should therefore be removable on an expedited basis.
H. Gang Members. Today, known gang members are still able to win immigration benefits despite the dangers they pose to American society. As such, the Administration proposes implementing measures that would deny gang members and those associated with criminal gangs from receiving immigration benefits.
I. Visa Security Improvements. Without sufficient resources, the State Department is hindered from adequately vetting visa applicants. As such, the Administration proposes enhancing State Department visa and traveler security resources and authorities.
· Pro-worker immigration reforms would end chain migration to begin providing lawful permanent resident status based on merit, not family connections, and would promote assimilation, financial independence, and upward mobility.
· Most low-skilled immigration into the United States occurs legally through our immigrant visa system, which prioritizes family-based chain migration.
· Each year, the United States permanently grants green cards to more than 1 million people, many of whose sole basis for entering the United States is family ties.
· Chain migration has accounted for more than 60 percent of immigration into the United States over the last 35 years.
POINT-BASED SYSTEM FOR MERIT-BASED IMMIGRATION: Establish a point-based system for awarding green cards that protects U.S. workers and taxpayers, encourages assimilation, and ensures the financial self-sufficiency of newcomers.
· Only 1 out of every 15 immigrants to the United States are admitted on the basis of skills.
· More than half of all immigrant households use one or more welfare programs.
· Decades of low-skilled immigration has suppressed wages, fueled unemployment, and strained Federal resources.
ELIMINATE THE “DIVERSITY VISA” LOTTERY: Every year, through the “diversity visa” lottery, the United States awards 50,000 green cards at random to foreign nationals, many of whom have absolutely no ties to the United States, no special skills, and limited education.
· The “diversity visa” lottery is susceptible to fraud and is costly and time intensive for the State Department to implement.
· The lottery initiates new streams of permanent immigration when the lottery winners, many of whom previously had no ties to the United States, are subsequently able to bring over their extended relatives through chain migration.
SET THE NUMBER OF REFUGEES AT AN APPROPRIATE LEVEL: While the United States is a world leader in accepting refugees and recently has gone beyond historic averages, the refugee ceiling needs to be realigned with American priorities.
· Historically, the United States has resettled more refugees than has the rest of the world combined.
· One study found that for the price of permanently resettling one refugee within the country, the United States can help 12 refugees resettle in safe zones closer to their home regions.
· By better focusing U.S. refugee admissions on the most genuine claims and enhancing our screening processes, we will help combat fraud in the program, enhance our Nation’s ability to welcome refugees, and aid in their assimilation to the American way of life.
· While Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) values its law enforcement partners at the State and local levels, there are hundreds of jurisdictions across the country that do not honor requests from ICE to hold criminal aliens who already are in state and local custody, threatening public safety.
STRENGTHEN IMMIGRATION LAW ENFORCEMENT: Hiring an additional 10,000 ICE officers and 300 Federal prosecutors to handle immigration cases will allow law enforcement agencies to uphold our laws and protect public safety and national security.
· There are nearly one million aliens with final orders of removal across the country.
o Yet ICE has only 6,000 Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers to cover an immigration system that issues tens of millions of temporary visas every year.
· In addition, authorizing and incentivizing States and localities to enforce immigration laws would further help ICE with its mission, and make all communities safer.
END VISA OVERSTAYS: Increasing overstay penalties and ICE’s enforcement tools will help ensure that foreign workers, students and visitors respect the terms of their temporary visas.
· Visa overstays account for roughly 40 percent of all illegal immigration in the United States. In Fiscal Year 2016, 628,000 aliens overstayed their visas.
END “CATCH-AND-RELEASE”: Correcting judicial interpretations that have eroded ICE’s authority to keep aliens in custody pending removal, and making detentions mandatory for criminal aliens, will end the practice of catch-and-release and improve community safety.
· A 2001 Supreme Court decision requires ICE to release certain removable aliens, including violent criminals, within 180 days if they have not been deported and there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.
· In Fiscal Year 2017, 1,666 criminal illegal aliens have been released from ICE custody because of the above-mentioned 2001 Supreme Court decision.
PROTECT AMERICAN WORKERS: Preventing employers from hiring illegal alien labor, and displacing U.S. workers, will improve job opportunities and raise wages for Americans.
· The failure to enforce our immigration laws has produced lower wages and higher unemployment for American workers.
· We can provide relief to the American workforce by requiring the use of E-Verify and by expanding the definition of unlawful employment discrimination to specifically include the displacement of U.S. workers by nonimmigrant workers.
STOP VISA FRAUD: The State Department and Department of Homeland Security need the funding and flexibility to detect and counter rampant visa fraud.
· Expand the State Department’s authority to collect and use fraud prevention and detection fees to combat all types of visa fraud and create a fee mechanism to fully fund the Visa Security Program to facilitate its expansion to all high-risk visa-issuing posts.
PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP’S LETTER TO HOUSE AND SENATE LEADERS
& IMMIGRATION PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES
President Donald J. Trump’s Letter to
House and Senate Leaders:
I am pleased to transmit to you my Administration's principles for reforming our Nation's immigration system. In 2012, after the Congress rejected legislation offering legal status and work permits to illegal immigrants, the previous Administration bypassed the Congress and granted those same benefits unilaterally. These actions threatened Congress's status as a coequal branch of Government and have resulted in a surge of illegal immigration.
As President, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, which makes clear that all legislative powers are vested in the Congress, not the President.
I, therefore, tasked the relevant executive departments and agencies to conduct a bottom-up review of all immigration policies to determine what legislative reforms are essential for America's economic and national security. Rather than asking what policies are supported by special interests, we asked America's law enforcement professionals to identify reforms that are vital to protect the national interest. In response, they identified dangerous loopholes, outdated laws, and easily exploited vulnerabilities in our immigration system – current policies that are harming our country and our communities.
I have enclosed the detailed findings of this effort. These findings outline reforms that must be included as part of any legislation addressing the status of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. Without these reforms, illegal immigration and chain migration, which severely and unfairly burden American workers and taxpayers, will continue without end.
Immigration reform must create more jobs, higher wages, and greater security for Americans -- now and for future generations. The reforms outlined in the enclosure are necessary to ensure prosperity, opportunity, and safety for every member of our national family.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Trump
I am pleased to transmit to you my Administration's principles for reforming our Nation's immigration system. In 2012, after the Congress rejected legislation offering legal status and work permits to illegal immigrants, the previous Administration bypassed the Congress and granted those same benefits unilaterally. These actions threatened Congress's status as a coequal branch of Government and have resulted in a surge of illegal immigration.
As President, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, which makes clear that all legislative powers are vested in the Congress, not the President.
I, therefore, tasked the relevant executive departments and agencies to conduct a bottom-up review of all immigration policies to determine what legislative reforms are essential for America's economic and national security. Rather than asking what policies are supported by special interests, we asked America's law enforcement professionals to identify reforms that are vital to protect the national interest. In response, they identified dangerous loopholes, outdated laws, and easily exploited vulnerabilities in our immigration system – current policies that are harming our country and our communities.
I have enclosed the detailed findings of this effort. These findings outline reforms that must be included as part of any legislation addressing the status of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. Without these reforms, illegal immigration and chain migration, which severely and unfairly burden American workers and taxpayers, will continue without end.
Immigration reform must create more jobs, higher wages, and greater security for Americans -- now and for future generations. The reforms outlined in the enclosure are necessary to ensure prosperity, opportunity, and safety for every member of our national family.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Trump
IMMIGRATION PRINCIPLES & POLICIES
1. Border Security
A. Border
Wall. Our porous southern
border presents a clear threat to our national security and public
safety, and is exploited by drug traffickers and criminal
cartels. The Administration therefore proposes completing
construction of a wall along the southern border of the United States.
i.
Ensure funding for the southern
border wall and associated infrastructure.
ii. Authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to raise, collect, and use certain processing fees from immigration benefit applications and border crossings for functions related to border security, physical infrastructure, and law enforcement.
iii. Improve infrastructure and security on the northern border.
i. Amend
the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVRPA) to
treat all UACs the same regardless of their country of origin, so long
as they are not victims of human trafficking and can be safely returned
home or removed to safe third countries.
ii. Clarify that alien minors who are not UACs (accompanied by a parent or legal guardian or have a parent or legal guardian in the United States available to provide care and physical custody) are not entitled to the presumptions or protections granted to UACs.
iii. Terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement (FSA) by passing legislation stipulating care standards for minors in custody and clarify corresponding provisions of the TVPRA that supersede the FSA.
iv. Amend the definition of “special immigrant,” as it pertains to juveniles, to require that the applicant prove that reunification with both parents are not viable due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment and that the applicant is a victim of trafficking. The current legal definition is abused, and provides another avenue for illicit entry.
v. Repeal the requirement that an asylum officer have initial jurisdiction over UAC asylum applications to expedite processing.
ii. Clarify that alien minors who are not UACs (accompanied by a parent or legal guardian or have a parent or legal guardian in the United States available to provide care and physical custody) are not entitled to the presumptions or protections granted to UACs.
iii. Terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement (FSA) by passing legislation stipulating care standards for minors in custody and clarify corresponding provisions of the TVPRA that supersede the FSA.
iv. Amend the definition of “special immigrant,” as it pertains to juveniles, to require that the applicant prove that reunification with both parents are not viable due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment and that the applicant is a victim of trafficking. The current legal definition is abused, and provides another avenue for illicit entry.
v. Repeal the requirement that an asylum officer have initial jurisdiction over UAC asylum applications to expedite processing.
C. Asylum Reform. The massive asylum backlog has allowed illegal immigrants to enter and stay in the United States by exploiting asylum loopholes. There are more than 270,000 pending cases in the asylum backlog before USCIS, and approximately 250,000 asylum cases before EOIR. Therefore, the Administration proposes correcting the systemic deficiencies that created that backlog.
i. Significantly
tighten
standards
and
eliminate
loopholes in our asylum system.
ii. Elevate the threshold standard of proof in credible fear interviews.
iii. Impose and enforce penalties for the filing of frivolous, baseless, or fraudulent asylum applications, and expand the use of expedited removal as appropriate.
iv. Close loopholes in the law to bar terrorist aliens from entering the country and receiving any immigration benefits.
v. Clarify and enhance the legal definition of “aggravated felony” to ensure that criminal aliens do not receive certain immigration benefits.
vi. Expand the ability to return asylum seekers to safe third countries.
vii. Ensure only appropriate use of parole authority for aliens with credible fear or asylum claims, to deter meritless claims and ensure the swift removal of those whose claims are denied.
viii. Prevent aliens who have been granted asylum or who entered as refugees from obtaining lawful permanent resident status if they are convicted of an aggravated felony.
ix. Require review of the asylee or refugee status of an alien who returns to their home country absent a material change in circumstances or country conditions.
ii. Elevate the threshold standard of proof in credible fear interviews.
iii. Impose and enforce penalties for the filing of frivolous, baseless, or fraudulent asylum applications, and expand the use of expedited removal as appropriate.
iv. Close loopholes in the law to bar terrorist aliens from entering the country and receiving any immigration benefits.
v. Clarify and enhance the legal definition of “aggravated felony” to ensure that criminal aliens do not receive certain immigration benefits.
vi. Expand the ability to return asylum seekers to safe third countries.
vii. Ensure only appropriate use of parole authority for aliens with credible fear or asylum claims, to deter meritless claims and ensure the swift removal of those whose claims are denied.
viii. Prevent aliens who have been granted asylum or who entered as refugees from obtaining lawful permanent resident status if they are convicted of an aggravated felony.
ix. Require review of the asylee or refugee status of an alien who returns to their home country absent a material change in circumstances or country conditions.
D. Ensure Swift Border Returns. Immigration judges and supporting personnel face an enormous case backlog, which cripples our ability to remove illegal immigrants in a timely manner. The Administration therefore proposes providing additional resources to reduce the immigration court backlog and ensure swift return of illegal border crossers.
i. Seek
appropriations
to
hire
an
additional 370 immigration judges.
ii. Establish performance metrics for immigration judges.
iii. Seek appropriations to hire an additional 1,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorneys, with sufficient support personnel.
iv. Ensure sufficient resources for detention.
E. Inadmissible
Aliens. The current statutory
grounds for inadmissibility are too narrow, and allow for the admission
of individuals who threaten our public safety. Therefore, the
Administration proposes expanding the criteria that render aliens
inadmissible and ensure that such aliens are maintained in continuous
custody until removal.ii. Establish performance metrics for immigration judges.
iii. Seek appropriations to hire an additional 1,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorneys, with sufficient support personnel.
iv. Ensure sufficient resources for detention.
i. Expand
the
grounds
of
inadmissibility
to include gang membership.
ii. Expand the grounds of inadmissibility to include those who have been convicted of an aggravated felony; identity theft; fraud related to Social Security benefits; domestic violence; child abuse; drunk driving offenses; failure to register as a sex offender; or certain firearm offenses, including the unlawful purchase, sale, possession, or carrying of a firearm.
iii. Expand the grounds of inadmissibility to include former spouses and children of individuals engaged in drug trafficking and trafficking in persons, if the official determines the divorce was a sham or the family members continue to receive benefits from the illicit activity.
ii. Expand the grounds of inadmissibility to include those who have been convicted of an aggravated felony; identity theft; fraud related to Social Security benefits; domestic violence; child abuse; drunk driving offenses; failure to register as a sex offender; or certain firearm offenses, including the unlawful purchase, sale, possession, or carrying of a firearm.
iii. Expand the grounds of inadmissibility to include former spouses and children of individuals engaged in drug trafficking and trafficking in persons, if the official determines the divorce was a sham or the family members continue to receive benefits from the illicit activity.
F. Discourage Illegal Re-entry. Many Americans are victims of crime committed by individuals who have repeatedly entered the United States illegally, which also undermines the integrity of the entire immigration system. Therefore, the Administration proposes increasing penalties for repeat illegal border crossers and those with prior deportations.
G. Facilitate the Removal of Illegal Aliens from Partner Nations. Current barriers prevent the Federal Government from providing assistance to partner nations for the purpose of removing aliens from third countries whose ultimate intent is entering the United States. Therefore, the Administration proposes authorizing DHS to provide foreign assistance to partner nations to support migration management efforts conducted by those nations. This will allow DHS to improve the ability of Central and South American countries to curb northbound migration flows and to interrupt ongoing human smuggling, which will also substantially reduce pressures on U.S. taxpayers.
H. Expedited Removal. Limited categories of aliens are currently subject to expedited removal, which erodes border integrity and control by impeding the ability of the Federal Government to efficiently and quickly remove inadmissible and deportable aliens from the United States. The Administration seeks to expand the grounds of removability and the categories of aliens subject to expedited removal and by ensuring that only aliens with meritorious valid claims of persecution can circumvent expedited removal.
2. Interior Enforcement
A. Sanctuary Cities. Hundreds of sanctuary jurisdictions release dangerous criminals and empower violent cartels like MS-13 by refusing to turn over incarcerated criminal aliens to Federal authorities. Therefore, the Administration proposes blocking sanctuary cities from receiving certain grants or cooperative agreements administered or awarded by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security
i. Restrict
such
grants
from
being
issued to:
a. Any
state
or
local
jurisdiction
that fails to cooperate with any United
States government entity regarding enforcement of federal immigration
laws;
b. Any entity that provides services or benefits to aliens not entitled to receive them under existing Federal law; and
c. Any state or local jurisdiction that provides more favorable plea agreements or sentencing for alien criminal defendants for the purpose of immigration consequences of convictions.
b. Any entity that provides services or benefits to aliens not entitled to receive them under existing Federal law; and
c. Any state or local jurisdiction that provides more favorable plea agreements or sentencing for alien criminal defendants for the purpose of immigration consequences of convictions.
ii. Clarify ICE’s detainer authority, and States’ and localities’ ability to honor that authority, so that States will continue to detain an individual pursuant to civil immigration law for up to 48 hours so that ICE may assume custody.
iii. Provide indemnification for State and local governments to protect them from civil liability based solely on compliance with immigration detainers and transportation of alien detainees.
iv. Require State and local jurisdictions to provide all information requested by ICE relating to aliens in their custody and the circumstances surrounding their detention.
v. Clarify the definition of a criminal conviction for immigration purposes, to prevent jurisdictions from vacating or modifying criminal convictions to protect illegal immigrants, and roll back erosion of the criminal grounds of removal by courts under the “categorical approach.”
B. Immigration Authority for States and Localities. The prior Administration suppressed cooperative partnerships between the Federal Government and State or local governments that wanted to help with immigration enforcement, undermining the security of our communities. Therefore, the Administration proposes enhancing State and local cooperation with Federal immigration law enforcement in order to ensure national security and public safety.
i. Clarify
the
authority
of
State
and local governments to investigate, arrest,
detain, or transfer to Federal custody aliens for purposes of enforcing
Federal immigration laws when done in cooperation with DHS.
ii. Authorize State and local governments to pass legislation that will support Federal law enforcement efforts.
iii. Incentivize State and local governments to enter into agreements with the Federal Government regarding immigration enforcement efforts.
iv. Provide the same extent of immunity to State and local law enforcement agencies performing immigration enforcement duties within the scope of their official role as is provided to Federal law enforcement agencies.
C. Visa
Overstays. Visa overstays account
for roughly 40 percent of illegal immigration. The Administration
therefore proposes strengthening the removal processes for those who
overstay or otherwise violate the terms of their visas, and
implementing measures to prevent future visa overstays which may
account for a growing percentage of illegal immigration.ii. Authorize State and local governments to pass legislation that will support Federal law enforcement efforts.
iii. Incentivize State and local governments to enter into agreements with the Federal Government regarding immigration enforcement efforts.
iv. Provide the same extent of immunity to State and local law enforcement agencies performing immigration enforcement duties within the scope of their official role as is provided to Federal law enforcement agencies.
i. Discourage
visa
overstays
by
classifying
such conduct as a misdemeanor.
ii. Require that all nonimmigrant visas held by an alien be cancelled when any one nonimmigrant visa held by that alien is cancelled, to ensure that if an alien abuses one type of visa, he cannot circumvent the immigration system by then relying on another type of visa to enter the United States.
iii. Bar all visa overstays from immigration benefits for a certain period of time with no waiver.
iv. Clarify that the government does not bear any expense for legal counsel for any visa overstay in removal or related proceedings.
v. Require DHS to provide all available data relating to any deportable alien to the Department of Justice’s National Crime Information Center for purposes of that alien’s inclusion in the Immigration Violators File, with the exception of aliens who cooperate with DHS on criminal investigations.
vi. Enhance the vetting of bond sponsors for those aliens who enter without inspection, to ensure that bond sponsors undergo thorough background checks prior to being eligible to post or receive a bond.
vii. Permit the Department of State to release certain visa records to foreign governments on a case-by-case basis when sharing is in the U.S. national interest.
viii. Permit the Department of State to review the criminal background of foreign diplomats or government officials contained in the National Crime Information Center database before visa adjudication, regardless of whether the applicant’s fingerprints are in the database.
ii. Require that all nonimmigrant visas held by an alien be cancelled when any one nonimmigrant visa held by that alien is cancelled, to ensure that if an alien abuses one type of visa, he cannot circumvent the immigration system by then relying on another type of visa to enter the United States.
iii. Bar all visa overstays from immigration benefits for a certain period of time with no waiver.
iv. Clarify that the government does not bear any expense for legal counsel for any visa overstay in removal or related proceedings.
v. Require DHS to provide all available data relating to any deportable alien to the Department of Justice’s National Crime Information Center for purposes of that alien’s inclusion in the Immigration Violators File, with the exception of aliens who cooperate with DHS on criminal investigations.
vi. Enhance the vetting of bond sponsors for those aliens who enter without inspection, to ensure that bond sponsors undergo thorough background checks prior to being eligible to post or receive a bond.
vii. Permit the Department of State to release certain visa records to foreign governments on a case-by-case basis when sharing is in the U.S. national interest.
viii. Permit the Department of State to review the criminal background of foreign diplomats or government officials contained in the National Crime Information Center database before visa adjudication, regardless of whether the applicant’s fingerprints are in the database.
D. Necessary Resources. The relatively small number of ICE officers is grossly inadequate to serve a nation of 320 million people with tens of millions of tourists and visitors crossing U.S. ports of entry every year. Therefore, the Administration proposes providing more resources that are vitally needed to enforce visa laws, restore immigration enforcement, and dismantle criminal gangs, networks and cartels.
i. Seek
appropriations
to
hire
an
additional 10,000 ICE officers.
ii. Seek appropriations to hire an additional 300 Federal prosecutors to support Federal immigration prosecution efforts.
iii. Reforms to help expedite the responsible addition of new ICE personnel.
E. Detention
Authority. Various laws and
judicial rulings have eroded ICE’s ability to detain illegal immigrants
(including criminal aliens), such that criminal aliens are released
from ICE custody into our communities. Therefore, the
Administration proposes terminating outdated catch-and-release laws
that make it difficult to remove illegal immigrants.ii. Seek appropriations to hire an additional 300 Federal prosecutors to support Federal immigration prosecution efforts.
iii. Reforms to help expedite the responsible addition of new ICE personnel.
i. Ensure
public
safety
and
national
security by providing a legislative fix for
the Zadvydas loophole, and authorizing ICE,
consistent with the Constitution, to retain custody of illegal aliens
whose home countries will not accept their repatriation.
ii. Require the detention of an alien: (1) who was not inspected and admitted into the United States, who holds a revoked nonimmigrant visa (or other nonimmigrant admission document), or who is deportable for failing to maintain nonimmigrant status; and (2) who has been charged in the United States with a crime that resulted in the death or serious bodily injury of another person.
ii. Require the detention of an alien: (1) who was not inspected and admitted into the United States, who holds a revoked nonimmigrant visa (or other nonimmigrant admission document), or who is deportable for failing to maintain nonimmigrant status; and (2) who has been charged in the United States with a crime that resulted in the death or serious bodily injury of another person.
F. Legal Workforce. Immigrants who come here illegally and enter the workforce undermine job opportunities and reduce wages for American workers, as does the abuse of visa programs. Therefore, the Administration increasing employment verification and other protections for U.S. workers.
i. Require
the
use
of
the
electronic status-verification system (“E-Verify”) to
ensure the maintenance of a legal workforce in the United States.
ii. Preempt any State or local law relating to employment of unauthorized aliens.
iii. Impose strong penalties, including debarment of Federal contractors, for failure to comply with E-Verify.
iv. Increase penalties for any person or entity engaging in a pattern or practice of violations.
v. Require the Social Security Administration to disclose information to DHS to be used in the enforcement of immigration laws.
vi. Expand the definition of unlawful employment discrimination to include replacement of U.S. citizen workers by nonimmigrant workers or the preferential hiring of such foreign workers over U.S. citizen workers.
vii. Strengthen laws prohibiting document fraud related to employment or to any other immigration benefit.
ii. Preempt any State or local law relating to employment of unauthorized aliens.
iii. Impose strong penalties, including debarment of Federal contractors, for failure to comply with E-Verify.
iv. Increase penalties for any person or entity engaging in a pattern or practice of violations.
v. Require the Social Security Administration to disclose information to DHS to be used in the enforcement of immigration laws.
vi. Expand the definition of unlawful employment discrimination to include replacement of U.S. citizen workers by nonimmigrant workers or the preferential hiring of such foreign workers over U.S. citizen workers.
vii. Strengthen laws prohibiting document fraud related to employment or to any other immigration benefit.
G. Deportable Aliens. The categories of aliens that currently qualify for deportation are insufficiently broad to remove aliens who pose a threat to the security of the American public. Therefore, the Administration proposes expanding and clarifying the type of aliens who present a danger to Americans and should therefore be removable on an expedited basis.
i. Expand
grounds
of
deportability
to
explicitly include gang members.
ii. Expand the grounds of deportability to include those convicted of multiple drunk driving offenses or a single offense involving death or serious injury.
iii. Expand the grounds of deportability to include those who fail to register as a sex offender.
iv. Clarify the technical definition of “aggravated felony” by referring to “an offense relating to” each of the categories of crimes, rather than specifying the crimes themselves. This will ensure certain kinds of homicide, sex offenses, and trafficking offenses are encompassed within the statutory definition.
ii. Expand the grounds of deportability to include those convicted of multiple drunk driving offenses or a single offense involving death or serious injury.
iii. Expand the grounds of deportability to include those who fail to register as a sex offender.
iv. Clarify the technical definition of “aggravated felony” by referring to “an offense relating to” each of the categories of crimes, rather than specifying the crimes themselves. This will ensure certain kinds of homicide, sex offenses, and trafficking offenses are encompassed within the statutory definition.
H. Gang Members. Today, known gang members are still able to win immigration benefits despite the dangers they pose to American society. As such, the Administration proposes implementing measures that would deny gang members and those associated with criminal gangs from receiving immigration benefits.
I. Visa Security Improvements. Without sufficient resources, the State Department is hindered from adequately vetting visa applicants. As such, the Administration proposes enhancing State Department visa and traveler security resources and authorities.
i. Expand
the
Department
of
State’s
authority to use fraud prevention and
detection fees for programs and activities to combat all classes of
visa fraud within the United States and abroad.
ESTABLISH MERIT-BASED REFORMS TO PROMOTE ASSIMILATION AND FINANCIAL SUCCESS
END CHAIN MIGRATION: Limit family-based green cards to spouses and the minor children of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.· Pro-worker immigration reforms would end chain migration to begin providing lawful permanent resident status based on merit, not family connections, and would promote assimilation, financial independence, and upward mobility.
· Most low-skilled immigration into the United States occurs legally through our immigrant visa system, which prioritizes family-based chain migration.
· Each year, the United States permanently grants green cards to more than 1 million people, many of whose sole basis for entering the United States is family ties.
· Chain migration has accounted for more than 60 percent of immigration into the United States over the last 35 years.
POINT-BASED SYSTEM FOR MERIT-BASED IMMIGRATION: Establish a point-based system for awarding green cards that protects U.S. workers and taxpayers, encourages assimilation, and ensures the financial self-sufficiency of newcomers.
· Only 1 out of every 15 immigrants to the United States are admitted on the basis of skills.
· More than half of all immigrant households use one or more welfare programs.
· Decades of low-skilled immigration has suppressed wages, fueled unemployment, and strained Federal resources.
ELIMINATE THE “DIVERSITY VISA” LOTTERY: Every year, through the “diversity visa” lottery, the United States awards 50,000 green cards at random to foreign nationals, many of whom have absolutely no ties to the United States, no special skills, and limited education.
· The “diversity visa” lottery is susceptible to fraud and is costly and time intensive for the State Department to implement.
· The lottery initiates new streams of permanent immigration when the lottery winners, many of whom previously had no ties to the United States, are subsequently able to bring over their extended relatives through chain migration.
SET THE NUMBER OF REFUGEES AT AN APPROPRIATE LEVEL: While the United States is a world leader in accepting refugees and recently has gone beyond historic averages, the refugee ceiling needs to be realigned with American priorities.
· Historically, the United States has resettled more refugees than has the rest of the world combined.
· One study found that for the price of permanently resettling one refugee within the country, the United States can help 12 refugees resettle in safe zones closer to their home regions.
· By better focusing U.S. refugee admissions on the most genuine claims and enhancing our screening processes, we will help combat fraud in the program, enhance our Nation’s ability to welcome refugees, and aid in their assimilation to the American way of life.
###
ENFORCE IMMIGRATION LAWS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
STOP “SANCTUARY CITIES”: States and localities that refuse to cooperate with Federal authorities should be ineligible for funding from certain grants and cooperative agreements.· While Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) values its law enforcement partners at the State and local levels, there are hundreds of jurisdictions across the country that do not honor requests from ICE to hold criminal aliens who already are in state and local custody, threatening public safety.
STRENGTHEN IMMIGRATION LAW ENFORCEMENT: Hiring an additional 10,000 ICE officers and 300 Federal prosecutors to handle immigration cases will allow law enforcement agencies to uphold our laws and protect public safety and national security.
· There are nearly one million aliens with final orders of removal across the country.
o Yet ICE has only 6,000 Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers to cover an immigration system that issues tens of millions of temporary visas every year.
· In addition, authorizing and incentivizing States and localities to enforce immigration laws would further help ICE with its mission, and make all communities safer.
END VISA OVERSTAYS: Increasing overstay penalties and ICE’s enforcement tools will help ensure that foreign workers, students and visitors respect the terms of their temporary visas.
· Visa overstays account for roughly 40 percent of all illegal immigration in the United States. In Fiscal Year 2016, 628,000 aliens overstayed their visas.
END “CATCH-AND-RELEASE”: Correcting judicial interpretations that have eroded ICE’s authority to keep aliens in custody pending removal, and making detentions mandatory for criminal aliens, will end the practice of catch-and-release and improve community safety.
· A 2001 Supreme Court decision requires ICE to release certain removable aliens, including violent criminals, within 180 days if they have not been deported and there is no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.
· In Fiscal Year 2017, 1,666 criminal illegal aliens have been released from ICE custody because of the above-mentioned 2001 Supreme Court decision.
PROTECT AMERICAN WORKERS: Preventing employers from hiring illegal alien labor, and displacing U.S. workers, will improve job opportunities and raise wages for Americans.
· The failure to enforce our immigration laws has produced lower wages and higher unemployment for American workers.
· We can provide relief to the American workforce by requiring the use of E-Verify and by expanding the definition of unlawful employment discrimination to specifically include the displacement of U.S. workers by nonimmigrant workers.
STOP VISA FRAUD: The State Department and Department of Homeland Security need the funding and flexibility to detect and counter rampant visa fraud.
· Expand the State Department’s authority to collect and use fraud prevention and detection fees to combat all types of visa fraud and create a fee mechanism to fully fund the Visa Security Program to facilitate its expansion to all high-risk visa-issuing posts.
###
SECURE THE BORDER BY DETERRING AND SWIFTLY REMOVING ILLEGAL ENTRANTS
COMPLETE
CONSTRUCTION
OF
THE
BORDER
WALL: Build a southern border wall and
authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to raise fees from
the processing of immigration-benefit applications and border-crossings
to be used for security and infrastructure.
· A meaningful physical barrier on our southern border is vital to prevent infiltration by cartels, criminals, traffickers, smugglers, and threats to both public safety and national security.
· In 2006, Congress passed legislation to secure the border with a double-layer fence but the promised barrier was not constructed.
· The inability to spend immigration fees on core law enforcement functions impedes security on both the southern and northern borders.
ENSURE PROMPT REMOVAL OF MINORS & RELATIVES CROSSING BORDER ILLEGALY: Ensure the swift return of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) and family units by amending current laws that require authorities to release them en masse into the United States.
· Every year, tens of thousands of illegal aliens – some traveling with their parents – are caught after illegally crossing the border, only to be quickly released into our country. This is one of the largest loopholes in U.S. border security.
o Approximately 38,500 UACs and 71,500 members of family units have been apprehended at the southern border this fiscal year – the vast majority were released.
· Under current law, UACs from countries other than Canada and Mexico are exempt from expedited removal.
· Because of these loopholes, few UACs who illegally enter the country are ever returned home.
o The number of UACs removed in FY 2016 represented approximately 4 percent of all UACs released into the country that same year.
END ASYLUM ABUSE: Tighten standards (including the “credible fear” standard), impose penalties for fraud, and ensure applicants are not released while their claims are verified.
· Chronic asylum fraud and loopholes allow illegal immigrants to gain quick and easy entry.
· Lax legal standards for claiming asylum has led to a backlog of 270,000 affirmative asylum cases with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and 250,000 in the Immigration Courts.
· Misguided judicial decisions have prevented the removal of numerous criminal aliens, while also rendering those aliens eligible to apply for asylum and other forms of relief from removal.
REDUCE MASSIVE COURT BACKLOG THAT CRIPPLES BORDER SECURITY: Expand our capabilities to deal with the ongoing crisis of illegal border crossings through expedited removal.
Border security will be impossible as long as we have an immigration court backlog of over 600,000 cases, preventing the removal of illegal border-crossers. It takes an average of 682 days to complete a single immigration case. Proper tools to improve our border security include:
o Expanding and strengthening the expedited removal process;
o Hiring an additional 370 Immigration Judges and 1,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys;
o Establishing performance metrics for Immigration Judges; and
o Discouraging illegal re-entry by enhancing penalties and expanding categories of inadmissibility.
· A meaningful physical barrier on our southern border is vital to prevent infiltration by cartels, criminals, traffickers, smugglers, and threats to both public safety and national security.
· In 2006, Congress passed legislation to secure the border with a double-layer fence but the promised barrier was not constructed.
· The inability to spend immigration fees on core law enforcement functions impedes security on both the southern and northern borders.
ENSURE PROMPT REMOVAL OF MINORS & RELATIVES CROSSING BORDER ILLEGALY: Ensure the swift return of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) and family units by amending current laws that require authorities to release them en masse into the United States.
· Every year, tens of thousands of illegal aliens – some traveling with their parents – are caught after illegally crossing the border, only to be quickly released into our country. This is one of the largest loopholes in U.S. border security.
o Approximately 38,500 UACs and 71,500 members of family units have been apprehended at the southern border this fiscal year – the vast majority were released.
· Under current law, UACs from countries other than Canada and Mexico are exempt from expedited removal.
· Because of these loopholes, few UACs who illegally enter the country are ever returned home.
o The number of UACs removed in FY 2016 represented approximately 4 percent of all UACs released into the country that same year.
END ASYLUM ABUSE: Tighten standards (including the “credible fear” standard), impose penalties for fraud, and ensure applicants are not released while their claims are verified.
· Chronic asylum fraud and loopholes allow illegal immigrants to gain quick and easy entry.
· Lax legal standards for claiming asylum has led to a backlog of 270,000 affirmative asylum cases with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and 250,000 in the Immigration Courts.
· Misguided judicial decisions have prevented the removal of numerous criminal aliens, while also rendering those aliens eligible to apply for asylum and other forms of relief from removal.
REDUCE MASSIVE COURT BACKLOG THAT CRIPPLES BORDER SECURITY: Expand our capabilities to deal with the ongoing crisis of illegal border crossings through expedited removal.
Border security will be impossible as long as we have an immigration court backlog of over 600,000 cases, preventing the removal of illegal border-crossers. It takes an average of 682 days to complete a single immigration case. Proper tools to improve our border security include:
o Expanding and strengthening the expedited removal process;
o Hiring an additional 370 Immigration Judges and 1,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys;
o Establishing performance metrics for Immigration Judges; and
o Discouraging illegal re-entry by enhancing penalties and expanding categories of inadmissibility.
###
Oct. 8, 2017
Pelosi and Schumer Joint Statement on Trump Administration’s Immigration Principles
Washington,
D.C. – House Democratic
Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer issued
the following joint statement after the Trump Administration released
immigration principles Sunday evening:
“The Administration can’t be serious about compromise or helping the Dreamers if they begin with a list that is anathema to the Dreamers, to the immigrant community and to the vast majority of Americans.
“We told the President at our meeting that we were open to reasonable border security measures alongside the DREAM Act, but this list goes so far beyond what is reasonable. This proposal fails to represent any attempt at compromise.
“The list includes the wall, which was explicitly ruled out of the negotiations. If the President was serious about protecting the Dreamers, his staff has not made a good faith effort to do so.”
“The Administration can’t be serious about compromise or helping the Dreamers if they begin with a list that is anathema to the Dreamers, to the immigrant community and to the vast majority of Americans.
“We told the President at our meeting that we were open to reasonable border security measures alongside the DREAM Act, but this list goes so far beyond what is reasonable. This proposal fails to represent any attempt at compromise.
“The list includes the wall, which was explicitly ruled out of the negotiations. If the President was serious about protecting the Dreamers, his staff has not made a good faith effort to do so.”
Copyright © 2017 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in
Action.
All rights reserved.