The federal government will halt deportation proceedings against many illegal immigrants and allow them to apply for work permits as it focuses on removing convicted criminals and others considered a public safety threat, the Obama administration announced Thursday.
Officials plan to review some 300,000 cases, setting aside those considered low priority, including students brought to the United States as children.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said the initiative, a response to an overwhelmed immigration courts system, will allow enforcement efforts to focus on “criminal aliens, those who pose a threat to public safety and national security, repeat immigration law violators and other individuals prioritized for removal.”
The plan drew criticism from advocates for stricter immigration control and plaudits from supporters of the stalled legislation know as the DREAM Act, which is intended to give young immigrants who go to college or serve in the military a chance at legal status.
But the White House made clear that the policy is not amnesty or a path to permanent legal status. “It simply sets their case aside,” said a Department of Homeland Security official who was not authorized to give his name. “Their case is not going to be heard in court.”
However, the plan was short on details. It’s not clear how the new review procedure would allow officials to move through the existing backlog faster. It’s also not clear if anyone not included in the current backlog can apply for work permits.
Despite the lack of clarity, the announcement prompted a variety of opinions.
“It is the right policy for an agency (Homeland Security) that has limited resources and a large number of people who are removable,” said Muzaffar Chishti, director of migration policy at the Migration Policy Institute’s office at the New York University School of Law. “Clearly, the limited resources should be used on people who pose a real threat or have criminal records.”
Chishti said the new policy is a response to an overwhelmed immigration detention system that fell behind as deportations surged after 9/11.
“We just don’t have the resources to hold a dangerous criminal alongside a garden-variety candidate for deportation,” he said.
Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that lobbies for restricted immigration, said there are more productive ways to unburden the immigration court system.
“The message is that as long as you keep your nose clean and do not commit a serious crime, then you don’t have to worry about immigration law enforcement,” she said. “That’s a pretty strong incentive to stick around. … It really is attempting to achieve by executive fiat what the Congress won’t do and the American people don’t want, and that really requires a lot of audacity.”
Some states are rebelling against another administration effort to control illegal immigration known as Secure Communities. The program requires that when state and local law enforcement send criminal suspects’ fingerprints to the FBI, the prints are run through an immigration database to determine the suspects’ immigration status. Some states have argued that the program puts them in the position of policing immigration, which they consider a federal responsibility. Immigrant advocacy groups have complained that people not yet convicted of crimes were being caught up in the system.
Napolitano said an interagency working group would review 300,000 cases of people in deportation proceedings to identify those who might qualify for relief.
Factors to be considered include an individual’s criminal history, U.S. military service, contributions to the community, and whether the person cares for someone with disabilities, a minor, or a seriously ill relative. The young and the elderly would be given consideration.
White House officials said the policy could help illegal immigrants with family members in the United States. The White House is interpreting “family” to include partners of lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
Richard Socarides, a New York lawyer who was an adviser to President Bill Clinton on gay issues, said, “The new policy will end, at least for now, the deportations of gay people legally married to their same-sex American citizen partners, and it may extend to other people in same-sex partnerships.”
For those removed from deportation proceedings and allowed to stay in the United States, “this is not a jump to the front of the line or a pass to get a green card,” said Heather Boxeth, a San Diego-based criminal and immigration attorney. “They’re still sort of stuck in limbo. The only thing that happens is they are able to work lawfully in the United States.”
Christian Ramirez, an immigration specialist with the American Friends Service Committee in San Diego, said the enhanced border enforcement policy under President Barack Obama remains intact.
The Associated Press and New York Times News Service contributed to this report
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