Aug. 18, 2011

Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an agency-wide expansion of prosecutorial discretion guidelines that will hopefully allow immigration officials to focus their enforcement efforts on targeting dangerous criminals. DHS also announced the creation of a joint committee with the Department of Justice (DOJ) that will review nearly 300,000 immigration cases currently in removal proceedings to determine whether cases are low priority enough to be closed. The factors for determining low priority cases were outlined last June in a memo issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton. While many immigration groups applaud today’s announcement, many are still concerned about DHS’s ability to successfully implement these guidelines.
In a letter to Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and 21 other senators, DHS announced today that immigrants who are not high priority targets for removal will have the opportunity to request prosecutorial discretion on a case by case basis.  Identified in a memo by ICE Director John Morton last June 17, low priority cases include persons who:

• (1) are not criminals and have been in the country since childhood (DREAM Act students)
• (2) have strong community ties
• (3) are veterans or relatives of persons in the armed services
• (4) are caregivers
• (5) have serious health issues
• (6) are victims of crime
• (7) or otherwise have a strong basis for remaining in the United States.

On a conference call today, the White House clarified that within a few months, ICE attorneys will review every case scheduled for a hearing in order to identify cases which meet the above criteria. Additionally, the new guidelines will be issued to ICE, USCIS, and CBP officers to ensure that they appropriately exercise discretion when determining whether a low priority case should be referred to immigration court. The White House also announced that a new joint committee made up of government officials will review the nearly 300,000 cases currently in removal proceedings, which may take several months. Once an immigration case is closed, the individual is eligible to apply for work authorization.