Border policy changes under review
in modifying policies to prevent the separation of families. His administration is on track to deport 2 million people by next month.
Peter Boogaard, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said reports of specific changes under review were inaccurate. He said Johnson was taking a “hard look” at ways to “enforce our immigration laws effectively and sensibly, in line with our values.”
“It is fair to say that process is ongoing and will be conducted expeditiously,” he said.
Obama and his senior staff met Friday at the White House with 17 representatives of labor groups, Latino organizations and faith groups that are pushing for immigration reform. The president assured them he has “deep concern” for the pain of families separated by deportations.
“We’ve gotten the attention that we needed,” said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Downey).
The changes under consideration fall short of activists’ preferred solution: expanding a 2012 program created by Obama that allows some young people brought to the country illegally as children to remain. Many advocates want the program — called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — broadened to include the children’s parents or other family members.
White House lawyers have considered expanding that program to include people in the country illegally who are related to a U.S. citizen and have a pending petition for permanent residency, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are sensitive.
In theory, about 1 million people could be eligible to apply for a two-year deferral of deportation and a work visa.
The White House is reluctant to enlarge the program for fear it might be difficult to defend in court.
The two changes under consideration are less dramatic but still significant.
Since 2011, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have been instructed to prioritize deportation of those who have multiple convictions and who pose a threat to the public. Immigration officials included what the agency calls “fugitive aliens” and “aliens who reenter the country illegally after removal” in that category.
That meant people who lost appeals in immigration courts, or ignored deportation orders, were put on priority lists for deportation. So were people who came back after they were bused across the border.
Removing these two groups from the priority list could allow thousands of parents of children born in America, as well as other family members, to stay, said Marshall Fitz, an immigration expert at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington.
The other change under review, officials said, would curb the detention of lowpriority immigrants.
Under a program called Secure Communities, immigration agents can ask local jails to hold immigrants here illegally until federal agents can pick them up. Officials are considering adjusting the policy so agents could ask jails to hold only people who are accused of major crimes or otherwise qualify for deportation.
Officials are also considering reviewing detention center contracts to ensure conditions are adequate for holding immigrants.