A policy of the Joe Biden administration that established that the arrest of immigrants who are considered a threat to public safety should be prioritized, instead of persecuting everyone just for being undocumented, was suspended as of Saturday by court order.
While this does not mean that the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the country
are at imminent risk of deportation
, it may renew fear in the community.
And uncertainty is also generated as to who will be persecuted and with what criteria, experts have pointed out.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas had ordered immigration agents last year to give priority for deportation to those involved in crimes and who were a threat to public security, and who had just crossed the border and had no ties. with the community.
In this sense, he instructed them to take into account factors such as whether they had lived in the United States for many years, were elderly or had children born in the country.
But the states of Texas and Louisiana sued to overturn Biden's prioritization rule, and federal judge Michael Newman ruled in his favor on June 10, ruling the policy illegal.
Because an appeals court did not block the decision, it went into effect Friday night.
Biden's rule sought to give deportation priority to those who had just crossed the border, those who did not yet have established ties in the United States, among other criteria. Veronica Cardenas / REUTERS
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Saturday that it disagrees with the court's decision and will appeal, but for now it must comply.
He added that the agents of the Immigration Service (ICE, for its acronym in English) will evaluate case by case "in a professional and responsible manner."
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The federal judge said in his ruling that the Department of Homeland Security has the discretion to decide who to deport, but says the new rule violates mandatory detention laws.
In this way, it partially annulled it and established that it cannot be used in favor of
migrants who are already detained and who have expulsion orders
.
Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, told CBS News that ICE agents will still have law enforcement discretion to detain and deport.
But the criteria that Biden established to protect those who are not a threat and are part of the community are no longer legal.
No guidelines to act;
without protections
The federal government usually establishes some guidelines that establish which migrants are priority for deportation, in general trying to first persecute those people who have committed crimes or who represent some other threat before moving on to others.
The administration of former President Donald Trump significantly expanded the range of immigrants identified for deportation, but still established some guidelines for agents to target criminals.
“The problem with moving away from priorities is that there is no standardization, no guidance, no reason,” Karen Tumlin, founder of the Justice Action Center, an immigrant rights group, told The New York Times.
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“A person who has been here 20 years and is the parent of US citizen children could be subject to removal proceedings,” Tumlin said.
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In the memorandum issued in September 2021, which the justice has now suspended, Mayorkas instructed immigration officials to use "discretionary authority" to decide who should be arrested and expelled from the country.
Being present in the country without authorization “shall not by itself be the basis of a deportation action,”
the memo says.
“Most undocumented noncitizens who may be subject to deportation have been contributing members of our communities for years,” the memo said, noting that the federal government’s exercise of discretion in immigration matters was a “tradition.” deeply rooted” that was backed by law.
ICE agents in the Trump era often raided homes or workplaces to arrest immigrants who had recently been identified for deportation, sweeping up others who were present, sometimes mere bystanders.
Agents conducted large operations in so-called sanctuary cities, making hundreds of arrests.
The administration of former President Barack Obama deported millions of people, but did not carry out major workplace raids, and most of those expelled had recently crossed the border.
It also gave criminals priority for deportation.
One more decision against migrants
The lawsuit that led to Friday's ruling was brought by Texas and Louisiana, which argued their states faced pressure on services, such as health care, when they were required to provide them to large numbers of undocumented immigrants.
They also stated that there was a higher risk of crime in their communities when the government did not remove people who were in the country illegally, even though numerous studies have shown that the undocumented are less likely to commit crimes than other residents.
"It's a very scary time."
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In the trial court's decision, Trump-appointed Judge Drew B. Tipton concluded that the Homeland Security secretary's decision to adopt priorities was "arbitrary and capricious" and that federal law required a series of procedures before proceeding. such policy change, including a public hearing with comment period.
It also ruled that the policy violated immigration law because it "ties the hands" of agents in the field and "changes the standard" for who they can detain and when.
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The judicial decision on this policy is just one of those that have occurred in recent months that affect immigrants.
Different courts have also prevented the Biden Administration from lifting restrictions related to the pandemic at the border,
Title 42
, renewing protections for young
dreamer immigrants,
who came to the country as children, and canceling
Stay in Mexico
, the program which requires many asylum seekers to remain in the neighboring country while their immigration cases are resolved.
