The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is “charged with enforcing the nation’s civil immigration laws”. However, ICE has limited staff and resources, and is able to remove/deport less than 4 percent of the estimated illegal alien population in the US. Recently, ICE issued a memo to all its employees, setting forth ICE’s priorities in connection with the apprehension, detention, and removal/deportation of aliens.
Because of its limited enforcement resources, “ICE must prioritize the use of its enforcement personnel . . . and removal resources to insure that the removals the agency does conduct promote the agency’s highest enforcement priorities, namely national security, public safety and border security”. In other words, while ICE has the power and authority to remove every single illegal alien in the US, no matter what their immigration violation or circumstance, ICE needs to focus on the “bad guys”, and not be “makulit” about trying to deport everyone just because the person may be subject to removal.
According to the memo, the highest priority for ICE are those aliens who pose a danger to national security or a risk to public safety. This includes aliens involved in terrorism or espionage, aliens convicted of crimes, gang members over the age of 16, aliens with outstanding criminal warrants, and those aliens who pose a serious risk to public safety.
The next priority would be “recent illegal entrants”, including those who have recently violated immigration controls at the border”, such as being caught trying to sneak across the border.
The third priority are those aliens “who are fugitives or otherwise obstruct immigration controls”. This includes aliens who are subject to a final order of removal, and abscond (or hide), fail to depart, or intentionally obstruct immigration controls.
The memo notes that while these priorities should not necessarily be construed, “to prohibit or discourage the apprehension, detention, or removal of other aliens unlawfully in the US”, nevertheless “attention to these alien should not displace or disrupt the resources needed to remove aliens who are a higher priority”. In other words, while ICE still has the ability to remove an ordinary TNT, ICE should really be focusing on removing those aliens who are considered “priorities”.
I think that this is good news for law-abiding Filipinos, who’s only “sin” was that they may have gone out of status in their attempt to achieve the American Dream. In the past, ICE would issue Notices to Appear (NTA) and seek to remove any and all aliens, no matter how minor their transgressions are. It is encouraging that ICE is finally recognizing that there are so many bad and dangerous aliens, that ICE should focus its limited resources on removing the bad guys, and that they will start exercising “prosecutorial discretion” in deciding who they should target for removal/deportation.
In addition, if a “non-priority” alien has been placed in removal, and has a way to adjust/legalize his or her status, ICE is also willing to consider a Motion to Dismiss and/or terminate removal proceedings. If you are not a “priority” illegal alien, and have been placed in removal, but you may have a way to get a green card, you should seek the advice of a reputable attorney, who can evaluate your situation, and determine whether you can benefit from this new memo and/or possibly have your removal proceedings dismissed.
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