Obama Administration’s New Enforcement Strategy

From ProPublica:

ProPublica’s Marcus Stern reports, “The Obama Administration has changed the nation’s immigration enforcement strategy in ways that will reduce the threat of deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants and will likely blunt the impact of any state laws designed to deport vast numbers of people.  The changes are the little-discussed byproducts of the Administration’s well-publicized decision to focus its deportation efforts on immigrants who have committed serious crimes.”

In the story, co-published with USA Today, Stern notes that the new direction put the Administration on a collision course with those who believe immigration laws should be strictly enforced and that all illegal immigrants should be deported.  But the changes have also drawn complaints from immigration advocates who say deportations have reached record highs and that the government can still put them back into proceedings at any time.

In a sidebar interview, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director John Morton tells Stern the strategy will lead to smarter enforcement, not softer enforcement.  “Congress provides enough money to deport a little less than 400,000 people and in an era of limited resources, who should those 400,000 be?” said Morton.  “My perspective is those 400,000 people shouldn’t be the first 400,000 in the door but rather 400,000 people who reflect some considered government enforcement policy based on a rational set of objectives and priorities.”

Stern also examines the immigration-related Congressional and budgetary battles, the successful programs that led to the immigration court backlog and other options the Obama Administration could take.  Read the full report here – www.propublica.org/deportation.  We hope you will share this investigation with your audience.  And please note that Stern is available to discuss this story.  Thanks.

Best,

Mike Webb
ProPublica
917-512-0233

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