ICE Still Appearing at Courthouses
ICE has in place a policy governing interior enforcement actions at sensitive locations. These locations have been defined as schools, hospitals, houses of worship, religious/civil events (e.g., weddings and funerals), and public demonstrations (e.g., marches and rallies). Under its guidelines, if an enforcement action is set to take place at one of these locations, there must be prior approval or exigent circumstances. (Its policy applies only at sensitive locations not mere
OIG Reports Poor Conditions in ICE Detention Facilities
The Office of Inspector General for DHS, the "watchdog" of the department, conducted random site visits at six ICE detention facilities to determine whether the baseline standards of detainee treatment were being met. The resulting report exposed numerous unsatisfactory conditions at several ICE detention facilities. One of the facilities was not housing detainees according to their criminal history, resulting in nonviolent aliens being housed with violent criminals. Another
Revamping Interviewing Schedule to Address Asylum Backlog
USCIS is no longer scheduling affirmative asylum cases based on a "first in, first scheduled" basis. Now, cases that have been pending less than 21 days will be scheduled first, working backwards toward older cases. This new scheduling approach is purposefully aimed at deterring "individuals from using asylum backlogs solely to obtain employment authorization by filing frivolous, fraudulent, or otherwise non-meritorious asylum applications." By giving priority to recent filin
