Forum Publications
Summary of the HALT Act
August 02, 2011
A summary of H.R. 2497, the “Hinder the Administration’s Legalization Temptation” Act, introduced by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX). The bill would take the unprecedented step of suspending several immigration law provisions relating to humanitarian relief for the remainder of President Obama’s first term, including Temporary Protected Status, cancellation of removal, parole, and waivers to certain bars to entry. The bill would essentially prohibit the President from providing relief from...
Secure Communities
July 11, 2011
This paper looks at ICE’s Secure Communities program, examines program statistics that show a plurality of persons arrested by ICE through the Secure Communities program have no criminal history—contradicting the program’s stated objective to focus on the most serious criminal offenders. The paper also reviews the controversy over the ability of local jurisdictions to opt out of the program, and makes a series of recommendations.
E-Verify: States Bear the Economic Burden
July 05, 2011
In the 112th Congress, legislation has been introduced to mandate the use of the E-Verify electronic worker verification system nationwide outside of an effort at broader immigration reform. Several states this year considered such legislation, and rejected it, in the face of business opposition. A mandate to use E-Verify without providing a path to legal status for its largely undocumented workforce would be particularly devastating for the U.S. agricultural sector. States that have adopted...
2011 National Guard Deployments to the Southwest Border
July 05, 2011
This fact sheet contains basic information on the extension of the deployment of the National Guard on the southwest border in the summer of 2011, including number, location, and the role the Guard is playing.
Department of Homeland Security: Complaint Process
July 05, 2011
This paper and accompanying chart explains how to file a complaint regarding violations of civil rights or civil liberties, or for misconduct by an agent of the Department of Homeland Security. Links are provided to the various entities within DHS or the Department of Justice that take and investigate complaints.
Summary of June 17, 2011 DHS Enforcement Memos
June 22, 2011
This memo provides an analysis of two memos issued on June 17, 2011, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton. The ICE memos provide guidance on how ICE agents and attorneys may use their prosecutorial discretion to help the agency focus on agency priorities and to protect victims of or witnesses to crime. According to the Forum’s analysis, the ICE memos have the potential to better align prosecutorial endeavors across DHS and to preserve resources now being wasted on...
The DREAM Act: Building the Momentum for Immigration Reform
June 03, 2011
A one pager on the latest version of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act introduced in the 112th Congress.
E-Verify Without Reform Will Not Succeed
May 27, 2011
Absent comprehensive reform of our immigration laws that includes a realistic way of legalizing the millions of undocumented workers now living and working in the U.S., imposition of the mandatory use of the E-Verify electronic work authorization verification system will meet with limited success.
Modest Investment for Immigrant Integration Should be Preserved
May 27, 2011
Immigrant integration benefits our nation as a whole. Our democracy is strengthened when eligible immigrants become citizens and participate fully in our society and political system. A modest government investment in immigrant integration is threatened by a spending bill now being considered in the House.
Making the Fee Structure of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services More Transparent
May 27, 2011
USCIS has begun to move away from a model in which virtually all of its activities, including those having nothing to do with the adjudication of applications of fee-paying customers, are paid for by fees collected from those customers. A House Appropriations bill would reverse that initiative, likely requiring USCIS to again raise fees to cover its costs.
