ICE Launches National Initiative for Immigration Arrests

Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) has kicked off a nationwide effort aimed at arresting undocumented immigrants during their immigration and asylum hearings, according to recent reports.

This initiative specifically targets individuals who have been in the U.S. for less than two years. The strategy from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) involves halting immigration cases to facilitate arrests and expedite deportation processes.

Under this new policy, DHS is expected to dismiss cases where immigration status is still pending, as these cases cannot be swiftly resolved for removal.

An anonymous source within ICE mentioned that Americans should prepare for an increase in these kinds of arrests in the near future.

The implications of this policy could lead to a significant rise in deportations, particularly among those who haven’t committed any crimes beyond entering the U.S. illegally. Previously, the focus of the Trump administration was largely on removing illegal immigrants with serious criminal convictions.

The announcement comes at a time when the DHS is also engaged in various court battles concerning its deportation efforts. Just this week, a federal judge ruled that the DHS had contravened a court directive by sending a flight filled with eight undocumented immigrants to South Sudan.

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy noted that these immigrants, some convicted of serious offenses like murder and robbery, did not receive adequate interviews that would reveal their fears regarding deportation to a third country, which could place them in danger.

Murphy is currently looking into whether interviews could be conducted in South Sudan, instead of returning the immigrants to the U.S.

Previously, he found that attempts to deport individuals to Libya without due notice would clearly breach established rulings on third-party deportations.