Biden Has Suspended Rules Regarding Immigration Arrests and Deportation

On Saturday, June 25, 2022, The Biden Administration suspended rules regarding the arrest and deportation of immigrants in the United States. This has left deportation agents within the states with little to no instruction as to which immigrants should be detained.

Those who are uncertain of their current immigration status or are in the United States illegally are strongly encouraged to seek the assistance of an immigration lawyer to apply for citizenship through the appropriate channels and avoid serious consequences.

This suspension stemmed from a recent federal court ruling by Federal Judge Drew Tipton. Tipton threw out an immigration policy that limits who can be detained and deported by authorities. He sided with both Texas and Louisiana to allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce the law as needed.

Even though the Biden administration has stated on record that they “strongly disagree” with the appeal, they’ve continued to follow suit with the proceedings.

The initial case took place in September of 2021 in Texas involving Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban-American attorney and government official who serves as the seventh United States Secretary of Homeland Security.

Moyorkas strongly fought with a memorandum to Homeland Security. He requested that law enforcement focus their efforts on arresting and deporting those who act as a direct threat to national security or general public safety who have come into the United States illegally.

This was to offset President Donald Trump’s leniency on the deportation regulations previously enacted. But Tipton voided Mayorkas’ memo on June 10, 2022.

A recent statement by the Department of Homeland Security stated that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will make decisions on “a case-by-case basis in a professional and responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement officials and in a way that best protects against the greatest threats to the homeland.”

Without any centralized guidance from the government, the outcome for each immigrant is left in the hands of ICE field offices. Each office has a different viewpoint on whether they seek out the larger community of immigrants or only go after those who are a larger threat to the public.

The official spokesperson of the Washington and Boston ICE offices declined any official comment on the matter.

A few weeks later on June 27, 2022, 47 bodies were found in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas. According to the official report, 16 other people were discovered and sent to a local hospital, including four minors. One of the people found dead was linked to human smuggling across the United States and Mexico border.

This tragic event is now known as the most fatal occurrence of border crossing in the city’s history. It highlights severe issues regarding migrant crossings at the United States border and is now causing even more fear in the eyes of immigrants around the country.

Those who have made it across the U.S. border and are currently living within the country illegally are fearful of going outside, regardless of abiding by the law. Communities are uncertain if they’ll simply be detained by racial profiling rather than by how they conduct themselves in their day-to-day lives.

Despite the Biden administration’s suspension, they’re still actively pursuing other ways to help immigrants in the United States. In August of 2021, Biden pushed a proposal that Congress should provide up to $15 million to pay for private immigration attornies for “families and vulnerable people.”

As of June of this year, they’re pushing forward with these initiatives in seven main border towns in California, Arizona, and Texas. Federal contractors will run the new program where they’ll explain the options migrants have upon entering the U.S. while deportation orders are pending.

At this time, there are currently 1.6 million pending immigration cases, despite the efforts that the Biden administration is taking.