Defending against the Increasing Criminalization of
Our Immigrant Communities

Who We Are

The Problem

"Bustin' Out"

Immigrant Youth Justice Initiative (IYJI)

"Sentenced Home"

Additional Resources

Draconian Laws and Enforcement Criminalizing Non-Citizens

In 1996, Congress passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) which significantly changed immigration laws to increase the detention and deportation of noncitizens with criminal convictions or contact with the criminal justice system.  Specifically, the laws increased the number of offenses for which noncitizens could be deported and essentially eliminated discretion for immigration judges to waive deportation for people convicted of certain offenses.  The 1996 laws were also made retroactive.  Someone who has served their time, rebuilt their life, and become a productive citizen can be deported for a crime that was committed many years ago and which was not a deportable offense at the time.  As a result of the passage and enforcement of these laws, noncitizens have been subject to immigration consequences that, in most instances, are disproportionate to the gravity or punishment for their crimes, including: mandatory detention (often in corporate owned and operated facilities far from the noncitizen’s home, family and resources); mandatory deportation often with no discretion on the part of the immigration judge and with no legal representation; permanent exile from the U.S. without any hope of lawful return; and severely disproportionate federal prison sentences for those who do return, are apprehended and prosecuted.

Since the passage of these harsh, retroactive anti-immigrant laws in 1996 and until 2006, a total of almost 700,000 noncitizens with criminal convictions have been deported from the U.S., many with minor misdemeanor violations from long ago, for which they served no (or a negligible amount of) time in jail.(1)  The number of noncitizens deported for simply coming in contact with the criminal or juvenile justice systems is, in fact, much higher since such contact often is the means by which noncitizens are apprehended by government authorities, regardless of whether they are actually convicted.  Many of these deported noncitizens have lived in this country since they were young or were granted asylum or refugee status, and are primary family breadwinners who have U.S. citizen spouses and children.  Consequently, many families and communities have been torn apart.    

Post 9-11, federal, and increasingly state governments have been expending large amounts of resources to enforce existing laws against immigrant communities and to enact sweeping new ones.  This trend has only accelerated since the collapse of the immigration reform debate in 2007.  In 2007 alone, no fewer than 1,562 pieces of legislation related to immigrants or immigration were introduced in the 50 state legislatures.  Of these, 240 became law in 46 states.(2)  Anti-immigrant rhetoric blamed both the federal government for not effectively dealing with the “illegal immigration” problem and Congress’ failure to pass laws that could alleviate the problem. As a result, local, state, and federal governments have been on a path to detain and deport immigrants wherever and whenever possible, with a special emphasis on anyone arrested and/or convicted of a crime.  In 2008 alone, we witnessed the passage of local and state anti-immigrant laws throughout the country, increased collaboration and task forces between local and state law enforcement and ICE, a steady stream of worksite and home raids, increased government budgets and other resources dedicated exclusively to enforcement efforts, and the increased number of people caught up in the immigration system and deported. 

As a result, in 2006 more than 186,600 immigrants were deported, a record for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a ten percent increase over the previous year.  In 2007 approximately 280,000 immigrants were deported, a 33% increase over 2006.  Trends in immigration enforcement will only continue, as there is already a 19% increase in federal immigration enforcement funding between from 2008 to 2009.  These short-sighted enforcement programs are devastating to the lives of immigrants, their families, and their communities, which must deal with the extreme dislocation caused by the sudden disappearance of family members.  A large number of families in the United States are mixed citizen/non-citizen.  In some cases even U.S. citizens have been wrongly subject to detention and deportation. 

ICE has made clear that noncitizens who are or have been in the criminal justice system are its highest enforcement priority.  To that end, ICE has institutionalized its programs and technologies to allow for systematic and regular screening of noncitizens in jails and prisons, both state and federal.  To date, they have entered into 33 Memoranda of Understanding with local law enforcement across the country to deputize them to enforce immigration laws with more than 80 jurisdictions lined up and waiting to sign similar MOUs in 2008.  Further, in 2007, ICE created a umbrella program called ACCESS, which allows local and state law enforcement around the country to enter into customized agreements with ICE based upon their jurisdiction’s needs.     

In a political climate where there are incentives and rewards for increasing enforcement efforts and few, if any, repercussions, the government’s goal is to cast its net as wide as possible, regardless of the human rights, due process and civil liberties of the people and families that it targets.