César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández's Blog, page 4
February 24, 2021
Federal court enjoins 100-day deportation pause
In a 105-page order, a federal judge in Texas granted a preliminary injunction yesterday blocking the Biden administration from implementing a 100-day deportation pause. The same court previously blocked the pause by issuing a temporary restraining order. The injunction is effective immediately and applies nationwide. As a result, I expect to see the administration turn to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit soon.
The first 20 pages of the opinion read like someone’s notes about h...
ICE issues enforcement priorities
Last week, ICE issued new enforcement priorities meant to guide its immigration detention and removal activities. In a memo signed by Acting Director Tae D. Johnson, the agency outlines three types of risks—national security, border security, and public safety—that it will prioritize at least temporarily. The memo notes that permanent priorities are expected within 90 days. Until permanent priorities are distributed, the Johnson memo, released on February 18, sets ICE’s enforcement parameters. I...
February 22, 2021
Immigration possibilities & challenges
On the campaign trail, Democrats promised to break from the Trump administration’s immigration policies. Already, the Biden-Harris administration has taken several steps in that direction, but the path ahead is filled with political obstacles and legal challenges. Later this week, I’ll discuss options available to the new administration and challenges it is likely to face—from activists on the left and Republicans on the right.
Join me for this important conversation. Participation is free, b...
February 19, 2021
Criminal bars, policing changes, & meaningful reforms in proposed legislation
Still in President Biden’s first month in the White House, this week congressional Democrats released a massive immigration reform proposal that has the president’s support. Led by Representative Linda Sánchez and Senator Robert Menéndez, Democrats unveiled the 350-page U.S. Citizenship Act on Thursday.
While it’s legalization provisions have been covered in-depth by others, here I’ll identify several key features that turn on criminal activity or policing, including the creation of an immi...
February 5, 2021
Private prison policy excludes DHS, but impacts migrants
Continuing a deluge of executive actions, President Biden last week ordered the Justice Department to step back from its partnership with the private prison industry. Inside the Justice Department, the U.S. Marshals Service and federal Bureau of Prisons run large prison networks, both of which contract with private prisons corporations to house people suspected or convicted of migrating to the United States in violation of federal criminal law.
On January 26, the president announced that the ...
February 3, 2021
Expedited removal & 287(g) survive Biden review, so far
Yesterday, President Biden continued the swirl of executive actions altering immigration policy with highly anticipated announcements about the Trump administration’s infamous family-separation policy and asylum processing. Tucked into yesterday’s orders are important possibilities for immigration policing. Regrettably, when it comes to key features of the Trump administration’s immigration policing practices, President Biden’s latest announcements are short on anything more than possibilities.
...January 26, 2021
Federal court blocks deportation pause
A federal court in Texas blocked the Biden-Harris administration’s attempt to pause removals for 100 days pending a review of enforcement practices. Texas v. United States, No. 6:21-cv-00003 (S.D. Tex. January 26, 2021). Handing a major win to the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, Trump appointee Drew Tipton granted a temporary restraining order blocking DHS from implementing the 100-day deportation pause. The TRO applies for 14 days. An appeal is likely.
As a preliminary matter, the court ...
January 21, 2021
Biden-Harris immigration priorities signal big shift, raise many questions
Late yesterday, the Biden-Harris administration ended its first day in office signaling that campaign promises to restructure immigration policy were more than empty words. In a series of executive actions signed by President Biden and a memo issued by the temporary head of the Department of Homeland Security, the incoming administration announced a 100-day pause on removals and new enforcement priorities.
President Biden set the stage for the new administration’s meaningful immigration polic...
January 12, 2021
Biden’s Migration Policy Options
After four years of President Donald J. Trump’s virulent rhetorical attacks on migrants and his administration’s heavy-handed policies, the United States is on the verge of experiencing multiple shifts in the politics of migration and its policies toward migrants. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris reject the abrasive, racist rhetoric that propelled President Trump into office and which he embraced throughout his tenure. But while the new administration is sure to a...
December 3, 2020
Migrating to Prison, one year later
After arriving in the United States in October 2015 with his mother Wendy hoping to find safe harbor, one-year-old Diego was quickly moved to an immigration prison in Pennsylvania. Six hundred fifty days later, Diego and Wendy were still there. “Diego’s situation is alarming, but it’s not unique,” I wrote in Migrating to Prison: America’s Obsession with Locking Up Immigrants.
Less than two months from Inauguration Day, change is in the air. Just as winter’s bareness recently overtook fall’s b...
