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Dept of Homeland Security Introduces New Guidelines
August 19, 2011

On August 18th, senior administration officials announced that all 300,000 cases currently in deportation proceedings will be reviewed by DHS, one-by-one, in an effort to focus purely on "high-priority" cases of criminals and individuals who pose a serious threat to the US. Cases deemed "low-priority" will be completely removed from the case log and, non-criminal immigrants once facing deportation, will have the possibility to obtain work permits. 

The 10 Things You Should Know about DHS's Announcement

1. All 300,000 cases currently in deportation proceedings will be reviewed by senior DHS officials. Immigration judges and ICE trial attorneys will also be reviewing their cases on a daily and weekly basis to make sure that any case that goes forward is consistent with DHS enforcement prioirities

2. The announcement is about deportation cases only. This announcement is DHS's attempt to "unclog" the deportation case log by removing "low-priority" cases in order to focus on individuals who pose serious dangers to our communities and our country.

3. "High-priority" individuals include, but are not limited to, those who pose a serious threat to national security, are serious felons and repeat offenders, are known gang members, or have a record of repeated immigration violations.

4. "Low-priority" individuals include, but are not limited to, veterans; long-time, lawful residents; DREAMers and others brought to the US as children; pregnant women; victims of domestic abuse and other serious crimes; and spouses, including LGBT spouses.

5. Individuals in deportation proceedings who are deemed "low-priority" will get a letter from DHS stating their case has been administratively "closed".

6. Those whose cases are closed can apply for a work permit program. Decisions about work permits will be made on a case-by-case basis. Undocumented immigrants not in deportation proceedings cannot seek work permits.

7. Individuals SHOULD NOT attempt to be placed in deportation proceedings in order to apply for a work permit

8. While these changes do not directly benefit non-criminal, undocumented immigrants who are not in deportation proceedings, if implemented properly, these individuals will not be placed into deportation proceedings in the first place.

9. The announcement does not change programs such as 287g and Secure Communities.

10. This is not "back-door amnesty" as our opponents will claim. This is a procedural change in the implementation of DHS's enforcement policies to target only those who pose serious threats to the US and those with long criminal records.

 [This information is provided by the Reform Immigration for America campaign.]