bin policy brief: immigration action

8/10/2019 BIN Policy Brief: Immigration Action

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POLICY BRIEF

December 2014

1 Black Immigration Net______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Tel: (347) 410-5312 web:www.blackimmigration.net email: [email protected]

2014 Immigration Action Impact on Black Immigrant Communities

Executive SummaryOn November 20, 2014, President Obama announced a

multitude of executive actions know by an umbrella

term, administrative relief, to modify existing

immigration laws. Accordingly, the Department of

Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a series of

memorandums adjusting removal priorities: Secure

Communities, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

(DACA), Provisional Waivers, and Prosecutorial

Discretion. The measures broadly fall into three

categories: (i) changes to immigration enforcement

policy; (ii) deferred action expansion, and (iii) changes

to the legal immigration system. i

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services

(USCIS), housed under DHS is tasked with defining,

broadening, and executing the specifics of the

administrative relief. This brief highlights how the relief

will impact black immigrant communities. It also

acknowledges outstanding principles unmet by the

Presidents executive action; the importance of

adjusting policy recommendations, and tailoring

enforcement practices to meet the realities of the black

immigrant context.

BackgroundImmigrant rights are a matter of racial justice. Black

immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean make upapproximately 10% of the foreign-born population in

the United States.ii Studies have shown that black

immigrants are detained and deported at five times the

rate of their presence in the undocumented immigrant

community. iiiWhile the current immigration system

continues to adversely impact all immigrant

communities, black immigrants often remain

overlooked and excluded from the immigration

discourse.

Though the full impact of the administrative relief on

black immigrants remains unclear, the Black

Immigration Network will continue to assess the

results, while holding any immigration executive

actions to fair and just principles, promoting policies

grounded in racial justice, family unification, and

decriminalization.

Recognizing that any administrative relief via executive

action is temporary and could be reversed by a

subsequent administration, the Black Immigration

Network renews its call for a permanent solution and a

path to legal status and deserved citizenship for the

more than 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the

U.S. including 500,000 of which are black immigrants.

Deferred Action & Families Policy

ImplicationsBlack immigrant communities will potentially benefit

from the deferred action programs of the

administrative relief. The Deferred Action fo

Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status grants a deferred

action against removal for childhood arrivals for three

years, and permits employment authorization also valid

for three years. To be eligible for deferred action unde

DACA status, one must have been brought to the US

before January 1, 2010, have been under 16 when

entering the US, and be enrolled or have graduatedfrom high school, or obtained a GED.iv

Under the new administrative relief, the program has

been expanded to eliminate the former age cap,

thereby increasing eligibility; however, current DACA

eligibility requirements prohibits those who entered

the US at 16 or above, or attended high school in thei

country of origin from becoming recipients. This

adversely affects Afro-Caribbean immigrant
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2 Black Immigration Net

______________________________________________________________________________________________________Tel: (347) 410-5312 web:www.blackimmigration.net email: [email protected]

populations, as the typical age for Caribbean high

school graduates is 16.

The administrative relief increases DACA eligibility for

black immigrants from the Dominican Republic, Haiti,

and Jamaica by an average of 10 percent.v Previous

applicants and status grantees can re-apply for DACA

status. Though one can continuously apply based on

eligibility, the Department of Homeland Security grants

final approval for applicants, and DACA does not

provide a path to citizenship.

The administrations existing deferred action was

limited to childhood or minor arrivals. Through this

executive order, parents of childhood arrivals can also

be granted a temporary stay. Similarly named and

enacted, Deferred Action for Parent Accountability

(DAPA), grants a deferred action against removal for

undocumented parents of permanent residents and/or

US citizens for three years, as well as temporary work

authorization. DAPA parents will encounter stricter

eligibility requirements. While DAPA recipients areeligible for employment authorization, the executive

action requires that they have no factors that warrant

denial based on discretion. It is unclear yet how the

Department of Homeland Security will interpret that

discretion or many of the enforcement provisions

relating to DAPA, thus increasing the risk of greater

enforcement scrutiny for black immigrant families.

The expanded deferred action programs are limited to

children and parents. The programs do not allow for or

provide mechanisms to extended family members toreceive deferred action status. Thus siblings of children

and/or parents will not be granted a temporary stay

against removals, nor eligible for ensuing immigration

status adjustments if they do not qualify for either

deferred action program on their own merit.

The impact this will have on black immigrant families

cannot be overemphasized. Extended families are an

integral part of culture, identity, and upbringing. The

DHS limited definition of family increases black

immigrant families vulnerability to remova

proceedings. Furthermore, to qualify for temporary or

permanent status, non-qualifying deferred action

family members must navigate the current immigration

system to adjust immigration status, thus thrusting

them into lengthy and time-consuming visa backlog.

More details on DACA and DAPA qualifications can be

foundhere.

Enforcement ProvisionsRemoval proceedings under the new administrative

relief are now categorized according to a priority

standard. The priority standard replaces Secure

Communities to remove individuals convicted of

criminal offenses first.viWhile the shift to enforcement

priorities can be regarded as an improvement as it

allows for a transition from a pre-conviction to post-

conviction model, it continues the entanglement of

local law enforcement in immigration enforcement;thereby continuously increasing racial profiling and

further criminalization of black immigrant

communities.

The categories for new priority removal procedures are

as follows:

Priority 1: Non-citizens convicted of aggravated

felonies, suspected terrorists, convicted gang

members; people apprehended at the border

while unlawfully entering the U.S., will be a

priority for removal unless they qualify forasylum or another immigration benefit.

vi

The use of language such as suspected terrorists

without built in civil rights protections to discourage

racial profiling is very troubling. Additionally, the

recently revised version of the Department of Justice

Guidance Regarding the Use of Racial Profiling by

Federal Law Enforcement Agencies has expanded the

prohibition of profiling based on national origin,
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religion, gender, sexual orientation, and gender

ethnicity, in addition to race and ethnicity; yet, this

guidance exempts the Federal Bureau of Investigation

(FBI), Transportation Security Administration (TSA),

and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) federal

agencies from adhering to the modifications.

While the expansion of the Guidance is a much needed

measure to mitigate the effects of profiling, migrant

communities, in particular black immigrant

communities, remain susceptible to profiling by federalauthorities. In fact, the Guidance serves as an

additional layer of profiling in coherence with local law

enforcement.

Furthermore, the prioritization of people with gang-

related membership is deeply disturbing, as law

enforcement targets specific racial/ethnic groups as

gang-affiliated.

Black immigrant communities will undoubtedly be the

subject and victims of such targeting. Black individuals

in the United States are the highest profiled group.

Recognizing that ones status cannot be determined

solely off profiling or appearance, this priority runs the

risk of increased profiling of black individuals, likely

black youth in an attempt to determine legal status.

Priority 2: Non-citizens convicted of three or

more misdemeanor offenses, non-citizens

convicted of significant misdemeanors

(including DUI), non-citizens apprehended who

entered after January 1, 2014; non-citizens who

are perceived to abuse the visa waiverprogramshould be a priority of removal unless

they qualify for asylum or another immigration

benefit.vi

The biggest concern this priority poses for black

immigrant communities is significant misdemeanors

qualifications. Because of racial profiling, black

communities are disproportionately affected by

misdemeanor offenses--indicatively drug offenses that

qualify as a significant misdemeanor. Blacks are

arrested for drug possession more than three times as

often as their counterpartsvii, and comprised 45 percent

of the combined number of individuals serving time in

state prisons for drug offenses in 2012viii.

Additionally, black youth are 33 more percent likely to

be cited or arrested for a drug violation viii. A priority

removal proceeding of black immigrants based off

these indicators and overall criminal injustices is unfairunjust, and inhumane.

Lastly, the prioritization and criminalizing of people

who overstay their visas under the visa waiver program

is alarming. Many of these people are immediate

relatives of United States citizens or permanent

residents and have much to contribute to the U.S. This

priority increases the likelihood of heightened

criminalization of black communities.

Priority 3:Non-citizens issued final orders of

removal after January 1, 2014 should generally

be a priority for removal unless they qualify for

asylum, or another immigration benefit.vi

Lastly, black immigrants who have come to the U.S. in

2014 will now be subject to heightened racial profiling

and draconian enforcement.

Policy RecommendationsConsidering the administrative relief as a whole, the

following recommendations emerge:

Increase the qualifying age for Deferred Action for

Childhood Arrivals from 16 to 18, grandfathering

those who would not meet eligibility under this

specific executive action;

Broaden the deferred action programs to ensure

families can remain together. Additionally, the

programs must be flexible enough to recognize

work contributions, regardless of proof of
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employment or educational attainment

requirements;

Remove local law enforcement from all

immigration proceedings to decrease racial

profiling and criminalization of black immigrants;

Issue an updated and expanded Guidance

Regarding the Use of Race by Federal Law

Enforcement Agencies to include all federal

enforcement agencies to bar the use of profiling to

target black immigrant communities, and enact a

zero tolerance for profiling period.

Endnotesi What is Administrative Relief? last modified November 21, 2014, http://www.adminrelief.org/resources/item.544102-Summary_of_Administrative_ReliefiiSee Table 1 Black Immigrants in the United States by Region of Origin, 2008-09, Migration Policy Institute Analysis of American

Community Survey in 2008-2009 available at http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/CBI-demographic-profile-black-caribbean-

immigrantsiii

ivSummary of Administrative Relief Catholic Relief Services, last modified November 24, 2014, http://www.cliniclegal.org

vHow Obamas Executive Action Will Impact Immigrants, by birth country, PewResearchCenter, last modified December 17, 2014,

http:// http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/11/21/how-obamas-executive-action-will-impact-immigrants-by-birth-

country/?moderated#comment-648003

viExecutive Action on Immigration: the Good, Bad, and Ugly, last modified November 21, 2014,http://prernalal.com/2014/11/executive-action-on-immigration-good-bad-and-ugly/vii

Race, Drugs, and Law Enforcement in the United States, Human Rights Watch, date accessed December 16, 2014,http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/related_material/8%20Fellner_FINAL.pdfviii

Prisoners in 2012Advance Counts, US Department of Justice, last modified July 2013,http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p12ac.pdf
http://www.blackimmigration.net/http://www.blackimmigration.net/

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