On February 18, ICE Performing Director Tae Johnson issued a memo titled Interim Steering: Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removing Priorities (“Johnson Memo”).
The Johnson Memo is efficient instantly and purports to be in help of the interim civil enforcement and elimination priorities from the Pekoske Memo. It is going to stay in impact till DHS Secretary Mayorkas points new enforcement tips, which the memo states will occur inside 90 days.
The Johnson memo covers enforcement actions, custody choices, the execution of ultimate orders of elimination, monetary expenditures, and strategic planning. To the extent the brand new tips battle with the Pekoske Memo, the Johnson Memo explicitly states that it controls. The Johnson memo notes that it doesn’t implement or take note of the proposed 100-day moratorium on removals at Part C of the Pekoske Memo, which has been enjoined.
The memo instructs that its interim priorities “shall be utilized” to all civil enforcement and elimination choices together with, however not restricted to:
- Whether or not to concern a detainer, or whether or not to imagine custody of a noncitizen topic to a beforehand issued detainer;
- Whether or not to concern, reissue, serve, file, or cancel a Discover to Seem;
- Whether or not to focus sources solely on administrative violations or conduct;
- Whether or not to cease, query, or arrest a noncitizen for an administrative violation of civil immigration legislation;
- Whether or not to detain or launch from custody topic to circumstances;
- Whether or not to grant deferred motion or parole; and
- When and beneath what circumstances to execute ultimate orders of elimination.
Along with useful resource constraints, the steerage acknowledges that ICE has “the duty to make sure that eligible noncitizens are capable of pursue aid from elimination beneath the immigration legal guidelines.”
The Johnson Memo lists three classes of instances which might be thought-about to be presumed priorities:
- Class 1: Nationwide Safety. A noncitizen is presumed to be a nationwide safety enforcement and elimination precedence if:
- Engaged in or suspected of partaking in terrorism-related actions;
- Engaged in or suspected of partaking in espionage-related actions; or
- In any other case vital to guard nationwide safety. Basic prison exercise doesn’t quantity to a nationwide safety risk and needs to be analyzed beneath the Public Security Class.
- Class 2: Border Safety. A noncitizen is presumed to be a border safety enforcement and elimination precedence if:
- Apprehended on the border or a port of entry whereas making an attempt to enter the nation unlawfully on or after November 1, 2020; or
- Not bodily current in United States earlier than November 1, 2020. Word that this precedence class will embrace future overstays who enter on or after November 1, 2020.
- Class 3: Public Security. A noncitizen is presumed to be a public security enforcement and elimination precedence in the event that they pose a risk to public security and:
- Have been convicted of aggravated felony as outlined in INA § 101(a)(43); or
- Have been convicted of an offense with energetic gang participation as a component or are 16 years outdated or older and “deliberately participated in an organized prison gang or transnational prison group to additional the criminal activity of the gang or transnational prison group”
To be a presumed precedence beneath the Public Security Class, a noncitizen will need to have been convicted of an aggravated felony or set off the gang participation prong, and individually, should be judged to pose a risk to public security. In evaluating whether or not the particular person poses a risk to public security, the memo instructs officers to contemplate:
- The extensiveness, seriousness, and recency of the prison exercise; and
- Mitigating elements, together with, however not restricted to:
- Private and household circumstances;
- Well being and medical elements;
- Ties to the Neighborhood;
- Proof of rehabilitation; and
- Whether or not the person has potential immigration aid obtainable.
The memo instructs that the execution of elimination orders should be supported by a compelling cause and have approval from the Discipline Workplace Director for instances involving noncitizens:
- Who’re aged or are identified to be affected by severe bodily or psychological sickness;
- Who’ve pending petitions for evaluation on direct attraction from an order of elimination;
- Who’ve filed just one movement to reopen elimination proceedings; or
- Who’ve pending purposes for immigration aid and are prima facie eligible for such aid.
For instances not assembly the standards for a presumed precedence case, pre-approval from the Discipline Workplace Director or Particular Agent in Cost is required. Requests for pre-approval for non-priority instances consider:
- The character and recency of the noncitizen’s convictions;
- The sort and size of sentences imposed; and
- Whether or not the enforcement motion is in any other case an acceptable use of ICE’s restricted sources, and different related elements.
The justification for taking an enforcement motion in a non-priority case should be in writing. Additionally, pre-approval to hold out an enforcement motion in opposition to a selected noncitizen doesn’t authorize collateral arrests, besides in exigent circumstances, typically restricted to conditions the place a noncitizen poses an imminent risk to life or imminent substantial risk to property. The place an motion is taken in such circumstances, the officer should request approval following the motion inside 24 hours.
This interim steerage anticipates that it will likely be outmoded by steerage from the Secretary of Homeland Safety within the coming months. Within the meantime, when you’ve got questions on how this steerage may have an effect on your scenario, please contact our workplace to schedule a session with one in every of our attorneys.
