Casey Rojas, 9, carries a 'We Feed You' banner as she shows support for
farm workers marching against US President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant
policies in the Central Valley agriculture town of Delano, California,
on April 2, 2017. AFP PHOTO | MARK RALSTON
Summary
- Police, prosecutors and judges have been ordered to take a harder line against all illegal immigrants, detaining anyone without papers and vigorously prosecuting more of them.
- And officials have been directed to round up illegal immigrants, even those in the country for decades, at places that used to be safe — courthouses, town halls, and cities offering them sanctuary.
- Those who transport and harbour illegal immigrants risk jail, as does anyone caught using false papers, common among illegal immigrants.
- An increasing number have been rounded up in public offices applying for licenses, reporting crimes, even meeting immigration officials to legalize their residence.
Encouraged by a sharp downturn in
illegal border crossers, the US administration is ramping up a crackdown
on undocumented immigrants, taking aim at both Central American
labourers and Indian tech workers in Silicon Valley.
Police,
prosecutors and judges have been ordered to take a harder line against
all illegal immigrants, detaining anyone without papers and vigorously
prosecuting more of them.
Hiring standards for
immigration agents are being eased to quickly beef up their ranks, more
facilities to hold detained immigrants are being built, and more judges
are being added to handle cases.
And officials have
been directed to round up illegal immigrants, even those in the country
for decades, at places that used to be safe — courthouses, town halls,
and cities offering them sanctuary.
Meanwhile designs
are underway for construction of a wall along the entire 2,000-mile
(3,200-kilometer) US-Mexico border that President Donald Trump promised.
It won't be a full physical barrier all the way along, but
strategically erected wall sections interspersed with stretches of
technology-dependent surveillance.
"For those that
continue to seek improper and illegal entry into this country, be
forewarned: This is a new era. This is the Trump era," Attorney General
Jeff Sessions told border patrol agents on Tuesday.
Border-crossers down
Trump
came into office promising to expel the estimated 11 million people
living in the United States illegally, who he says steal American jobs
and fuel crime.
Most are from Mexico, and many of them have been here for decades, raising families, owning homes and businesses.
Three
months into the Trump administration, the number of illegal
border-crossers has plunged to a four decade low, according to the
Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP).
Apprehensions
of illegal border crossers in March dropped to 16,600, down 30 percent
from February and 64 per cent from a year ago.
It is
too early to see any pickup in deportations, which take longer to
process. But Tom Jawetz, vice president in charge of immigration policy
at the Center for American Progress think tank, says there is a clear
change in immigration enforcement.
Sessions this week
ordered CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain
anyone who crosses the US-Mexico border without legal documents and
present them to a judge. In the past, most were just delivered back over
the border.
He also ordered prosecutors to lodge
felony charges when someone is caught sneaking in for a second time.
Those who transport and harbour illegal immigrants risk jail, as does
anyone caught using false papers, common among illegal immigrants.
"The
lawlessness, the abdication of the duty to enforce our immigration laws
and the catch-and-release practices of old are over," Sessions
declared.
Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly has
authorised CBP and ICE agents to go after illegal immigrants in places
they once felt safe.
An increasing number have been
rounded up in public offices applying for licenses, reporting crimes,
even meeting immigration officials to legalize their residence.
California
Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye protested in a letter to Sessions and
Kelly that such areas were supposed to be protected and accused ICE of
"stalking" people who "pose no risk to public safety."
But the two officials said the arrests will continue, criticizing any policies that offer sanctuary to illegal aliens.
Legal immigration also pressured
With
some Republicans in Congress calling for a 50 per cent cut in legal
immigration, Trump has also ordered a tightening in that area.
He
ordered a temporary halt to refugee arrivals and is fighting courts to
implement a halt on arrivals from six mostly Muslim countries. Visa
applicants in many countries say they are facing longer waits.
Sessions
and Kelly warned technology companies bringing in skilled workers under
the H-1B visa program that the government will take a tougher line with
any company abusing that program. Previous permissions for H-1B
workers' spouses to also work could be eliminated.
But
as the campaign picks up pace, economists and immigration experts warn a
crackdown will remove an economic boon and overwhelm the justice
system.
"The benefits that immigration brings to
society far outweigh their costs," nearly 1,500 Democratic- and
Republican-aligned economists, including six Nobel laureates, said a
letter to Trump.
Jawetz said the crackdown is unjustified, given that there has been a "net outflow" in Mexicans in the past few years.
"A
large share of people who are coming across our southwest border today
are people who are seeking asylum, who cannot and should not be
prosecuted for illegal entry," he added.
Chasing undocumented immigrants from public spaces also has negative effects for US society, he said.
"What
we know from law enforcement in Houston, in Los Angeles, El Paso and
elsewhere, is that individuals are no longer reporting crimes the way
they once were, and are no longer cooperating with prosecutors to put
criminals behind bars."
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