Updates | The Week of April 24, 2017
President Trump abandoned his demand that this week’s spending bill include funding for his border wall, but remains firm that the wall will eventually be built (NYT, WaPo, WSJ).
- The budget for the border wall relies on unrealistically cheap construction costs and “outrageous estimates” on the number of illegal immigrants it will deter, according to Alex Nowrasteh and David Bier at Cato at Liberty.
- The Trump Administration's arguments for a border wall are overstated, write Eric Schmitt and Linda Qiu (NYT).
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Funding for the border wall looms over negotiations for the government spending bill (WaPo) (NYT) (Politico).
President Trump stated that DREAMers should “rest easy,” in an interview with the Associated Press.
- Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have both made similar statements, reports Noah Weiland (NY Times).
- Anti-Immigration activists enact their agenda within the Administration. (NYT).
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Attorney General Sessions takes a tougher stance on ‘dreamers’ than President Trump. (ABAJournal).
The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Maslenjak v. United States, a case considering whether immaterial falsehoods on a naturalization application can warrant revocation of citizenship (WaPo, NYT, WSJ).
- The Justices questions indicated skepticism of the government’s argument (The Hill).
- The Justices may be swayed by the prospect of unfettered prosecutorial discretion, argues Amy Howe for SCOTUSblog.
Immigration has drastically decreased since President Trump took office (NPR).
The Department of Homeland Security announced the launch of a new office called the Victims of Illegal Immigrant Crime Engagement Office, but critics say immigrants do not have a disproportionally higher crime-rate than native-born citizens (NYT).
- A full report on immigrant crime rates by The Sentencing Project can be found here.
- David Bier discusses the murder of Kate Steinle and the Trump Administration’s use of her death to publicize a harsh immigration agenda (CATO Institute).
The federal government has secured agreements to add over 2,000 beds to the immigration prison network, with another 1,500 bed expansion planned for sites in Texas and Illinois (Crimmigration).
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has expressed concern that arresting immigrants at courthouses can impede access to justice (Immigration Prof Blog).
Prosecutorial discretion at the Department of Homeland Security in the immigration context – particularly when it is guided by uniform principles – serves an important role, argues Shoba Wadhia (Yale Journal on Regulation).
Laila Lalami argues in the New York Times that an expanded definition of the border, hedged constitutional protection during border screenings, and prosecutorial discretion create a proliferation of virtual borders akin to any physical wall that not only keeps others out but also hems residents in.
In a lawsuit in the Fourth Circuit over searching electronic devices at the border, the Department of Justice (DOJ) argues that a warrant is unnecessary.
- The DOJ brief can be found here.
Asking about immigration status on the census could open unauthorized immigrants to deportation, argues Tina Vasquez in Rewire.
President Trump‘s focus on immigration enforcement has caused serious concerns in the national agricultural industry (ImmigrationProf Blog).
The Trump Administration plans to prosecute immigrant parents for paying to have their children smuggled into the United States, reports Ryan Devereau (Intercept).