Senate Confirms Kirstjen Nielsen as Sixth Secretary of Homeland Security

On December 5, 2017, the United States Senate confirmed Kirstjen Nielsen as the sixth Secretary of Homeland Security by a vote of 62-37. When she is sworn in, Nielsen will replace John Kelly, who left his post as Secretary of Homeland Security on July 31, 2017, to become the White House Chief of Staff [see blog]. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine C. Duke had been serving in an acting capacity since Kelly's move to the White House [see blog].

Earlier this year, Kirstjen Nielsen served as Kelly's Chief of Staff at DHS and then as the Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House after Kelly left his post as Secretary of Homeland Security. Prior to that, Nielsen had served in various capacities during the administration of former President George W. Bush. We discussed her background in greater detail in our post on her nomination for the position [see blog].

The Secretary of Homeland Security is an extremely important position in the U.S. immigration system, overseeing the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the United States Customs and Border Protection. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the Department of Homeland Security has many non-immigration functions, including within it components such as the Coast Guard, Secret Service, and Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

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Overview Of Interior Enforcement Statistics For FY 2017

INTRODUCTION

On December 5, 2017, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released a report on its year-end statistics for FY 2017 [PDF version]. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also discussed the ICE statistics in a broader report that also addressed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics [PDF version]. In this article, we will examine the ICE statistics. To learn about the CBP statistics from FY 2017, please see our companion article [see article].

OVERVIEW

The ICE released a chart which contains general statistics from both its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). We have embedded the chart as follows [see here].

In this article, we will focus primarily on the ERO statistics.

DETAILED STATISTICS FROM ICE

ICE reported that ERO made more than 143,000 administrative arrests in FY 2017 (October 1, 2016 — September 30, 2017). It stated that 110,568 of these arrests occurred after the inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, 2017. The 110,568 arrests from January 20, 2017 to September 30, 2017, marked a 42% increase from the same period in FY 2016. ICE stated that 92% of all aliens arrested by ERO in FY 2017 “had criminal convictions, pending criminal charges, were an immigration fugitive, or were an illegal re-entrant.”

ICE stated that interior removals increased significantly in FY 2017 from FY 2016. ICE removed 81,000 aliens from the interior. 61,000 of these removals occurred after January 20, 2017, marking an increase of 37% from the same period in FY 2016. Despite the increase in interior removals, ICE noted, overall removals declined slightly due to the “historic low in CBP border apprehensions…”

ICE attributed the increase in arrests and interior removals to the new immigration enforcement priorities issued by President Donald Trump [see article] and clarified by then-Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly [see article].

ICE added that there has been a decrease in the number of countries that do not cooperate in the return of their nationals. In April 2017, there were 12 such countries, but the number was reduced to nine by the end of FY 2017. We discussed this issue in brief in an article on sanctions imposed on four countries for recalcitrance in accepting the return of nationals [see article]. ICE added that the number of countries at risk of being labeled uncooperative also decreased from 47 to 36 during FY 2017.

Although HSI is not immigration enforcement, it is worth noting that ICE stated that there were nearly 800 MS-13 gang-related arrests in FY 2017. This marked at 83% increase over the previous year. However, it does not specify how many of the MS-13 members were aliens. The DHS noted that, in total, ERO administratively arrested 5,225 gang members and associates in FY 2017, while HSI made 4,818 criminal arrests related to gang activity.

CONCLUSION

ICE reported increases in administrative arrests and removals from the interior. This news is unsurprising in light of the new enforcement priorities affording ICE more discretion in enforcing the immigration laws than did the priorities of the Obama Administration [see article on old priorities]. Going forward, it will be important for ICE to effectively enforce the immigration laws, while ensuring that it does so in a manner consistent with the rights of aliens in the United States.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

Hamas Remains Designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization Under the INA

On November 14, 2017, the U.S. Department of State published its determination in the Federal Register (FR) that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas and other aliases) will continue to be designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization as defined in section 219(a)(4)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In the notice, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated that he concluded that the circumstances that formed the basis of Hamas's designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization “have not changed in such a manner as to warrant revocation of the designation and that the national security of the United States does not warrant a revocation of the designation.”

You may read the FR notice at 82 FR 52764 here: [PDF version].

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

U.S. Ends Participation in Global Compact on Migration

On December 2, 2017, the United States Mission to the United Nations announced that it has informed the United Nations Secretary-General that the United States is ending its participation in the Global Compact on Migration [PDF version].

The statement explains that the United States began participating in the Global Compact on Migration process in 2016. However, the United States has now concluded that the New York Declaration on migration, which began the process, “contains numerous provisions that are inconsistent with U.S. immigration and refugee policies and the Trump Administration's immigration principles.” Accordingly, President Donald Trump determined that the United States would withdraw from the Compact process, which aims to reach an international consensus in 2018.

The United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, released the following announcement on the decision:

“America is proud of our immigrant heritage and our long-standing moral leadership in providing support to migrant and refugee populations across the globe. No country has done more than the United States, and our generosity will continue. But our decisions on immigration policies must always be made by Americans and Americans alone. We will decide how best to control our borders and who will be allowed to enter our country. The global approach in the New York Declaration is simply not compatible with U.S. sovereignty.” — UN Ambassador Nikki Haley

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the following remarks about the decision [PDF version]:

“While we will continue to engage on a number of fronts at the United Nations, in this case, we simply cannot in good faith support a process that could undermine the sovereign right of the United States to enforce our immigration laws and secure our borders.” — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

Both statements focus on the view that the New York Declaration on migration, which underpins the Global Compact on Migration process, contains provisions inconsistent with U.S. law, policy, and sovereignty. For practical purposes, the decision will mean that the Global Compact on Migration process will not result in any changes to U.S. refugee policy.

In Foreign Policy, Colum Lynch reported that there were differing views within the Trump Administration on whether to remain in the Global Compact on Migration process.[1] According to the report, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, and White House senior advisor Stephen Miller pushed for withdrawal from the compact. After initially supporting remaining in the compact, Secretary Tillerson ultimately supported withdrawal. Interestingly, the article states that Ambassador Nikki Haley supported staying in the Compact in order to influence the process, but President Trump ultimately supported withdrawal.

Although the United States will not remain in the Global Compact on Migration, President Trump recently issued a significant Executive Order on the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). Please see our full article to learn about the Executive Order [see article].

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

1. Lynch, Colum. “Trump Boycotts U.N. Migration Talks.” Foreign Policy. Dec. 2, 2017. foreignpolicy.com/207/12/02/trump-boycotts-u-n-migration-talks

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