Immigration agents catch an abysmally small percentage of the illegal immigrants who arrived on visas but overstayed their welcome, authorities admitted to Congress Tuesday, describing a loophole that those around the globe are increasingly using to gain a foothold in the U.S.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been releasing illegal immigrants with violent criminal records back into local U.S. communities, where they have often gone on to commit violent crimes against American citizens, according to new disclosures by a leading lawmaker and local law enforcement agencies.
GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump proposed a broad crackdown on illegal immigrants Sunday, including tripling the number of deportation officers and building a border wall, as new numbers show illegal crossings on the Southwest border are beginning to swell again.
A federal judge has ruled that hundreds of immigrant women and children held in holding facilities should be released, finding their detention ‘deplorable’ and in grave violation of an earlier court settlement.
President Obama’s executive actions on immigration shield more than 80 percent of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country from any danger of being deported, a top immigration think tank reported Thursday.
The Obama administration is moving forward with plans to expand a waiver program that will allow additional illegal aliens to remain in the country rather than apply for legal status from abroad.
Of the more than 2,200 people who received federal sentences for drug possession in fiscal year 2014, almost three-quarters of them were illegal immigrants, according to new data from the United States Sentencing Commission.
Tens of thousands of illegal immigrant women and children streamed across the U.S. border last year seeking asylum and protected status, claiming a “credible fear” of going home to the violence in Central America. President Obama addressed the crisis through increased border enforcement, more detention beds, more immigration judges and pressure on political leaders in their home countries.
President Obama on Sunday said Congress’ failure to approve immigration legislation served as legal justification for his executive order legalizing 4.1 million undocumented immigrants, the Washington Examiner reported.
The White House is considering two central requirements in deciding which of the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants would gain protections through an expected executive action: a minimum length of time in the U.S., and a person’s family ties to others in the country.
The Obama administration violated the law when it released thousands of illegal immigrants last February, more than 600 of whom had criminal records, according to an internal audit released Tuesday that blamed the problem on poor planning and bad leadership from Washington.
According to a Pew Center Research report, three in four illegal immigrants from Mexico who are apprehended at the border are repeat offenders, 15 percent were juveniles apprehended at least six times.
White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday that because of inaction by Congress on immigration, President Obama must act alone on the issue and will decide by the end of the summer exactly which steps he will take, the Washington Post reported.
A weekly report distributed by a Texas state agency to senior law enforcement officials paints a grim picture of the Mexican border, where authorities regularly confront illegal immigrant gang members and draw automatic gunfire from across the Rio Grande, and where local, state and federal authorities fight a never-ending battle against drug smugglers, Fox News reported.
With only three days left to strike a deal, the House and Senate bills addressing the surge of illegal immigrants remain $2 billion apart, making it difficult for Congress to pass legislation before the annual Summer recess that begins this Friday.
House Republican leaders expressed confidence Monday that they would round up the votes to pass a border bill before Congress adjourns for its August recess at week’s end, the Washington Examiner reported.
When President Obama issues executive orders on immigration in coming weeks, pro-reform activists are expecting something dramatic: temporary relief from deportation and work authorization for perhaps several million undocumented immigrants. If the activists are right, the sweeping move would upend a contentious policy fight and carry broad political consequences, Time reported.
The Obama administration is considering a proposal that would allow foreigners to apply to admission to the United States on humanitarian grounds while still in their native country. Meanwhile, the National Guard troops sent to the border by Gov. Rick Perry of Texas may have the power to make arrests and apprehensions, if the governor chooses to do so.
In an effort to boost security along the U.S.-Mexico border, Texas Governor Rick Perry plans to deploy 1,000 Texas National Guards troops to deal with the surge of illegal immigrants entering the United States.
New data shows the White House has painted a false picture of the Central American migration by hiding a huge spike in “family units” who are illegally crossing the Texas border, according to the Daily Caller.