老澳门开奖结果

Over the last few weeks, the Trump administration has continued its relentless crusade against immigrants by moving to dismantle important protections for immigrants with little input or oversight from Congress or the public. Though the changes made in the last few weeks have largely flown under the radar, they are a threat to our constitutional rights and will devastate people鈥檚 lives.

Just , the heads of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) wrote to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen asking her to arrest, detain, and criminally prosecute all arriving at our border with their children 鈥� a move that will likely prosecute asylum seekers and separate thousands of families. This follows a move by Attorney General Jeff Sessions earlier this month calling on federal prosecutors to implement a 鈥�zero tolerance鈥� approach to criminal prosecution of migrants the government apprehends at the border. While Secretary Nielsen and other high-ranking officials claim that cases of family separation are rare, The New York Times over 700 cases of children taken from their parents, including more than 100 children under the age of 4.

The White House鈥檚 cruelty doesn鈥檛 end with family separation.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration it will end that prevent the needless detention of many immigrants, including refugees who have a right to make their case in court. This will further expand the mass detention of immigrants and compound existing widespread legal and constitutional violations in our immigration system. We, along with our coalition partners, are already challenging Trump鈥檚 decision to indefinitely lock up asylum-seekers instead of releasing them on parole 鈥� a key part of its new approach to immigration detention.

And on the heels of an administrative complaint, we filed with partner organizations, ICE revoked guidance that had previously limited the detention of . Making matters worse, Trump signed a proclamation that will only the southern border, sending National Guard troops to assist with immigration enforcement. Beyond the militarization of the border, this unnecessary move is , wasting $100,000 per year for each troop, even though border apprehensions are at historically low levels.

We are also witnessing by Attorney General Sessions to eviscerate the due process rights of immigrants. Under a new quota system, immigration judges will be required to complete an average of , prioritizing numbers over justice. And Sessions continues his illegal attempts to cut funding from and threaten so-called sanctuary cities 鈥� localities that choose to prioritize community safety by disentangling their local criminal law enforcement activities from federal immigration law enforcement.

To break down the impact of all these changes, and how they鈥檙e part of Trump鈥檚 larger agenda, I talked to Madhuri Grewal, 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 federal immigration policy counsel.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

What real-life impact do these policies have on immigrants?

We hear politicians frame their policies around family values, but immigrant and mixed-status families seem to be missing. Right now, as a direct result of these policies and the incredible ramp-up in enforcement, the Trump administration is ripping apart families nationwide. And too many members of Congress are quietly allowing it to happen. The policy changes in the last few weeks are just a of the cruel and arbitrary actions we鈥檝e seen from Trump and this administration.

For example, in Tennessee 鈥� after the single largest workplace raid in a decade 鈥� over were afraid to go to school. These families aren鈥檛 able to live their lives, and communities are shaken 鈥� including many voters. Whether ; or Amtrak train within 100 miles of any land or sea border; being a teenager ; going to court, including as a witness or crime victim; traveling to the hospital for a surgery; or even standing on their , immigrants are worried about being detained, deported, and separated from their families every single day.

ICE is even waiting to arrest parents leaving immigration interviews and 鈥攚hich are supposed to be first steps toward legalization, not deportation. No parent should have to teach their children what to do if ICE knocks on their door or if their parents are arrested.

It鈥檚 been attack after attack. Trump is sending a clear message that immigrants and people of color are not welcome in this country. And if they dare challenge these policies, immigrants are worried they will be retaliated against and face greater chances of deportation, just for being or .

Why is the Trump administration doing all of this?

These enforcement actions and policy changes further Trump鈥檚 ultimate goal of mass deportation. With these policy changes, it will be easier to round up immigrants, detain them, and limit their understanding of their basic rights or the process, often without time to find an attorney. Judges will be pressured to rush these cases through immigration courts. And those are for the cases that actually make it to an immigration judge because this administration is also looking for ways to make it easier to bypass the courtroom completely. And even if you are a naturalized citizen, you鈥檙e .

On a big picture level, these policies attack our constitutional and moral values. We are living under an administration that does not care about fundamental constitutional principles, such as checks and balances or oversight from Congress. The Trump White House is taking the infrastructure of American communities 鈥� schools, government services, hospitals, travel 鈥� and weaponizing it against immigrants and communities of color.

It鈥檚 not just immigrants鈥� rights. The work is intersectional, and we are seeing so many other areas impacted. For example, border barriers 鈥� fences and walls 鈥� ; the government controls the reproductive rights of immigrants in detention; and prosecutions for migration funnel more people of color into the criminal justice system, including incarceration, while generating massive profits for private prison companies.

How does Trump鈥檚 border wall fit in here?

In the spending bill approved by Congress last month, Trump got $1.6 billion for border wall and fence construction. Yet Trump remains fixated on building a massive border-wide wall despite the it would cause, including to the private lands in its path. He continues to distort the truth about conditions along the border, ignoring DHS鈥檚 own that the border has never been harder to cross undetected, and unjustifiably demonizing asylum-seekers fleeing persecution.

Trump鈥檚 narrative that our border is under attack is just not true. Border apprehensions are near all-time lows. We already have over 16,000 Border Patrol agents at the southwest border 鈥� so many that the average agent apprehends only two people per month, many of whom are families or children turning themselves in to seek protection. And we鈥檝e just learned that CBP has been on its agents, painting a phony picture of increased violence against Border Patrol agents when the real data demonstrates the opposite. It is clear that what we need is increased oversight and accountability for Border Patrol agents who act 鈥� things like body-worn cameras 鈥� not military reinforcements or a wall.

The administration continues to ignore facts, data, and truth 鈥� in short, to lie 鈥� to vilify immigrants, foment fear-mongering, and waste taxpayer dollars on more border militarization, creating in one Republican congressman鈥檚 , a 鈥渕ini industrial complex syndrome.鈥� At the same time, it conveniently glosses over its evisceration of due process and the Fourth Amendment, retaliation against dissenters, relentless attacks on immigrant families, and repeated attempts to evade congressional oversight and accountability.

What can people do about these attacks on immigrant communities?

The 老澳门开奖结果 is fighting back: in the courts, in Congress and the states, and with coalition partners through national advocacy and grassroots organizing and actions.

Congress holds incredible oversight power and responsibility to make DHS accountable and hold Trump to our constitutional values. There should be a vocal majority in Congress calling for investigations of ICE and CBP. Indeed, just this week, conservative columnist and former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson , 鈥淸Abuse at ICE] is an issue ripe for more rigorous congressional oversight 鈥� even an independent commission to investigate charges of physical and sexual abuse in the ICE system.鈥�

For the people reading this, it鈥檚 important to weigh in with members of Congress so they know you care about how they vote and what they say. More critically, Congress also funds DHS, so legislators can choose to limit how those funds are used. As Congress reviews its funding priorities for fiscal year 2019, tell your representatives that DHS鈥檚 budget is excessive, harmful, and not where you want your tax dollars going. We need your voices and your advocacy to help us resist Trump and this administration鈥檚 anti-immigrant policies.