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Original Date Announced
February 21, 2017Memo from ICE Executive Associate Director Matthew Albence orders all officers in the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) unit to “take enforcement action against all removable aliens encountered in the course of their duties," noting that DHS no longer exempts classes or categories of noncitizens from enforcement. The memo directs ERO officers to prioritize noncitizens who have been convicted of, charged with, or have committed a criminal offense. It also implements the Executive Orders' end to "catch and release" by describing an effort to expand detention capacity and limiting, to designated circumstances, situations in which noncitizens detained under INA section 235(b) are released. Finally, the memo directs that parole and release be used "sparingly" and reaffirms policy on "unaccompanied alien children." [ID #253]
ICE Memo: Implementing the President's Border Security and Interior Immigration Enforcement PoliciesEffective Date
February 21, 2017Subsequent Trump-Era and Court Action(s)
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August 18, 2021
2021.08.19 Texas v. US preliminary injunction decision
On August 19, 2021, Judge Drew B. Tipton of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Victoria Division, enjoined the Biden administration's Jan. 20, 2021, and Feb. 18, 2021, guidance on enforcement priorities. Texas v. U.S., No. 6:21-cv-00016 (S.D. Texas, Aug. 19, 2021).
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
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September 15, 2021
2021.09.15 Texas v. US 5th Circuit Stay Order
On September 15, 2021, a panel of the Fifth Circuit issued an order granting in part the government's request for a stay of Judge Tipton's order enjoining the Biden administration's Jan. 20, 2021, and Feb. 18, 2021, enforcement priority memos. The memos would be operative, except to the extent that the government seeks to rely on them to decline to detain noncitizens who are subject to mandatory detention (individuals "described in 1226(c)(1) against whom detainers have been lodged or aliens who fall under section 1231(a)(1)(A) because they have been ordered removed"). The court stayed the remainder of Judge Tipton's injunction until the merits appeal.
On November 30, 2021, the en banc Fifth Circuit vacated the panel's stay and assigned the merits appeal to a future panel. (Texas v. U.S., Case No. 21-40618, Document No. 00516112252, Nov. 30, 2021).
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
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March 22, 2022
2022.03.22 Arizona v. Biden, Case No. 3:21-cv-314, Order Granting Preliminary Injunction
On March 22, 2022, the Southern District of Ohio issued a preliminary injunction in Arizona v. Biden partially enjoining the Biden administration's September 30, 2021, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law. The decision restrains DHS from taking the following three actions pursuant to the guidance:
"a. Enforcing and implementing Section II of the Permanent Guidance (entitled “Civil Immigration Priorities”) to make, determine, or adjudicate noncitizen custody decisions pending removal proceedings contrary to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c)(1);
b. Enforcing and implementing Section II of the Permanent Guidance to authorize the release of, whether on bond, supervision, or otherwise, a noncitizen with a final order of removal during the removal period in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(2); and
c. Enforcing and implementing Section II of the Permanent Guidance to delay, continue, or stay the execution of a noncitizen’s final order of removal to the extent that no other provision in 8 U.S.C. § 1231, or any other provision of the U.S. Code, justifies the noncitizen’s continued presence in the United States beyond the period set forth in 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)."**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
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April 12, 2022
2022.04.12 Arizona v. Biden, No. 22-3272, On Motion for Stay (6th Cir., April 12, 2022).
On April 12, 2022, the Sixth Circuit issued a stay of the District Court's nationwide injunction of DHS's September 30, 2021, Enforcement Guidelines. On the merits, oral argument took place on June 10, 2022. See https://www.courthousenews.com/biden-administration-defends-immigration-policy-before-sixth-circuit/.
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
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June 10, 2022
2022.06.10 Texas v. US opinion
On June 10, 2022, Judge Tipton of the Northern District of Texas vacated, in their entirety, the Biden administration's September 30, 2021, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law. The court held that "the Final Memorandum [was] . . . arbitrary and capricious, contrary to law, and fail[ed] to observe procedure under the Administrative Procedure Act." The court stayed the vacatur for seven days, later extended for another week, during which the administration requested a stay from the Fifth Circuit. No ruling was forthcoming in that timeframe, however, so on June 24, 2022, the district court's order went into effect.
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
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July 6, 2022
2022.07.06_Arizona v. Biden (6th Cir. 2022)
On July 6, 2022, the Sixth Circuit vacated the Southern District of Ohio's Arizona v. Biden injunction, which had partially enjoined the Biden administration's September 30, 2021, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law.
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
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July 6, 2022
2022.07.06 Texas v. United States (5th Cir. 2022)
On July 6, 2022, the Fifth Circuit reviewed the district court's vacatur of the Biden administration's September 30, 2021, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law, and denied DHS's motion for a stay pending appeal. The court found "no reversible error of fact or law, nor any abuse of discretion" in the district court's opinion that would justify a stay.
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
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July 21, 2022
Order Granting Cert on Enforcement Guidance
On July 21, 2022, the Supreme Court denied the Biden administration's emergency request for a stay pending appeal of the District Court's vacatur of the September 30, 2021, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law. The Court granted certiorari in U.S. v. Texas.
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
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June 23, 2023
2023.06.23 - United States v. Texas (U.S. 2023)
On June 23, 2023, the Supreme Court held that Texas and Louisiana lack Article III standing to challenge the Biden administration's September 30, 2021, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law. The Court found that the alleged additional costs incurred by the States due to the challenged arrest policy did not comprise a "legally and judicially cognizable" injury “traditionally thought to be capable of resolution through the judicial process.” Raines v. Byrd, 521 U. S. 811, 819 (1997). The Court also recognized that federal courts are generally not the proper forum for resolving claims implicating the Executive Branch’s enforcement discretion over arrests and prosecutions, but noted that federal courts could properly adjudicate such cases under different circumstances.
The Biden administration's Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law were reinstituted following the judgment are therefore in effect.
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
View Document
Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced
January 20, 2021Executive Order on the Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities
On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 13993 which revoked the Trump administration’s EO 13768.
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced
January 20, 20212021.01.20 Review of and Interim Revision to Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Policies and Priorities
This Biden administration policy revokes in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.
On January 20, 2021, DHS issued a policy memo rescinding and suspending the Trump-era policy memo. This memo was supplemented a month later by ICE's Interim Guidance on Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Priorities (Feb. 18, 2021), https://www.ice.gov/doclib/news/releases/2021/021821_civil-immigration-enforcement_interim-guidance.pdf.
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced
September 30, 20212021.09.30 Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law
This Biden administration policy revokes and modifies the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.
On September 30, 2021, DHS Secretary Mayorkas issued a memorandum explaining that ICE should use prosecutorial discretion to focus its enforcement on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety, and/or border security and take an individualized approach in each case. The memo contextualizes this prioritization with analysis of the U.S. undocumented population, the executive's discretion in this area, and the need to protect against civil rights and civil liberties abuses.
This guidance went into effect on November 29, 2021.
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Other
July 8, 20222022.07.08_U.S. v Texas SCOTUS Application
On July 8, 2022, DOJ filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court, asking the Court to stay the district court's vacatur of the Biden administration's September 30, 2021, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law.
**Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Other
June 23, 2023Statement from Secretary Mayorkas Regarding the Supreme Court Decision on Immigration Enforcement
After the United States v. Texas decision was issued on June 23, 2023, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas released a formal statement noting that DHS looked forward to reinstating the Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities as set forth in the Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law originally signed by Secretary Mayorkas on September 30, 2021.
View DocumentBiden Administration Action: Other
July 28, 2023Reinstatement of the Immigration Enforcement Priorities Post SCOTUS Ruling
According to an August 15, 2023, stakeholder update from the ICE Office of Partnership and Engagement (OPE), the Department's Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities were reinstituted on July 28, 2023, following the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Texas. The OPE update further states that the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) reinstated Principal Legal Advisor Kerry Doyle’s memorandum from April 2022 which provides OPLA attorneys with guidance for appropriately executing DHS’s enforcement priorities and exercising prosecutorial discretion.
View DocumentCurrent Status
Not in effectMost Recent Action
July 28, 2023 Action: Other Reinstatement of the Immigration Enforcement Priorities Post SCOTUS RulingJanuary 20, 2021Acted on by Biden Administration
January 20, 2021Acted on by Biden Administration
September 30, 2021Acted on by Biden Administration
July 8, 2022Acted on by Biden Administration
June 23, 2023Acted on by Biden Administration
July 28, 2023Acted on by Biden Administration
Original Trump Policy Status
Status: Final/ActualTrump Administration Action: Agency DirectiveAgencies Affected: ICEAssociated or Derivative Policies
- January 25, 2017 POTUS issues EO 13767 on border security and immigration enforcement
- February 20, 2017 DHS memo implementing EO 13768 on "Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior"
- February 21, 2017 CBP issues memo to Field Operations implementing EO 13767 and EO 13768
- August 15, 2017 ICE issues enforcement guidance to OPLA attorneys implementing EO 13768
Pre Trump-Era Policies
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November 20, 2014
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson's enforcement priorities memo issued November 20, 2014, prioritized enforcement of immigration laws against noncitizens who posed a danger to national security or had been convicted of certain felonies (Priority 1); noncitizens who were convicted of certain misdemeanors or had significantly abused the visa or visa waiver program (Priority 2); noncitizens who had been issued a final order of removal on or after January 1, 2014 (Priority 3). The memo directed DHS personnel to exercise prosecutorial discretion at all stages of the enforcement process and consider the totality of circumstances when considering whom to prioritize for enforcement actions.
Policies for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants (Nov. 20, 2014)
Documents
Trump-Era Policy Documents
- New Policy
- Prior Policy
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Subsequent Action
Original Source:
Texas v. U.S., No. 6:21-cv-00016 (S.D. Texas, Aug. 19, 2021).
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Subsequent Action
Original Source:
Texas v. US 5th Circuit Stay Order
- Subsequent Action
- Subsequent Action
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Subsequent Action
Original Source:
Texas v. US opinion
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Subsequent Action
Original Source:
2022.07.06 Arizona v. Biden 6th Cir opinion
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Subsequent Action
Original Source:
Texas v. United States (5th Cir. 2022)
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Subsequent Action
Original Source:
Order Granting Cert in U.S. v. Texas.
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Subsequent Action
Original Source:
United States Supreme Court Holding for U.S. v. Texas
Commentary
Biden administration halts limits on ICE arrests following court ruling
CBS News publishes a statement from DHS after the Fifth Circuit's failure to respond to the administration's emergency stay request: "[DHS] said it 'strongly' disagreed with Tipton's order, but that it was complying with it. 'During the appeals process, ICE agents and officers will make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis in a professional and responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement officials and in a way that best protects against the greatest threats to the homeland.'"
Go to article on cbsnews.com