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Analysis: How the White House Is Setting Migrants Up for Detention
A USCIS memo from February outlining the issuance of Notices to Appear in immigration court appears to be used as bait to target noncriminal migrants
In February, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a memo providing new guidance for issuing Notices to Appear (NTA) in immigration court. The policy has resulted in proceedings against nearly 27,000 noncitizens, according to a recent USCIS press release. As we see Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrest migrants after judges drop their cases at the behest of the Department of Justice, it becomes clear how it’s being done.
The whole thing is a bigger setup than what we see on the surface. It appears that the cases being dropped without explanation are cases initiated by immigration authorities under the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) guidance, which USCIS operates under. This is playing a role in detaining noncitizens in courthouse hallways — migrants doing everything “the right way” are being taken and deported for no reason other than having brown skin.
“This update has helped USCIS enforce existing immigration laws by once again issuing NTAs to removable aliens in the United States,” said…