Prosecutorial Discretion and Executive Action: A Resource Page

More than two years into the Obama Administration, it is still unclear whether President Obama’s immigration agenda will ultimately be remembered as an enforcement-driven enterprise, or one that uses the full force of executive branch authority to improve our badly broken system. The following resources discuss how the Administration can and should use executive authority and prosecutorial discretion to prioritize DHS's enforcement efforts on removing persons who are most dangerous to the country.

The Memos:

• Read a recent ICE Memo outlining when and how ICE officials should use prosecutorial discretion during immigration cases (June 17, 2011)
• Read another ICE Memo guiding ICE officials on prosecutorial discretion in cases of victims of crimes, witnesses to crime and individuals pursuing legitimate civil rights complaints (June 17, 2011)

Basic Facts on Prosecutorial Discretion:

• Read a basic fact sheet on Prosecutorial Discretion (updated 06/29/11)
• Read The Morton Memo and Prosecutorial Discretion: An Overview (July 2011)
• Read a statement on why President Obama should use executive power (April 2011)

DHS's Announcement on Prosecutorial Discretion:

• Read about DHS's recent announcement to put existing guidelines in place across the agency to ensure that its enforcement priorities are focused on high priority immigration cases  (August 18, 2011)
• Listen to immigration experts discuss the prosecutorial discretion guidelines:
• Read about how DHS's prosecutorial discretion guidelines may provide temporary relief to gay and lesbian bi-national couples (August 19, 2011)

Legal Experts Weigh In:

• Read Legal Experts Comments on Recent ICE Memo on Prosecutorial Discretion (July 19, 2011)
• Read Legal Experts Weigh in on Executive Branch Authority (May 2011)
• Read a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano urging a robust policy on prosecutorial discretion as well as a prioritization of enforcement resources (March 2011)
• Read this Practice Advisory on how attorneys can advocate for their clients based on Morton's June 17th prosecutorial discertion memo

Consequences of Eliminating Discretion:

• Read Dissecting the HALT Act: The Impact of Eliminating Discretion from Our Immigration System (July 25, 2011)
• Read Expert's comments on How the HALT Act Attacks the Last Safety Valves in our Immigration System (July 25, 2011)

For a Full Analysis of Immigration Policy Under the Obama Administration:

• Read Second Annual DHS Progress Report : An Analysis of Immigration Policy in the Second Year of the Obama Administration (April 2011)
• Listen to the Telebriefing
• Read the First DHS Progress Report (March 2010)

Blog Posts:

• What ICE’s Latest Memo on Prosecutorial Discretion Means for Future Immigration Cases (June 2011)
• Administration Uses Executive Authority to Keep Educated Grads in U.S. Longer (May 2011)
• President Obama Continues To Walk Immigration Tightrope (May 2011)
• 22 Senators Demand President Obama Exercise Executive Action on Immigration (April 2011)
• Building on a DREAM: What the Obama Administration Can Do Right Now to Fix Immigration (December 2010)
• Other Posts on Prosecutorial Discretion

Published On: Tue, Apr 19, 2011 | Download File