HOUSTON IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION ATTORNEYS


HOUSTON IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS DAILY UPDATE - FEBRUARY 17, 2010




The Criminal Alien Program (CAP) - ICE's Biggest and Least Understood Enforcement Program



The Immigration Policy Center (IPC), formerly American Immigration Council, published today its finding based on research and statistical analysis of ICE's enforcement of the Criminal Alien Program (CAP). According to Immigration Policy Center, CAP is a program administered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and it is designed to screen inmates in prisons and jails, identify deportable foreign nationals, and place them into removal proceedings. However, in the years since CAP was initiated, there have been concerns about whether or not ICE is actually targeting immigrants with serious criminal records, as the program's stated intended targets.

Based on the report, while ICE claims that CAP's focus is "dangerous criminal aliens," the data show that legal immigrants, foreign nationals, as well as undocumented immigrants with a wide range of criminal history are being identified for deportation. In fact, some undocumented immigrants and foreign nationals are being targeted under CAP. Additional concerns surrounding CAP include racial profiling, pre-text arrests, immigrant distrust of law enforcement officers, underreporting of family violence and finally, misuse of information obtained from immigrant detainers.

The report by IPC shows that:

(1) CAP is the program responsible 48% of all deportable immigrants identified by ICE in FY 2009-more than the 287(g) program, Fugitive Operations, and the Office of Field Operations combined.

(2) A large percentage of immigrants apprehended under CAP are not criminals at all. An October 2009 DHS report found that 57 percent of immigrants identified through the CAP program in FY 2009 had no criminal convictions, up from 53 percent in FY 2008.

(3) In Travis County, a majority of immigrants placed under detainer were arrested for a misdemeanor as their most serious charge. In 2008, 58 percent of the detainers were placed on those charged with misdemeanors-up from 38 percent in 2007 and 34 percent in 2006.

Please contact the Houston immigration attorneys and the Houston immigration lawyers at the LAW OFFICES OF STEVEN TUAN PHAM to see how you can avoid being targeted under CAP as well as how to get legalized under the Immigration & Nationality Act. Our Houston immigration attorneys can be reached at 713-517-6645 or through our online contact form.















































DISCLAIMER



The excerpts above are information taken from reliable immigration resources, including the American Immigration Lawyers Association's (AILA), USCIS', and U.S. Department of States' websites. LAW OFFICES OF STEVEN TUAN PHAM makes no warranty as to the accuracy and veracity of any such information. All interested parties must active;y do his or her own research and contact an experienced Houston Immigration Lawyer or an experienced U.S. Immigration Attorney to assist in specific questions and to resolve his or her immigration concern. You can contact one of our experienced Houston immigration attorneys and our U.S. immigration lawyers at 713-517-6645 for personal assistance. Alternatively, please complete our Contact Form and one of our U.S. immigration attorneys will contact you shortly.