President Plans to Increase Immigration Enforcement

President Bush's Fiscal Year 2005 budget allows for the addition of a significant number of new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees for enhanced immigration enforcement. The budget includes: 236 ICE personnel charged with finding foreign nationals who have defied deportation orders by remaining in the U.S.; 269 new ICE agents for the institutional removal program; 60 positions for the ICE intensive supervision appearance program; and increased staff for the ICE investigations branch.

The institutional removal program is designed to send foreign nationals who have been in federal and state prisons straight to ICE custody after their imprisonment, primarily for removal. The intensive supervision appearance program is designed to motivate foreign nationals to appear at their immigration court proceedings, rather than disappearing and remaining illegally in the U.S.

It is unclear how these plans fit into the President's immigration reform plan. It is important to keep in mind that the budget is only a proposal, and these positions will not be filled until after October 2005, if ever. We can hope that the President will maintain his focus on positive immigration reform, even as he is making provisions for greater enforcement against immigration law violators.