Humanitarian Concerns by ICE in Worksite Enforcement
Posted Nov 30, 2007
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The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued Guidelines for Identifying Humanitarian Concerns among Administrative Arrestees When Conducting Worksite Enforcement Operations. ICE is the arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for enforcement of immigration laws involving detention and removal of unauthorized foreign nationals. The guidelines set forth practices for quick identification of persons arrested as a result of worksite enforcement who are sole caregivers or who should be released from ICE custody due to other humanitarian concerns. There has been significant controversy surrounding the fallout from worksite enforcement because of the impact upon U.S. citizen children and other dependants left without caregivers.
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Certain Individuals to be Identified for Possible Early Release
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The new ICE guidelines are an attempt to take into account special groups of individuals who must be quickly identified and possibly released from ICE custody, following their arrests during worksite raids. These groups include sole caregivers of minor children or disabled or seriously ill relatives, individuals with serious medical conditions, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and parents who need to support their spouses in caring for sick or special-needs children or relatives. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Congressman Bill Delahunt (D-MA, 10th District) negotiated this issue after ICE arrested 350 workers during a worksite enforcement raid in March 2007. These ICE guidelines are designed to apply to all worksite enforcement operations targeting the arrest of more than 150 people. In smaller worksite enforcement operations, ICE will implement these procedures where practical.
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Conclusion
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The new ICE guidelines constitute a positive development that should help those whose detention may result in problems because of their own or their relatives' conditions. It is important that government agencies address humanitarian considerations and we at the Murthy Law Firm applaud this positive step.