With the new administration promising stepped-up immigration enforcement, the crimmigration field is facing rapid changes and challenges.
This space will track changes that impact you and your noncitizen clients. We will post news, updates, and links to resources here.
CAUTION: We will do our best to keep the information here up to date but things are changing rapidly. In addition, litigation is being filed constantly and there may be injunctions in place impacting some of the below. You can track the ongoing litigation by topic here: Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions.
In addition, WDAIP is hosting monthly Crimmigration Conversations as a forum for those interested in learning more about the world of crimmigration law. These will be informal conversations covering substantive law (what on earth is a CIMT anyway?), crimmigration upates, best practices, etc. For information on how to register, click here.
IF YOUR CLIENT IS NOT A U.S. CITIZEN, CONSULT WDA’S IMMIGRATION PROJECT!
RESOURCES and SUPPORT FOR CLIENTS: Please let your clients know about the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN). WAISN provides many invaluable services for noncitizens, including:
- Know-your-rights training
- Accompaniment: immigration court, courthouse visits, ICE and USCIS appointments, bond hearings
- Bond fund
- Rapid response network
- Resource finder (https://resources.waisn.org/)
USE OF FBI, FOIA, IRS TO IDENTIFY NONCITIZENS
In the past we recommended filing FBI background checks or FOIA requests when your client’s status or immigration history was unclear. WE NOW URGE EXTREME CAUTION in filing such requests, particularly if the person is not necessarily already in the system. Please reach out to us before filing such requests.
TERMINATION OF HUMANITARIAN PAROLE AND TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS
The administration ended the humanitarian parole program for persons from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The status of those with parole will be terminated effective April 24th and individuals are expected to leave the country. See Legal Decoder: Termination of CHNV Humanitarian Parole – Justice Action Center.
The humanitarian parole program for Ukrainians and Afghans have been paused. New applications are not being processed. The status of those who currently have parole remains valid and individuals may be eligible for an extension of parole on a case-by-case basis. See Re-Parole Process for Certain Afghans Nationals | USCIS, USCIS Officially Pauses Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) Applications and Ukrainian Re-Parole until Further Notice – Ukraine Immigration Task Force; Re-Parole Process for Certain Ukrainian Citizens and Their Immediate Family Members | USCIS.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs for Venezuelans and Haitians are ending. TPS is also ended for those from Afghanistan and Cameroon.
If you have clients from any of these countries who might be impacted, they should immediately consult an immigration attorney to see if they have other pathways to remain in the U.S.
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT
As of April 11, all noncitizens who did not enter with a visa are required to register with the federal government and carry proof of their registration with them. This is an enforcement mechanism; it does not confer any benefit.
Whether a given individual should register depends on their specific circumstances. We do not recommend that you tell clients to register; rather, as with any case involving a noncitizen, you should consult us, and they should consult an immigration lawyer.
FAQ: The Trump Immigration Registration Requirement – NILC
The Trump Administration’s Registration Requirement for Immigrants | American Immigration Council
ALIEN ENEMIES ACT
Trump invoked the AEA on March 15 against the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The Administration claims that it can summarily remove whomever it determines are members of TdA. We have heard of ICE investigations and arrests in Washington involving allegations of TdA membership, even where the individuals were not Venezuelans. If you are aware of gang allegations in your case, and particularly allegations of TdA association, please reach out to us.
THE LAKEN-RILEY ACT
The LRA did not add any new grounds of deportability or inadmissibility. A crime that was not a deportable offense before the LRA, is still not a deportable offense.
The LRA created new categories of offenses that subject a person to mandatory ICE detention, without the possibility of bond. The LRA also directs ICE to detain anyone with a specified offense. It only applies to noncitizens who entered the US unlawfully, so LPRs and clients who were lawfully admitted are not impacted.
Because Washington is a sanctuary state, jails are prohibited from honoring ICE detainers or communicating with ICE for enforcement purposes the practical impact of the LRA in WA will be much more limited than in states without sanctuary laws.
Issues left open by the LRA, and that presumably will be litigated, include whether it applies retroactively and whether it applies to juvenile offenses.
People will now be subject to mandatory detention if they are arrested for, charged with, convicted of, or admit that they committed any of these crimes, as defined by state law:
- Burglary
- Theft, larceny, or shoplifting
- Assault of a law enforcement officer
- Any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person.
PRACTICAL IMPACT: By the time you (and we) see a case, the person either will or won’t already be subject to the Act. Whether it still makes sense at that point to try and resolve the case with a plea to a different charge (or go to trial) will depend on the facts and circumstances of the individual case.
Practice Advisory: The Laken Riley Act’s Mandatory Detention Provisions | NIPNLG
Community Explainer: Laken Riley Act | NIPNLG
WASHINGTON SANCTUARY LAWS
The Washington laws that protect noncitizens include the Keep Washington Working Act (KWW) (RCW 10.93.160) and Courts Open to All Act (COTA) (RCW 2.28.310-.330). Nothing in the Laken-Riley Act or the Executive Orders changes WA law or excuses any local actor or agency from their obligation to obey the law.
Local jails, law enforcement, judges, court staff, court security personnel, prosecutors, and prosecutor’s office staff, state agencies and staff, all are prohibited from:
- inquiring into or collecting information about a person’s immigration status or place of birth
- providing information to federal immigration authorities for civil enforcement purposes
- providing any nonpublic information to federal immigration authorities
- providing access to federal immigration authorities to interview anyone in their custody.
DOC Exception: These protections do not apply to individuals in the “physical custody” of DOC. DOC can and will share information and cooperate with ICE regarding individuals in DOC custody. This exception does not apply to those who are supervised by DOC, e.g. on community custody.
Pursuant to the COTA, courts are to have procedures in place in the event federal immigration authorities appear in a courthouse. And no person may be subject to civil arrest while going to, remaining at, or returning from, a court facility.
**This is only a summary of relevant KWW/COTA provisions. For more information, see our KWW/COTA Practice Advisory. For information on how violations may help you in an individual case, please consult with us! » WDAIP CASE ASSISTANCE – Washington Defender Association. **
IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING: We want to know if you or your client become aware of potential violations of KWW. Please email wdaip@defensenet.org or call 206-623-4321 ext. 107.
If you become aware of ICE activity in your area or if your client or others have been arrested by ICE, please also immediately call the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network Deportation Hotline at 1-844-724-3737.
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)
The recent Fifth Circuit decision on DACA does not impact the status of those who already have DACA. Those who have DACA should continue to file renewals. Early renewal is encouraged. We recommend that anyone with DACA consult an immigration attorney to see if they have other pathways to status should the DACA program end entirely. In theory, new applications may be allowed, we are waiting to learn more.
Birthright Citizenship
Washington’s Attorney General Nick Brown has already filed suit challenging the attempt to end birthright citizenship and a federal judge has temporarily halted the executive order from taking effect nationwide.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR DEFENDERS
WDAIP Practice Advisories for Defenders
WDAIP Immigration Attorney Referral List
Immigration Court Automated Case Status
RESOURCES FOR CLIENTS
WDAIP Immigration Attorney Referral List
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS RESOURCES
OTHER RESOURCES
Immigration Policy Tracking Project
Litigation Tracker: Legal Challenges to Trump Administration Actions