6 things you need to know about immigration enforcement
SEATTLE, Wash. – Advocacy groups, citizens and politicians who propagate incorrect or misleading information about the U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mission create baseless concerns in the community and place innocent bystanders, aliens and law enforcement officers in danger. Local and national efforts are being made by ICE to increase the accurate information given to the community about our mission with the intent of fostering trust and better collaboration in communities across the United States. Here is what you need to know to reduce risk associated with ICE’s mission in our community:
- U.S. Immigration laws are not policy, they are law
The ICE mission is to protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety. This mission is executed through the enforcement of more than 400 federal statutes and focuses on smart immigration enforcement, preventing terrorism and combating the illegal movement of people and goods. Title 8 of the U.S. Code covers "Aliens and Nationality” and contains all applicable laws ICE officers adhere to. - Interfering with an ICE officer’s official duties is a crime.
ICE enforcement functions do not need a judicial warrant. The ICE officer will utilize administrative removal warrants to carry out their duties. It is important to keep in mind that the underlying basis for a non-citizen’s removability may be due to some criminal violation, but the removal warrant used by ICE is not a criminal warrant signed by a federal judge. The removal warrant used to process the non-citizen’s removal is signed by an ICE official based on a finding that the person is removable from the United States. The inaccurate information being published by advocacy groups and shared many times via social media does nothing but endanger the alien these groups are hoping to protect. Obstructing or otherwise interfering with a federal ICE arrest is a crime, and anyone involved may be subject to prosecution under federal law including but not limited to, 18 USC § 111. Encouraging others to interfere or attempt to obstruct an arrest is extremely reckless and places all parties in jeopardy. - ICE does not conduct raids.
Social media posts claiming ICE is conducting “raids” of events or communities are categorically false and do nothing but promote fearmongering. ICE continues to focus its limited resources first and foremost on those who pose the greatest threat to public safety. ICE does not target aliens indiscriminately. Rather, ICE conducts strictly targeted enforcement actions against criminal aliens, frequently those who were arrested by local authorities and released despite ICE detainers. The agency’s arrest statistics clearly reflect this reality. Nationally, approximately 90 percent of all persons arrested by ICE during fiscal year 2018 either had a criminal conviction, a pending criminal charge, had illegally re-entered the U.S. after being removed previously (a crime itself), or were already subject to a final order of removal.