ICE to Increase Worksite Immigration Enforcement
On October 17, 2017, acting ICE Director, Thomas Homan, said during a presentation at the Heritage Foundation that the agency will increase worksite immigration enforcement in the coming months by "four or five times." He noted, "[w]e're doing it differently than we've done it. Now we're going to prosecute the employers who knowingly harbor the illegal aliens, we are going to detail and remove the [illegal aliens]." For more information on I-9 Compliance, please visit the Clark Hill website.
U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Turkey Suspends All Non-Immigrant Visa (NIV) Services
On October 8, 2017, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey announced the suspension of all temporary visa services for the embassy and consulate in Turkey. This suspension follows the arrest of local U.S. Consulate General's employee in Istanbul, Metin Topuz, on "terror charges" in addition to the March arrest of the U.S. Consulate Adana employee, Hamza Ulucay, arrested on charges of "being a member of a terror organization."
Courts Stop Implementation of Latest Presidential Proclamation Regarding Travel
On September 24, 2017, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation, "Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry into the United States by Terrorists or other Public-Safety Threats" (the "Proclamation"), containing a third version of the Administration's "travel ban" which imposes travel restrictions on nationals of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Somalia. Following the release of the Proclamation, the United States District Courts for the Districts of Hawaii (Hawaii v. Trump) and Maryland (IAAB v. Trump and IRAP v. Trump) have both temporarily blocked enforcement of portions of the travel ban. On October 17, 2017, Judge Watson of the District Court for Hawaii issued a nationwide temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the government from implementing sections 2(a), (b), (c), (e), (g), and (h) (restricting travel to the U.S. for nationals of Chad, Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia, respectively) of the Proclamation. On that same day, Judge Chuang of the District Court for Maryland issued a nationwide preliminary injunction (opinion and order), stopping enforcement of section 2 except that the government may enforce sections 2(d) (restricting travel to the U.S. for nationals of North Korea) and 2(f) (restricting travel to the U.S. for nationals of Venezuela) and may enforce section 2 as to individuals lacking a "bona fide relationship."
For more information on travel ban litigation, please see Clark Hill's previous Immigration Law Update.
U.S. Presidential Administration's Immigration Policy Priorities
On October 9, 2017, the White House released several documents outlining the Administration's immigration principles and policy priorities (the "Priorities"), including: the Executive Summary and a detailed outline of the principles and policies. The Priorities are divided into three categories: (1) Border Security; (2) Interior Enforcement; and (3) Merit-Based Immigration System. Implementation of these Priorities will require, among other things, Congressional action to change existing law and revision of existing budgets. Please see this link to review the complete announcement.
