The Trump administration has been very clear from the start about their stance on Immigration Reforms. They have been strictly against the existing system and have made several changes that have not gone down well in the country. With policy stands such as the Muslim ban and the southern border wall, the United States seems to be closing its doors to foreign Immigrants.
Immigrants entering illegally in US could be prosecuted
And to further enforce their strict stance on Immigration, the administration announced that the illegally entering Immigrants could now face severe charges and may be prosecuted criminally. This is intended to deter Immigrants from illegally entering the country.
Policy to Prosecute Immigrants to target Immigrant from South Western neighbors as Mexico
This policy marks one of the toughest and most concrete moves made by the Trump administration yet. Besides the proposed border wall, these policies seem to focus their attention on their southwestern neighbors, Mexico. According to figures, a lot of illegally entering Immigrants come from the southwestern borders of the United States that borders with Mexico. These immigrants contain women, children, and even older people.
Crowded Detention Centers, separated from families – these immigrants face uncertain future
After these people are caught on the border and taken into custody by the border patrol agents, they face further proceedings. Some might get to stay here but others are not so lucky. In addition to being stuck in the Immigration court proceedings, some are even put into already crowded detention centers. They are separated from their families and are afraid about their uncertain future.
What is more remarkable about this tough stance is the language used by one of the highest law enforcers in the country, Jeff Sessions. The attorney general was quoted saying the country’s introduction of a zero-tolerance policy is intended to send a tough message around the world. He also claimed that this policy will deter illegally entering immigrants from ‘stampeding’ or ‘caravanning over’ their borders.
New Policy provides for no Parole- denial of refugee claims and much more
Earlier, people caught and detained for Immigration related proceedings used to face civil proceedings and charges. Punishments were given accordingly and in some cases, there were chances of parole and attendance arrangements.
This new zero-tolerance policy gives the agencies more power to prosecute these Immigrants who illegally cross the border. With criminal penalties involved, the punishments might not even stop at detention. And their even might be instances where genuine refugee claims are overlooked or even denied.
The Immigration courts are already facing a massive backlog of cases and with the introduction of this policy; this is only going to add to the queue of the pending cases. As these cases drag on, the individuals facing trial are forced to live separately from their family for unspecified periods of time which can be psychologically harmful.
While this policy aims to curtail Illegal immigration across the southwest border, the ramifications on the legal system and the Immigrants are unknown at this point. To help with the backlog, additional judges and prosecutors have been assigned by the attorney general. And the mission is to prosecute until they have reached or curtailed the maximum amount possible.