Goodlatte on IG Report: Administration’s Dangerous Immigration Policies Must End

Washington, D.C. – The Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General today issued a report finding that DHS does not track its uses of prosecutorial discretion in immigration enforcement which may compromise national security and public safety. Prosecutorial discretion is a tool that is meant to be used on an individual basis but has instead been applied to entire categories of unlawful immigrants by the Obama Administration.

In its report, the IG recommends that DHS develop and implement a plan to collect, analyze, and report data on the use of prosecutorial discretion to assess immigration enforcement activities, improve policy, and increase transparency. The House Judiciary Committee has approved legislation – the Michael Davis, Jr. and Danny Oliver in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act (H.R. 1148) – that would require DHS to report to Congress annually on the Administration’s use and abuse of prosecutorial discretion, among many other provisions. 

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the statement below on this IG report.

“Not only are President Obama’s unilaterally-created immigration policies and programs unconstitutional, their implementation has proved to needlessly place Americans and our country at risk. As confirmed by today’s Inspector General report, the Department of Homeland Security does not track its use of prosecutorial discretion nor does it always conduct thorough background checks on the individuals benefitting from the Administration’s lax policies. As a result, the American people are left in the dark about the effects of the Administration’s immigration policies and dangerous criminal aliens who have committed a crime in their home country may be able to find amnesty in the United States. While it is inexcusable that DHS does not monitor the use of prosecutorial discretion, it’s even more important that the Obama Administration end its reckless policies.” 

Key Findings from the IG Report:

• “Although DHS reports immigration enforcement data such as alien apprehensions, detentions, and removals, it does not include the components’ use of prosecutorial discretion in its reports.” (page 4)
• “ICE could not provide the number of DACA-eligible individuals it has released, but it recorded its use of prosecutorial discretion ... ICE officials noted that field office personnel do not always record their use of prosecutorial discretion because they make these decisions daily and it would be too time consuming to record every occurrence.” (page 4)
• “The Department does not have a mechanism to continuously monitor its use of prosecutorial discretion and improve future policy.” (page 6)
• “When applying prosecutorial discretion, ICE field office personnel said they might not always have access to an individual’s criminal history in his or her country of origin. As a result, aliens convicted of or wanted for a felony committed in their home country, but not convicted of a felony or significant misdemeanor in the United States may not be identified as a DHS enforcement priority.” (pages 6-7)

Learn more about the Obama Administration’s lax immigration enforcement policies here.