Key Issues
• Explanation of the legal basis of the Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements policy.
• Budget impact of the policy improvements.
• Pros and cons of the policy improvements.
• Personal opinion on why I agree with the policy improvements.
Action Sought Time Frame
Agree to support the Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements policy in its current form, with room for further amendments. Before your next meeting with Donald J. Trump
Purpose of the briefing
This briefing provides an in-depth analysis of the Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements policy, including the submitter’s personal opinion. You may utilize this critical information as a point of reference during your next meeting with President Donald J. Trump.
Legal basis of the policy improvements
The United States constitution vests the President with the authority to ensure territorial integrity, public safety and faithful execution of immigration laws. This authority is granted to the president through the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) and the Secure Fence Act of 2006 (Secure Fence Act).
The policy, as directed by the President, postulates that aliens who have not been inspected or identified by immigration officers pose a significant threat to public safety and national security. The Federal law regarding immigration provides the means and gives the responsibility of securing the southern border to the government and all the Border States. The President has realized some flaws in the Federal-State framework in enforcing laws and as such, designed these policy improvements.
Through, IIRIRA and the Secure Fence Act among other existing laws, the President has directed the immediate planning, design and building of a wall at the United States border, using the best technology and appropriate materials for operational control. The rationale for this decision is that the border is a critical point of entry for aliens.
The President has directed that you, as Secretary to the Agency, take action and allocate resources for the immediate assignment of asylum officers to all immigration detention centers to accept credible asylum seekers in compliance with section 235 (b) (1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The United States Code, title number 8, chapter number 12, subchapter number II, authorizes the Attorney General to take correct action and allocate legal resources by immediately assigning various immigration judges to all the immigration detention centers controlled directly or indirectly through contract by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
The United States Code, title 8, section 1232 requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to take prompt action and ensure that aliens, as described in the constitution, are repatriated to the country from which they came after a repatriation proceeding.
Section 287 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), allows the Secretary to make agreements with State and local officials to authorize local and state law enforcement officers, by giving them the capacity to do the work of immigration security officers with regard to detention, apprehension and investigation. Local law enforcement officers are to be used to complement immigration officers but not to replace them in the performance of their duties.
Sections 235 (b) (1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and 8 CFR 208.30 allow the Secretary to take all necessary action to ensure that credible asylum seekers are handled in a manner that is consistent with what the provisions indicate. The Secretary is also mandated to act in his or her own unreviewable discretion, the provisions outlined in aforementioned sections.
Section 212(d) (5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) demands that the Secretary ensures that parole authority is implemented on an individual case basis as dictated by the statute except on severe humanitarian reasons or a major public gain obtained from a parole.
Section 462 (g) (2) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, and section 235 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 allows the Secretary to ensure that all personnel are well-trained, children who are unaccompanied aliens are processed properly, receive proper care and are repatriated using correct legal procedures.
Pros and cons of the policy improvements
Pros
• The primary motive is to safeguard Americans from various illegal activities such as drug trafficking, human trafficking among others. The overall homeland security is boosted greatly by the presence of a physical border.
• The United States loses billions of shillings every year due to smuggling activities along the Southern border. This massive tax loophole results in revenue targets being missed and American people not receiving government services.
• Illegal immigrants put a strain on public resources especially in Border States. Health, social welfare and education programs are often overburdened and they strain government spending.
• There have been success stories of border enforcement in the past. Where physical barriers are used together with high-tech surveillance technologies, the probability of apprehension increases significantly.
Cons
• The wall has been faulted for being relatively easy to navigate. Some methods cited by critics include digging below the wall and using wire-cutters after climbing the fence. Other methods include travelling as tourists or business reasons and overstaying their visas.
• A border wall affects wildlife migration patterns and fragments habitats. This is likely to limit biodiversity in areas close to the border and may cause significant reduction of a species population when migration patterns are interfered with.
Personal opinion on why I agree with the policy improvements
I fully agree with the policy improvements because they are well-intended. The government loses billions of dollars every year in lost revenue from smuggling activities. This money is crucial in the provision of essential services to the general American population, but is instead pocketed by a few smugglers at the expense of the entire nation. The Southern Border has a history of being a major transit point for drugs from South America and Mexico. Millions of American lives have been destroyed through drug addiction, thousands have died and the productivity of most drug users is significantly curtailed. Therefore, from a human resource perspective, the policy improvements forwarded by the President greatly improve on the existing way of life directly and indirectly. Additionally, although critics argue that a physical barrier like a wall is easy to work around; its security and reliability can be greatly improved through high-tech surveillance. The policy outlines how unaccompanied minors should be handled by referencing various laws, which is a humane thing and also provides the grounds for asylum. Overall, I wholeheartedly agree with the policy improvements.
References
Trump J. D. (2017) Executive Order: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements. The White House