CHC Calls on ICE to Prioritize Public Safety Threats

Washington, D.C. - Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), led by U.S. Representative Jim Costa, sent a letter to the Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Thomas Homan calling for the prioritization of ICE's limited resources on more strategic and effective law enforcement measures that target public safety threats.

"Prioritizing I-9 audits diverts ICE resources from other critical enforcement priorities. Under this new policy, ICE will send armed agents to businesses around the country to search for employment paperwork irregularities rather than enlisting these agents to track down human traffickers, investigate terrorists, or apprehend members of transnational criminal organizations. This would be an irresponsible use of limited resources and we call on ICE to prioritize public safety threats," the Members wrote.

The Members continued: "Rather than quadrupling-down on this misguided policy, we urge ICE to take a more strategic and sophisticated approach to interior immigration enforcement: one that builds working partnerships with immigrant communities to apprehend dangerous criminals."

In addition to Rep. Costa, the following members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus signed the letter: CHC Chair Michelle Lujan Grisham; CHC First Vice Chair Joaquin Castro; CHC Second Vice Chair Ruben Gallego; CHC Whip Pete Aguilar; CHC Freshman Representative Adriano Espaillat; Rep. Ben Ray Lujan; Rep. Tony Cardenas; Rep. Jimmy Gomez; Rep. Linda T. Sanchez; Rep. Darren Soto; Rep. Luis Correa; Rep. Grace F. Napolitano; Rep. Raul M. Grijalva; Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán; Rep. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan; Rep. Nydia Velazquez; Rep. Juan Vargas; Rep. Ruben Kihuen; and Rep. Norma J. Torres.

The official letter can be found here.

March 22, 2018

The Honorable Thomas Homan

Acting Director

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

500 12th Street, SW

Washington, D.C. 20563

Dear Acting Director Homan:

We write today to express our concern with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)'s recent plans to increase work site enforcement efforts. These I-9 audits would be counterproductive, reduce reporting of crimes, undermine safety and harm the economy. ICE should instead focus its limited resources on hardened criminals, not hard-working individuals who are positively contributing to our communities.

At a recent event at the Heritage Foundation, you announced that ICE would increase work site enforcement "by four to five times" in the current fiscal year. It is our understanding that this drastic increase will likely continue for the foreseeable future. We know from experience that these efforts sow distrust of law enforcement among immigrant communities and ultimately undermine public safety. It is critical that our communities trust local authorities to keep them safe. If individuals are victims of a crime or if they see something suspicious, we want them to report these concerns to local law enforcement.

We believe this policy could fuel crime. As immigrant communities become fearful of and increasingly estranged from law enforcement, they are more vulnerable to being exploited by criminals. Transnational gangs already attempt to use immigrant communities as a host or hiding place for criminal activities. Increased enforcement efforts would no doubt exacerbate these practices and result in increased exploitation and reduced reporting of crimes. Immigrants are some of the most vulnerable among us—our priority should be to target and apprehend criminals and protect hardworking individuals from violence and crime, not to instill fear in our communities.

Furthermore, immigrants play an important role in key business sectors, including agriculture, hospitality and the service industries. Increased I-9 audits would have significant economic ramifications for these critical businesses and lead to possible labor shortages and increased workplace discrimination. In addition, these audits would place the onus on employers and require them to act as immigration officials.

Prioritizing I-9 audits diverts ICE resources from other critical enforcement priorities. Under this new policy, ICE will send armed agents to businesses around the country to search for employment paperwork irregularities rather than enlisting these agents to track down human traffickers, investigate terrorists, or apprehend members of transnational criminal organizations. This would be an irresponsible use of limited resources and we call on ICE to prioritize public safety threats.

Rather than quadrupling-down on this misguided policy, we urge ICE to take a more strategic and sophisticated approach to interior immigration enforcement: one that builds working partnerships with immigrant communities to apprehend dangerous criminals.

Thank you and we look forward to your response by April 15, 2018.

Sincerely,

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