America in\nthe age of the COVID-19 pandemic is by no means normal. The \u201cpresent normal\u201d\nfor many Americans is reflected in temporary work-from-home schedules, closed\nschools, bare grocery shelves and deferred vacation and business travel. While\nhand washing and a reduced reliance on foreign pharmaceuticals will certainly\nbenefit the country in the long-term, there are short-term changes that cannot\nbecome the new normal, particularly a scaling back of immigration enforcement\nactivities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the last week, immigration agencies have adjusted to the pandemic in many ways from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announcing<\/a> the temporary closure of offices through March, to President Trump announcing plans<\/a> to invoke a federal statute that allows the surgeon general to block certain people or goods from certain countries in order to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. The biggest refocusing of priorities occurred on Wednesday when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced<\/a> a temporary adjustment of its enforcement posture to ensure the safety of ICE agents and the general public. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to\nICE guidance issued on March 18, agents will concentrate on apprehending\n\u201cpublic safety risks and individuals subject to mandatory detention based on\ncriminal grounds,\u201d while Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers will\nexercise discretion to delay enforcement actions until after the crisis or\nutilize alternatives to detention, as appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One primary reason for ICE\u2019s temporary change in operational approach stems from the awareness of the added danger posed by the coronavirus to agents in the field According to documents reviewed by Politico<\/a>, at least 500 Homeland Security employees are under quarantine with at least 13 confirmed cases of COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But that has not prevented from ICE conducting operations in several cities, including Denver<\/a> and Los Angeles. According the Los Angeles Times<\/a>, agents donned protective gear during a recent arrest of an illegal alien who had a 2015 conviction for DUI causing bodily injury and hit and run. While immigrant activists have called for a halt to all operations, ICE officials maintain that the COVID-19 virus is just one of the current threats to public safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n David Marin,\nthe director of Enforcement and Removal Operations for ICE in Los Angeles, told\nthe Los Angeles Times, \u201cWe\u2019re out here trying to protect the public by getting\nthese criminal aliens off the street and out of our communities. Asking us to\nstop doing that basically gives those criminals another opportunity to maybe\ncommit more crimes, to create more victims.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli added a clarification<\/a> of the March 18 guidance in response, he said, to media misreports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe health and safety of Americans is paramount. Thus, @ICEgov<\/a> will, as it has during other times of crisis, conduct enforcement operations that protect our communities and uphold our laws,\u201d he said in a Twitter thread, adding that the shift in focus \u201cdoes not mean that no other removable aliens will in fact be removed, but during the current public health situation, removals will be done in such a way as to minimize the exposure of our agents and of the removable aliens we are encountering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the COVID-19 epidemic has caused\nlaw enforcement on all levels to prioritize who they arrest and detain,\nimmigrant activists are trying to use the current crisis to get what they have\nalways wanted \u2013 no immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cICE must end ALL enforcement activities. Time and again we have seen ICE use the dehumanizing label of “criminal” to justify their actions. We are in the middle of a pandemic and ICE continues to be a public health threat,\u201d tweeted<\/a> the Immigrant Justice Network. The call echoes demands<\/a> made by other advocates, who see a global pandemic as an open door to open the borders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact is that this \u201cpresent normal\u201d requires all Americans and government to act with an abundance of caution, not to throw caution to the wind by letting criminal illegal aliens continue to prey on vulnerable communities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" America in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic is by no means normal. The \u201cpresent normal\u201d for many Americans is reflected in temporary work-from-home schedules, closed schools, bare grocery shelves and deferred vacation and business travel. While hand washing and a reduced reliance on foreign pharmaceuticals will certainly benefit the country in the long-term, there<\/p>\n