For countless numbers of people, deferred action is the only relief from deportation that is available.  Non-citizens who entered, or were brought into the United States as children, without lawful status, and who have no pathway to lawful permanent residence may be eligible for some form of deferred action.  So what is deferred action exactly?

Deferred Action is basically a bandaid for a serious wound.  It is temporary relief for a permanent problem.  But sometimes it also serves as a bridge between unlawful status to lawful status, when a new pathway becomes available.  Deferred Action does not confer any immigration status on the person, but it does present some extremely valuable benefits.  When the government grants a person deferred action, they are providing a formal statement that the government will not seek to deport that person for a definite period of time.  The person can obtain an employment authorization card and lawfully work in the United States.  The person also can usually obtain a lawful driver’s license.

The most common form of deferred action is called DACA.  DACA is “deferred action for childhood arrivals.”  You may be eligible for DACA if you meet the following requirements:

We’ve had many clients who come into our office as lawful permanent residents eligible to become a United States citizen.  We tell them the same thing, every time.  Run, do not walk, to apply to become a U.S.C.  Why?  Because as a lawful permanent resident, the Immigration and Nationality Act applies to you.  As a United States citizen, it doesn’t.  What does that mean in regular terms?

A lawful permanent resident can be deported.  A United States citizen can’t.  A lawful permanent resident can be stripped of his or her green card.  A United States citizen cannot be stripped of their citizenship, unless procured by fraud.  A lawful permanent resident can be incarcerated for a long, long time if they are arrested on even minor crimes because ICE can launch a detainer on them preventing them from bonding out.  A United States citizen doesn’t have to worry about that.  A lawful permanent resident can abandon their green card by staying outside the country for too long.  A United States citizen cannot abandon citizenship, unless intentional and deliberate on the part of the citizen.

A United States Citizen Cannot Be Deported

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum (see bottom of this post to read the memorandum in full) to all federal prosecutors today demanding prioritization of immigration related prosecutions.  Specifically, he calls for the increased prosecution of 8 U.S.C. 1324 (Bringing in or Harboring Certain Aliens), 8 U.S.C. 1325 (Improper Entry by Alien), 8 U.S.C. 1326 (Reentry of Removed Aliens), 18 U.S.C. 1028A (Aggravated Identity Theft), and 18 U.S.C. 111 (Assaulting, Resisting or Impeding Officers).  It remains to be seen what practical effect this memorandum and future memorandums will have on increasing prosecutions.  Many critics of this policy fear that increased focus on immigration related offenses will result in decreased focus on other serious federal law violations, including large-scale drug offenses, firearms offenses, and other types of crimes.

There also is no indication that increased prosecution of immigration related offenses will decrease the number of people who come into the United States without authorization.  Those detained by ICE or CBP already face long terms of detention.  Charging those individuals with federal offenses will not necessary increase the amount of time those individuals are incarcerated.  The cost of prosecution to the taxpayer will far exceed any positive result relating to enforcing immigration laws.

The problem lies in prioritization memorandums like this one.  Assistant United States Attorneys across the nation will now not focus on individuals that pose the greatest risk of future immigration violations or future criminal conduct.  They will rather use a shotgun approach of prioritizing everyone, which is not only inefficient and costly, but impossible.  The government does not have the resources to implement the policies that AG Sessions has implemented.