{"id":1221,"date":"2022-04-20T17:38:19","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T17:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/?p=1221"},"modified":"2022-04-20T17:38:19","modified_gmt":"2022-04-20T17:38:19","slug":"ice-issues-new-guidance-on-prosecutorial-discretion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laprensanewspaper.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/20\/ice-issues-new-guidance-on-prosecutorial-discretion\/","title":{"rendered":"ICE Issues New Guidance on Prosecutorial Discretion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Rchard Herman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Will It Halt More Deportations?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

By:\u00a0 Richard Herman, Esq.<\/em><\/p>\n

On April 3, 2022, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office<\/em> of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) Kerry E. Doyle<\/em> issued new guidelines for its attorneys regarding prosecutorial discretion.<\/p>\n

The memorandum titled Guidance to OPLA Attorneys Regarding the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Laws and the Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion<\/em><\/strong><\/a> (Doyle Memorandum) will be effective from 25th<\/sup> April 2022. This memo is consistent with the memorandum titled Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law<\/strong><\/a> issued on 30th<\/sup> September 2021 and took effect on 29th<\/sup> November 2021, issued by Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Majorkas<\/em> (Mayorkas Memorandum).<\/p>\n

The new memo provides a strong directive by the Biden administration to ICE attorneys that they must follow the time-honored tradition within the law that prosecutors should \u201cdo justice\u201d==and prioritize scarce government resources in a way that maximizes public safety. The new memo updates and expands the exercise of prosecutorial discretion by ICE attorneys.\u00a0 <\/strong>The Doyle Memo<\/em> streamlines ICE process for designating enforcement priorities and provides greater discretion to ICE attorneys to exercise various forms of prosecutorial discretion in individual cases.<\/p>\n

What is Prosecutorial Discretion<\/u>?<\/h2>\n

An immigration prosecutor has the authority to make a decision regarding placing a person in immigration court and charging them with removability, or even terminating an existing deportation case.\u00a0 This is called prosecutorial discretion<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Prosecutorial Discretion is a wide range of authority that even allows offering plea bargains to a defendant. For example, a law enforcement officer gives you a warning for speeding and lets you go while they can charge you.<\/p>\n

ICE is the representative of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)<\/em> in immigration removal proceedings before the United States Department of Justice\u2019s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). Moreover, the OPLA has the power to use prosecutorial discretion. The OPLA attorneys can decide how they want to proceed and which cases to focus on. For instance, they can agree to remove a case from the immigration court through administrative closure or dismissal.<\/p>\n

How Does PD Work<\/u>?<\/h2>\n

OPLA lawyers assess your cases independently to decide whether they should use PD or not. Moreover, you can submit a request for PD. Once they receive your submission, they calculate if it is an enforcement priority using the Mayorkas<\/em> and the Doyle<\/em> Memoranda.<\/p>\n

OPLA reviews the data of your case and considers all the factors to decide about the priority.<\/p>\n

Should You Apply for PD<\/u>?<\/h2>\n

Nonpriority Cases<\/u><\/h3>\n

Firstly, OPLA evaluates if your case is a priority for enforcement or not. If it is a nonpriority case, OPLA is highly likely to use PD such as not filing the Notice to Appear (NTA). For instance, if they have filed NTA already, OPLA will use PD by dismissing the removal proceedings without prejudice.<\/p>\n

Depending on the case, they may opt for requests for relief, waiving appeal, a reduced bond amount, administrative closure, and other methods.<\/p>\n

Priority Cases<\/u><\/h3>\n

When OPLA evaluates that your case is a priority for enforcement, they don\u2019t use PD and refuse to apply for NTA, termination, administrative closure, or dismissal.<\/p>\n

In some cases, OPLA still uses PD if your case is a priority. In addition, you can provide evidence to change the status of priority. OPLA lawyers can independently reevaluate your case if they get new information. If they change the priority status, they may support your PD request.<\/p>\n

The Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities<\/u><\/h2>\n

For civil immigration enforcement, the Mayorkas Memorandum has defined three priorities. OPLA attorneys are asked to use their resources on noncitizens that are a threat to border security, public safety, or national security.<\/p>\n

In this section, we will talk about these three priorities. Moreover, we will share how OPLA attorneys determine priorities.<\/p>\n

The Mayorkas Memorandum Priorities<\/u><\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s talk about three priorities of the Mayorkas Memorandum<\/u><\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n