USCIS Delays Implementation of Broadened Enforcement Policy

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At a glance

USCIS will delay implementation of its June 28 enforcement policy until after internal guidance has been issued.

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The situation

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will delay implementation of a recent policy memorandum that directs USCIS adjudicators to initiate removal proceedings against a broader group of foreign nationals, including those whose applications for immigration benefits are denied after their underlying status has expired, those who have engaged in fraud or misrepresentation and those who have engaged in any criminal act or have been arrested or convicted of a crime that could subject them to removal proceedings, among others. In an announcement made today, the agency stated that this enforcement effort will not take effect until after operational guidance is issued. 

The June 28, 2018 memorandum had imposed a July 28 deadline for agency field offices to create operational processes in connection with the new policy, but this deadline has since passed.  It is not known how close this internal operational guidance is to being finalized, though the USCIS announcement stated that it is pending. The new policy is a significant shift from USCIS’s prior limited role in removal enforcement.

Fragomen is closely monitoring the implementation of USCIS’s new enforcement policy and will provide updates as developments occur.