Sen. Marco Rubio objected on Friday to the Biden administration’s decision to pause nearly all deportations.
“It is deeply troubling that one of the first actions taken by the Biden Administration could undermine the safety and security of all Americans, including immigrants here lawfully,” Rubio wrote in a letter to acting DHS Secretary David Pekoske. “I am concerned that such directives will prevent the removal of illegal immigrants with existing removal orders, including those with serious criminal records and convicted of violent crimes such as rape, sexual assault, and other aggravated felonies.”
Rubio, who was a member of the Gang of Eight senators who in 2013 tried to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill, asked Pekoske for immediate clarification on the instruction to federal law enforcement on Wednesday.
Pekoske’s memo to agency officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services states that deportations of most people who have been ordered by a judge to be removed will not be carried out, with the exception of illegal immigrants who are suspected of terrorism or espionage or pose a different national security threat, who were not in the U.S. before Nov. 1, 2020, who voluntarily agreed to waive any rights to remain in the country, or who are exempted by the acting ICE director.
“Does this mean someone convicted of an ‘aggravated felony,’ including rape or sexual abuse of a minor, is not a priority for removal if they were released from jail on or before January 19, 2021?” Rubio asked.
Rubio also asked about ICE’s plans to issue additional guidance about how it will proceed with cases for people who were ordered to be deported more than 90 days before President Biden took office.
“For individuals who have previously been ordered removed, what is the intent behind considering ‘reopening cases,’ and what would ‘other appropriate action’ be?” he wrote.
Pekoske said in his announcement earlier this week that the suspension of deportations, which is likely to affect thousands, will allow the department to take stock of its immigration and border policies as the department leadership transitions between Republican and Democratic administrations. ICE removed 185,000 people in fiscal year 2020, which ended on Sept. 30, 2020, marking the lowest rate in a decade.
ICE is responsible for arresting and detaining people who are illegally residing in the U.S. as the result of coming over the border without permission or overstaying a visa. As of Jan. 15, it reported having approximately 14,700 people in its custody, which is the lowest figure in years as a result of court orders that mandated high-risk detainees be released due to the threat posed by the coronavirus. ICE has also taken fewer people into custody. During the 2019 humanitarian crisis at the border, more than 50,000 adults were in the agency’s custody.
