The discretion that matters: Federal immigration enforcement, state and local arrests, and the civil-criminal line

UCLA Law Review

Volumn 58, Issue 6, 2011, Pages 1819-1858

  Motomura, Hiroshi ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 80054088833     PISSN: 00415650     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Review

References (79)

1. See US. CENSUS BUREAU, STATE & COUNTY QUICKFACTS, http://quickfects.census.gov/ qfd/states/04/0454O5O.html (last revised July 8,2009).
2. See, e.g., Marc Lacey, Despite Setbacks, Arizona Sheriff Won't Yield the Spotlight, N.Y. TIMES, Apr. 15, 2011, at A12.
3. See U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, 1980 CENSUS OF POPULATION, CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATION, NUMBER OF INHABITANTS ARIZONA 4-12 tbl.5 (reporting that Peoria had 12,251 inhabitants in 1980).
4. 722 F.2d 468 (9th Cir. 1983), overruled m part on other grounds by Hodgers-Durgin v. De La Vina, 199 FJd 1037 (9th Cir. 1999).
5. See Non-Preemption of the Auth. of State & Local Law Enforcement Officials to Arrest Aliens for Immigration Violations, 26 Op. O.LC. 1 (2002), availakie at http://www.aclu.org/ FilesPDFs/ACF27DA.pdf.
6. Assistance by State & Local Police in Apprehending illegal Aliens, 20 Op. O.LC. 26 (1996).
7. This topic has attracted a body of scholarship too voluminous to catalog here. Some of my own thinking on this subject is set out in Hiroshi Motomura, Immigration Outside the Law, 108 COLUM. L REV. 2037,2055-65,2070-83 (2008).
8. See, e.g., DANIEL KANSTROOM, DEPORTATION NATION: OUTSIDERS DM AMERICAN HISTORY (2007)
9. Stephen H. Legomsky, The New Path of Immigration Law: Asymmetric Incorporation of Criminal Justice Norms, 64 WASH. 6k LEE L. REV. 469 (2007)
10. Teresa A. Miller, Citizenship & Severity: Recent Immigration Reforms and the New Penology, 17 GEO. IMMIGR. L.J. 611 (2003)
11. Juliet Stumpf,TheCrimmigration Crisis: Immigrants, Crime, and Sovereign Power, 56 AM. U .L REV. 367 (2006).
12. See generally Jennifer M. Chacón, Managing Migration Through Crime, 109 COLUM. L REV. SIDEBAR 135 (2009)
13. Ingrid V. Eagly, Prosecuting Immigration, 104 NW. U. L. REV. 1281, 1281-83, 1353 fig.4 (2010)
14. Daniel Kanstroom, Criminalizing the Undocumented: Ironic Boundaries of the Post-September 11 th "Pale of Law," 29 N.C. J. INTT. L & COM. REG. 639,654-55 (2004).
15. See generally Gabriel J. Chin & Marc L. Miller, The Unconstitutionality of State Regulation of Immigration Through Criminal Law, 61 DUKE LJ. (forthcoming 2011), available at http://papers. ssm.com/sol3/papers. cfm?abstractid=1648685.
16. Ingrid V. Eagly, Local Immigration Prosecution: A Study of Arizona Before SB 1070, 58 UCLA L. REV. 1749 (2011). '
17. Gonzales v. City of Peoria, 537 F. Supp. 793 (D. Ariz. 1982), affd, 111 F.2d 468 (9th Cir. 1983)
18. Overruled in part on other grounds by Hodgers-Durgin v. De La Vina, 199 F.3d 1037 (9th Cir. 1999).
19. See generally THOMAS ALEXANDER ALEINIKOFF, DAVID A. MARTIN, HIROSHI MOTOMURA & MARYELLEN FULLERTON, IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP: PROCESS AND POLICY 1015-27 (6th ed. 2008).
20. See Huyên Pham, The Inherent Flaws in the Inherent Authority Position: Why Inviting Local Enforcement of Immigration Laws Viokues the Constitution, 31 FLA. ST. U. L. REV. 965, 977-78 (2004)
21. Michael J. Wishnie, State and Local Police Enforcement of Immigration Laws, 6 U. PA. J. CONST. L 1084,1090-93 (2004)
22. see also Karl Manheim, Slate Immigration Laws and Federal Supremacy, 22 HASTINGS CONST. L.Q. 939, 979-82 (1995)
23. Linda Reyna Yafiez & Alfonso Soto, Local Police Involvement in the Enforcement of Immigration Law, 1 HlSP. LJ. 9, 21-31 (1994)
24. Cecilia Renn, Comment, State and Local Enforcement of the Criminal Immigration Statutes and the Preemption Doctrine, 41 U. MIAMI L. REV. 999,1014-22 (1987).
25. This diagram is suggested by die analysis in William J. Stuntz, The Pathological Politics of Criminal Law, 100 MICH. L. REV. 505 (2001).
26. See also WAYNE R. LAFAVE, ARREST: THE DECISION TO TAKE THE SUSPECT INTO CUSTODY 64-81 (1965).
27. See JEFFREY S. PASSEL & D'VERA COHN, PEW HISPANIC Cm., U.S. UNAUTHORIZED IMMIGRANT POPULATION: NATIONAL AND STATE TRENDS, 2010, at l (2011) (estimating the total U.S. unauthorized population at 11.2 million as of March 2010).
28. For an earlier, similar estimate, see MICHAEL HOEFER, NANCY RYTINA & BRYAN C. BAKER, OFFICE OF IMMIGRATION STATISTICS, U.S. DEPT OF HOMELAND SEC, ESTIMATES OF THE UNAUTHORIZED IMMIGRANT POPULATION RESIDING IN THE UNITED STATES: JANUARY 2009, at l (2010) (estimating the US. unauthorized population at 10.8 million as of January 2009).
29. See ANDORRA BRUNO, CONG. RESEARCH SERV., UNAUTHORIZED ALIENS IN THE UNITED STATES 1-2 (2010) (summarizing prior estimates of this percentage).
30. See generally Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318, 344 n.12 (2001) (listing state statutes delineating misdemeanor arrest authority of law enforcement officers).
31. See 2009 DHS YEARBOOK OF IMMIGRATION STATISTICS, supra note 44, at 93 tbl.35.
32. U.S. DEPT OF HOMELAND SEC, OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GEN., OIG-10-63, THE PERFORMANCE OF 287(G) AGREEMENTS 6 tbl.2 (2010), available at http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/ assets/mgmtrpts/OIG-10-63-Marl0.pdf.
33. See Non-Preemption of the Auth. of State and Local Law Enforcement Officials to Arrest Aliens for Immigration Violations, supra note 5.
34. Robert Hopper & Juan P. Osuna, Remedies of Last Resort: Private Bills and Deferred Action Status, IMMIGR. BRIEFINGS, June 1997, at 10-15
35. Leon Wildes, The Deferred Action Program of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services: A Possible Remedy for Impossible Immigration Cases, 41 SAN DIEGO L. REV. 819, 822-23 (2004).
36. See Memorandum From Doris Meissner, Comm'r, Immigration & Naturalization Serv., on Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion (Nov. 17, 2000) [hereinafter Meissner Memorandum], available at http://www.scribd.com/doc/ 22092970/INS-Guidance-Memo-Prosecutorial- Discretion-Doris-Meissner-11-7-00.
37. See James W. Ziglar & Edward Alden, The Real Price of Sealing the Border, WALL ST. J., Apr. 8, 2011.
38. See PETER ANDREAS, BORDER GAMES: POLICING THE U.S.-MEXICO DIVIDE 111 (1st ed. 2000) (suggesting that a "winning image" has become a politically viable alternative to successful enforcement)
39. JOSEPH NEVINS, OPERATION GATEKEEPER: THE RISE OF THE ILLEGAL ALIEN AND THE MAKING OF THE US-MEXICO BOUNDARY 10 (2002) ("Perhaps most important, from the perspective of political elites, [Operation Gatekeeper] has been very successful in creating the image of a secure boundary ").
40. See David A. Martin, Eight Myths About Immigration Enforcement, 10 N.Y.U. J. LEGIS. & PUB. POL'Y 525, 545 (2007)
41. For fuller discussion, see HIROSHI MOTOMURA, AMERICANS IN WAITING: THE LOST STORY OF IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES 47-48, 176-80 (2006)
42. See Memorandum From William J. Howard, Principal Legal Advisor, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, on Prosecutorial Discretion (Oct. 24, 2005) [hereinafter Howard Memorandum on Prosecutorial Discretion], available at http://www.scribd.com/doc/22092975/lCE-Guidance-Memo- Prosecutorial-Discretion- William-J-Howard-10-24-05.
43. See OFFICE OF PLANNING, ANALYSIS & TECH., EXEC. OFFICE FOR IMMIGRATION REVIEW, US. DEPT OF JUSTICE, FY 2009 STATISTICAL YEAR BOOK, at C3 tbl.3 (2010) [hereinafter 2009 EOIR STATISTICAL YEAR BOOK]. Of course, some of these removal proceedings are attributable to arrests in a prior year, but this source of inexactitude should not take away from the very general conclusions that I draw from tlie available figures.
44. Designating Aliens for Expedited Removal, 69 Fed. Reg. 48877 (Aug. 11, 2004) (expanding the availability of expedited removal to within one hundred miles of the border if certain conditions are met).
45. 2009 DHS YEARBOOK OF IMMIGRATION STATISTICS, supra note 44, at 95 tbl.36 n.1.
46. Joanna Jacobbi Lydgate, Comment, AssemMy-Lme Justice: A Review of Operation Streamline, 98 CALIF. L. REV. 481,511 (2010) (same).
47. See Alan Bersin 6k. Judith Feigin, The Rule of Law at the Border: Reinventing Prosecution Policy in the Southern District of California, 12 GEO. IMM1GR. LJ. 285 (1998).
48. United States v. Roblero-Solis, 588 F.3d 692, 693 (9th Cir. 2009) (holding that the procedure for accepting guilty pleas in proceedings conducted under Operation Streamline violates FED. R. CriM. P. 11).
49. See Jennifer M. Chacón, A Diversion of Attention? Immigration Courts and the Adjudication of Fourth and Fifth Amendment Rights, 59 DUKE L.J. 1563,1573-79 (2010).
50. See 2009 EOIR STATISTICAL YEAR BOOK, supra note 64, at D1-D2 (reporting that in federal fiscal year 2009, immigration courts reached a decision in 232,212 removal proceedings, 185,314, or 79.8 percent, of which resulted in removal orders or voluntary departure).
51. See 2009 DHS YEARBOOK OF IMMIGRATION STATISTICS, supra note 44, at 95 tbl.36 n.2.
52. http://www.scribd.com/doc/36524371/Iohn-Morton-Memo
53. http://www.ice.gov/dciclib/foia/dro-policy-memos/vincent-memo.pdf
54. http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=17718
55. 2009 EOIR STATISTICAL YEAR BOOK
56. 2009 DHS YEARBOOK OF IMMIGRATION STATISTICS
57. See Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001).
58. See Nken v. Holder, 129 S. Ct. 1749 (2009).
59. Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, The Role of Prosecutorial Discretion in Immigration Law, 9 CONN. PUB. INT. LJ. 243, 244 (2010).
60. Gerald L Neuman, Discretionary Deportation, 20 GEO. IMMIGR. LJ. 611 (2006)
61. Michael Edmund O'Neill, Understanding Federal Prosecutorial Declinations: An Empirical Analysis of Predictive Factors, 41 AM. CRIM. L. REV. 1439, 1450,1456,1479,1490 (2004).
62. See, e.g., United States v. Arizona, 703 F. Supp. 2d 980, 995-96.
63. Morton Memorandum on Civil Immigration Enforcement, supra note 105.
64. See Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, http://www.ice.gov/287g (last visited June 11,2011).
65. See Fan Sheet: Delegation of Immigration Authority Section 287(g) Immigration and Nationality Act, US. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, http://www.ice.gov/news/library/factsheets/ 287g.htm (last visited June 11,2011).
66. See generally Secure Communities, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, http://www.ice.gov/secure-communities (last visited June 11,2011).
67. US. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, ACTIVATED JURISDICTIONS (2011), http://www.ice.gov/doclib/secure-communities/pdf/sc-activated.pdf.
68. See Fact Sheet: Crtmma Alien Program, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (Mar. 29, 2011), available at http://www.ice.gov/news/library/ factsheets/cap.htm
69. See Secure Communities IDENTHAFIS Interoperability Statistics, U.S. IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT 2 (May 23, 2011), available at http://www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/scstats/nationwide-interoperability-stats-fy201 l-feb28.pdf.
70. See Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act of 2011, S. 952, H.R. 1842,112th Cong., 2dSess. (2011).
71. See Julia Preston, After a False Dawn, Anxiety for Illegal Immigrant Students, N.Y. TIMES, Feb. 8, 2011, at A15.
72. Memorandum From John Morton, Assistant Sec'y, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement, on Prosecutorial Discretion: Certain Victims, Witnesses, and Plaintiffs (June 17, 2011).
73. See Julia Preston, U.S. Pledges to Raise Deportation Threshold, N.Y. TIMES, June 18,2011,atA14.
74. See Morton Memorandum on Removal Proceedings of Aliens, supra note 88.
75. See Morton Memorandum on Civil Immigration Enforcement, supra note 105.
76. See TREVOR GARDNER II & AARTI KOHLI, THE C.A.P. EFFECT: RACIAL PROFILING IN THE ICE CRIMINAL ALIEN PROGRAM (2009), available at http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/ policybrief-irving-0909-v9.pdf. I am grateful to Stephen Lee for calling my attention to this example.
77. See generally Jon Michaels, Privatization's Pretensions, 77 U. CHI. L REV. 717 (2010) (explaining how delegation through privatization can allow government principals to avoid constraints that may limit their decisionmaking).
78. Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, S. 1070, 49th Leg., 2d Reg. Sess. (Ariz. 2010), amended by H.R. 2162, 49th Leg., 2d Reg. Sess. (Ariz. 2010)
79. Complaint, United States v. Arizona, 703 F. Supp. 2d 980 (D. Ariz. 2010) (No. 2:10 Civ. 1413).