Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

When comparing the immigration policy of the United States with that from Sweden, Israel, United Kingdom and Brazil, the U.S.’s seems to have completely different internal environments, resources and goals_ which also created extreme different outcomes. USCIS’s strategic plan was designed with a focus on an accurate scanning immigration selection process. The plan aims to prioritize efficient customer service and national security. Through the overuse of an abusive immigration detention system with the use of a fast-track deportation, USCIS directs federal agencies to increase detention capacity, and expedite removals of illegal entry prosecutions, exposing people to dangerous custody conditions and limited deportation hearings. This includes lawful residents, those who have not been convicted of a crime or whose most serious offense was an immigration violation. The focus on border enforcement is another threat to the rights of people seeking asylum and long-term residents.

The plan also seeks the use of governmental authority to return and repatriate immigrants without visas (illegals). The government and parts of society falsely claim that such actions would make communities safer, conflating immigration with crime, which is proven to not have a correlation to what we can detect in official USCIS data. “Numerous studies have debunked the myth that increased immigration leads to increased crime.” (Human Rights Watch, 2017). The American immigration system involvement of local police in immigration enforcement has caused fear to report violent crimes to the police. This goes against many local enforcement agencies that encourage community members_ regardless of immigration status_ to report crimes. Policies and political rhetoric also risk fueling xenophobic violence and other expressions of hate. That means those actions could harm the US citizens’ public safety, when this organization was supposed to stand up for the rights of all.