The Trump administration has ordered the prioritization of federal prosecutions for immigration-related offenses, including for simply entering the United States or reentering after removal without permission. Prosecutions for such offenses are layered on top of the punitive civil immigration detention and deportation processes, add barriers to asylum access, and are rooted in racist laws plagued with due process and fairness concerns. Under the first Trump administration, these prosecutions were behind the family separation program and filled prisons to the enrichment of private prison contractors.
Now, Congress is considering budget proposals with hundreds of billions of dollars for border and immigration enforcement, including billions that would fund a dramatic increase in federal criminal prosecutions for immigration offenses.
This explainer describes how the budget proposals currently in Congress would fund mass prosecutions that have already had a deadly and costly impact over the years. It also explains how the proposed legislation would line the pockets of the private prison industry with enormous cost to taxpayers. Congress should oppose any efforts that would bolster the Trump administration’s plans to increase prosecutions that overwhelm the courts, violate the rights of asylum seekers, and fuel rights abuses by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
This explainer was developed by the National Immigrant Justice Center, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, National Immigration Project, Immigrant Defense Project, American University Washington College of Law Immigrant Justice Clinic, and Immigrant Justice Network.