September 09, 2013

John Sandweg
Acting Director
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
George Lund

Enforcement and Removal Operations
New Orleans Field Office Director
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

RE: Positive exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion for immigrant parents detained during New Orleans immigration operations 

Dear Mr. Sandweg and Mr. Lund,

We, the undersigned write to urge that the Department of Homeland Security and the New Orleans Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Field Office take significant steps to exercise prosecutorial discretion in the detention and deportation of parents and legal guardians of children, especially those encountered collaterally during Department of Homeland Security investigations and operations in Louisiana. 

On Friday, August 23, we welcomed the directive by Acting Director of ICE, John Sandweg, Facilitating Parental Interests in the Course of Civil Immigration Enforcement Activities. According to this directive, special consideration should be made in the placement, detention, and deportation of immigrants who are primary caretakers of minor children, regardless of the children’s immigration status. In addition, the prosecutorial discretion guidelines set by former ICE director John Morton in the June 17, 2011 memoranda Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion Consistent with Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities of the Agency for the Apprehension, Detention, and Removal of Aliens and Prosecutorial Discretion: Certain Victims, Witnesses, and Plaintiffs set guidelines for exercising discretion for “low priority” removals taking into account the totality of the circumstances.  Read more