WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of foreigners now allowed to remain free while they pursue immigration appeals could face arrest and jail under a major policy change being tested by the federal government.
"Operation Compliance," introduced with little fanfare this month in Atlanta and Denver as a pilot program, is designed to curb the chronic problem of "absconders" — an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 scofflaws are now in the country in defiance of orders to leave.
Under the pilot program, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are assigned to immigration courts and promptly arrest people who are ordered to leave the country after losing their cases, which are usually civil, not criminal. Those taken into custody are held in immigration detention facilities until they exhaust their appeals or post bond.
"It’s a great initiative, and if it was implemented nationwide, it would be a great step," said Steven Branch, a senior immigration enforcement official in Washington. "It’s a drastic step in minimizing any future growth of absconders."
But immigration lawyers say the program has singled out people with no criminal records, who are pursuing their rights within the U.S. legal system. Often, the lawyers said, bail is set higher than those detained can possibly afford. They also argue that Operation Compliance gives no consideration to asylum seekers, whose accounts of persecution in their homelands are often heart wrenching but sometimes difficult to assess.
Previously, foreigners who appealed an immigration decision that went against them were allowed to remain free. Those who lost and agreed to leave the country voluntarily were generally given time to get their affairs in order, usually after posting a modest bond.
Such forbearance has led to abuse, the government says. Officials estimate that nearly 90 percent of those who are ordered to leave the country but not detained end up staying in defiance of the law. By contrast, foreigners taken into custody by the government are almost always successfully deported.
"What we are doing is having the alien comply with the law (and) saving the taxpayers’ dollar," Branch said. "Instead of these people receiving an order and then blatantly disregarding it by staying here, us taking them right there allows us to stem the growth of any additional absconders."
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