Immigration Law
More recently this has become a topic of great discussion in the illegal immigration debate, fueled by the so called "Morton Memo". The memo was intended to channel limited resources into prioritized pursuit of cases involving criminals and felons. The memo has been broadly (and incorrectly) touted by the pro-illegal immigrant lobby as the suspension or waiver of active prosecution of non-criminal illegal aliens and the exclusive focus on criminal illegal aliens. However the memo clearly refutes the popularly held view that the memo gives ICE a mandate to selectively enforce immigration law:
- "As there is no right to the favorable exercise of discretion by the agency, nothing in this memorandum should be construed to prohibit the apprehension, detention, or removal of any alien unlawfully in the United States or to limit the legal authority of ICE or any of its personnel to enforce federal immigration law. Similarly, this memorandum, which may be modified, superseded, or rescinded at any time without notice, is not intended to, does not, and may not be relied upon to create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any party in any administrative, civil, or criminal matter."
So the net effect for any illegal aliens might at best be deferral of prosecution.
Read more about this topic: Enforcement Discretion
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—James Madison (1751–1836)
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