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Under the direction of the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security has started changing the enforcement of United States immigration laws, focusing on integrating long-term undocumented immigrants instead of deporting them. The DHS has shifted its methods of enforcement to target onlythree groups of undocumented immigrants for deportation: convicted criminals, terrorism threats or those who recently crossed the border, according to the Washington Post.

The new policies push agents to ignore the majority of undocumented immigrants except for the three focus groups, and come amid legal challenges to the President Barack Obama's executive action from last year, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, which protected roughly 5 million eligible undocumented immigrants from deportation who have children who are U.S. citizens or legal residents before a federal judge put a stay on its enforcement until the conclusion of the lawsuits.

The change in DHS policy, however, merely governs the actions of immigration officials, rather than offering undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship, which may have a wider effect, according to the Washington Post.

"We are making it clear that we should not expend our limited resources on deporting those who have been here for years, have committed no serious crimes, and have, in effect, become integrated members of our society," said Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson in a recent speech. "These people are here, they live among us, and they are not going away."

The news comes after a Monday report by the Center for New Community revealing that DHS employees have been colluding with white nationalist, anti-immigrant groups. Unions representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents consulted the Federation for American Immigration Reform, the Center for Immigration Studies and NumbersUSA, three anti-immigration groups, on immigration enforcement, according to Al Jazeera.

Many suggest that the policy changes may make drastic changes to the relationship between immigration enforcement and undocumented immigrants.

"It does have the potential to be extremely significant," Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, told the Washington Post about the policy change. "It would allow people to live without that noose over their heads of the threat of deportation at all times."

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Immigration Reform 2015: DHS Decreases Deportations ...

Jul. 1, 2015

United Nations refugee agency reports that record 137,000 people have crossed Mediterranean Sea in search of better life in Europe so far in 2015; figure represents an 83 percent increase from 2014, and highlights growing refugee crisis. MORE

Op-Ed article by policy expert Nils Muiznieks argues that Europe's ambivalent and even cruel response to refugee crisis represents unacceptable backsliding on shared values of human rights that have marked Continent's progress since World War II; calls for more humane laws concerning migrants, stronger search-and-rescue operations in the Mediterranean and several other measures. MORE

European leaders end two-day summit meeting in Brussels about Continent's migration crisis with pledge to spread 40,000 refugees across nations, though plan lacks any details; meeting exposed angry passions and deep divisions among countries, made more fraught by failure of Greek debt negotiations. MORE

Violent anti-immigration protests in Slovakia and gains by right-wing Danish People's Party in Denmark's elections contribute to sense of fragmentation across European Union as it struggles to keep Greece from default and hold its currency together. MORE

Indonesian smuggler says Australian authorities stopped his boat at sea and paid him over $30,000 to return 65 migrants he was carrying to Indonesia; story, if confirmed, points to tightening of Australia's immigration policy under Prime Min Tony Abbott and potential violation of Austrailan, Indonesian and international laws governing smuggling, bribery and treatment of asylum seekers. MORE

Supreme Court votes, 5-4, to uphold denial of visa for American Fauzia Din's Afghan husband Kanishka Berashk, who was barred from entry into United States because of his past connections to Taliban. MORE

Editorial examines incidents at Walt Disney World and elsewhere that highlight deep problems with the H-1B visa program, saying it allows companies to recruit skilled foreign workers, through outsourcing programs, for pittance at expense of their American counterparts; observes that loopholes allow companies to subvert program created to help companies fill skill gaps when domestic candidates are unavailable; calls on lawmakers to amend program as part of larger immigration reform bill. MORE

United Nations officials say some of 65 Asian migrants who arrived in Indonesia after being intercepted by Australian authorities tell refugee workers that Australians paid smugglers to take them to Indonesia; report has raised questions about hard-line immigration policies that helped Australian Prime Min Tony Abbot win election in 2013. MORE

Politicians in Italy's north say they will not shelter any more migrants rescued in Mediterranean Sea; announcement comes as rescuers pluck 6,000 more migrants from waters. MORE

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Immigration - Times Topics - The New York Times

Time and again, the Obama administration has stepped forward with a new initiative on immigration. Time and again, those efforts have encountered difficulty, and time and again the White House has thrown up its hands, said it has done all it can, and tried to move on. And each time, immigration advocates have reacted furiously, successfully pressuring the administration to take back up the banner.

That recurring pattern has led to major shifts in immigration policy over the last three years. When the DREAM Act died in Congress, President Obama instituted a policyDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACAthat achieved many of the same goals. When immigration reform foundered in Congress, Obama unveiled an executive action that expanded DACA. (Actually, he promised to do so before the 2014 midterm elections, then flinched, then issued the rule after the election.)

Once again, Obamas initiatives have hit a rough stretch, though. First, in February, federal district Judge Andrew Hanen ruled against the program in a suit brought by Republican officials in 26 states. In addition, he put an injunction against it, meaning the administration couldnt move forward with it while the challenge was ongoing. The administration appealed Hanens decision to the Fifth Circuit, and it separately made an emergency request to the circuit to remove the injunction. On Tuesday, a panel of judges refused to stay the injunction, and on Wednesday the administration quietly said it wouldnt appeal that decision to the Supreme Court.

A Lonely Life for Immigrants in America's Rust Belt

But something strange has happened: Rather than erupt in anger at the White Houses concession, advocates have mostly lined up behind it. Why is this time different?

Part of it is legal strategy. Part of it is politics. But perhaps the largest part of it is a simple matter of trust: For the first time in a long time, the relationship between the White House and immigration advocates seems to be going well.

Obviously, our experience has been like pounding our heads against the wall for the first six years. Increasingly, advocates were seen as opponents rather than folks they could partner with, said Frank Sharry, the executive director of pro-reform group Americas Voice. But now, Sharry said of Obama, Hes earned more trust.

The low point in the relationship came in September 2014, when Obamahaving promised executive action before the electionchanged his mind, bowing to pressure from Democrats in tough races who worried the move would endanger them. Advocates were livid. (Democrats were still pummeled at the polls in November.)

Maybe the relationship just had to hit rock bottom to recover. Advocates were jubilant when Obama finally moved forward in November, and the legal challenge to the rule offered a chance for the White House to demonstrate good faith once again. When Hanen ruled against the administration, the administration appealed the decision to the circuit court. But it also requested an emergency stay of the injunction, asking the court to let it move forward with the changes while the legal challenge moved on.

If they hadnt gone forward after Hanen imposed the original injunction, I think things would have blown up, Sharry said. It was at a moment when we were like, can we trust these guys? DOJ was hemming and hawing about whether they should try to overturn the stay. The White House said, advocates want action. We felt heard. It was a unified call, and they responded.

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Obama and Immigration Reform - The Atlantic

COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM LET'S GO

In 2013, the Senate passed a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform bill that would have strengthened our communities, our economy, and our country's future. Representatives from both sides of the aisle have voiced their support for comprehensive immigration reform, and Americans across the country havent wavered. And yet, House Speaker John Boehner and House leadership refused to even bring the bill up for a vote.

That's why President Obama is taking action where he can to help fix our broken immigration system, strengthen our economy, and protect our communities and families.

The President's executive actions will give parents of American citizens or legal resident children who have lived in the U.S. for more than five years relief from deportation if they register with the government, undergo background checks, and pay taxes. It will also allow immigration enforcement officials to focus resources on deporting felons, not families.

These actions to help reform our immigration system will strengthen our country, grow our economy by up to $210 billion in ten years, and could shrink the federal deficit by up to $25 billion over the next decade.

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Comprehensive Immigration Reform - Organizing for Action

From Hillary Clintons Nevada speech in favor of immigration reform to Jeb Bushs unwavering support for it, every presidential candidate in both parties is busy staking out a position on immigration.

The trouble is theyre using the same shopworn talking points theyve always used. Rehashing the same arguments in front of a Congress that has repeatedly rejected them isnt going to work. New reform ideas are needed.

Every immigration reform bill since 2002 has failed partly because they were essentially the same. They have all included the same three broad ideas: increase immigration enforcement, legalize some unauthorized immigrants, and liberalize legal immigration.

The first new idea is the merit-based green card category that was pushed by Sen. Marco Rubio in 2013 and promptly forgotten. That category would have issued up to 250,000 new green cards a year, half of them set aside for mid-skilled workers while the rest were for workers who possess skills like English or computer programming.

New ideas are out there. The question is whether Washington will take advantage of them.

Allowing mid-skilled immigrants to even apply for green cards was so revolutionary and appealed to traditional American views of fairness in the immigration system that this reform was overlooked. Its still a fresh idea that American voters, congressmen and senators havent seriously considered.

Another new idea is to reduce the role of the federal government by allowing states to create their own guest worker visa programs if they wish. American states have provided a democratic laboratory to test different policies like welfare reform, gun laws and tax policies with some clear winners emerging. Why not apply that to immigration?

States could design migrant worker visas for any skill level for any occupation, entrepreneurs, investors, or those who want to buy real estate in blighted cities. Congress can then compare the outcomes among different states and choose the best policies based on experience. Or if the state system works even better than predicted, Congress could permanently hand guest workers over to the states.

America wouldnt be stepping into the unknown here. Both Canada and Australia have their own provincial and state-based migration systems. According to a recent Cato Institute policy analysis, those systems are more responsive to local labor market demands than a one-size-fits-all federal program.

But state-based visas arent just a foreign idea. Since 2008, at least nine U.S. states have proposed to manage their own guest worker visa program including every state that borders Mexico. This year both Texas and California are considering bills to ask the federal government for permission to experiment with different pilot programs of their own design. The federal government should allow states to run their own migration systems.

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Take Immigration Reform Past Talking Points | Cato Institute