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Bruno DBritto. Photo/ Kate Brindley

Bruno DBritto left his home in Rio de Janeiro as a teenager, arriving in Nashua to join his father, who had left Brazil for the United States years earlier after his parents divorced. Coming to the U.S. was a chance to seek better opportunities, he said, and to leave a neighborhood beset by violence.

I saw many people being shot. Like a month before I came (to the United States), this kid got shot, killed pretty much in front of my school as we were leaving. When you are living with that, you kind of become numb to it, he said. It actually took me a couple of years after I came to realize that wasnt the norm.

DBritto said his father was able to bring him to the United States under the family reunification program, the leading immigration pathway for foreign nationals (citizens of a foreign country), according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Other pathways: employment-based immigration, refugee resettlement, asylum, and the diversity lottery.

As with much of immigration policy, family reunification also called family-based immigration can be a complicated process involving multiple eligibility categories and qualifications. Now an immigration attorney, DBritto helps others hoping to bring family members to the United States.

DBritto is also founder and member of the N.H. Brazilian Council, which provides a variety of legal and social services to the Brazilian population and other immigrants in New Hampshire, including promoting language access.Bruno DBritto. Photo/Kate Brindley

Recently, DBritto said, he helped clear the path for a father to make his way from Brazil to join his wife and child in New Hampshire. Of the 60 immigration-related cases he is working on, he said, most address family reunification, involving such countries as Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Thailand, and Colombia.

U.S. citizens have certain advantages when it comes to petitioning on behalf of immediate family, a category that includes spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21, and parents of U.S. citizens if the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age or older. There are unlimited visas for this group and reunification generally takes two to three years, according to Lina Shayo, an immigration lawyer with Mesa Law Immigration Services in Manchester.

Other family members, such as siblings, fall outside the immediate category and can involve a longer wait. A U.S. citizen petitioning for a sibling can take 15 years, for example. A U.S. citizen petitioning for reunification with a child who is over 21 can take eight years. There are a limited number of visas available and a lot more people apply than the numbers that are available, so it creates a backlog, she said.

Those approved for entry into the U.S. can apply to become lawful permanent residents (LPRs), non-citizens authorized to live permanently in the United States, also referred to as Green Card holders. They are allowed to work and own property here, receive financial assistance at public colleges and universities, and join the Armed Forces. After meeting certain eligibility. requirements, they may also apply to become naturalized U.S. citizens.

Lawful permanent residents can also petition for family, including spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21. The number of visas is limited for this group, however, and these family-based immigration efforts can take decades, Shayo said. Additional limits apply to oversubscribed countries including India, China, and Mexico that have exceeded their allocation of visas.

In certain circumstances, U.S. employers can hire foreign workers. Its a bit of a complicated process, said Shayo. They have to prove that they cant find an American worker who is willing and able to do the job, and that theyre going to pay the foreign worker what they call the prevailing wage, which is set by the Department of Labor, she said.

The process is designed to protect American workers and American jobs, she said. So they have to jump through a lot of hoops to do it, but if its successful then youre able to bring foreign talent to the United States. As with family-based immigration, there is a big backlog of cases.

Employment-based immigrants fall under various categories, including priority workers, or people with extraordinary abilities in various fields, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational managers and executives. Other groups, in order of preference, include people with advanced degrees and exceptional ability, and both skilled and unskilled workers.

In some cases, individuals themselves petition to gain entry to the U.S. This is when the foreign national or the non-U.S. citizen petitions on their own behalf to the U.S. government to get a Green Card to live and work in the United States, Shayo said.

If, for instance, someone plans to come to the U.S. to make an investment a minimum of about $750,000 and open a business, they can apply for entry, she said. You have to have a lot of money and you have to promise the U.S. government that youre going to come and open a business and this business is going to hire American workers, she said.

In some cases, people who are outstanding in their field or considered high-performing can petition for themselves recipients of major internationally recognized awards, for instance. They can petition the U.S. government based on their outstanding ability and, if they are successful, theyll get a Green Card and theyll come and live and work in the United States, or stay here permanently, she said.

Under the asylum program, individuals who come to the United States petition to remain for various urgent reasons. They must be in the country or at a point of entry to do so. An example of a self-petition is an asylum, which is when someone says my government or a group that my government cannot control is persecuting me because of my race, or my religion, my national identity, membership in a particular social group, (or political opinion), Shayo said. Its not, for example, conditions in my country are not very good, and I have to come because there are no jobs.

In addition, Bruno DBritto said, You have to show that you were unable to relocate to another region of your country, and even if you do, you would suffer the same effect.Fred Nshimiyimana. Photo/Kate Brindley

Unlike asylees, refugees gain approval for entry from a third country before arriving in the United States. Like asylees, they must demonstrate they have experienced persecution or have reason to fear persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

Concord resident Fred Nshimiyimana and his family lived in a refugee camp in Rwanda for many years. His parents arrived there in about 1998 after fleeing war in Congo, he said. Nshimiyimana was born in the camp. We didnt have much food, we didnt have clean water. We didnt have electricity, and education was tough, he said. We survived that life, he said.

When he turned 12 or 13, he said, his family began a series of interviews with the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees, the beginning of a process that would take more than a year and lead to resettlement in the United States. We went for many interviews (with UNHCR). They asked a lot of questions on why we wanted to go to the United States, why my parents left Congo, he said.

The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration within the U.S. State Dept. oversees this admissions program. After conducting initial screening, UNHCR refers qualifying individuals to a State Department Resettlement Support Center (RSC). These RSCs conduct further interviews and submit information for background checks to various U.S. national security agencies. Domestic resettlement agencies meet to review the biographies of refugees selected by the RSCs to determine where they should be resettled in the U.S.

Nshimiyimana and his mother and two brothers were resettled to Concord in 2015, he said. It was a difficult period, in part because they had left his father behind. He was working outside the camp, he said, so that we could have a better life. Leaving the camp to work on behalf of his wife and sons complicated his fathers resettlement case, causing him to lose his refugee status, Nshimiyimana said. His mother has been working with an immigration lawyer for several years to try to bring his father, who now lives in Kenya, to the U.S.

Now entering his junior year at UNH, Nshimiyimana recently started a one-year internship at the American Friends Service Committee of New Hampshire and works as lead organizer for Change for Concord, a group of young adults working to improve the quality of life for young people in the Concord community. He is particularly interested in helping immigrant students. I will try my best to work with the schools and try to make middle school and high school a better place for the immigrants, so that once they leave they have a better future and they can go to college and have a career, he said.

This summer, Nshimiyimana passed the test for U.S. citizenship. He was asked to come back later that same day for the naturalization ceremony, when he took the oath of allegiance and received his Certificate of Naturalization, proof that he is now a U.S. citizen.

Its a relief, he said. Its a big relief. I was not a citizen of Rwanda and I didnt have citizenship of Congo, he said. I didnt have a nationality. Now that Im American and I belong to a country, that feels amazing.Fred Nshimiyimana. Photo/Kate Brindley Photography

At the beginning of every fiscal year, in October, people can enter the diversity lottery, a program limited to about 50,000 people from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

Its a true lottery, Lina Shayo said. You get picked and if you get picked you have to be vetted. They want to make sure you graduated from high school, that youre not a criminal. Then you get an interview at the U.S. Embassy where you live and then, if you pass the interview and you pass all that vetting, you get an immigrant visa and you come to the United States and get a Green Card.

During the pandemic, interviews have been difficult to get, she said. And since the law requires a Green Card to be issued the same year a person is picked by lottery, a years delay can mean losing out.

This is the third year where people are getting picked and theyre submitting all of their applications and then they never get called for an interview, Shayo said. And those visas cannot be issued, which means those Green Cards will never be issued and theyre just wasted.

As Shayo has found, there are some common misconceptions, both among those who are new to navigating the immigration system and the general public those who observe it from afar, perhaps hearing about it fleetingly on the evening news.

A recent client, for instance, inquired about bringing a friend to the U.S. from a foreign country, Shayo said. She asked What can I do to sponsor this person to come here? Shayo informed her that her friend does not qualify under any of the immigration categories. She was very shocked and she said I really cant believe that as a U.S. citizen I cant do anything to help my friend.

Shayo encouraged her client to push for immigration reform as a voter. A U.S. citizen should be able to bring a person here, as long as that person passes the vetting process, Shayo said. We can create common sense laws to allow people to come into the United States. Other countries are able to do it; we can do it.

Shayo also said she believes average Americans may not not realize how steep the path can be to get into this country, and how few immigration pathways there are.

The stars have to align so perfectly for people to be able to immigrate in the way our law is written, she said. You have to have a family member; you have to have an employer; or you have to have advanced degrees; or you have to have a lot of money; or you have to have this horrible story of persecution, and you have to flee persecution and cross all these borders to get here. The stars have to align so perfectly, that most people are just locked out of it.

Theres also the category of humanitarian parolee, the status of many Afghans and Ukrainians who needed admission for urgent humanitarian reasons. Under the program, the person isnt on the path to citizenship and doesnt have permanent legal status, but is here temporarily.

Comprehensive immigration reform, meanwhile, remains a contentious issue.President Joe Bidens immigration bill, which includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, has stalled in Congress and reportedly has virtually no chance of gaining enough GOP votes to pass.

When people so casually say get in line, for most people there is no line. There simply is no line to get into, said Maggie Fogarty, N.H. program director for the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-founded organization that works on peace and justice issues, including immigration-related efforts, such as helping to build a network of host homes for asylum seekers.

Yet despite limited opportunities, migration remains a fundamental human behavior, Fogarty said.

Every story of migration is about human beings either trying to live, trying to be safe, trying to make sure that their children can live or be safe, or trying to live more fully, Fogarty said. It isnt always fleeing war and poverty and other kinds of violence. Its simply the universal human longing to seek and have adventures and learn and explore new places.

These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.

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For prospective U.S. immigrants, the stars have to align perfectly - Manchester Ink Link

The TAKE with Rick Klein

The story of the midterms has yet to be written. But with barely a month to go before Election Day, a striking array of narratives are competing for attention -- any or all of which could wind up being of outsized consequence.

There could be an October surprise in the form of a foreign-policy crisis with a cornered Russian President Vladimir Putin challenging the world community and threatening further disruptions as a bad play on Ukraine turns worse.

A jolt could also come domestically -- with another round of inflation data looming and Republicans getting traction with messaging around crime and immigration, both of which could easily begin resonating more.

And the Supreme Court might not be done making headlines. A new term starts Monday with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on the bench, but with an ascendant conservative majority in a stronger place than ever in recent history as cases impacting affirmative action, gay rights, environmental protections and state legislative powers come up for argument.

Surprises might come from familiar sources around election denialism. The coming weeks will bring a final Jan. 6 committee hearing in the House, debates -- or the lack thereof -- highlighting candidates who advance false claims about the last election and a picked-up pace of campaigning as well as legal scrutiny featuring former President Donald Trump.

Amid swings in optimism and pessimism inside both major parties, it's worth remembering that sometimes October surprises aren't all that shocking. Sometimes the surprising things were there all along and just needed a nudge inside the news cycle.

Omar Gomez joins a protest for immigration reform outside Summit of the Americas at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, June 8, 2022.

Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images, FILE

The RUNDOWN with Averi Harper

The death toll continues to rise in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian and recovery could take years, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

President Joe Biden has approved federal funding to cover the disaster response in the immediate aftermath of the storm that pummeled western Florida last week, but funding for the long-haul recovery necessary will be subject to congressional approval.

In 2013, Sen. Marco Rubio (and then-congressman DeSantis) voted against recovery funds for Hurricane Sandy. Then, Rubio justified his "no" vote by blaming what he described as spending unrelated to the storm included in the legislation.

Now, faced with a daunting recovery effort in his own state, the Florida Republican was challenged by "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl on if he'd vote against aid if the bill included add-ons.

"What we're going to ask for Florida is what we supported for every other state in the country that's been affected by natural disasters, and that's emergency relief designed to be sent immediately to help the people affected now," Rubio said.

That commitment comes after Rubio and Sen. Rick Scott sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee asking for support in Ian's aftermath.

President Biden is slated to travel to Puerto Rico Monday and Florida on Wednesday to survey the destruction and recovery from the recent storms -- Ian and Hurricane Fiona -- in person. Rubio told Karl on "This Week" that he's been pleased so far with the federal response: "We're grateful for that."

Senator Marco Rubio is introduced to a large crowd at Melbourne Auditorium in Brevard Fla., Sept. 17, 2022.

Craig Bailey/Florida Today via USA Today Network

The TIP with Lalee Ibssa

In a blow to Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams less than 40 days until the midterm races, a federal judge last week upheld the state's election laws in "what is believed to have been the longest voting rights bench trial in the history of the Northern District of Georgia," Judge Steve Jones wrote.

The case -- filed by Abrams' Fair Fight Action shortly after her 2018 election loss to now-Gov. Brian Kemp -- targeted Georgia's policies on absentee ballot cancellations, management of voter rolls and "exact match" policies, which suspend a person's voting status if there are inconsistencies between their voter registration form and their identification.

"Although Georgia's election system is not perfect, the challenged practices violate neither the constitution nor the [Voting Rights Act]," Jones wrote on Friday in his 288-page ruling. "The court finds that the burden on voters is relatively low."

He added that the plaintiffs "have not provided direct evidence of a voter who was unable to vote, experienced longer wait times, was confused about voter registration status."

In a statement, Abrams said the decision was "not the preferred outcome" but nonetheless represented a "hard-won victory" for Black and brown voters.

"This case and the public engagement on these issues have had measurable results: the reinstatement of over 22,000 ballots, substantive changes to voting laws, and a platform for voters of color to demand greater equity in our state," she said.

Out on the campaign trail, Abrams continues to defend her criticism of Georgia's voting laws, often saying that Gov. Kemp created barriers for people to vote when he was serving as secretary of state which, she has claimed despite setbacks like the ruling last week, played a role in her 2018 election loss.

Meanwhile, Kemp took a victory lap following Friday's decision.

"Judge Jones' ruling exposes this legal effort for what it really is: a tool wielded by a politician hoping to wrongfully weaponize the legal system to further her own political goals ... In Georgia, it is easy to vote and hard to cheat - and I'm going to continue working to keep it that way," he said in a statement.

Stacey Abrams attends Jay "Jeezy" Jenkins' 2nd Annual Sno Ball Gala in Atlanta, Sept. 29, 2022.

Derek White/Getty Images

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" Podcast. "Start Here" begins Monday morning with ABC's Ginger Zee on Florida's recovery after Hurricane Ian's destruction. Then ABC's Devin Dwyer breaks down what to expect from the new Supreme Court term. And, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) expert and neuroscientist Chris Nowinski explains his opinion on the NFL's concussion policy after Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained an injury. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

Download the ABC News app and select "The Note" as an item of interest to receive the day's sharpest political analysis.

The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the day's top stories in politics. Please check back Tuesday for the latest.

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October jolts threaten to become midterm surprises: The Note - ABC News

(The Center Square) Illinois senior U.S. senator acknowledges theres a problem at the southern U.S. border and says there are no negotiations to slow the flow with the three main countries that migrants are fleeing.

About 125 Illinois National Guard soldiers from an East St. Louis transportation company are preparing to head to the Southwest, a guard spokesman said. The Illinois National Guard has been in rotation with other states as part of the years old federal mission dating back to former President George W. Bush.

Illinois Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin acknowledged there is a problem with border security, in particular with foreign nationals from three countries not controlling their migrant flow.

Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, Durbin said Wednesday in Springfield. We dont have a solid relationship with the governments of those countries and so there is no negotiation to try and slow down the flow.

While Illinois National Guard troops continue their support of the federal Southwest Border Security mission, they also continue assisting a separate state mission to receive migrants in Chicago.

Durbin said those here legally seeking asylum have been vetted.

I wanna make it clear, Im not saying skirt around the rules, Durbin said. We got to basically have protections to make sure that we never knowingly allow a dangerous person to come into this country.

About 2,000 migrants have been moved from Texas to Chicago. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has also bused thousands of migrants to New York City and Washington D.C. Hes said the self-proclaimed sanctuary cities are getting a fraction of the migrants Texas is getting. The issue has highlighted President Joe Bidens handling of border security.

Durbin criticized Texas, Florida and Arizona for busing migrants elsewhere.

We need to rewrite our immigration laws in America, Durbin said. They are broken. We need to have a system that makes sense. This system does not.

Members of Congress have talked about immigration reform for decades. Durbin said politics gets in the way.

We need an orderly process at the border, Durbin said. We need to make sure that we never knowingly allow a dangerous person to enter this country. We have to acknowledge the fact that we cannot accept everyone who wants to come into the United States at this time. We have to have a process that brings in the workforce that we need for the future of this country.

Republicans blame the increase of migrant flows on the Biden administrations reversal of some border control policies put in place by former President Donald Trump.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows an increase of total southwest land border encounters jumped from around 458,000 in 2020 to 1.7 million in 2021, the first year of Biden's term. Year-to-date for 2022, there have been more than 2.1 million encounters reported. The vast majority are single adults.

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Durbin concedes problems at southern border, but says there's 'no negotiation' to slow the flow - The Center Square

NORWOOD, OhioA Norwood man will soon be deported to Mexico for the 10th time since 2012.

Court records show Luis Tapia, 30, pleaded guilty in July to reentry after deportation, a felony. He has been detained in the Butler County jail since his arrest in September 2019.

Tapia pleaded guilty to the same charge in 2017, received a nine-month prison sentence and was deported, according to court records.

"It's not only that he keeps coming back, it's what he does when he's here," Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Healey told United States District Judge Timothy Black in court on Monday.

Tapia was convicted of domestic violence, theft, obstructing official business and failure to comply, according to Hamilton County court records.

Norwood Police Department

Healey said Tapia led police on high-speed vehicle pursuits in Hamilton County in 2010 and 2017.

The prosecutor asked Black to sentence Tapia to six to seven years in prison.

"He's a danger to this community," Healey said.

But Tapia told the judge that he was a changed man who wanted to be a better father. He promised to not return to the U.S., where he had lived most of his life during the past 25 years.

"I'm just speaking to you from my heart," Tapia said. "I want to be there for my kids."

Black sentenced Tapia to "time served" for the three years he's spent in jail.

"I'm giving you a break," Black told Tapia during his sentencing hearing on Monday. "It's on your shoulders."

After the hearing, Black allowed Tapia's children to enter the courtroom and say goodbye to him.

Tapia was deported three times in 2012, twice in 2014, three times in 2015 and once in 2018, according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) affidavit.

"This is an offense that hasn't been taken seriously," former immigration judge Matt O'Brien said.

O'Brien, who also served as Assistant Chief Counsel with ICE, is the Director of Investigations at the conservative Immigration Reform LawInstitute.

"If this individual hadn't been caught, what else would he have engaged in?" O'Brien said. "I think experience would indicate that he's not going to keep his word and he's going to wind up back here. And given the fact that he's an individual with an established criminal history, he's not likely to decide he wants to go to optometry school and open an honest business."

Tapia's drug charges dismissed after illegal search

In addition to being charged with illegal reentry after deportation, a grand jury also indicted him for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine.

The charges resulted from evidence found in a duffel bag on the roof of the Norwood home where federal agents arrested Tapia.

The duffel bag contained "482 grams of cocaine and 496 grams of fentanyl," Healey wrote in the prosecution's sentencing memorandum. "Fingerprint analysis on a bag containing fentanyl positively matched Tapia's fingerprints."

Norwood Police Department

But the drug charges were dismissed in July after Black ruled the critical evidence was inadmissible because it was discovered during an illegal search.

Black told Tapia he would have faced up to life in prison if he'd been convicted of the drug charges.

Court records show about an hour after agents raided the Norwood house in 2019 and arrested Tapia, a Norwood police officer responded to a 911 call reporting that a bag had been thrown on the roof during the incident.

Officer Ryan Harrison's body camera video shows he walked into the backyard and saw the duffel bag on the roof. Then, Harrison followed one of the residents inside the house.

The officer's body camera video shows the resident retrieved the bag and handed it to Harrison who took it outside.

One of the residents, a woman who said she was the mother of Tapia's three children, said the bag was "his," although she didn't identify him by name and Harrison didn't ask any of the residents to identify him by name, according to Black's court order.

Harrison's body camera video shows he placed the duffel bag on a step outside the house and searched it.

He found baggies containing what he believed to be drugs.

"This is a lot of stinking drugs, OK?" Harrison told the residents.

Harrison said he was taking the duffel bag to the officers who had arrested Tapia.

"Nobody knew none of that was here," the woman told Harrison. "We're kind of like innocent bystanders and I don't want anything to happen to my family."

Body cam: Police seize drugs from Norwood home where man who re-entered US after deportation lived

No one else was charged in connection to the duffel bag.

In January 2020, three months after Tapia's arrest, his defense attorney Zenaida Lockard filed a motion to suppress the drug evidence.

She also argued that Tapia's cell phone should not be admissible because agents retrieved it after learning suspected drugs had been found in the duffel bag.

"The search of the red duffel bag occurred without a warrant and was invalid," wrote Lockard. "The seizure of the phone (and ultimately its contents) were a product of the illegal search of the bag."

The prosecution argued that Harrison's search was "reasonable."

"Officer Harrisons training and experience alerted him to the fact that the bag likely contained contraband of some kind, and that it was likely dangerous," wrote Healey in a response to the motion to suppress.

In his 47-page order, Black wrote that Harrison "knowingly" entered the property "without consent," then "takes a duffel bag and seizes it without permission."

Black wrote that Harrison also searched the duffel bag "without authorization."

"The Court finds the search was objectively unreasonable and the deficiencies were sufficiently reckless, if not "deliberate," to require deterrence and warrant suppression," Black wrote.

On Tuesday, Norwood Police Chief William Kramer told the I-Team he had reviewed Harrison's body camera video.

In a text message in response to the I-Team's questions, the chief wrote that he had "no issues with the way the officer handled things. There was nothing reckless or deliberate" about the search.

On Tuesday, ICE agents took custody of Tapia again, for the final leg of deportation for the 10th time.

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Norwood resident will be deported to Mexico for 10th time in 10 years - WCPO 9 Cincinnati

Rep. Michael Cloud is announcing new legislation Tuesday that would require ICE to improve cooperation with state and local police departments, pushing back on the Biden administrations embrace of immigration sanctuaries.

The Texas Republicans bill would push U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to approve so-called 287(g) agreements with any local or state agency that requests it. Mr. Clouds bill would also prod the homeland security secretary to promote the program, reversing the Biden administrations more skeptical approach.

Empowering state and local law enforcement to work with ICE to detain and deport criminal illegal immigrants is common sense, Mr. Cloud said. The Biden administrations carelessness about enforcing our immigration laws continues to benefit criminals while harming law-abiding Americans.

The 287(g) program allows local law enforcement agencies to serve as immigration officers in identifying and beginning deportation of illegal immigrants found in their jurisdictions.

ICE has called the program a force multiplier, allowing more eyeballs to scour prison and jail records for criminals whose immigration histories make them deportable.

The Biden administration hasnt inked a single new agreement in its 20 months in office and has lost seven agencies from the program.

Some of those agencies were ousted by the Biden administration, while others withdrew, including some that did so in protest against the Biden teams handling of things.

Arrests of serious criminals under 287(g) have dropped.

In 2020, the last full year under President Donald Trump, the program flagged 920 immigrants convicted of assault, 104 convicted of sex offenses and 37 convicted of homicide.

In 2021, which was mostly under President Biden, 287(g) agencies flagged just 394 immigrants convicted of assault, 74 convicted of sex offenses and 21 convicted of homicide.

ICE also has stopped updating a list of the programs successes.

The last arrest touted is from Jan. 27, 2021, just a week after Mr. Bidens inauguration. That was for a Mexican illegal immigrant whod been flagged in Georgia after being arrested for violating child pornography and forgery laws.

Mr. Clouds bill seeks to reinvigorate the program.

He would require the Department of Homeland Security to approve any new application to join 287(g) unless the secretary had a compelling reason. And any rejections must be reported to Congress in advance.

Kicking an agency out of the program would require 180 days notice.

My bill enables the proven-effective 287(g) program to be implemented widely to allow state and local law enforcement more control in keeping their communities safe, the congressman said.

His legislation comes amid a battle at the local level over the amount of cooperation authorities should have with federal immigration efforts.

The Trump years saw an explosion in the number of sanctuary cities jurisdictions that limit or outright ban cooperation.

Immigrant rights groups say ending 287(g) programs is a critical element of sanctuary policies.

The American Civil Liberties Union says it empowers racist local cops who use nitpicky infractions to flag and start the deportation of illegal immigrants.

The group, in a report earlier this year, blasted the Biden administration for not shutting 287(g) down altogether.

Even though the sheriffs involved in this program have engaged in well-documented abuses, the Biden administration continues to partner with and empower them, the ACLU said.

Mr. Clouds bill has the backing of NumbersUSA and the Federation for American Immigration Reform, two groups that back stricter immigration enforcement.

RJ Hauman, head of government relations at FAIR, called the legislation a bold step to protect 287(g).

These common-sense measures will make ICE think twice before pursuing more ideologically driven 287(g) terminations, he said.

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GOP bill would bolster ICE partnerships with local cops - Washington Times