Signaling the implementation of a kinder, gentler, more lenient deportation policy, the director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE, formerly INS) has ordered the agency's attorneys to halt the deportation proceedings of aliens who may now be eligible for a green card.
Those who may be affected by the ruling include those who are married or related to a U.S. citizen or a legal resident who has filed a petition on their behalf. Anyone seeking refuge under the ruling must never have been convicted of a crime.
Specifically, ICE agents will dismiss deportation proceedings against those now eligible under the new criteria: `Where there is an underlying application or petition and ICE determines . . . that a non-detained individual appears eligible for relief from removal, [its attorneys] should promptly move to dismiss proceedings.''
