The Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") will review pending
immigration court removal and deportation proceedings to determine which
cases should be dismissed because they qualify for discretionary
relief. Cases involving immigrants who qualify for Dream Act benefits,
have close family relations, are elderly, or who served in the military
may be dismissed at the request of DHS. DHS will seek to more quickly
adjudicate cases where the immigrant has been convicted of a serious
criminal offense, are threats to national security or who have prior
orders of deportation. DHS intends to begin by reviewing newly filed
immigration cases and then expanding the review to longer pending
cases. DHS intends to provide their attorney with more authority to
seek dismissal of appropriate cases. DHS is quoted as stating: "We are
empowering the attorneys [DHS Trial Attorneys] nationally to make them
more like federal prosecutors who decide which cases to bring."
