Prosecutorial Discretion for Deportations Handled Unevenly

The New York Times reported that the Department of Homeland Security is applying new policies encouraging consideration of prosecutorial discretion unevenly throughout the United States. In various cases, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has granted relief to immigrants facing deportation even without advocacy. Many of these cases involve immigrants who would have qualified for relief under the DREAM Act pending before Congress. In other circumstances, ICE has resisted granting prosecutorial discretion in the face of guidelines encouraging leniency.