Though enforcement data reflecting the court rulings is not yet available, in the short term, the agency could see an increase in so-called “collateral” arrests, or instances in which an agent encounters other immigrants as part of an unrelated operation and decides to arrest them.
“Individuals could feel emboldened to make an on-the-spot decision if they are making a public safety arrest, and then they encounter others,” said Julie Myers Wood, who led ICE during the George W. Bush administration.
Carlos Guevara, who served as counselor for the DHS’ office of the secretary during the Obama administration, said he would be watching for “potential inconsistent outcomes depending on jurisdictions.”
“There are many law enforcement officers that do great, important things for the country,” said Guevara, now immigration policy director at UnidosUS. “But there are also some that benefit from having operational guidance and direction coming down, giving them some parameters of how to operate.”
Limited resources
Most former officials said not to expect an immediate sea change at the agency, which they stressed has always had to use prosecutorial discretion when working within its limited resources. ICE still has to work within the confines of the directives and funding provided by Congress, which gave the agency $4.18 billion for its enforcement and removals unit in fiscal 2022.