Homeland Security Chief Jeh Johnson Meets With Immigrant, Anti-Immigration Advocates To Discuss Deportation Policy

Department of Homeland Security head Jeh Johnson held a series of meetings on Wednesday with Dreamers, conservative proponents of a vastly more restrictive immigration system, and sheriffs from around the country as part of an ongoing review of immigration-enforcement policies carried out at the behest of President Obama. United We Dream, an advocacy group for young undocumented immigrants, told the Huffington Post prior to the meeting that seven Dreamer members planned to suggest five actions Obama should take to modify policy, including a stop to deportations and the extension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Johnson also received five conservative groups -- Numbers USA, Progressives for Immigration Reform, the Center for Immigration Studies, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, and the Eagle Forum -- which had requested an audience following reports of earlier meetings with Latino advocates and Congressional Democrats on the issue. Politico reports that the groups urged Johnson to come out publically against growing resistance by state and municipal authorities against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) practice of requesting local police continue to hold potential immigration violators otherwise cleared for release so that agents can arrive on the scene.

After a federal court in Portland ruled last month that an immigrant’s rights had been violated by such holds, sheriffs in several western states began to announce they would no longer honor them, citing fears of lawsuits for violating constitutional rights. Members of the conservative groups told Politico that Johnson had expressed frustration with such resistance. They also said they’d suggested introducing an element of randomness into adjudicating possible deportations, with one member comparing it to random IRS tax audits or speed traps by local cops.