Skip to Content   Mary Giovagnoli: What ICE's Latest Memo on
Prosecutorial Discretion Means for Future Immigration Cases
Published on Tue, Jun 21, 2011  Last week, Director of
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) John Morton reminded
ICE officials of their duty and obligation to use good judgment
in the prosecution of immigration cases in a new memo. In a
culture where many people still believe that "enforcing the law"
and "removing people" are exactly the same, Morton's new memo is
likely to shake some things up. While Morton's memo doesn't
change the law in any way or end controversial programs like
Secure Communities, it does serve as a much-needed guide for ICE
officials on how, when and why to exercise prosecutorial
discretion in immigration cases.  In the memo, Morton reminds
ICE officers and attorneys that they should never assume that
they are powerless to affect the outcome of a case -- instead,
that authority rests with individual officers and attorneys to
determine whether or not the positive