issued by john morton. now we are in a situation where the only operative guidance we have are deportation priorities and hidden within them it basically affords the administration and i.c.e. wide discretionary authority to decide who they want to deport. and unfortunately that appears to be happening in larger numbers. and is it not just one or two or three cases you re seeing this occur in? well it is hard to say, but from our network of immigration lawyers, it appears the number of people facing deportation or have already been deported in the last week is growing exponentially. obviously it is fresh, we don t have exact numbers. matthew, i wonder what the white house should do to stop this from happening, they re saying they don t want it to happening, and you re telling me it is happening. yeah.
meantime understand that ice and border security mechanisms in place, they re instructed to focus on criminals and people who have just crossed the border. if you have been here a long time and qualify generally, then during this period even with legal uncertainty they should be in a good place. but according to our next guest that s not exactly the case. joining me immigration attorney matthew culkin author of deportation and removal blog. thanks for being with me this morning. thanks for having me. what exactly is happening on ground level as i.c.e. and clients are facing deportation? we are hearing reports from all over the united states that individuals who are daca eligible are being taken in custody and being deported as we speak. unfortunately it appears as though the deferred action mechanisms are back firing on
the immigrant community. let s talk about that the president was clear with me wednesday on that town hall. he said there will be consequences for i.c.e. and border patrol people who do not listen to the directives that he and his administration have put forth, very clear directives. is this not getting to the people where the rubber meets the road matthew? well we are not talking rogue agents here. it is fairly clear now that i.c.e. is no longer considering daco eligibility with regards to favorable exercise of prosecutorial discretion. they acknowledged it on their 1-800 number that that is not a qualifying factor. the memorandum issued by jeh johnson in november 2014 is on hold now, and that memorandum superseded the previous guidance