Washington, D.C. (December 30, 2021) – Center for Immigration Studies’ analysts come together for this year’s final episode of Parsing Immigration Policy to discuss the top immigration stories of 2021 and to predict the biggest immigration stories of 2022. Mark Krikorian, the Center’s executive director and host of the podcast, leads the conversation focusing on three key immigration issues: the border, interior enforcement, and regulatory rule-making.

Andrew R. Arthur, the Center’s fellow in law and policy, discusses the surge in illegal immigration at the southern border. Apprehensions at the southwest border have been the highest in history this fiscal year, and the current surge shows no sign of slowing. Those apprehended are also no longer predominantly single adult males from Mexico; this fiscal year’s apprehension number of unaccompanied minor children reached the highest number in history, and the majority of migrants entering were not citizens of Mexico. Arthur argues that the Biden administration is attempting to effectively legalize illegal immigration.

Jessica M. Vaughan, the Center’s director of policy studies, focuses on the Biden administration’s gutting of interior immigration enforcement, as illustrated by a 90 percent drop in deportations compared to 2019, including a two-thirds drop in the deportation of those convicted of serious crimes. The administration has narrowed the types of cases that ICE officers can act on and limited places where they can actually make arrests, creating a “sanctuary country.” Vaughan says, “The Biden administration… would like people to believe that it is no longer illegal to be here illegally.”

Robert Law, director of regulatory affairs, speaks to the Biden administration’s actions on regulations. They have been quick to end Trump-era policies, often by using a side-door to end final regulations by refusing to defend them in court. Judges have been able to nullify procedural rulemaking requirements, short-circuiting the entire regulatory process, and allowing policies that would have never been enacted by Congress. Law highlights action on asylum, DACA, and the crowd-sourcing of policy goals and decisions.

What can the public expect in 2022? Tune in and hear the Center’s predictions.