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Austin Kocher, a research associate professor at Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, told Law360 that the guidance is significant in light of the new enforcement priorities unveiled by the DHS in September.
The Biden administration prioritized enforcement efforts for individuals who pose a risk to national security or public safety and those who cross the border illegally in updated enforcement guidelines issued in September.
"It's so important because it really encourages, maybe even goes so far as to really instruct, judges to actually pursue administrative closure and make sure that the Department of Homeland Security is putting their priorities now in the practice," Kocher said.
Kocher added that the memo sends a strong message to a system driven by institutional culture.
"That sets a really powerful tone … from the top all the way down to say that the administration on both sides, both on the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, that they're all walking together in lockstep," Kocher said. "They're on the same page and they're working together to keep families together that don't need to be deported."
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