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Could the president-elect actually deport millions of people? Legally, yes. Logistically and politically, the answer is unclear. Right now, according to the Transaction Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), immigration courts throughout the United States have approximately 520,000 active cases in “removal” proceedings, the official name for deportation. The average removal proceeding takes 571 days to process. But that number is misleading. In practice, cases tend to move much more quickly if the immigrant does not contest removal and agrees to leave.

I once read an article that indicated well over ninety percent of immigration lawyers are Democrats. It was unsurprising. When the rhetoric of the two party nominees for President are placed side by side, this choice is understandable. Indeed, this election has painted the Democrats as the party for immigration and the Republicans as the party against immigration. But immigration should not be a partisan issue. Immigration law unites a wide swath of interests across party lines.

“If he wins, I’m moving to Canada.” I take this quip as both the joke and the warning it is intended to be. But the quip highlights something else. Picking up and moving to another country is an option for individuals with edcuation, connections, and resources. To that list, I will add citizenship in a developed nation. Not everyone enjoys all of thse things, and this fact highlights something that is easy to overlook: the intersection of immigration and privilege.

In a disappointing decision, the Ninth Circuit recently ruled that it did not have the authority to consider whether minors in immigration court have a right to a government-funded attorney. (Story here.) Unlike criminal courts, immigration courts have no system like public defenders. And while the public defender system has many problems, at least there is a system in place. Not so for thousands of immigrants who cannot afford to hire private attorneys and instead face the immigration court on their own.

Customs and Border Protection recently announced an intention to begin collecting social media information about individuals who enter the US under the visa waiver program. (Source Article.) That program allows citizens of trusted countries to enter the US without a visa, merely by registering online a little in advance. The program greatly facilitates international travel with some of the US’s most trusted allies like the UK, Japan, Australia, Germany, etc. The new rule would ask individuals to provide their social media alias when they register online.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recetnly announced that it will phase out the use of private prisons within the federal prison system. This is a great move, but it’s bittersweet. While DOJ is in charge of federal prisons generally, it is not in charge of immigration detention. Instead, immigration detention falls under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). And DHS shows no intention of phasing out its use of private prisons.