FAS

Targeting Criminal Aliens, and More from CRS

11.17.11 | 2 min read | Text by Steven Aftergood

U.S. government programs to identify and deport criminal aliens were detailed in an exhaustive report (pdf) from the Congressional Research Service.

The Department of Homeland Security has four programs that deal with criminal aliens, which are discussed in the report.

“While consensus exists on the overarching goal to identify and remove serious criminal aliens, these programs have generated controversy,” CRS said, on grounds that “the programs may have adverse impacts on police-community relations, may result in racial profiling, and may result in the detention of people who have not been convicted of criminal offenses and may not be subject to removal.”

CRS estimated that the number of noncitizens incarcerated in federal and state prisons and local jails – “a subset of all criminal aliens” – was 173,000 in 2009.

See “Interior Immigration Enforcement: Programs Targeting Criminal Aliens,” October 21, 2011.

The New York Times reported today that DHS “will begin a review on Thursday of all deportation cases before the immigration courts… with the goal of speeding deportations of convicted criminals and halting those of many illegal immigrants with no criminal record.”  See “U.S. to Review Cases Seeking Deportations” by Julia Preston, New York Times, November 17.

Some other new Congressional Research Service reports obtained by Secrecy News are linked below (all pdf).  Pursuant to congressional policy, CRS has been prohibited from making them directly available to the public.

“Military Retirement Reform: A Review of Proposals and Options for Congress,” November 17, 2011

“FY2012 Appropriations Overview: Status of Discretionary Appropriations Legislation,” November 10, 2011

“U.S. Natural Gas Exports: New Opportunities, Uncertain Outcomes,” November 4, 2011

“Legislative Branch Agency Appointments: History, Processes, and Recent Proposals,” November 1, 2011

“Economic Growth and the Unemployment Rate,” October 28, 2011

“Presidential Policy Directive 8 and the National Preparedness System: Background and Issues for Congress,”
October 21, 2011

publications
See all publications
Government Capacity
Blog
A Research, Learning, and Opportunity Agenda for Rebuilding Trust in Government

At a recent workshop, we explored the nature of trust in specific government functions, the risk and implications of breaking trust in those systems, and how we’d known we were getting close to specific trust breaking points.

11.10.25 | 6 min read
read more
Education & Workforce
day one project
Policy Memo
Analytical Literacy First: A Prerequisite for AI, Data, and Digital Fluency

tudents in the 21st century need strong critical thinking skills like reasoning, questioning, and problem-solving, before they can meaningfully engage with more advanced domains like digital, data, or AI literacy.

11.07.25 | 13 min read
read more
Emerging Technology
day one project
Policy Memo
Behavioral Economics Megastudies are Necessary to Make America Healthy

When the U.S. government funds the establishment of a platform for testing hundreds of behavioral interventions on a large diverse population, we will start to better understand the interventions that will have an efficient and lasting impact on health behavior.

11.06.25 | 10 min read
read more
Global Risk
Press release
FAS Receives $500k Grant On Emerging Disruptive Technologies and Mobile Nuclear Launch Systems

The grant comes from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY) to investigate, alongside The British American Security Information Council (BASIC), the associated impact on nuclear stability.

11.06.25 | 3 min read
read more