ICE blindsided by order ending immigrant protection

Confusion sets in over which agency is in charge after termination of medical care program

SARAH BETANCOURT Aug 28, 2019

TWO ARMS OF the Department of Homeland Security are at odds over who is taking charge of a plan that would deport individuals and children with serious medical conditions.

Last week, at least 20 immigrant households receiving medical care in Massachusetts, and others nationwide, received letters from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services saying they must leave the country within 33 days, and that their protected status under a program called medical deferred action had been rescinded. The agency did not provide a reason for the policy change, and said enforcement would be handled by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

But a senior official at US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, says that the agency had “no idea” that Citizenship and Immigration Services would give them responsibility for dealing with the deportation of individuals previously protected under medical deferred action.

The families, some with children with cancer, cystic fibrosis, HIV and other illnesses, are here under a designation first granted under the George W. Bush administration. It allowed federal immigration authorities to offer temporary protection to those with serious medical problems who require treatment in the US that is often unavailable in their home countries.

“This is a [Citizenship and Immigration Services] issue and they need to own it,” said the official at ICE. ...

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