Proportionality Lost? The Rise of Enforcement-Based Equity in the Deportation System and Its Limitations

Abstract

This article briefly explains and critiques the legal framework that has made enforcement discretion the primary means of injecting proportionality and fairness into the modern deportation system. The article provides an overview of shifting approaches to this enforcement discretion under the Obama and Trump administrations, and describes some of the key Supreme Court jurisprudence interpreting this framework.

Keywords: Mellouli, Moncrieffe, Carachuri-Rosendo, Deportation, DHS, ICE, Prosecutorial Discretion, Padilla