Dean Johnson Comments on Trump Immigration Claim for Washington Post

Dean Kevin R. Johnson commented for the Washington Post on claims by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that the Obama administration has opted not to deport hundreds of thousands of "criminal aliens" because to do so "wouldn't have been politically correct."

In a legal process that has little to do with political correctness, individuals who are taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Custody may be granted some form of relief under the law, while others may be granted asylum for fleeing persecution, Dean Johnson said.  "U.S. authorities may decide not to seek removal of low-level criminal offenders. It is known as prosecutorial discretion. Some minor crimes, for example, might not warrant destroying families."

Kevin R. Johnson is Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.