American Immigration Council Publishes 14-Point Reform Blueprint to Replace Mass Deportation — Calls for Independent ICE Oversight, Medical Standards, and Restored Prosecutorial Discretion

The American Immigration Council published 'Restoring Credibility and Humanity: A New Framework for Immigration Enforcement' on May 12, 2026 — a 14-point policy blueprint calling for replacing mass deportation with a tiered enforcement system focused on genuine public safety priorities, proportionate civil consequences, and robust government accountability. The report argues the current enforcement approach is 'fundamentally disconnected from public safety' and is optimized for maximum arrest and removal numbers rather than community safety outcomes. Key recommendations include: restoring prosecutorial discretion guidelines (similar to Obama-era Morton memos) to focus removal resources on individuals with serious criminal convictions; creating proportionate civil consequences for immigration violations short of removal; mandating independent oversight of ICE detention; restoring and expanding alternatives to detention programs; ending the use of local law enforcement as immigration deputies under 287(g) agreements; reinstating the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO) — shuttered on May 5, 2026 — as an independent watchdog; and establishing minimum statutory medical care standards in detention, a gap that advocates attribute to the 30+ FY2026 custody deaths. The report was published one week before Senate Judiciary and Homeland Security committees are scheduled to begin markups of the $71.7 billion ICE and CBP reconciliation package, which contains no independent oversight provisions, no use-of-force standards, and no minimum medical care requirements.