Reports & Testimonies

  1. Share with Facebook 
  2. Share with Twitter 
  3. Share with LinkedIn 
  4. Share with mail 

Recommendations Database

GAO’s recommendations database contains report recommendations that still need to be addressed. GAO’s priority recommendations are those that we believe warrant priority attention. We sent letters to the heads of key departments and agencies, urging them to continue focusing on these issues. Below you can search only priority recommendations, or search all recommendations.

Our recommendations help congressional and agency leaders prepare for appropriations and oversight activities, as well as help improve government operations. Moreover, when implemented, some of our priority recommendations can save large amounts of money, help Congress make decisions on major issues, and substantially improve or transform major government programs or agencies, among other benefits.

As of October 25, 2020, there are 4812 open recommendations, of which 473 are priority recommendations. Recommendations remain open until they are designated as Closed-implemented or Closed-not implemented.

Browse or Search Open Recommendations

Search


Have a Question about a Recommendation?

  • For questions about a specific recommendation, contact the person or office listed with the recommendation.
  • For general information about recommendations, contact GAO's Audit Policy and Quality Assurance office at (202) 512-6100 or apqa@gao.gov.

« Back to Results List Sort by   

Results:

Subject Term: Criminality

1 publication with a total of 1 open recommendation
Download these results in CSV format or XLSX format.
Immigration Enforcement: Arrests, Detentions, and Removals, and Issues Related to Selected Populations
GAO-20-36, Dec 5, 2019
Director: Gretta L. Goodwin
Phone: (202) 512-8777

1 open recommendations
Display
Recommendation: The Director of ICE should implement a process to collect and maintain data in a readily available format on detained parents or legal guardians of U.S. citizen and legal permanent resident minors to ensure that information on this population is entered into ICE's data system as required by policy. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Status: Open

Comments: In November 2019, ICE DHS did not concur with this recommendation, stating that ICE did not have any requirement or need to aggregate data on detained parents or legal guardians of U.S. citizens and legal permanent resident minors and doing so would not better inform ICE's decision-making processes. In a May 2020 update, ICE noted that ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers continue to collect and maintain information in EARM and EAGLE regarding whether an alien is a parent, or legal guardian, of a U.S.-born citizen or legal permanent resident minor for actions specific to individual cases; and that this case-specific information is readily available to approved EARM users, including Child Welfare Coordinators. However, as we noted in our report, these data are not readily available because ICE's data on family relationships, including parents or legal guardians of U.S. citizens and legal permanent resident minors, can only be accessed by manually reviewing each separate case file in EARM. Further, ICE's policy states that in pursing the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws against parents of minors, ICE personnel should remain cognizant of the impact enforcement actions may have on U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident minors. Without making these data readily available, ICE is not able to account for the overall impact of its enforcement actions on U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident minors whose parents or legal guardians have been detained. In its May 2020 update, ICE also noted that ERO provided Congress with the report, "Deportation of Parents of U.S.-Born Children," incorporating the first half of calendar year 2019, in April 2020. However, as we noted in our report, to generate this semi-annual required report to Congress on removals of parents of U.S.-born citizen children, ICE must review this information manually. Also, there is no similar requirement to report in an aggregate way on parents of U.S. citizen or legal permanent residents who are detained. We continue to believe that collecting and maintaining information in a readily available format on detained parents or legal guardians of U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident minors could help ensure that ICE personnel can identify, evaluate, and share information on this population, as required by ICE policy.