PRESS RELEASE: Jason P. Houser Joins The 22nd Annual Immigration Law & Policy Conference Panel on “A New Era: Immigration Enforcement Above All Else”
Washington, D.C. — On October 9, 2025, Jason P. Houser, former Chief of Staff at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Managing Partner at Red Cedar Partners LLC, participated in a panel discussion titled “A New Era: Immigration Enforcement Above All Else” at the 22nd Annual Immigration Law & Policy Conference, hosted by the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.
The panel, moderated by Muzaffar Chishti, Senior Fellow at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), brought together national experts and practitioners to assess the sweeping changes and implications of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement strategy. Additional panelists included Tanya Broder, Senior Counsel for Health and Economic Justice Policy at the National Immigration Law Center; Harold Medina, Chief of Police for Albuquerque, NM and President of the Major Cities Chiefs Association; and Rebecca Santana, Homeland Security Reporter for The Associated Press.
Panelists discussed the administration’s unprecedented, whole-of-government campaign to advance a mass deportation agenda—characterized by historic levels of federal spending, redeployment of civilian and military manpower, and intensified coordination across federal, state, and local agencies.
Among the recent developments highlighted:
Sweeping enforcement operations by DHS, DOJ, and State Department personnel, including intensified vetting of both current and prospective legal immigrants.
Passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill,” allocating a record $170 billion to immigration enforcement and expanding local-federal cooperation through 287(g) and similar agreements.
Unprecedented data-mining of IRS, Social Security, Medicaid, and other databases to identify removable noncitizens.
The first deployment of the National Guard over a governor’s objection since the Jim Crow era, and an expanded role for the military in immigration enforcement.
Creation of a climate of fear through mass messaging, harsh detention conditions in facilities such as “Alligator Alcatraz,” and efforts to restrict access to safety-net services for immigrants—including some lawfully present residents and their U.S.-born family members.
As the administration continues to expand the reach of immigration enforcement, the panel examined which measures are likely to have lasting policy impact and what they reveal about broader trends in government engagement with immigrant communities.
For more information about the conference, visit the 22nd Immigration Law & Policy Conference website here.