Selective non-enforcement

Selective non-enforcement is the refusal to enforce duly enacted law against favored individuals, industries, or politically aligned actors. Concrete forms include the issuance of internal directives suspending enforcement of specific statutes, the failure to investigate clear violations that would implicate allies, and the use of prosecutorial discretion as a de facto repeal of laws the executive disfavors but Congress has not changed. Prioritizing enforcement resources is legitimate; selective non-enforcement is what happens when the priority is set by political alignment rather than by the kinds of legitimate factors — public safety, evidentiary strength, resource constraints — that prosecutorial guidelines recognize.