Detention
Increase in Indefinite ICE Detention Without Foreseeable Removal Dates During COVID-19 Pandemic
Every year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deports tens of thousands of noncitizens who have final orders of removal. These removals require the cooperation of foreign governments in receiving deportation flights, providing travel documents or other verification of citizenship for the… Read More
Trump Administration Wants to Deny Work Permits to Some People Released From ICE Detention
The Trump administration announced on November 17 that it plans to start denying work permits to people who have been ordered deported, but who have been released from immigration custody because they cannot—or should not—be deported. A stated purpose of this new rule, published by the Department of Homeland… Read More
Council Files FOIA Lawsuit to Expose Immigration Enforcement in Federal Prisons
The American Immigration Council filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on behalf of the University of California (UCLA) School of Law Professor Ingrid Eagly seeking to uncover the scope and operation of immigration… Read More
Council Files Amicus Brief on Opportunity for Detained Migrants with Prior Removal Orders Seeking Humanitarian Protection to be Released on Bond
The amicus brief in Pham v. Guzman Chavez urges the Supreme Court to find that the pre-final order detention statute applies to detained noncitizens with prior removal orders who have meritorious claims for a form of humanitarian protection known as withholding of removal. Read More
American Immigration Council Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Ensure Bond Hearings for Certain Immigrants Seeking Protection in the United States
The American Immigration Council, other immigrant rights organizations, and legal service providers filed a friend-of-the-court (or amicus) brief with the U.S. Supreme Court. The brief urges the justices to find that immigrants who seek humanitarian protection from removal should have access to bond hearings—instead of being subjected to mandatory detention. Read More
Making the Case for Ending Immigration Detention
Immigration detention was dangerous before President Trump took office four years ago. His policies—coupled with a deadly global pandemic—have only made the situation more dire. Immigration detention has expanded in the past decade, driven largely by large private prison companies such as CoreCivic and GEO Group. These companies’ sole motivation… Read More
Hundreds of Cubans Who Cannot Be Deported Face Prolonged Detention
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage inside ICE detention centers, hundreds of Cubans who cannot be deported, continue to be detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They have exhausted their options in their legal cases but remain detained months after a judge issued a final order of… Read More
‘We Had a Shortage Last Night of Beds for Babies.’ Congressional Report Reveals Cruelty, Chaos of Family Separation
Congress released the “first complete narrative” on the Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy on October 30. This hallmark of President Trump’s immigration legacy led to the forcible separation of thousands of children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018. The House Judiciary Committee report provides an in-depth… Read More
ICE Deported Cameroonian Immigrants Despite Protests and Congressional Intervention
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported a flight of approximately 100 African asylum seekers to their home countries, where they could face immediate arrest and death. Many of the Cameroonian and Congolese immigrants had protested their detention and spoken out about abuses in U.S. custody. ICE went forward with… Read More
Indigenous People Face Persistent Language Access Challenges in Immigration Detention
The effort to permanently replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day signifies a growing movement to honor the resilience and history of indigenous communities. The day presents an opportunity to learn more about the native communities who were here long before the violent arrival of Christopher Columbus. It is also… Read More
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