Immigration at the Border
Who Will Pay for Donald Trump’s Border Wall?
President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to build a wall along the U.S-Mexico border took a step forward last week as Congressional Republicans discussed ways to get funding for the structure through the budget process. Republican leadership believes that current law already allows them to construct additional barriers along the… Read More
Five Things to Look for on Immigration in the 115th Congress
When President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in later this month, for the first time in a decade, the Republican Party will have control of the House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, and the Presidency. In theory, this control allows the Congress to pass and help implement many of the incoming… Read More
Lessons to Be Found in DHS’ 2016 Immigration Enforcement Numbers
As the Obama Administration comes to an end and its legacy on immigration is solidified, one of the defining characteristics of the President’s eight years in office will be how he enforced immigration laws. One of the strongest indicators of that will be how many individuals he actually removed and… Read More
Local Policies That Protect Immigrants, Outlined
Since the election, states and localities have begun to think creatively about how to push back against President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to undermine current enforcement priorities and increase deportations. His party’s efforts to deny federal funding to so-called “sanctuary cities” has mayors across the country proudly declaring themselves… Read More
FOIA Lawsuit Seeking Disclosure of the CBP Officer’s Reference Tool
The Council and its partners filed suit after CBP failed to respond to a 2013 FOIA After the case was filed, CBP disclosed only a handful of documents—primarily, indices of two ORT chapters without any substantive information—and then moved for summary judgment, claiming that it was not required to search for or produce any additional documents. Read More
Council Statement on the End of NSEERS
This registry, known as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), was shown to be ineffective and had not been used for years. Read More
Homeland Security Agency Dismantles Ineffective, Discriminatory Muslim Registry
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially ended a Bush-Era registry created after 9/11 to track men from predominantly Muslim countries. The registry known as the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) was shown to be ineffective and had not been used for years, but the basic structure remained. NSEERS will be dismantled through a published regulation in the Federal Register this week called a final rule. Read More
The Ongoing Mishandling of Migrants’ Possessions by CBP and ICE
Each year, tens of thousands of individuals are deported from the United States to Mexico without their personal belongings—including their identifications, money, and cell phones, among other possessions. Both U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have a serious and longstanding problem with handling the… Read More
Lawsuit Seeks Transparency in CBP Admission Procedures
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), represented by the American Immigration Council and Foley & Lardner LLP, filed a lawsuit to compel U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and to request release of the CBP Officer's Reference Tool (ORT). Read More
Deported with No Possessions
Too often, some or all of a detainee’s belongings are lost, destroyed, or stolen by the immigration-enforcement agents entrusted with their care. Read More
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