Immigration at the Border
A Visit to Berks Family Detention Center Makes Clear Why They Lost their License
Advocates, community members, and attorneys gathered outside the Berks County Family Residential Center in Leesport, Pennsylvania on Monday to protest the continued operation of the center. The center was open for business as usual, with approximately 81 parents and children currently detained, despite the fact that the center’s license… Read More
Texas Child Protection Agency Moves Forward in Licensing Family Detention Centers
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has issued a rule allowing for the two family detention facilities in Texas to apply for licenses to detain immigrant children and their mothers. This move may have the effect of further entrenching the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s… Read More
Women Begin Pilgrimage Ahead of Pope Francis’ Visit to U.S.-Mexico Border
In anticipation of Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.-Mexico border this week, a band of women will begin a day-long pilgrimage from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas. They hope to bring attention to the inhumane and unjust immigration enforcement practices taking place every day in the United States. Read More
Does Pushing Undocumented Immigrants out of a State Help or Hurt the Local Economy?
As a recent Wall Street Journal article describes, Moody’s Analytics has concluded that the mass departures of unauthorized immigrants from Arizona “reduced competition for low-skilled jobs” and “was a boon for some native-born construction and agricultural workers who got jobs or raises.” However they also report it shaved roughly… Read More
Eight Families Swept up in Immigration Raids Released, While 30 Other Mothers Issue Plea for Freedom
Two mothers from Honduras and six from El Salvador, along with their children, were finally released from family detention centers in the past several days. These families were among those swept up in immigration raids in early January after the Obama Administration claimed their legal avenues had been exhausted. Read More
What President Obama Proposed on Immigration in His Final Budget
President Obama unveiled his proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 which begins on October 1, 2016. While this is the President’s final budget and is largely seen as a political document, it does set the baseline for the funding of federal programs and new initiatives executive agencies would… Read More
Former Mexican President Says Country Not Paying for a Stupid, Useless Wall
For the past several months, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has taken a harsh stance on immigration, stating more than once that he would finish the wall between the U.S. and Mexico and ensure that Mexico pays for it. For the first time, according to NBC News, a… Read More
Florida House Punishes Sanctuary Cities, Bill Authorizing Military Force Against Refugees Passes Committee
The Florida House of Representatives passed a sweeping “anti-sanctuary city” bill this week that would penalize Florida counties who do not aggressively target undocumented immigrants or who fail to honor every federal request to detain immigrants, regardless of the requests’ constitutionality. A House committee also passed a bill that targets… Read More
Government Losing its License to Operate Family Detention Center in Pennsylvania
On January 27, 2016, Pennsylvania state officials informed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that it would not renew and would revoke the operating license for the Berks County Residential Facility, the immigration detention center in Leesport, Pennsylvania, which jails mothers and children, often for extended periods of time. Read More
Mothers Targeted in Immigration Raids and Still Detained Pen Letter to President Obama
Seven mothers that have been held for four weeks in a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas penned a letter to President Obama asking him to release them and their children while they work through the immigration appeals process. These women and their kids were among those picked up and… Read More
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