Immigration at the Border
Will the Immigration Court Backlog Finally Go Down?
Although our nation’s immigration courts currently have record backlogs, there may be some help on the way. That was the message from Juan Osuna, Director of the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR)—a division within the Department of Justice (DOJ) department which houses the immigration courts—at an oversight hearing… Read More
Due Process, Enforcement Reform and Family Unification Top Sanders’ Platform
Senator Bernie Sanders, a contender for the Democratic nomination for President, recently released his updated and vastly expanded immigration platform. His initial plan was short on detail; however, this newly-released document takes a deeper dive and presents a set of solutions to some of the worst problems plaguing our outdated immigration system. Read More
Transfers of Detained Families Traumatizes Mothers and Children and Interferes with Access to Lawyers
The government recently began transferring families who have been held in Texas to the Berks County Family Residential Facility in Pennsylvania. Not only have these sudden transfers traumatized many mothers and children, but they are interfering with the families’ access to their lawyers and are jeopardizing their right to a… Read More
Unrepresented, Unaccompanied Children Ordered Deported After Just One Hearing
Last summer, the U.S. government decided to prioritize the deportations of unaccompanied children and of families with children in response to increased numbers of children fleeing violence in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Children’s cases were conducted on an expedited schedule, or “rocket docket,” that left children with little… Read More
Accountability Continues to Elude the Border Patrol
A startling number of media accounts continue to demonstrate that the Border Patrol is an agency which is unable to control many of its agents and shows little willingness to provide accountability for its actions. Its agents frequently use force—sometimes deadly force—against people who do not represent a serious threat. Read More
Report: CBP Must Implement Body-Worn Cameras
Since the incidents in Ferguson, Missouri in August 2014, the use of body-worn cameras has been steadily on the rise. It was a major focus of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, which was established to “provide meaningful solutions to help law enforcement agencies and communities strengthen… Read More
The Untold Story of ICE’s Criminal Alien Program
In a report released, the American Immigration Council shines a light on the primary channel through which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducts immigration enforcement in the interior of the United States: the Criminal Alien Program (CAP). The report offers a unique, detailed examination of the population removed through… Read More
Temporary Restraining Order Against Texas Family Detention Centers Issued
On Friday, a Texas State Court Judge granted a temporary restraining order in Grassroots Leadership v. hs (TFPS) prohibiting TFPS from issuing licenses to family detention facilities in Dilley and Karnes City, Texas, under the emergency regulations the Department issued in September. Both Texas and Pennsylvania’s family detention facilities… Read More
DHS Secretary Johnson Discusses Border Security, Executive Action, Refugees and PEP
On Thursday, Secretary Jeh Johnson of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) addressed the 12th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference, covering a wide-range of topics, from border security to the new Priority Enforcement Program (PEP) to executive action and refugees. Secretary Johnson began his remarks calling attention to… Read More
Can State Agencies License The Detention of Immigrant Families?
In the discussion around family detention, little attention has been paid to the fact that states play an important role in licensing any facilities where children are cared for. That role has come under heightened scrutiny since federal judge Dolly M. Gee ruled in August that, under the long-standing Flores v. Reno settlement agreement, children detained with their parents cannot be held in facilities that are not licensed to care for children. Since the decision, state authorities in Texas and Pennsylvania, the two states with detention centers for immigrant families, have taken action—but have moved in opposite directions. Read More
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