Immigration at the Border
Family Separation Has Caused Life-Long Trauma Years Later
Four years ago, immigration lawyers and advocates began to see a disturbing practice emerge: the U.S. government began to forcibly separate children—some very young—from their parents at the border. Now, years later, some families are still separated. For those put back together, the scars of trauma are life-long and… Read More
Groups Call for Transparency Regarding Abuse and Mistreatment of Black Immigrants in Detention
By Tsion Gurmu, Legal Manager and Staff Attorney at the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and Emily Creighton, Legal Director of Transparency The public watched in horror this September as U.S. Border Patrol agents on horses chased down Haitians and other Black migrants who were coming to the… Read More
$1/Day Labor Program for Immigrants in Detention Ruled Unlawful in Washington State
In a landmark court decision, Geo Group—one of the largest private prison companies that own and/or manage dozens of immigrant detention centers across the United States—was found to have violated Washington state’s minimum wage laws. The company has been ordered to pay over $23 million, $17.3 million of which will… Read More
Recission of MPP Is a Step Toward Ending a Humanitarian Catastrophe and Restoring Dignity to the Asylum Process
The Biden administration announced that DHS will issue a new memo to formally terminate the Migrant Protection Protocols. It is an important step towards ensuring that the MPP program never returns. Read More
ICE Makes It Impossible for Immigrants in Detention to Contact Lawyers
By Emma Winger, Staff Attorney, American Immigration Council, and Eunice Cho, Sr. Staff Attorney, ACLU National Prison Project “Ben G.” is a 35-year-old veterinarian from Nicaragua who fled to the United States after he was beaten and tortured by police. When he… Read More
DHS Issues New Memo Restricting Enforcement Activities in ‘Protected Areas’
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued “Guidelines for Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas”—a new memo that provides a framework for when and where DHS law enforcement entities can conduct enforcement activities in sensitive locations. The memo applies to enforcement activities of both U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement… Read More
The Border Isn’t Open. Just 1 in 3 People at the Border Last Year Could Access the Asylum Process.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published new data last week showing that over the past 12 months, the Border Patrol has carried out nearly 1.7 million apprehensions at the southern border—a record. Opponents of President Biden quickly jumped on the news to renew claims that the border is… Read More
Ninth Circuit Lifts Injunction Protecting People in ICE Detention from COVID-19
In a split decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on October 20 lifted a lower court’s protections for medically vulnerable people locked up in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The protections included requiring that ICE adhere to public health and safety protocols… Read More
ICE Fails to Provide Basic Oversight of Solitary Confinement and Unlawfully Destroys Records
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been known to improperly subject individuals in its custody to solitary confinement and has destroyed solitary confinement records in violation of a records retention schedule and an agreement to preserve records in a lawsuit. On October 13, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security… Read More
Biden Administration Announces Plan for Reinstating the Migrant Protection Protocols
Two months after a federal court ordered the Biden administration to reinstate the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols (also known as “Remain in Mexico”), the administration announced that it will reinstate the program in mid-November if Mexico agrees. In response, some advocates staged a virtual walkout of… Read More
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