Immigration at the Border

Immigration at the Border

DHS Issues New Memo Restricting Enforcement Activities in 'Protected Areas'

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 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

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

Council and Partners Call on ICE and USCIS to Eliminate Delays for Detained Asylum Seekers

Council and Partners Call on ICE and USCIS to Eliminate Delays for Detained Asylum Seekers

The Council and partners urged ICE and USCIS in a letter to ensure timely credible and reasonable fear interviews at U.S. immigration detention centers. Read More

Council and Partners Comment on Changes to Streamlined Asylum Removal Proceedings

Council and Partners Comment on Changes to Streamlined Asylum Removal Proceedings

The Council, AILA, and the Immigration Justice Campaign commented on the proposed creation of “Dedicated Docket” in immigration court to complete the claims of asylum-seeking families within 300 days. Read More

ICE Fails to Provide Basic Oversight of Solitary Confinement and Unlawfully Destroys Records

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

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

The Reimplementation of MPP is Betrayal of President Biden’s Campaign Promises

The Reimplementation of MPP is Betrayal of President Biden’s Campaign Promises

The Biden administration announced today that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security plans to revive and reimplement the Migrant Protection Protocols by mid-November. The Council believes that plans to restart the program is a betrayal of the president’s campaign promises and a sign that this administration is failing to reenvision border management and the way that we treat asylum seekers. Read More

Citing Factual and Legal Flaws, Groups Urge DHS to Acknowledge Systematic Barriers in Second Memo Terminating MPP

Citing Factual and Legal Flaws, Groups Urge DHS to Acknowledge Systematic Barriers in Second Memo Terminating MPP

The American Immigration Council and 29+ organizations urged DHS—in a letter offering factual and legal recommendations on how to end the Migrant Protection Protocols—to fully and forcefully acknowledge the humanitarian and legal catastrophe caused by MPP. Read More

Council and Partners Offer Guidance to DHS on Terminating the Migrant Protection Protocols

Council and Partners Offer Guidance to DHS on Terminating the Migrant Protection Protocols

The Council and 30 other organizations sent a letter to DHS offering an assessment of the factual and legal bases for terminating the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program. Read More

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