Immigration Enforcement
Controversial Practice of Detaining and Interrogating Immigrant Advocates Included Legal Service Providers in El Paso
Newly revealed government documents provide details on the extent of the Trump administration’s retaliation against people who provided legal assistance to asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. The documents link border interrogations of immigration legal service providers in El Paso in 2019 to similar treatment that journalists and immigrant… Read More
Another Trump Barrier Broken as DHS Withdraws Two Proposed Rules for Limiting Access to Legal Immigration
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently withdrew two rules proposed by the Trump administration. On the surface, it seems they have nothing in common: a proposed expansion in collecting biometrics and the proposed end to a program for foreign entrepreneurs to develop new ventures in the United States. But… Read More
It’s Time for Real Alternatives to Immigration Detention
Every year the U.S. government locks up thousands of non-citizens in a prison system few Americans know about—the immigration detention system. Though immigration detention is termed “civil” rather than criminal, in practice it is no different from criminal detention and is rife with abuse and neglect. The pandemic has made… Read More
Biden Moves to End Trump’s War on ‘Sanctuary Cities’
The Biden administration has ended a Trump-era policy of denying so-called sanctuary cities from receiving certain forms of federal funding. The policy had been used in retaliation against local and state governments who did not cooperate fully with federal immigration enforcement. Many courts had already ruled against these funding… Read More
Firsthand Experiences Inside ICE Facilities During the Pandemic Underscore Why Immigration Detention Should be Abolished
This blog is the second in a three-part series examining President Biden’s first 100 days in office from the Immigration Justice Campaign. Many of us will always vividly remember the fear and lack of control that took hold as COVID-19 spread through our communities. While many people and communities took… Read More
The First 100 Days: Biden on Immigration Detention
This blog is the first in a three-part series from the Immigration Justice Campaign. Reflecting on his release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, Thomas,* a man who fled near-death in Cameroon, said: “I will always remember that day, it felt like Christmas day. I was overwhelmed… Read More
Border Patrol’s New Coordinators Are Meant to Help Process Children, But Concerns Linger
A record number of migrant children are arriving to the U.S.-Mexico border alone. In March 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered nearly 19,000 unaccompanied minors—the most to ever arrive in a single month. But for the first time, Border Patrol processing coordinators—not law enforcement agents—will be stationed… Read More
How the Biden Administration Is Responding to Unaccompanied Children, Families, and Adults at the Border
Only days after President Biden took office, some people were already declaring that the border was in a state of crisis. But recently released U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics reveal that the truth is more complicated. The Biden administration is dealing with two very different phenomena at the… Read More
Arizona ICE Detention Center Violated COVID-19 Safety Protocols by Refusing to Provide Masks or Enforce Social Distancing
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers—which often suffer from cramped conditions and poor access to medical care—are highly conducive to the spread of COVID-19. But ICE officials at one detention center in Arizona made the situation exponentially worse by failing to implement social distancing measures, provide face masks,… Read More
Immigration Policies Based on Deterrence Don’t Work
Over the last two months, the Biden administration has been pressured to carry out another crackdown at the border as the number of arriving families and children rise. But officials making these calls must grapple with one simple fact: immigration enforcement through deterrence doesn’t work. If we want to keep… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
