Immigration Enforcement
Government Secretly Held Asylum-Seeking Children in Hotels
The Trump administration has been detaining immigrant children in hotels along the Texas-Mexico border and in Arizona. Some of the children are just a year old and are held in the hotels for weeks before being expelled from the United States. A group of immigrant children who were held in… Read More
Efforts to End DACA Would Destabilize Communities Across America
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released today a memo on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative that would deny all pending and future initial requests for DACA and reject all pending and future applications for advance parole absent exceptional circumstances. It would also shorten DACA renewals and the accompanying work authorization to one-year, rather than a two-year period. Read More
Trump Deployed a Federal Agency With a History of Excessive Force to Police Racial Justice Protests
The May 25 killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police officers rightly sparked public outrage and protests throughout the United States. In response, the Trump administration deployed federal forces from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—which houses federal immigration enforcement agencies including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—to different… Read More
ICE’s ‘Citizens Academy’ Has No Place in Communities That Welcome Immigrants
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced last week that it was launching a “Citizens Academy” in Chicago. The move justifiably generated everything from confusion to anger and fear from elected officials and community members. The program is already the subject of recently introduced bills to… Read More
The Jail-to-Deportation Pipeline Turns Deadly for Immigrants in the Pandemic
Another man has died in immigration detention from COVID-19. His tragic and avoidable death marks the deadly end to a jail-to-deportation pipeline that disproportionately targets Black and Brown people. On July 13, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a press release announcing that Onoval Perez-Montufa had died from… Read More
ICE Has Been Granted the Same Level of Secrecy as the FBI
In a blow to government transparency, the Trump administration has decided to designate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “security/sensitive agency.” The move further shields ICE from public accountability, allowing them to withhold even more information. According to a leaked government memo, the Trump administration granted ICE’s request to… Read More
Trump Labels Asylum Seekers as National Security Threat in Expanded Asylum Bar
Even as President Trump downplays the threat of COVID-19, the Trump administration is using the pandemic as a pretext to bar more people from asylum in the United States. While the proposal is being tied to the coronavirus right now, this asylum bar could remain in place long after… Read More
Congress Calls to Decrease ICE Detention as COVID-19 Continues to Spread
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security introduced their proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (beginning October 1, 2020) this week. The budget would have significant implications for U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities—current hotspots of the coronavirus pandemic. In a reversal of previous budget requests, this… Read More
Court Orders ICE to End Its Practice of Unlawfully Detaining Immigrant Youth
Immigrant children who arrive in the United States without a parent are placed in shelters or foster care while their guardianship and immigration process play out. But all too often, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) takes them away as soon as they turn 18 and locks them in an… Read More
ICE Unlawfully Detains Immigrant Youth: Federal Court Ruling
A federal court has ruled that the failure of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to consider less restrictive settings before transferring unaccompanied immigrant youth to ICE detention on their 18th birthdays violates U.S. immigration laws. Read More
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No one should face the immigration system alone