Immigration Reform
The last time Congress updated our legal immigration system was November 1990, one month before the World Wide Web went online. We are long overdue for comprehensive immigration reform.
Through immigration reform, we can provide noncitizens with a system of justice that provides due process of law and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. Because it can be a contentious and wide-ranging issue, we aim to provide advocates with facts and work to move bipartisan solutions forward. Read more about topics like legalization for undocumented immigrants and border security below.
Understanding Where We’re at and What Comes Next in DACA/DAPA Case
Last night, a divided panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the federal government’s appeal of the preliminary injunction that has halted implementation of President Obama’s 2014 deferred action initiatives. These initiatives—namely, the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and an expansion… Read More
Congress Passes a Budget, But a Government Shutdown is Still Possible
Last week Congress passed and on Monday the President signed a two year bipartisan budget agreement that also raised the debt ceiling through March 2017. The two year budget sets federal spending through the 2016 and 2017 fiscal years (FY), and lifts spending caps by providing an additional… 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
Why Congress Should Eliminate the Term “Alien” from Federal Law
Last week, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) introduced legislation to remove derogatory language describing noncitizens as “aliens” from federal law. The bill, known as the Correcting Hurtful and Alienating Names in Government Expression (CHANGE) Act, eliminates the use of this terminology in U.S. code and federal agencies’ materials and documentation. Read More
Complexity of Central American Migration Explored at Senate Hearing
This week, the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held yet another hearing to examine the causes and implications of the high rate of migration from Central America, mainly from the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI) opened the hearing by… Read More
Senate to Vote on “Sanctuary Cities” Legislation
The Senate will vote Tuesday on whether to begin debate on Senator David Vitter’s (R-LA) “Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act” (S. 2146). The bill is an enforcement-only approach to immigration and fails to address our outdated immigration laws and the need to enact comprehensive reforms. S. 2146 attempts… Read More
Will the Guidance on Extreme Hardship Waivers Allow More Individuals to Become Permanent Residents?
This week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued draft guidance on what constitutes “extreme hardship” for purposes of an immigration waiver. The much anticipated guidance is a component of the Administration’s executive actions on immigration announced in November 2014. Many had hoped that the guidance, and its potential… Read More
Fifty Years Later, the Immigration Act That Transformed America
Fifty years ago this past Saturday, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) into law. This Act is best known for having dismantled an earlier immigrant admission system that was based on national origin quotas. Instead, the INA established a new immigration system that prioritized… Read More
Congress Narrowly Avoids Shutdown, Reauthorizes Key Immigration Programs
Just hours before the federal government was set to shut down on Wednesday, Congress passed a continuing resolution, a stop-gap measure which continues funding the government at current levels and keeps the government open. The continuing resolution passed easily by large majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate… Read More
Visa Bulletin “Do-Over” Undercuts Visa Modernization
Earlier this month, the immigration agencies took a positive step forward in implementing the executive action promise to reform the visa system when they issued the October Visa Bulletin, informing the public about who would be eligible to apply for lawful permanent resident status in October. But now the… Read More
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