Refugee Status
Why 22 Mothers Are On a Hunger Strike at the Berks Family Detention Facility
In protest of their families’ ongoing and prolonged detention in the Berks County Residential Center, a group of mothers began a hunger strike on Monday, August 8. They penned a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson explaining why: We left our homes in Central America… Read More
Meet the First Ever Olympic Refugee Team
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are approximately 65 million refugees and internally displaced persons worldwide. Among them are world class athletes who dream of competing in the Olympics, but have been displaced from their homes and had their training disrupted. Many are unable to… Read More
Eight of Twelve Families Targeted by ICE Have Been Released
Washington D.C. – After being held in detention for more than a month by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), eight of the families rounded up by ICE at the beginning of January have finally been released from detention while their cases proceed. The CARA… Read More
CARA: 33 Mothers and Children Protected from Immediate Deportation
Washington D.C. – In the last week, 121 mothers and children were brought to the South Texas Residential Family Center in Dilley, Texas, after being rounded up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project reviewed the cases of 13 families, filed appeals for 12, and… Read More
Statement on Administration’s Plans to Round up Central American Families for Deportation
Washington D.C. – Late last night, The Washington Post broke the news that the Obama Administration is considering plans to begin fugitive-operation round-ups of Central American families who remain in the U.S. after an immigration judge has ordered them removed. For the past few years, refugee families and children have… Read More
Five Incarcerated Refugee Families Finally Released After Being Held for Months on End
Washington, DC – Today, Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), the American Immigration Council, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), partners in the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project, responded to Friday’s release of five… Read More
Judge Stands Up for Refugee Families, Castigates Government for Policies That Traumatize Children
Washington, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council (Council) welcomed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee that should signal the end of the mass incarceration of children and mothers seeking asylum in the U.S. “After months of negotiations between the plaintiffs and the… Read More
Release of Refugee Families is Long-Overdue Step
Washington, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council welcome plans announced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the release of some mothers and children detained after seeking refuge at our borders with the following statement: “Today ICE is following through on DHS Secretary… Read More
Immigrants’ Rights Groups to Provide Pro Bono Legal Services to Detained Families in Texas
Washington D.C. – Immigrants’ rights and immigrant legal services groups are announcing the establishment of a family detention project to provide legal services to children and their mothers detained in Karnes City and Dilley, Texas, and to advocate for the end of family detention. The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, the … Read More
Number of Refugees and Internally Displaced Now at an All-Time High
This year, World Refugee Day marks a grim historical milestone: The number of people fleeing their homes to escape war and persecution is now higher than it has ever been since the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) began keeping records in the 1950s. In the 2015… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar up to $75,000
No one should face the immigration system alone
