Refugees and Asylum Seekers
How Coronavirus is Changing US Asylum Policy at the Border
The Trump administration detailed its plans to begin rapidly deporting to Mexico people encountered at or near the southern border—without any due process—as the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the globe. The plans were released in a new order issued by… Read More
CBP Hides Itself from Public View and Lacks Accountability
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has historically conducted immigration enforcement along our borders. In this role, the agency has developed a reputation for overuse and abuse of its authority. Government transparency efforts have been critical in uncovering CBP’s misconduct. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits have revealed, for example,… Read More
DHS Reveals New Details of Secretive Asylum Programs PACR and HARP
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed new information this week about two asylum programs at the U.S.-Mexico border. These programs are under scrutiny because they make it almost impossible for attorneys to speak with or meet their clients in border holding facilities. This leads to rushed life-or-death… Read More
Judge Voids USCIS Asylum Policies Because Ken Cuccinelli Wasn’t Appointed Legally
The Trump administration suffered another blow on Sunday, when a federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully appointed to the role of acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The ruling voids two asylum policies Cuccinelli had signed off on. Read More
Conditions in Border Facilities Deny Asylum Seekers Meaningful Screening Interviews
In U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody, asylum seekers are detained in horribly cold and overcrowded facilities, unable to sleep, without access to food, water, or adequate medical care, and without access to an attorney. Under two new government processes—the Prompt Asylum Claim Review (PACR) and the Humanitarian Asylum… Read More
A Humanitarian Catastrophe at the Border: One Year of the ‘Migrant Protection Protocols’
One year ago today, a confused Honduran man seeking asylum in the United States became the first person to be turned away from the border and sent back to Mexico to await a U.S. court hearing. He would become the first of nearly 60,000 people subjected… Read More
Tent Immigration Courts Are Still Not Fully Open to the Public
Asylum seekers subject to the Migrant Protection Protocols—or the “Remain in Mexico” program—in Laredo and Brownsville, Texas attend their court hearings in tents known as “port courts.” The government announced these secretive courts would finally be opened last week, but the public still does not have full access. For the… Read More
Changes to Work Permit Eligibility Leave Asylum Seekers Without a Job
People who come to the United States in search of protection must be allowed to work during the often-lengthy asylum application process. They need to be able to support themselves and their families. Yet the Trump administration wants to make it harder for asylum seekers to… Read More
What Are the Proposed New Bars to Asylum?
In yet another move to gut asylum protections in the United States, the Trump administration proposed a rule last month that would add severe new restrictions on asylum access. The restrictions would apply to people convicted of—and in some cases, merely accused of—a wide range of… Read More
Republican and Democratic Officials Continue to Accept Refugees, Rejecting Trump’s Executive Order
Update: On January 15, federal Judge Peter Messitte issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the Trump administration from enforcing its executive order giving state and local governments the power to opt out of refugee resettlement. Judge Messitte ruled the executive order was likely unlawful. In his decision, he called… Read More
Make a contribution
Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
