Immigration at the Border
Collecting DNA From Asylum Seekers at the Border Raises Privacy Concerns
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is collecting DNA from asylum seekers at the border, recent media reports confirm. This is the latest expansion of DNA collection as part of a program initiated under the Trump administration that targets nearly all immigrants in government custody. A growing number of noncitizens… Read More
Biden’s First Budget Is A Missed Opportunity to Overhaul Immigration Enforcement
President Biden released the first budget proposal of his presidency on May 29, a landmark for any new president. A presidential budget generally reflects the goals of the administration and can provide an important roadmap for the future. Unfortunately, despite calls for a serious rethinking of the role of the… Read More
Government Watchdog Finds Hundreds of Parents Separated by Trump Never Given Opportunity to Reunify
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) recently found that the Trump administration deported as many as 348 parents that had been separated from their children without ever giving them an opportunity to reunify. The blistering new report tracks deportations throughout 2017 and 2018 during… Read More
ICE Spread COVID-19 Across the Country, Not Just in Immigration Detention Centers
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mishandled the coronavirus outbreak in detention centers so badly that it not only lead to horrific conditions and deaths among people in its custody, it is also responsible for the spread of COVID-19 in surrounding areas. A recent New York Times… Read More
Biden’s Actions on Immigration Enforcement Have Been Inconsistent Since Taking Office
The Biden administration inherited an immigration enforcement system devoted to detaining and deporting as many people as possible. During the Trump years, every undocumented immigrant in the country became a target of deportation. Even longtime residents who had minor brushes with the criminal justice system were subject to enforcement actions. Read More
It’s Time to End Title 42
One policy first created by the Trump administration is responsible for the greatest restriction on access to our immigration system for asylum seekers than any other. It provides no meaningful opportunity for people caught in the policy to request humanitarian protection. Yet four months into the Biden administration, this policy… Read More
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
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