Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Deadly Detention Center Fire Is a Reminder: Both the US and Mexico Are Failing Migrants
On Monday night, 39 migrants died, and another 27 were seriously injured, in a fire in a Mexican detention center in Ciudad Juarez. The migrants—most of them from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Venezuela—were being held for deportation by the Mexican immigration enforcement agency INM, after a sweep to pick… Read More

US and Canada Expand Safe Third Country Agreement in Another Move to Limit Asylum
The United States and Canada announced the expansion of their Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) last week during President Biden’s visit to Canada. Under U.S. law, a so-called “Safe Third Country” agreement allows the United States to deport asylum seekers to a third country without allowing them to apply… Read More

Ukrainians Get a Temporary Reprieve Instead of a Permanent Fix
The Biden administration announced on Monday that it would grant another year of temporary legal status for some Ukrainians who fled the Russian invasion for the United States before April 25, when the Biden administration rolled out the Uniting for Ukraine program. The extension fixes an obvious injustice between… Read More

CBP One Is Riddled With Flaws That Make the App Inaccessible to Many Asylum Seekers
In January and February of this year, the Biden administration announced new policies to process individuals seeking asylum at ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border. A key component of these new policies is the increased use of the CBP One app. CBP One allows certain people to submit… Read More

Biden Wants to End Exploitation of Migrant Children, But His New Asylum Policy Could Make It Worse
The New York Times has published a horrifying investigation into the exploitation of children who migrated to the United States as unaccompanied minors. The investigation by Hannah Dreier finds these children pressed into labor in every state in the U.S., in violation of labor law and often in horrifying conditions. Read More

How To Seek Asylum (Under Biden’s Proposed Asylum Transit Ban), In 12 Not-At-All-Easy Steps
The Biden administration recently announced a proposed regulation that would all but eliminate access to asylum for the overwhelming number of asylum seekers who come to the United States via the southwest border. But the regulation doesn’t put it that way. The regulation, announced on February 21, would create a… Read More

At Dueling Border Hearings, New House Majority Pushes Partisan Narrative Over Facts
In January, Republicans took control of the House of Representatives. After a lengthy fight over the Speaker of the House resolved, the new majority wasted no time in holding multiple hearings on the current situation at the southern border. Unfortunately, the hearings, held in the Judiciary and the Oversight… Read More

Family Reunification Task Force Reports Nearly 1,000 Children Remain Separated
Nearly 1,000 children separated from their families at the southern border by the Trump administration remain separated to this day, according to a Biden administration fact sheet released on February 2. The fact sheet marks two years since President Biden’s creation of the Interagency Task Force… Read More

Still Awaiting Court Dates, Migrants Suffer the Effects of ‘Band-Aid’ Fixes to Our Broken Immigration System
When asylum seekers arrive in the United States, so long as they are not rapidly deported or expelled, the government is generally supposed to issue them a “Notice to Appear” (NTA). This charging document formally begins the immigration court process. But a new report from NBC News indicates that,… Read More

Title 42’s End May Be in Sight. Good Riddance.
More than two and a half years after it began, the “public health” policy known as Title 42 may finally be nearing an end. On Monday, a coalition of GOP-led states submitted a last-ditch request to the Supreme Court asking the Justices to… Read More
Make a contribution
Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
