Immigration at the Border
When Deportation Hits Home and the Soccer Field
Diego and Lizandro Claros were deported to El Salvador this week, a country they fled as youngsters and a nation plagued by gang violence and instability. Since arriving in the United States, the Claros brothers both graduated high school and spent their free time working and playing soccer. 19-year-old… Read More
Border Patrol Abuses Rarely Result in Any Serious Disciplinary Action
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the nation’s largest federal law-enforcement agency, has a long history of violating constitutional and other rights of both immigrants and U.S. citizens. For example, agents of the Border Patrol (a component agency of CBP) are known for regularly overstepping the boundaries of their… Read More
House Commits 1.6 Billion Taxpayer Dollars to Elusive Border Wall
The House of Representatives passed a spending bill last week which included $1.6 billion for expansion of a southern border wall. The bill, which passed largely along party lines, will now move to the Senate where Democrats have emphatically said they oppose any border wall funding. In May, the… Read More
Massachusetts’ Highest Court Declares Immigration Detainers Are Unenforceable
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a unanimous decision on Monday holding that Massachusetts court officers may not arrest and detain immigrants based solely on a detainer. Although other courts have struck down detainers on the grounds that they violate the Constitution, the Supreme Judicial Court concluded that… Read More
Trump Administration Targeting Immigrant Children Is a New Low
The recent trend of broadly labeling unaccompanied immigrant children as criminals and gang members is just the latest in a series of attacks on some of the most vulnerable individuals in the U.S. immigration system. In reality, most immigrant children from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala are fleeing the very… Read More
Data Shows Prosecutorial Discretion Grinds to a Halt in Immigration Courts
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced last month that it now has hired 326 immigration judges, 53 more judges than July 2016, yet during that time the immigration court backlog has grown. According to new data released by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) the reason for… Read More
Six Months of Immigration Enforcement Under the New Administration
Now that we have passed the six-month mile marker of the new administration, the wheels of immigration enforcement have had a chance to settle into their new rhythms. Enforcement targets have expanded, enforcement tools have been sharpened, and enforcement locations have been widened, triggering pervasive fear of deportation and separation… Read More
House Committee Funds Administration’s Super-Sized Immigration Enforcement
In the first week of his presidency, through executive orders, the president laid out harsh proposals for immigration enforcement and border security. However, much of what the president proposes to do requires generous amounts of taxpayer dollars allocated by Congress. In May, the president submitted a proposed budget which provides… Read More
Leaks Reveal Administration’s Plans to Expand Expedited Removal
The Trump administration has threatened to expand its use of a fast-track removal process, which could lead to the deportation of thousands of immigrants with valid claims for humanitarian relief or who have family members in the United States. The Washington Post recently reported obtaining a 13-page draft memorandum from… Read More
Private Land Is Being Seized in Texas to Build the Border Wall
The House of Representatives unveiled their Fiscal Year 2018 budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week, which allocates $1.6 billion to begin construction of a border wall along the entire Southern border with Mexico. However, being provided the funds is not enough to complete the project. To… Read More
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