Reform
Biden Administration Revokes Trump’s Health Insurance Visa Ban
President Biden revoked a proclamation issued by former President Trump in 2019 that required nearly all prospective immigrants to demonstrate that they would be covered by private health insurance or were wealthy enough not to need it. Those needing health insurance would have to be covered within 30 days… Read More
Problems at USCIS Persist, Despite Biden’s Progress on Immigration in His First 100 Days
When President Biden took office, he inherited a legal immigration system that was teetering on the brink of collapse. Delays within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have reached historic levels and some work permit applications are taking so long to process that thousands are losing their jobs. Read More
Sinema and Cornyn Propose Changes to Asylum Processing at the Border
The current situation at the U.S.-Mexico border has once again exposed the flaws of our country’s asylum system. On April 22, Senators Kyrsten Sinema and John Cornyn and Representatives Tony Gonzales and Henry Cueller introduced a bipartisan, bicameral bill as an effort to alleviate some of the system’s greatest deficiencies. Read More
The House Has Passed Two Major Immigration Bills. Here’s What They Would Do.
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed two major bills to protect the rights of certain noncitizens entering the United States. The bills—the NO BAN Act and the Access to Counsel Act—passed on April 21. They would restrict presidential powers to institute travel bans and ensure access to attorneys… Read More
Border Patrol’s New Coordinators Are Meant to Help Process Children, But Concerns Linger
A record number of migrant children are arriving to the U.S.-Mexico border alone. In March 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered nearly 19,000 unaccompanied minors—the most to ever arrive in a single month. But for the first time, Border Patrol processing coordinators—not law enforcement agents—will be stationed… Read More
Republicans Introduced 11 New Anti-Immigration Bills. Here’s What’s at Stake If They Pass.
A group of Republican lawmakers recently introduced a slew of anti-immigration bills in the House of Representatives and Senate. The bills primarily target people’s rights to seek asylum in the United States, as well as re-up a laundry list of anti-immigration initiatives from the Trump administration. Read More
The House Passes Historic Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act
The U.S. House of Representatives passed two immigration bills on March 18, signaling that Congress might finally enact major immigration reform for the first time in over three decades. These bills—the Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act—both offer pathways to U.S. citizenship for many immigrants with… Read More
Why We Must Improve Immigration Agency Transparency – And How to Do It
The Biden administration must improve transparency in the U.S. immigration system. Such efforts go hand in hand with strengthening democratic institutions. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), any person has the right to access any non-exempt federal government record. FOIA is a critical tool for holding the government… Read More
How the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Affected Immigration: One Year Later
It’s been one year since the COVID-19 pandemic first affected immigration on a global scale. The impact has been swift, devastating, and long-lasting. On March 11, 2020, former President Trump issued a proclamation announcing travel restrictions on two dozen European countries. It was one of the first major signs from… Read More
Biden Took 3 More Executive Actions on Immigration. Did He Go Far Enough?
On February 2, 2021, following the confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of Homeland Security, President Biden signed three executive orders that take steps to further unwind the Trump administration’s restrictions on immigration. The actions build on Biden’s first round of immigration changes, which he signed… Read More
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