The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently announced its revision of the race and ethnicity question on federal surveys, including the U.S. census, adding “Middle Eastern or...
Without fail, each Tax Day a prevalent myth resurfaces that conceals the truth about immigrants’ contributions to federal, state, and local taxes. Bolstered by social media and other outlets, it...
Thousands of immigrant workers with pending work permit renewals, and their employers, breathed a sigh of relief last week. On April 8, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a...
After months of contentious debate and near government shutdowns, Congress approved appropriations for fiscal year 2024, which President Biden quickly signed into law. The spending package...
President Biden signed the final 6-bill “minibus” funding package for fiscal year (FY) 2024 on March 23, which includes funding for the agencies that implement our immigration laws. This was the...
A recent analysis by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) found that the number of petitions by, or on behalf of, foreign-born workers in the fields of science, technology,...
By Gwen Short, Staff Attorney at Advocates for Basic Legal Equality and Raul Pinto, Deputy Director of Transparency at the American Immigration Council ABLE and the American Immigration Council...
The Supreme Court issued an important victory for noncitizens seeking cancellation of removal and the principle of judicial review of agency action on March 19. And despite the current court’s...
On March 8, a federal district court in Texas dismissed a challenge to a parole program set up by the Biden administration to allow 30,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans to enter...
By Tsion Gurmu, Legal Director at the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and Raul Pinto, Deputy Legal Director of Transparency The main way in which the public can access information about what...
Six years ago, a man came to the U.S./Mexico border with his five-year-old daughter, looking for safety in the United States. At home, a rival political faction had been making death threats...
By Kate Melloy Goettel and Juan Avilez A Texas law that allows local law enforcement to arrest migrants, state court judges to issue removal orders, and state officials to remove migrants to...
Since its conception in 1977, International Women’s Day has evolved into a global celebration highlighting women’s achievements and the challenges they face. The holiday’s origins can be traced...
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, the U.S. has provided certain Ukrainians with temporary authorization, or parole, to remain in the country. However, multiple agencies, including...
A new research report, New Americans in Houston: A Snapshot of the Demographic and Economic Contributions of Immigrants in the Houston Metro Area, released by the American Immigration Council,...
For decades, the Catholic nonprofit Annunciation House has worked to support migrants in El Paso, Texas. It’s provided shelter, food and services to countless people who have just arrived in the...
A report released this month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that refugees and asylees have generated tens of billions of dollars more in local, state, and federal...
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently released its latest Budget and Economic Outlook covering the period from 2024 to 2034, outlining fiscal projections for the United States for the...
On February 9, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released data about its progress toward meeting its strategic goals in fiscal year (FY) 2023. For the first time in years, the...
Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a final rule that changes H-1B registration selection and makes other changes related to the...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finalized its long-awaited fee rule on January 31, which impacts the filing costs for almost all the agency’s applications. The new fees will take...
By Karen Aho and Quinn Bankson Black immigrants not only contribute to America’s rich political and cultural history—think rapper Wyclef Jean, U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, or basketball’s Hakeem...
The “Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024” was released on February 4. For months, a bipartisan group of senators negotiated the compromise bill, which proposes...
The Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (OIG) published a report last month finding that nearly one-third of medical procedures performed on immigrants in U.S...
Immigrants are now far more likely to face the complexities of the immigration court system alone, without an attorney. As of December 2023, only 30% of immigrants with pending cases have secured...
Amid inaction from the federal government on immigration policy and growing calls for action from localities, some state legislatures are taking a proactive role in welcoming immigrants and...
Buoy barriers with chainsaw devices in the Rio Grande river. Coils of concertina wire along the riverbank. Armored Humvees blocking access roads. Piles of dirt rendering gates unusable. Governor...
By Karen Aho, Consultant and Anna Shepperson, Research Associate When Sri Lankan business analyst Dinesh Prabaharan became a U.S. citizen in December of 2023, he expressed his gratitude at finally...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a policy on January 12 calling for ICE personnel to wear body cameras in most situations when carrying out enforcement duties. According to...
A new memo issued last month by the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) lays out improved guidelines for immigration court cases involving children. The memo is a welcome acknowledgment...
Written by Chelsie Kramer, Texas State Organizer and Emma Winger, Deputy Legal Director Texas is once again making national headlines after a woman and two children drowned in the Rio Grande...
The State Department announced an update to its discretionary interview waiver policy for nonimmigrant visa applicants on December 21, 2023. It replaces the temporary policies in place for almost...
Families are complicated. Especially during the holidays, that’s something we can all agree on. But most of us can’t – or will never have to – imagine being forcibly separated from our closest...
The Biden administration signaled on December 12 that it is willing to make disastrous—and permanent—changes to asylum and immigration policy to obtain temporary military aid for Ukraine, Israel,...
Many migrants, after being released from government custody, resettle in interior communities. These individuals and families often need immediate support in the form of housing, food, and...
Last September, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agreed to publish past versions of the Department of Homeland Security’s Privacy Impact Assessments on CBP One, the app that allows asylum...
Members of the U.S. Senate are currently negotiating a deal to continue funding the federal government next year, as well as providing military aid to Ukraine But the cost could be the federal...
Over the last few weeks, as I reflected on writing our annual Thanksgiving blog post, I struggled to find the right words and message. During years past, this post offered best practices for...
When asylum seekers come to the United States, they want to work—but an outdated immigration statute is making that more difficult than it needs to be. After filing an asylum application, asylum...
After weeks of uncertainty as to whether Congress would reach a deal to fund the government and avoid a shutdown, earlier this week Congress passed a continuing resolution bill which funds the...
Written by Steven Hubbard, Senior Data Scientist and Leslie Dellon, Senior Attorney (Business Immigration) The White House’s recent executive order on artificial intelligence marks an important...
Written by Robin Lundh, Research Manager and Anna Shepperson, Research Associate. Immigration—long central to the American experience—has dominated news coverage in recent years. Between 2016 and...
States hoping to provide support to their immigrant and refugee residents are taking part in the Office of New Americans (ONA) network. This network has established a forum for state policy...
The H-1B program may undergo significant changes as early as October 1, 2024. The Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published a 94-page...
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued its yearly Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor report, examining 131 countries’ efforts to abolish child labor in 2022 and the obstacles those...
As the national workforce shortage persists and is further exacerbated by the nation’s large aging population moving into retirement, businesses across the country are seeking solutions to address...
On October 20, the Biden administration renewed its request for emergency supplemental funding for border management from Congress. This new $14 billion request represents more than a $10 billion...
In September, the Biden administration extended temporary protection to some 472,000 Venezuelan migrants in the United States. Doing so provided welcome humanitarian relief—thousands of men, women...
Unless Congress can come to an agreement on the budget by November 17, the government will shut down, forcing tens of thousands of federal employees to work without pay and suspending vital...
Corruption within U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s workforce often has been hidden behind bureaucratic red tape. But what was once shrouded in mystery is now plainly available—on CBP’s own...
On September 20, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced measures to accelerate the processing of some work permits and to extend their validity period for particular categories...
By Karen Aho and Robin Lundh of the American Immigration Council Today, Hispanic Americans form the largest ethnic group in the United States. The value of Hispanic Americans to the makeup of the...
A recent Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decision bars certain recently arrived noncitizens from becoming lawful permanent residents. In Matter of Cabrera-Fernandez, the BIA held that the...
After weeks of failed negotiations on spending, Congress has less than a week left to avert a potential government shutdown. Members of the House Republicans’ Freedom Caucus have refused to pass...
Co-Authors: Rich André, Asma Easa, Micaela McConnell, Paloma Ramos Last week, communities across the United States participated in Welcoming America’s Welcoming Week. The annual campaign has...
Co-Authors: Emily Creighton and Tsion Gurmu In the summer of 2020, after George Floyd’s murder, racial justice protests took hold in cities throughout the country. The massive mobilization...
Since President Biden took office, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been escalating both rhetoric and action in response to a rise in migration across the Rio Grande. Right now, challenges to his...
The Department of Justice has proposed a new rule to protect immigration judges’ ability to administratively close removal proceedings and control their ever-expanding dockets. The proposed rule,...
“There should be no private prisons, period, none, period. And we are working to close all of them.” Those are the words of President Joe Biden in April 2021, when he was called out by immigrant...
The school year has started, and many college students are returning to campuses nationwide, including undocumented and DACA-eligible students. Data from the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS)...
Co-authors: Micaela McConnell, Paloma Ramos “Don’t forget about us,” is the cornerstone message that will be amplified across the United States this fall as Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet of a 10-...
On August 24, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a new update to its policy manual clarifying a previous policy change aimed at expanding green card eligibility...
The Biden administration’s humanitarian parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) went on trial last week. The trial, held in a federal court in Texas, was the...
When Fortune released this year’s Fortune 500 list—the magazine’s iconic ranking of the year’s top-grossing American companies—one fact remained unchanged from previous years: the profound role...
When the Trump administration proposed an overhaul of federal policy regarding when immigrants could be denied green cards or visas based on use of public benefits – the public charge rule – it...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Sudan and Ukraine last week. This is a welcome...
On Thanksgiving Day 2017, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested Kamyar Samimi—a lawful permanent resident with a decade-old conviction for drug possession—and sent him...
When the Biden administration launched new Family Reunification Parole programs earlier this year, it pointed to existing programs for Cuban and Haitian families as the model. The new programs...
On April 8, a family came to the San Ysidro port of entry in Tijuana and asked to be let into the United States to seek asylum. The husband’s arm was bleeding. He’d been shot. The cartel that had...
The Biden administration has officially reinstated its enforcement guidelines for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The move comes after the Supreme Court reaffirmed the federal...
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a major Apple supplier, has delayed the production schedule for its Arizona chip plant to 2025. The company said it is having trouble finding...
Despite concerns expressed by stakeholders, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has returned to a one-page format for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. What may seem...
With most state legislatures having adjourned for the year, states—once again—continue to lead the way for welcoming immigrants and refugees. The American Immigration Council tracked over 1,000...
On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that the Biden administration’s asylum transit ban was illegal and should be vacated. The ruling isn’t in effect yet – it was delayed for 14 days and may be...
In June, the Canadian immigration minister announced a new initiative to attract high-tech talent to Canada — from the United States. The Tech Talent Strategy targets foreign-born workers who have...
“I never thought I’d say there’s anything worse than ICE custody, but this is it.” That’s an immigration attorney in San Diego talking to CNN about the shelter facilities run by U.S. Customs and...
At the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida has made it a felony to transport a person into the state who hasn’t been inspected by immigration authorities. Effective July 1, driving a broad...
Bipartisan groups of lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and the Senate reintroduced the Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA) last week. The bill, similar to a version introduced in the last...
Written by 5th grade student Lillie Villezcas of Nevada 3 I am number 3, but how does number 3 apply to me? I am third generation of an immigrant family, third generation of fading traditions and...
The Biden administration has started a program to allow some Central and South Americans who are stuck in the family visa backlog to come to the United States and reunite with their relatives...
“If I spoke too loudly, solitary. If I climbed on top of a table to get a guard’s attention, solitary. If I had suicidal thoughts, solitary. When the guards would tease me about being deported...
Written by Kelly Chauvin, Summer 2023 Legal Intern for the American Immigration Council Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a section of immigration law that forbids “encourag[ing] or...
In a split decision issued on June 22, the Supreme Court ruled against two noncitizens seeking to overturn agency findings that their state criminal convictions qualified as “aggravated felonies...
The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency back in May meant an end to Title 42. That policy, grounded in an obscure public health law, was put in place by the Trump administration in March...
Written by Andrea Ramos, Digital Communications Specialist at the American Immigration Council My first Fourth of July was in the Texas country. Fireworks, lawn games, little American flags,...
Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in U.S. v. Texas, which allows the Biden administration to resume its implementation of guidelines for immigration enforcement within the...
Florida officials think the federal government must detain everyone – or virtually everyone – who arrives at the U.S.-Mexico border without a visa. And it is using the courts to try to make that...
Over the last two years, the House GOP has become increasingly vocal about their disagreements with the Biden administration on immigration and border policy. In recent weeks, this disagreement...
Immigrants—many of whom are women—make up a significant portion of the U.S. population. In 2021, 23.2 million lived in the United States, outnumbering immigrant men, according to recent analysis...
An internal investigation into the death of a medically vulnerable eight-year-old girl after over a week in Border Patrol custody continues to reveal shocking negligence on the part of medical...
Time was running out for many Afghan refugees living and working in the United States after American troops withdrew from Afghanistan. Thanks to the Biden administration’s recent decision to...
Usurping the role of the federal government, state legislatures in Florida and Texas have proposed multiple harmful immigration bills during this year’s legislative session. Several Florida...
On May 23, members of Congress introduced what has sadly become an increasingly rare bit of legislation; a comprehensive immigration reform bill aimed at addressing large-scale systematic problems...
The Supreme Court has agreed to decide a case that asks the Court to overturn Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council—an influential decision that requires courts to defer to federal...
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled last week that a transgender woman from Guatemala did not need to jump through an additional hoop—filing a new motion with the Board of Immigration...
One of the biggest concerns after the end of the Title 42 policy of mass expulsion at the U.S.-Mexico border was that large numbers of people would cross in the hours and days afterward. When the...
If you are an asylum seeker in the United States who cannot afford an attorney, your chance of finding pro bono assistance is now slimmer than ever. As the number of cases in immigration court has...
Each May, the United States recognizes the influence and contributions of Asian and Pacific Islanders during AAPI Heritage Month. It also serves as a time to reflect on the many differences among...
Back in February, when the Biden administration proposed a new regulation that would essentially restrict the vast majority of border crossers from qualifying for asylum, we broke it down with a...
With the pandemic-related expulsion policy “Title 42” set to expire May 11, the House GOP introduced its first large-scale border and immigration package on Monday. The bill combines three...
Written by Bella Wexler, Communications Fellow at the American Immigration Council. As of 2023, Arizona remains the only state with English-only education legislation still in effect. Its law—...
Title 42 – a policy that has allowed the U.S. government to expel border-crossers without giving them a chance to seek asylum – is expected to officially sunset next week. Federal courts prevented...
The Departments of State and Homeland Security announced recently that the Central American Minors (CAM) Program is being expanded, which will allow more children from El Salvador, Honduras, and...
Last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the launch of CeBONDS, a new system people can use to pay bonds and secure the release of individuals in immigration detention....
With all eyes on the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of the end of Title 42 on May 11, Texas lawmakers are pushing to increase the state’s role in enforcing federal immigration laws—despite Supreme Court...
A family with a baby, waiting outside in the cold overnight. A pregnant woman, enduring the elements for multiple days. An Afghan who worked for the U.S. Army as a translator, hoping for food and...
On Monday, April 17, the House GOP introduced its first comprehensive border bill of the 118th Congress. The bill comes after months of disagreement within the caucus surrounding legislative...
On April 6, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the death of 61 year-old Salvador Vargas at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA which occurred on April 4. Deaths in ICE...
Over the next 30 years, immigrants will pay more in taxes than they will consume in benefits, a new study from the Cato Institute found. This net positive flow in tax contributions shows that...
The Biden administration is yet again turning to the Trump playbook as it tries to slap together a border crackdown to succeed the end of the Title 42 “public health” order next month. The latest...
Written by Raul Pinto and Rebekah Wolf of the American Immigration Council The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for U.S. Immigration and...
The public has spoken: an asylum transit ban was bad policy during the Trump era, and it’s bad policy now. On February 21, the Biden administration released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking laying...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is opening a new service center to try to fix some of its most egregious backlogs. The agency reportedly has already reassigned 150 employees –...
Written by Emma Winger and Raul Pinto of the American Immigration Council The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) published a decision last week seeking to address a seemingly basic question: what...
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...
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...
Last week, a federal court in California issued a decision allowing asylum seekers and other plaintiffs to continue their legal challenge to the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” program, officially (...
As Tax Day approaches, it is important to acknowledge the tax contributions made by immigrants—even those who are undocumented. These contributions play a vital role in the funding and...
On March 8, a Florida court blocked the Biden administration from using a key border program referred to as Parole plus Alternative to Detention (Parole + ATD). The court’s decision vacated the...
Immigration agencies have a problem with transparency. With an immigration system as complex as ours and Freedom of Information Act offices that are chronically underfunded, it’s no surprise that...
In March 2020, the world came to an unfamiliar halt. The COVID-19 pandemic was no longer a looming and distant concern. Events rapidly fell off calendars, schools shuttered, and those who could...
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,...
State governments are leading the way on eliminating a blemish from their communities—immigration detention centers. As some state governments begin their legislative sessions, bills attempting to...
Undocumented students, like millions of other students in the United States, have the ambition to succeed. College opportunities are often priceless for these students. And though a degree can...
Written by Atenas Burrola, Pro Bono Manager and Crystal Massey, National Pro Bono Coordinator for the Afghan Project at the American Immigration Council The Biden administration is reportedly...
The Biden administration is reportedly planning to detain large numbers of immigrant families again this spring. This is part of the administration’s plan to replace Title 42 with a new policy...
Florida made headlines last year as it passed a law allowing Governor Ron DeSantis to spend up to 12 million dollars to transport migrants out of Florida. DeSantis used over $1 million of that...
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...
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...
Written by Steven Hubbard, Senior Data Scientist and Robin Lundh, Research Manager Black immigrants make up a vital part of America’s rich cultural life. Think of authors Chinua Achebe and...
A recent policy change by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) should reduce the number of children who age out of green card eligibility. For immigration purposes, a “child” means...
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...
In December 2022, the Supreme Court stepped in to keep Title 42 (the pandemic health policy that has allowed the United States to carry out over 2.5 million expulsions since March 2020) in effect...
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...
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...
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...
Recently published data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) provides insight into who ICE is detaining and for how long. The results show that the majority of noncitizens are being...
On January 26, the Second Circuit ruled against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a case that has broad implications for the public’s access to data held in immigration agency...
The United States will need to fill nearly three-quarters of a million open jobs for home health and personal care aides every year through 2031. Currently, immigrant workers fill these jobs in...
Many families in the United States live in a frightening limbo when processing delays prevent one family member from becoming a lawful permanent resident. A lawsuit was recently filed against U.S...
Immigrant workers who are the victims of labor exploitation are often faced with a difficult choice. They can either stay quiet out of fear of deportation or come forward to report coercive...
On January 3, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finally published a new proposed fee schedule for immigration benefits—which is to say, it took an important step to becoming a...
On January 5, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced new measures to process people seeking asylum at ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border who are asking to be exempt from...
Weeks after Title 42 was ordered to end in December 2022, the supposed “public health” policy is still effectively closing the border to many asylum seekers after an eleventh-hour order from the...
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...
Written by John Wang, author and founder of the Queens Night Market The singular mission of the Queens Night Market is to be New York City’s most affordable, diverse, and welcoming community space...
From the displacement following the Russian invasion of Ukraine to migrant bussing across the United States, the immigration field has faced unique challenges this year while continuing to manage...
One might think that posting bond in the immigration system is a straightforward process. Immigration authorities set bond. A person pays the bond amount, and the incarcerated person is released....
After years of advocacy and widespread abuse, Berks County officials announced that the federal government was ending its contract for the Berks County detention center on January 31, 2023....
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for citizens of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Nepal, Haiti, and Sudan in November...
Can immigration avoid a cold winter in Congress? That’s the question immigrants and their advocates are asking as time runs out on the current Congress. The fate of Afghan evacuees, Dreamers,...
The Supreme Court will tackle more hot button immigration issues in its 2022 – 2023 term. Front and center is the Biden administration’s effort to set immigration enforcement priorities. But the...
Irrespective of your politics, no matter your football allegiances, the joy of Thanksgiving binds you with millions of others who are also celebrating togetherness. Some of us might gather with...
As Thanksgiving approaches, many cooks are busy planning their holiday meals. However, this year’s Thanksgiving meals will likely be more expensive as food prices soar. This is partly due to...
The backlog of pending applications at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has increased exponentially in the last few years. Congress is finally taking notice. The Case Backlog and...
Solitary confinement is widely criticized as a cruel and unnecessary practice. It’s largely unsupported by the public as a disciplinary measure and badly in need of reform. On October 26, the...
Written by Ethan Maia de Needell, Immigrant Programs Manager, Rural Women’s Health Project The immigrant community in Gainesville, Florida has been steadily increasing over the years, already...
Black immigrants in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) disproportionately face abuse while in detention, a report released last week finds. Published by several...
Do fewer U.S. workers get hired when employers also hire temporary seasonal labor from abroad? A new study of firms applying for H-2B visas suggests that the answer is no. The H-2B visa allows...
While it seems like all eyes are on the states that could determine the outcome of this year’s midterm elections, it’s important to remember that the consequences of November 8 will extend beyond...
Every year at the end of October, legal service providers come together to celebrate Pro Bono Week. It is a dedicated opportunity to acknowledge the amazing work that our volunteers do—work that...
The flights of migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in September refocused attention on a phenomenon that had been unfolding for many months—the relocation of migrants by Republican governors...
After months of waiting for decisions on the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth are back to where they started—waiting...
Faced with rising numbers of Venezuelans coming to the border and seeking asylum, the Biden administration has initiated what could be its most extensive crackdown on migrants since taking office...
The Biden administration announced on September 27 that the cap on refugee admissions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 would be 125,000—the same as the cap for FY 2022. However, given the current state...
Legal service organizations have sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for preventing people jailed at four immigration detention centers from having meaningful access to their...
With the 2022 midterm elections just weeks away, all eyes are shifting to states where close races are expected. A lot has changed since the last midterm elections in 2018—including the...
On September 28, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill in Congress that would allow millions of immigrants who have lived in the United States for many years to become Lawful Permanent...
Written by Jorge Loweree and Raul Pinto of the American Immigration Council More than a decade after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) first created the Deferred Action for Childhood...
An appellate court recently ruled that California’s state law banning private prisons—including immigration detention centers—is likely unconstitutional. The decision is a significant blow to...
Late last week, detention center warden Michael Sheppard and his twin brother Mark Sheppard were arrested after allegedly shooting into a group of 13 migrants, killing one and seriously injuring...
With job openings at nearly twice as high as the pre-pandemic norm, employers across the country are continuing to struggle to fill open positions and meet workforce needs. But they’re finding a...
The number of refugees and asylum seekers fleeing violence or persecution in their home countries in search of safety abroad has grown dramatically over the past decade. Until recently, the United...
The Republican governors of Texas, Arizona, and now Florida are playing a cynical political game with the lives of migrants—including many asylum seekers fleeing persecution. Officials in these...
Written by Joseph Meyers, Staff Attorney at the National Immigration Project A group of immigrant advocacy organizations filed an amicus brief in United States v. Texas last week, in which they...
Last week marked the 10-year anniversary of Welcoming Week, an initiative organized by Welcoming America that encourages local communities to bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build...
Three years ago, the Trump administration sent fear throughout immigrant communities across the nation with its Public Charge rule, which functioned as a wealth test for green card applicants....
This Hispanic Heritage Month, we look at the most recent Census and data to highlight the importance of Hispanics in the United States. For those wondering why Hispanic Heritage Month starts mid-...
The Biden administration is close to using all of the employment-based immigrant visas (green cards) allotted for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced...
Written by American Immigration Council staff Leani García Torres and Raul Pinto The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative provides certain young, undocumented immigrants with a...
There is no doubt that fentanyl is a major problem inside the United States. Over the last decade, rising availability of fentanyl has caused a spike in overdose deaths across the nation. In 2021...
Border Patrol agents in Arizona have been confiscating and not returning the turbans worn by Sikh asylum seekers as part of their religion. Immigrant advocates and members of Congress have pointed...
As hundreds of thousands of students prepare to go back to school this fall, it’s important to consider the outsized role international students play in both campus life and the United States...
Last week, the Biden administration published the final version of a regulation that seeks to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative and provide a modicum of...
School is back in session. For many states and localities across the country, that means welcoming newly arrived immigrant and refugee youth into the classroom. There will be increased need for...
The U. S. inflation rate reached a 40-year high in June and slightly eased to 8.5% in July, continuing to put pressure on the budgets of American families. Disruptions to the supply chain during...
Written by Emily Creighton of the American Immigration Council and Jennifer Whitlock of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. It might seem like a straightforward statistic: 44% of...
As midterm election season heats up, House Republicans on the “American Security Task Force” have produced a new framework for what they say is a plan to “secure the border.” Despite the claim of...
A federal court decision this month confirmed what advocates feared: that a recent move by the Supreme Court would undermine the fight against illegal government practices, like turning back...
When members of Congress return from their August recess, they will find several immigration measures urgently awaiting their attention. The House Appropriations Committee already has passed a...
The lack of a major overhaul in the United States’ immigration system for roughly thirty years has created an ecosystem where states have attempted to insert their authority over immigration,...
On Sunday after nearly 24 hours of deliberation, the Senate passed a historic budget reconciliation package, known as the “Inflation Reduction Act,” that rejected a series of harsh immigration...
Opponents of immigration often claim that European immigrants who came to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are radically different than the Latin Americans and Asians...
Thousands of immigration court cases have been dismissed this year for an astonishing reason: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has failed to file the most basic paperwork with the courts....
For almost two decades, asylum seekers taken into Border Patrol custody who passed a “credible fear” interview have been eligible to seek release from detention on bond while they go through the...
Democrats in the House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least seven years to legalize their status. The...
As immigration bills languish in Congress, state legislatures continue to pave the way in welcoming immigrants and refugees in 2022. With the majority of the 46 state legislatures that convened...
In a blow to the Department of Homeland Security’s attempts to set priorities for immigration enforcement, late last week the Supreme Court of the United States decided 5-4 to deny a request from...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced a new directive aimed at preserving family unity and the parental rights of noncitizens. The directive, “Interests of Noncitizen...
Lawsuits asking courts to order government employees to decide long-pending immigration filings have increased sharply in the past year. According to a recent report by the Transactional Records...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has concluded in a new report that Border Patrol agents on horseback did engage in the “unnecessary use of force” against Haitian migrants entering the...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new policy memorandum on July 1 that eliminated a barrier for many Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients and restored a pathway...
Since President Biden took office, he has faced attacks on his handling of the border from Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida. Both states brought lawsuits against Biden’s...
Recent decisions by the Supreme Court have roiled the immigrant rights community. Though many decisions weren’t surprising given the conservative majority on the Court, the decisions touch on a...
As communities across the United States came together this past weekend to commemorate and reflect upon our country’s independence, the holiday holds special significance for one group in...
Almost a year after the Supreme Court allowed a federal judge in Texas to order the Biden administration to restart the so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP), the Supreme Court ruled in...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) operates under a flawed funding model. This virtually guarantees that the agency will always be under-funded and under-staffed. As a result, USCIS...
Demand for workers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) continues to grow in the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the country will...
The House Appropriations Committee on Friday passed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill for Fiscal Year 2023, as part of the year-over-year process that Congress undertakes to...
Surprising data recently revealed that consular officers denied applicants for employer-sponsored immigrant visas at a far higher rate than U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)...
Obtaining immigration benefits from the U.S. government is always difficult, but it is even harder for people who have ever had any interaction with an organization or government that is deemed to...
Where I’m From I am from ships sailed. From my mother’s quilt, finished with orange, green, and white. I see every one of the strong stitches holding it together. From my other house where the...
The Supreme Court issued a decision on Wednesday barring a civil rights lawsuit against a U.S. Border Patrol agent for reportedly entering the property of a U.S. citizen without a warrant and...
America’s economic success is built on the world’s best and brightest coming to our shores bringing ingenuity, creativity, and determination. From Wall Street to Main Street, businesses started by...
Located on the U.S.-Mexico border at the southern tip of Texas lies the Rio Grande Valley, or as Texans call it “the Valley” or “RGV.” While the RGV–made up of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy...
Thirteen U.S. lawful permanent residents filed a lawsuit to end the delay by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in processing their applications to become U.S. citizens. The...
The Biden administration’s overhaul of the asylum system went into effect for the first time on May 31, but only a limited basis. According to guidance published by the Department of Homeland...
Mexico’s Supreme Court released a decision on May 18 that struck down the policy of stopping and searching individuals to check their immigration status as racist and discriminatory—and therefore...
Just three days before Title 42 was set to end on May 23, a federal judge in Louisiana blocked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from ending the controversial policy. With the...
As the politics and partisanship of a mid-term election year ramp up, Utah is proving that bipartisan and public-private collaboration is still possible. On May 3, public and private sector...
The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision on May 16 rejecting federal court review of fact-finding done by immigration courts. The Court’s reasoning could have wide-ranging impacts on many more...
Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, could have damaging effects to immigrant rights secured through the courts. The...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a temporary rule last week that automatically extends employment authorization for certain noncitizens waiting for USCIS to process their...
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced in a May 6 memorandum that it would eliminate its Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs). The teams have faced criticism for their secretive...
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global supply chains and kept people from going back to work at a time when the demand for goods and labor is high. This has left America contending with a...
Local communities across the country have long experienced the positive effects of growing immigrant and refugee communities. As a result, many local governments, chambers of commerce, and...
Data from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau show that there are approximately 20.7 million Asian and Pacific Islanders in the United States—comprising 6.2 % of the U.S. population—that make up the...
A federal court in Louisiana issued an order on Wednesday temporarily preventing the Biden administration from winding down Title 42, the controversial public health policy that allows immigration...
The Biden administration announced a special parole program for Ukrainians that began April 25. The Uniting for Ukraine program is a first step toward the administration’s commitment to welcoming...
Over three years after the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) went into effect, the Supreme Court finally heard oral arguments in a case about the program, also known as the “Remain in Mexico”...
Less than a week after the Biden Administration announced the impending end to the COVID-era Title 42 border policy, Texas Governor Greg Abbott escalated his ongoing political fight with the Biden...
The Biden administration failed to issue many of the immigrant visas—more commonly known as green cards—that were allotted last year for immigrants who have been sponsored by a U.S. employer or...
More than two years after visiting the Trump administration’s “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP) tent courts in Laredo, Texas, I returned to see how they had changed under the Biden...
Immigration law requires that asylum seekers file applications for asylum within one year of last entering the United States. Filing after one year can be the sole reason the U.S. government...
While much of today’s immigration debate is laser-focused on the U.S.-Mexico border, states across the country are increasingly creating their own policies that affect the day-to-day lives of...
As Tax Day approaches, it’s a good time to bring the significant tax contributions of immigrants—including undocumented immigrants—into the spotlight. These contributions are indispensable to the...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in early April that it would end Title 42, the pandemic border policy that allowed immigration officials to rapidly “expel” migrants...
Every year, the president submits a budget request to Congress with their proposal for funding the federal government. Over the last 20 years, Congress has spent over $333 billion on immigration...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a long-awaited memo on Sunday to guide ICE attorneys on exercising their prosecutorial discretion in immigration court. Authored by ICE’s...
At the beginning of March 2022, as millions of Ukrainians were being displaced by Russian invasion, the U.S. government announced a series of policy changes to assist some of the people impacted...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Friday that it will be terminating the Title 42 border policy. The U.S. government has used this policy to turn away asylum seekers and...
More than two-thirds of U.S. counties saw natural decreases in population between 2020 and 2021, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. This means that almost 2,300...
In a victory for government transparency, earlier this month a federal district court ordered the government to release the names of the Border Patrol agents involved in a program to screen asylum...
The Biden administration finalized its long-anticipated plan for overhauling the asylum system on March 24. The regulation, which is set to go into effect on an interim basis in 60 days, was first...
For more than 8 months, noncitizens with approved immigrant petitions for investments in regional centers have been in limbo. Congress has now ended that limbo, by reauthorizing the EB-5 regional...
In an unprecedented move, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’) watchdog agency—the Office of the Inspector General (OIG)—just recommended that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE...
The government made two important announcements on March 7th affecting immigrant children who have been abused, abandoned, and neglected. The first is a new policy that offers work permits and...
Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released its fiscal year 2021 annual report. In it, the agency reported a significant decrease in both overall deportations and internal...
The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021—as the country’s government was overtaken by the Taliban—led to the chaotic evacuation of thousands of Afghan nationals. The tragic...
The path toward commonsense federal immigration solutions seems to be continuing the cyclical and frustrating pattern of two steps forward, one step back. As soon as a measure is introduced—be it...
President Biden has nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the United States Supreme Court. With nearly a decade as a federal judge, Judge Jackson’s...
In just under two years, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has carried out over 1.5 million rapid “expulsions” of asylum seekers and migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border under Title 42, a...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced that it has been developing and testing robot dogs for use by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) at the U.S.-Mexico border. The...
In February, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reversed Trump administration guidance that limited recognition of marriages performed abroad only to those considered “valid” in the...
On Tuesday night, President Biden will give his first State of the Union address to a packed House chamber. Other than, perhaps, an early nod to resettling Ukrainian refugees, those of us in the...
A federal court in Illinois recently approved a settlement agreement governing unlawful, warrantless arrests and vehicle stops. The settlement requires U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to clarify the meaning of the “public charge ground of inadmissibility” on February 24. The new guidance will be...
The Canadian government released its 2022-2024 immigration targets earlier this week. Should it reach these targets, the number of new immigrants entering Canada would reach levels not seen in...
Miami Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a freshman Republican from Florida’s 27th congressional district, last week introduced an immigration reform bill that she calls the “Dignity Act.” Rep. Salazar...
Immigrants and their representatives will gain access to decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that were not publicly available. As a result of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by the...
The Omicron variant has spread through immigration detention like wildfire, with a record 14% of people in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody testing positive for COVID-19 as...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unveiled a new mission statement this week, signaling an important shift in how the agency wants to tell its story and shape its priorities ahead...
A federal court issued a decision on February 7 invalidating two Trump-era regulations that restricted access to work permits for asylum seekers. In her decision, Judge Beryl Howell of the...
A skyrocketing number of migrant teens from Central America are finding their way into the undocumented workforce of the United States. They are doing rigorous, grueling work often meant for...
The House of Representatives passed an economic competitiveness bill on February 4 that includes several immigration provisions. The bill is called the ‘‘America Creating Opportunities for...
Immigration courts will soon take a big step into the digital age. On February 11, 2022, immigration attorneys, accredited representatives, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawyers, will...
Some media outlets have reached a fever pitch over what they have deemed President Biden’s “secret flights of migrants.” They claim that the Biden administration is covertly flying migrants into...
Thousands of applicants for U.S. citizenship have been waiting for well over a year for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to process their applications. But the problem isn’t the...
The Biden administration recently announced four actions intended to improve immigration “pathways” for noncitizens in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However,...
The labor shortages currently afflicting many sectors of the U.S. economy are being aggravated by the arrival of fewer and fewer workers from abroad. Although immigration has been slowing since...
The State Department announced a new rule that will waive fees for visa applicants who were denied because of the Muslim and refugee ban. Under the new rule, an immigrant visa applicant who has an...
When the Biden administration announced a new “dedicated docket” in immigration court for families seeking asylum at the border, many advocates raised concerns that the docket would forgo due...
New leaked photos of Border Patrol stations in Yuma, Arizona show Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) inhumane treatment of people apprehended at the border— revealing that years of overcrowded...
Written by Caroline Walters and Kate Melloy Goettel This week the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two related immigration cases. Each asks whether certain noncitizens are entitled to bond...
As the border has become harder to cross over the last few years, smugglers have increasingly turned to the use of vehicles to smuggle migrants. But along with this rise has come an increase in...
As the United States hastily withdrew its military presence from Afghanistan in August 2021, it began Operation Allies Welcome, a program designed to assist the tens of thousands of Afghans who...
National Guard troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border face a grim reality, with their deployments plagued by substance abuse problems and discontent. Eight troops have committed suicide or died...
Immigration detention and enforcement in the United States under the first year of the Biden administration has been a mixture of improvements and setbacks. The Trump administration implemented...
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) issued a memorandum last month providing guidance to immigration judges about administrative closure—a critical tool for docket management and...
By Katy Murdza and Rebekah Wolf, American Immigration Council staff Collaboration between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has led to...
President Biden took office committing to unwind Trump’s border policies and go in a new direction—to reunite families, restore access to asylum, and reverse “policies enacted over the last 4...
The Biden administration has—in its first year—rolled back many of the worst discriminatory policies implemented by the Trump administration that targeted non-U.S. citizens. But much work remains...
The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Monday in a case that raises a critical question of whether a federal court can review a noncitizen’s eligibility for certain types of discretionary...
Following months of negotiations with Mexico, the Biden administration announced that it would reinstate the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols (informally known as the “Remain in Mexico”...
A lesser-known group of young people who grew up in the United States with immigration status—typically the children of noncitizens who entered the U.S. on temporary work visas—is increasingly at...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) plan to collect information from more individuals before they arrive at the border has raised questions about how the agency will gather and use the...
The United States Supreme Court will face challenging questions impacting immigration law as it begins considering cases in its October 2021 term. The Court’s decisions on these cases will impact...
Data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows that the number of individuals apprehended by the Border Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico border fell by 15% from September to October,...
Four years ago, immigration lawyers and advocates began to see a disturbing practice emerge: the U.S. government began to forcibly separate children—some very young—from their parents at the...
U.S. workers are losing their jobs due to bureaucratic delays at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), despite an economy desperate for workers. Asylum seekers wanting to renew their...
Research has long shown that access to a lawyer is one of the most important factors that determines whether an immigrant in removal proceedings will be able to remain in the United States. A new...
By Tsion Gurmu, Legal Manager and Staff Attorney at the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and Emily Creighton, Legal Director of Transparency The public watched in horror this September as U.S....
Since President Biden took office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have released over 250,000 people seeking asylum directly at the border. In nearly half of these cases, people...
Annual limits on immigrant visa numbers, combined with processing delays and wasted numbers, mean even longer waits for people to become U.S. permanent residents. In November, the “cut off” date...
In a landmark court decision, Geo Group—one of the largest private prison companies that own and/or manage dozens of immigrant detention centers across the United States—was found to have violated...
By Emma Winger, Staff Attorney, American Immigration Council, and Eunice Cho, Sr. Staff Attorney, ACLU National Prison Project “Ben G.” is a 35-year-old veterinarian from Nicaragua who fled to the...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued “Guidelines for Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas”—a new memo that provides a framework for when and where DHS law enforcement...
A recent class action settlement is expected to result in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approving more market research analyst H-1B petitions. The lawsuit was filed by four U.S...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published new data last week showing that over the past 12 months, the Border Patrol has carried out nearly 1.7 million apprehensions at the southern...
In a split decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on October 20 lifted a lower court’s protections for medically vulnerable people locked up in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been known to improperly subject individuals in its custody to solitary confinement and has destroyed solitary confinement records in violation...
Two months after a federal court ordered the Biden administration to reinstate the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols (also known as “Remain in Mexico”), the administration announced that it...
Two parole programs that were terminated under the Trump administration are getting a second life under President Biden. The Filipino World War II Veterans Parole (FWVP) program and The Haitian...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) need to establish clear guidance for when ICE should release someone from detention. So far, the Biden...
The Biden administration just took a significant step toward reining in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a...
In September, nearly 15,000 Haitians arrived near Del Rio, Texas seeking asylum in the United States. But rather than allowing them to seek protection, as is their right under United States law,...
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials improperly developed intelligence reports nicknamed “baseball cards” about individuals arrested in Portland, Oregon during the civil unrest...
The Biden administration failed to issue more than 200,000 permanent resident visas (or “green cards”) that were allotted in fiscal year 2021 for immigrants sponsored by U.S. employers or family...
On September 30, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued the long-awaited new set of enforcement priorities, entitled “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil...
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced a new lawsuit on Tuesday seeking an order requiring the Biden administration to detain almost all people arriving at the Southwest border. It is the latest...
The Biden administration followed through on its Day One promise to create a new regulation to “preserve and fortify” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative (DACA) on September 27....
Shocking images have emerged of Border Patrol officers on horseback charging toward Haitian immigrants in and around the border town of Del Rio, Texas. Thousands of Haitians have come to our...
The Departments of State and Homeland Security announced recently that they will be accepting new applications for the Central American Minors (CAM) Program, created to process immigrant children...
Roughly 14,000 Haitians arrived at the border across from Del Rio, Texas in mid-September and walked across the Rio Grande to seek asylum. Many first left Haiti in 2010 following a devastating...
Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on September 19 rejected Democrats’ initial attempt to include immigration reform provisions in a $3.5 trillion spending bill currently making its way...
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday stayed a significant part of an earlier decision by the Northern District of Texas that would have blocked the implementation of the Biden...
The September 11th terrorist attacks not only led to the tragic deaths of 2,977 people, they fundamentally changed the nature of immigration law and policy in the United States. Since 9/11, the U....
House Democrats began to mark up a budget reconciliation bill on September 10 that would provide a path to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Although the...
Proposed legislation in California that would further limit the state’s involvement in immigration detention has made progress toward becoming law. The VISION Act would prevent transfers to U.S....
A federal court concluded Thursday that the U.S. government’s turning back of asylum seekers at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border—primarily through a practice called metering—not only...
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a law in August that would allow the Cook County Public Defender to represent immigrants in the Chicago immigration court. The law is part of a movement to...
Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have confirmed that 34 unaccompanied minors from Afghanistan currently in the United States were among the approximately 123,000...
The Biden administration predicts that it will fail to issue many of the legal permanent resident visas—also known as green cards—allotted this year for immigrants who have been sponsored by a U.S...
The Supreme Court refused to block an order to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy. The decision comes after a Texas judge halted the government...
For the second year in a row, many winners of the diversity visa lottery face the prospect of losing their chance to come to the United States because the federal government can’t—or won’t—issue...
Judge Drew Tipton of the Southern District of Texas on August 19 blocked a set of enforcement priorities the Biden administration had issued in January and February 2021 in an attempt to focus...
The Biden administration announced this week that it will propose a new rule to speed up the fair and humane processing of asylum claims of people arriving at the U.S. border. The issue has been...
Demographers have known for decades that the United States is well on its way to becoming a predominantly multi-racial and multi-ethnic society. New data from the 2020 Census reveals how rapidly...
Across centuries, Afghanistan has been a nation unconquerable. From the conquest of Alexander the Great to the United States military, insurgent forces have beat back the offensive from some of...
The Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program, inflicted extreme harm on vulnerable people seeking asylum at the border beginning in...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced this week a new policy designed to honor and protect vulnerable immigrants. The new policy addresses protections for survivors of violence...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun implementing policies in recent weeks which expand access to lawful immigration status, employment, and humanitarian protections for...
A new Illinois law limiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention is expected to effectively end detention in the state by next year. The law goes further than those that have...
A federal judge on Tuesday dealt an important blow to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s flawed plan to stop migrants from entering and traveling through Texas. Governor Abbott issued an executive order...
On the day that President Biden took office, he promised to send a bill to Congress to create a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants. Unfortunately, that bill, the U.S. Citizenship Act...
It is unquestionable that technology creates efficiencies. But efficiency should not come at the total expense of privacy. A new app from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) toes that line...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) keeps making an inexcusable error: it has been deporting U.S. citizens by mistake. 70 potential U.S. citizens were deported between 2015 and 2020, a...
As the number of families coming to the border has increased from June to July, the Biden administration is beginning yet another crackdown. Late on July 26, the Department of Homeland Security (...
The state of Texas has started a concentrated effort to arrest immigrants who have recently crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. The immigrants are charged with criminal state offenses of trespassing...
Nearly a decade after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to provide protections to undocumented immigrants brought here as...
Attorney General Merrick Garland vacated Matter of Castro-Tum on July 15, reviving a key tool to help judges prioritize cases in the overburdened immigration court system and allow people facing...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may soon have its first Senate-confirmed leader in nearly five years. On July 15, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee...
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to expand a unique venture for the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo: The Refugee Olympic Team. The expansion is part of the IOC’s long-...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will no longer detain most people who are pregnant, postpartum, or nursing, according to a new policy released on July 9. However, ICE did not commit...
Since the founding of the United States, immigrants have served in the U.S. military. In recognition of the sacrifices involved in military service, the federal government has provided an...
Backlogs, processing delays, and revenue shortfalls are nothing new at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The agency has long suffered from severe structural problems that hurt...
The Supreme Court issued a decision on June 29 in the Johnson v. Guzman Chavez case. The majority of the justices determined that people with prior removal orders are subject to mandatory...
A recent court win that restored lower minimum investment amounts was good news for regional centers and immigrant investors in the EB-5 program. But the bad news is the EB-5 regional center...
How well should someone be able to remember every detail of a traumatic event? The U.S. government argues people should have a near perfect memory to obtain asylum—even if they experienced the...
During the 2020 campaign, President Biden pledged to end all 287(g) agreements made by the Trump administration. More than 150 days into his presidency, the promise remains unfulfilled. The 287(g...
Asylum seekers who were ordered deported for missing their U.S. court hearings under the Trump administration’s so-called Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)—informally known as the “Remain in...
As military troops withdraw from Afghanistan, Afghan nationals that supported the operations of the U.S. government—as translators and other vital roles—are in danger of violent retribution from...
World Refugee Day is celebrated internationally on June 20 every year. It honors the struggle of refugees around the world who are fleeing violence and persecution and are unable to safely return...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on June 11 its plan for funds the Trump administration had planned to use to construct a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Unspent funds will...
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on June 16 that he is restoring a vital lifeline to survivors of gender-based violence, gang violence, and violence on account of family relationships....
Twice each year, the federal government publishes a “regulatory agenda,” a preview of all the proposals that are in the pipeline to become federal regulations. Last week, the Biden administration...
My name is Hali Calzadillas-Andujo and I’m originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. I first came to the United States with my mother and siblings when I was eight years old. I didn’t even know what it...
The Supreme Court issued a decision last Thursday in a criminal case that will have an immediate impact on immigration law. The new decision set a limit on the types of crime that can be...
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...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) issued a new memorandum on May 27 that provides guidance on how its attorneys can and should exercise...
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled this week in Sanchez v. Mayorkas that people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who entered the United States unlawfully are ineligible to...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 28 the creation of a new “Dedicated Docket” in immigration court for the claims of asylum-seeking...
In two unanimous decisions, the Supreme Court has rejected rules that provided protections for immigrants. The rejected rules came from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a court...
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...
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...
Businesses and industry organizations are among those pushing back against a rule that would change eligibility for filing an H-1B petition. The new rule would require the H-1B lottery selection...
The Biden administration announced that eligible Haitians currently living in the United States can once again apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Those individuals who qualify for TPS can...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 Biden administration announced its first round of immigration judge appointments on May 6. Unfortunately, the immigration court appointments do not show the commitment to diversity that ...
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...
Birth rates are falling in the United States at the same time more Americans are reaching retirement age. Together, these two trends present enormous economic challenges for the nation. A growing...
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”...
Four families separated under the Trump administration will be reunited this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced. They will be the first families to be reunited thanks to the...
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...
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week in Niz-Chavez v. Garland that immigration law requires the government to give noncitizens complete notice about the initiation of their immigration court...
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...
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...
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...
This blog is the second in a three-part series examining President Biden’s first 100 days in office from the Immigration Justice Campaign. Many of us will always vividly remember the fear and lack...
The U.S. Supreme Court heard argument this week on the question of whether certain people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and who have developed strong connections with their communities...
This blog is the first in a three-part series from the Immigration Justice Campaign. Reflecting on his release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, Thomas,* a man who fled...
Throughout his presidential campaign and after the election, Joe Biden repeatedly condemned President Trump’s decision to slash the U.S. refugee admissions level to its lowest in history. He ...
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...
Only days after President Biden took office, some people were already declaring that the border was in a state of crisis. But recently released U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics reveal...
Since the start of the pandemic, many immigrants have been left out of federal COVID-19 relief packages. Both undocumented immigrants and some people in mixed-status households have been excluded...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers—which often suffer from cramped conditions and poor access to medical care—are highly conducive to the spread of COVID-19. But ICE...
Over the last two months, the Biden administration has been pressured to carry out another crackdown at the border as the number of arriving families and children rise. But officials making these...
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...
A ban blocking certain employment-based visas implemented and extended by former President Trump is set to expire on March 31. The ban has likely prevented hundreds of thousands of people from...
After almost two years in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, Martin Vargas Arellano was released to a hospital on March 5. ICE did not notify his family or attorney. Three...
By the end of the Trump presidency, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was all but destroyed. The former administration had attempted to end crucial protections for the hundreds of thousands of...
The current situation at the U.S.-Mexico border—including the rise in immigrant children in U.S. government custody—has captured the nation’s attention in recent weeks. Much of the conversation...
Employers and workers are starting to see a shift from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on unlawful restrictions of the H-1B specialty occupation visa category. Over the past nine...
A pause on border wall construction is set to expire on March 20, without an indication of what will happen next. President Biden signed a proclamation ordering the 60-day pause on his first day...
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...
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 (...
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...
The Biden administration announced new “enforcement priorities” for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on February 18. The priorities were an initial step away from the Trump administration...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on March 8 that Venezuelan nationals present in the United States would be eligible to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The TPS...
Since 2013, the government has struggled to respond to increasing numbers of unaccompanied children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. After disastrous Trump administration policies left...
The U.S. Supreme Court published a new decision on March 4 that will make it harder—if not impossible—for many longtime immigrants to fight deportation. The case, Pereida v. Wilkson, abandons...
Individuals hoping to become a naturalized American citizen will take a different civics test beginning this week, as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reverts back to a previous...
The U.S. government has long relied on a punitive and outdated detention system to keep immigrants in its custody. Even when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) places people on...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced last week that it would make changes to two family detention centers in Texas that would result in families spending less time in detention...
The stakes in immigration court could not be higher—many people face the possibility of being permanently torn away from their families and communities in the United States. Others seeking...
President Biden has ended a 10-month ban on immigrant visas—the COVID-19 immigrant visa ban. The Trump administration issued the ban in April 2020 in the name of “protecting” American jobs during...
Over the past year, sweeping orders have banned many non-immigrant visa holders from entering the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic gave many former Trump administration officials the...
Why has immigration become such a heated issue for those on the right and the left? It’s because many Americans have—without realizing it—sacralized their values and beliefs associated with...
For years, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has taken a harsh, punitive approach that has ripped families and communities apart. The Trump administration’s approach was particularly...
The Second Circuit has found that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) must publish immigration decisions, reversing an earlier federal district court decision. The case challenged the...
Just days before it was due to take effect, the Biden administration has struck down a last-minute deal made between the Trump administration and the union for U.S. Immigration and Customs...
The Trump administration sent over 70,000 people who came to the U.S border seeking asylum back to Mexico to wait for court hearings. This so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” (“MPP”) program...
The U.S. Border Patrol has been rooted in institutional racism since its founding in 1924. Almost a century later, the agency continues to commit racially fueled violent acts with near impunity....
For more than 40 years, the law has guaranteed any person who is physically present in the United States a right to seek asylum. In 2019 the Trump administration attempted to effectively eliminate...
Business immigration has already benefited from the change in administrations. On January 25, President Biden issued an executive order directly replacing a Trump-era executive order that wreaked...
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...
The Biden administration’s immigration reform bill will have a provision that seeks to replace the term “alien” with “noncitizen” in immigration law. The term “alien” in the Immigration and...
Do most immigrants show up for their immigration court hearings? A new report released by the American Immigration Council reveals that the answer to this question is a clear “Yes.” As the Biden...
In a blow to the Biden administration, a federal judge in Texas has ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) not to enforce its moratorium on deportations. President Biden had instructed...
January 29, 2021 marks the two-year anniversary of the Trump administration’s so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP), informally known as “Remain in Mexico.” Asylum seekers and advocates...
On his first day in office, President Biden took significant steps towards undoing the harm of the Trump administration’s immigration policies—and reforming our punitive and inhumane enforcement...
During his campaign, President Biden promised that immigration reform would be one of his top priorities upon taking office. After unveiling the summary of a sweeping immigration reform bill on...
America turned a corner today. We not only installed new leadership, but these leaders set a distinctively new tone for the next four years. A president is a political and policy leader, but he or...
The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to stop low-income immigrants from accessing protections and exercising their rights in the United States. Its last attempt—increasing immigration...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a final rule changing the way U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects the registrations of U.S. employers that want to...
A federal judge in California blocked a sweeping “death to asylum” rule on January 8, just three days before the rule was scheduled to take effect. The asylum rule is just one of many regulations...
The Trump administration’s latest effort to prevent refugee resettlement in the United States was halted after a federal court ruled that the president’s order allowing state and localities to...
Five years ago, Donald Trump descended an elevator and declared that Mexico was sending rapists and “bringing crime” across the border. Now, while America still reels from the deadly...
This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. The Biden administration faces a...
This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. The backbone of a functioning justice...
This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. The Biden administration will soon...
This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. The United States has long been a...
This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. When the Biden administration takes...
People who need access to their government immigration records scored a huge victory in the Nightingale et al. v. USCIS case on December 17. A judge ruled that a nationwide class of individuals...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an important announcement on December 9 about the Temporary Protective Status (TPS) designations for people from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras,...
Progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives are gearing up to demand a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. immigration system when the Biden administration and a new Congress are in place...
The Trump administration secretly implemented one of its most horrific attacks on America’s long tradition of asylum—holding asylum seekers in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody...
The development of a COVID-19 vaccine is a global endeavor. The scientists and entrepreneurs creating the vaccine are of many nationalities and immigration statuses—as are the millions of people...
The Trump administration has finalized a sweeping regulation that will effectively end asylum protection in the United States. The regulation, which was proposed in June, is set to go into effect...
Thousands of Liberians living lawfully in the United States run the risk of detention and deportation if they do not apply for the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness program (LRIF) by the...
The Trump administration has used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to curtail many immigrant and nonimmigrant visa programs, including J-1 cultural exchange visitors. But with vaccines on the...
A federal judge in New York has overturned the Trump administration’s latest effort to limit the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. DACA temporarily protects certain people...
Our nation has been stuck in a dangerous “us v. them” mindset for some time now. We also live in a moment where many Americans are exhausted by the politics of division and are looking for an...
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) has proposed two rules that would significantly decrease the due process rights of people in immigration court. Both rules would restrict judges...
On December 1, a federal district court judge disrupted the Trump administration’s relentless attack on legal immigration by halting two new sets of regulations. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and...
As the Biden-Harris administration prepares to take office, many anxiously await what immigration policies the Trump administration will finalize in the lead up to Inauguration Day in the form of...
The incoming Biden-Harris administration has announced its choice for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas. If confirmed, Mayorkas will represent several historic...
While our Thanksgiving dinner tables may look a little different this year, one thing remains the same: Thanksgiving is a time to catch up and reconnect with loved ones. Whether you are doing this...
For years, the Trump administration has argued that limited capacity at ports of entry led to its policy of turning back asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border (the “turnback policy”). But a...
The Trump administration announced on November 17 that it plans to start denying work permits to people who have been ordered deported, but who have been released from immigration custody because...
Lawful permanent residents seeking to become U.S. citizens will now be required to take a more difficult and longer citizenship test. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced...
A judge has ruled that recent changes to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that were a veiled attempt to gut the program are invalid because Chad Wolf—the acting secretary of the...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a proposed rule that will change the way it selects the registrations of U.S. employers that want to file H-1B petitions subject...
This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. President-elect Joe Biden’s plan on...
Immigration detention was dangerous before President Trump took office four years ago. His policies—coupled with a deadly global pandemic—have only made the situation more dire. Immigration...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit ruled that certain people with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) can apply for green cards without leaving the United States. In Velazquez v. Barr, the...
President-elect of the United States Joseph Biden called for national unity in his victory speech on November 7. He said, “It’s time to put away the harsh rhetoric. To lower the temperature. To...
A major theme of the 2020 election has been how demographic shifts in the American electorate would influence the outcome. Political pundits have given a great deal of airtime to examining the...
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage inside ICE detention centers, hundreds of Cubans who cannot be deported, continue to be detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They...
In the final run up to the presidential election, the Trump administration has reinvigorated its attacks on undocumented immigrants in the United States by targeting so-called “sanctuary” policies...
Update: On November 5, the Seven Circuit Court of appeals placed an administrative stay on the district court’s ruling, restoring the public charge rule at least temporarily. The Trump...
Congress released the “first complete narrative” on the Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy on October 30. This hallmark of President Trump’s immigration legacy led to the forcible...
Over 60,000 people at the southern border have been forced to return to Mexico under the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program. As...
Once a year, National Pro Bono Week celebrates the pro bono work of lawyers, paralegals, and law students. Pro bono legal services—which come at no cost—are integral for many people otherwise left...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to mismanage the spread of the coronavirus in its facilities nationwide—and the consequences might be far more deadly than the agency wants...
Three new lawsuits have been filed challenging the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new rules impacting the H-1B visa category, with one also challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new...
The application fee to apply for U.S. citizenship was due to rise from $640 to $1170 on October 2. Though the fee hike was temporarily blocked in federal court, this is not the first time U.S....
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a proposed rule that will make it more difficult for individuals applying for admission in a J-1 exchange visitor or F-1 student visa...
As the Trump administration cracked down on migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, it has often invoked the concept of “national sovereignty” to justify drastic policy changes. But a new Senate...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched another military-style raid on a humanitarian aid station in the Arizona desert, close to the U.S.-Mexico border. On October 5, Border Patrol...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported a flight of approximately 100 African asylum seekers to their home countries, where they could face immediate arrest and death. Many of the...
At a time when tensions over race in the United States are high, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in an October 8 memo that it will cancel all diversity and inclusion trainings for...
The effort to permanently replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day signifies a growing movement to honor the resilience and history of indigenous communities. The day presents an...
The Trump administration issued two rules October 8 that, if not overturned, will further restrict legal immigration. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued the first rule, which only...
The Department of Homeland Security has proposed a rule that would make it much more difficult for U.S. citizens and legal immigrants—especially those experiencing financial hardship—to sponsor...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) suffered a budget crisis partially of its own doing and partially due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. Although the agency did not need to go...
The multibillion-dollar private prison industry that operates immigration detention facilities—forcibly detaining tens of thousands of men, women and children—has come increasingly under fire in...
On October 1, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop enforcing parts of a presidential proclamation that banned many foreign workers from entering the United States. The court...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) plans to destroy thousands of records documenting abuse and misconduct by its agents. The agency has requested that the National Archives and Records...
The Trump administration is successfully using the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to alter the U.S. system of legal immigration. New government data makes clear that these changes will...
A federal court halted a new rule that would have increased fees for immigration applications on September 29. The court explained that the rule, announced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has implemented a new temporary rule preventing affirmative asylum seekers—who request asylum while already physically present in the United...
For generations, international students pursuing their studies in the United States have been permitted to remain in the country for the duration of their studies. This helps to guarantee that...
The Trump administration has spent most of the year trying to destroy asylum law—and the blows keep coming. On Sept. 23, the Department of Justice proposed yet another regulation aimed at certain...
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a fierce champion of progressive rights and the second woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice, died on Sept. 18, 2020. Long recognized as a staunch advocate for women’s...
The Trump administration continues to express belief that the coronavirus “will go away”—but the U.S. State Department does not seem to agree. In a recent memo signed by Secretary of State Mike...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is expanding its power in Florida, where more than one out of every five residents in the state is an immigrant. The Florida Department of...
A federal appeals court recently ruled that the Fourth Amendment requires a neutral decisionmaker to review the detention of anyone held based on an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)...
The Trump administration’s justification for ending administrative closure is on thin ice. A new report casts doubt on key arguments presented in a proposed regulation that would end the practice...
A whistleblower has come forward to expose serious allegations of medical malpractice at a for-profit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Ocilla, Georgia. The...
In a split decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for four countries can proceed. The fate of nearly 250...
Welcoming Week—an annual celebration in communities across the nation that brings neighbors together to build connections across lines of difference—begins Saturday, September 12. Despite the...
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants might be prevented from voting in the 2020 election—even though they are just one step away from becoming new Americans. Years of fiscal mismanagement at U.S....
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to dramatically expand the personal information that it collects in support of immigration petitions and applications. This new rule will...
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume issuing diversity visas on September 5. Each year, the State Department uses a lottery system to select visa recipients from a broad...
Days after Hurricane Laura tore through Louisiana, the situation for people held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities remains critical. ICE reportedly evacuated at least...
A Black former U.S. diplomat recently shared her experience of months of racial profiling by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials while she was stationed at the U.S. Consulate in...
A federal court on Monday halted a secretive program started under the Trump administration that allowed Border Patrol agents to be harsh gatekeepers to the asylum process. The court rejected the...
The United States Postal Service (USPS) will play an outsized role in the 2020 presidential election, as more states focus on mail-in voting to help curb the spread of the coronavirus at polling...
Communication with the outside world is crucial for people in jail. This includes individuals facing deportation while detained in immigration detention centers, who do not have the right to court...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) told Congress in May that it was running out of money and would need a $1.2 billion bailout to maintain its operations without major disruptions....
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is proposing a range of measures that will limit the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) authority. The new rule—scheduled to be published on August 26—will make it...
Over 250,000 Americans donated a total of $25 million to the “We Build the Wall” campaign, a crowdfunding effort led in part by former White House Adviser Steve Bannon. The campaign alleged that...
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) top two officials are under scrutiny once again after a congressional oversight office found they were unlawfully appointed to their positions. The...
For many people planning to seek asylum in the United States, enforcement starts in Panama, over 3,000 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. immigration agencies collaborate with Panama’s...
People born in the United States are American citizens, regardless of what President Trump claims. Birthright citizenship—enshrined by the Fourteenth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution—guarantees...
Immigration Nation, a six-episode docuseries that provides a rare view of the internal workings of immigration enforcement—and its impact on individuals and families—began streaming on Netflix in...
Asylum seekers got a major win in a lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) illegal policy of turning back asylum seekers at ports of entry. In Al Otro Lado v. Wolf, a...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has imposed new requirements on its officers for exercising discretion that will substantially increase time and expense for the agency and...
Three men died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on within a week of each other. Two of the men died in hospitals after being diagnosed with COVID-19, while the other died...
The Trump administration announced on August 3 plans to end the 2020 Census one month earlier than previously planned. The change has led to fears that immigrant and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and...
The dangers to America’s farmworkers—primarily immigrant men from Mexico with temporary H-2A visas—have long persisted under a system that is ripe for abuse. But those risks have only grown since...
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread throughout the United States, immigration courts around the country remain in turmoil. The Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”) initially...
The United States Border Patrol raided a humanitarian aid camp in Arizona on July 31, detaining volunteers and over 30 people receiving care. The camp—known as Byrd Camp—is run by No More Deaths (...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an advance copy of a final rule on July 31 that will impose significant fee increases across many facets of the legal immigration system...
A federal judge in New York has once again put the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule on hold, but only for the duration of the COVID-19 national emergency. This rule, which went into...
The Trump administration has been detaining immigrant children in hotels along the Texas-Mexico border and in Arizona. Some of the children are just a year old and are held in the hotels for weeks...
After nearly six weeks of inaction following its stinging defeat before the Supreme Court on June 18, the Department of Homeland Security released a memo gutting the Deferred Action for Childhood...
The May 25 killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police officers rightly sparked public outrage and protests throughout the United States. In response, the Trump administration deployed federal...
A Canadian court has ruled that the United States is no longer a country to which the Canadian government could safely return asylum seekers who crossed the U.S-Canada land border. This upends...
President Trump issued an executive order on June 21 that laid out a plan to violate the U.S. Constitution by excluding undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census. An accurate census count is...
The Trump administration has justified major changes to citizenship processing to “safeguard” the U.S. immigration system from application fraud. Yet the increased vetting has not lowered the...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced last week that it was launching a “Citizens Academy” in Chicago. The move justifiably generated everything from confusion to anger and fear...
Another man has died in immigration detention from COVID-19. His tragic and avoidable death marks the deadly end to a jail-to-deportation pipeline that disproportionately targets Black and Brown...
Update: On August 3, 2020, a federal court in Ohio granted a temporary restraining order requiring USCIS to print a work permit within 7 days for all individuals who had been approved for one. The...
In a blow to government transparency, the Trump administration has decided to designate Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “security/sensitive agency.” The move further shields ICE from...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expects, by the end of July, to have worked through nearly the entire backlog of naturalization oath ceremonies put on hold in response to the...
Even as President Trump downplays the threat of COVID-19, the Trump administration is using the pandemic as a pretext to bar more people from asylum in the United States. While the proposal is...
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security introduced their proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2021 (beginning October 1, 2020) this week. The budget would have significant...
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge across the United States, many universities have chosen to temporarily move to online-only classes to protect public health. However, new guidance from...
Immigrant children who arrive in the United States without a parent are placed in shelters or foster care while their guardianship and immigration process play out. But all too often, U.S....
A program created in late 2019 to allow certain Liberian noncitizens in the United States to become lawful permanent residents (LPRs) is falling far short of its potential, according to a new...
On June 30, a federal judge in the District of Columbia struck down the Trump administration’s asylum transit ban, ending a sweeping policy that had shut down asylum for most people entering the...
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently published a report analyzing U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) treatment of noncitizens at the border in...
Federal Judge Dolly Gee has ordered that children held for more than 20 days at U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) family detention centers must be released. The order was the latest...
The Supreme Court ruled on June 25 that certain asylum seekers forced through a fast-track deportation process at the U.S. border, called “expedited removal,” cannot challenge their deportations...
People have taken to the streets across the country to protest the murder of George Floyd, who died at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. This exercise of First Amendment rights has...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will finalize a new regulation on June 26 which will strip most asylum seekers of the right to seek work authorization. The rule imposes sweeping new...
The Trump administration has banned foreign nationals on certain employment-based nonimmigrant visas from entering the United States. The new ban begins June 24, at 12:01 am ET. The administration...
The Supreme Court issued its long-anticipated decision in DHS v. Regents of the University of California—the case challenging the administration’s attempt to dismantle the Deferred Action for...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made a request for $1.2 billion in emergency funding from Congress. USCIS’ funding is unique since it primarily flows from the fees people pay in...
Each year on June 20, World Refugee Day celebrates the resiliency of refugees who have fled persecution in their home countries. It also honors the process that allows countries to take in...
My name is Sonia Martinez. I am a Certified Nursing Assistant working to help treat patients with COVID-19 at University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. I am also one of the 650,000...
In sweeping new proposed regulations announced on June 11, the Trump administration took the first step toward administering a final blow to the U.S. asylum system. The proposed rules, which...
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently condemned U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for its role in separating families at the border in 2018. Like previous inspections, the...
With 1.2 million cases pending in immigration court, transparency into how the courts are run is more important than ever. Unlike traditional courts where records are public, the only way to get...
The coronavirus pandemic has radically altered the U.S. workforce. Many people have lost their jobs, while others have had to continue to go to work despite the serious health risks. Some sectors...
Many communities across the U.S. have adopted so-called “sanctuary policies” that are intended to ensure that we all live in safe neighborhoods. When these policies are in place, local police don’...
The U.S. Supreme Court found on Monday that federal courts have the authority to review certain claims from people who are seeking protection from torture. The case, Nasrallah v. Barr, is about...
President Trump issued a proclamation to prevent certain Chinese nationals from entering the United States using academic student (F) or exchange visitor researcher (J) visas. The proclamation...
May 31 closes out Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, a time dedicated to recognizing the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. The...
The Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) hiring process for immigration appellate judges was recently revealed. Now, the integrity of the immigration court system has never been more in question....
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government has implemented sweeping revisions to U.S. immigration policy. Many of the changes fail to prioritize the health of immigrants or...
The Trump administration has indefinitely extended its ban on immigration at U.S. land borders. The order was also expanded to include immigrants arriving at coastal ports. The ban is based on an...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) says it’s running out of money, fast. In a letter to Congress, USCIS declared that the coronavirus pandemic had caused unavoidable budget...
The coronavirus pandemic has affected day-to-day life for everyone, including foreign nationals who planned to participate in the U.S. Department of State’s Exchange Visitor Program. These...
When the Trump administration implemented mass family separation in 2018, the American public was outraged. Two years later, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is using a different...
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of essential workers in keeping America up and running. First-responders, medical staff, meat packers, and domestic, hospitality, and...
The coronavirus has disrupted all our lives. Native-born Americans and noncitizens across the United States are experiencing many of the same challenges—the disruptions to day-to-day life, the...
A long-running lawsuit over a rule allowing certain spouses of highly educated H-1B workers to work in the United States took an interesting twist. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS),...
The U.S. government rejects an immigrant’s entire application for a visa or immigration benefit over a single blank field on a form. Applications can be rejected if a box is left unchecked or has...
The Trump administration has used the coronavirus pandemic to justify shutting down the southern border—and much of our asylum system along with it. But long before the pandemic, the...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is currently proposing significant changes to the Affidavit of Support (Form I-864), and related forms I-864A and I-864EZ.
A free phone call can mean the difference between a fair day in court and being deported to harm—or worse—for individuals held in immigration detention centers. Immigrants may not be able to meet...
The coronavirus presents a clear and immediate danger to America’s food supply. Meatpacking plants in particular have taken a huge hit. To mitigate the loss of production, President Trump signed...
In recent years, states have increasingly embraced their role in immigration by exploring and enacting policies and positions to address the needs of their communities. States are doing what they...
The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) proposed rule mandating the collection of DNA from nearly all immigrants in government custody became final on April 8, 2020. For the first time in U.S. history,...
Medical experts and government officials urge people to social distance to avoid contracting the coronavirus. Yet, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to hold tens of thousands of...
In a 5-4 decision on April 23, the U.S. Supreme Court expanded the types of criminal offenses that bar green card holders from seeking a form of relief from deportation. The case, Barton v. Barr,...
At a time when our country is united in the fight against the coronavirus, President Trump is seeking to divide us by turning to a familiar target—immigrants. The president first threatened a full...
Countries around the world that still have few coronavirus cases are bracing themselves for the spread of the pandemic. Many have restricted international arrivals to prevent a surge in cases like...
There will be many key stories that emerge out of the coronavirus pandemic. One will be of an America where people banded together to help one another battle this crisis. And another will be of a...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been denying many H-1B petitions by misinterpreting the law. On April 16, 2020, the American Immigration Council and partners filed a...
Individuals participating in the J-1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program were faced with a difficult choice in the hours after President Trump issued travel restrictions to Europe: leave their program...
The spread of the coronavirus has led state and local governments to issue “stay at home orders” to limit contact outside of the household. But these mandates have caused unexpected consequences...
Deportation proceedings are having a disproportionately large impact on the residents of rural counties throughout the United States. Compared to urban areas, the proportion of people going...
Immigrants are participating in the U.S. political process in record numbers, which is a clear sign of successful integration into American society. In fact, nearly one out of every 10 eligible...
We are facing an existential challenge unlike any we have experienced in our lifetimes. We’ve spent the past few weeks adjusting to a new normal. We’re acquiring a new vocabulary and adapting to...
The U.S. agricultural industry depends on seasonal guest workers to produce the food Americans eat. Since 1986, the H-2A visa program has allowed employers to fill labor shortages with temporary...
Immigrants living in the United States are eligible for unemployment benefits. But as the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus spread across the country, many are reportedly afraid to...
Across the country, communities are responding to the coronavirus pandemic by working to protect our poor, elderly, and compromised. Critical to the response are the efforts of the medical and...
Nearly two years after the “zero tolerance” policy was announced, evidence condemning the practice and implementation of family separation continues to mount. A recent report from the U.S....
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads and entire states go into quarantine, immigrants and their attorneys are still being forced to gather in cramped immigration courtrooms inside detention...
Social distancing has been mandated in many places throughout the United States to slow the spread of COVID-19, the new coronavirus. Meanwhile, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)...
We are in the midst of a crisis unlike any we’ve experienced in our lifetimes. We are scared and scrambling to protect ourselves and the ones that we love. This is normal and understandable....
President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on Friday, March 27. The $2 trillion stimulus package goes a long way to improve our response to the COVID...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) completed its first registration period on March 20 for H-1B petitions. The H-1B visa category allows highly educated foreign workers to...
The coronavirus outbreak has significantly disrupted the operations of government agencies around the country, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS is the agency that...
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, the U.S. health care system will likely be pushed to its limits. During this time, it is important to remember the role that immigrant health care workers play...
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...
The spread of the coronavirus into the United States has fueled the destructive, xenophobic narrative favored by the Trump administration. Anti-Chinese racism, and anti-Asian racism and violence...
As the global death toll from coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to mount and communities take steps to stem the further spread of the virus, immigration advocates and lawyers have sounded the alarm...
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...
The Trump administration has steadily implemented initiatives to restructure the immigration court system without providing much information to the public. The lack of government transparency...
March 15 marks the beginning of Sunshine Week – a week devoted to celebrating the importance of government transparency and access to public records. It is a time to point out the lack of openness...
The United States has pursued aggressive increases in immigration enforcement over the past two decades across several presidencies. Congress has allocated increasing resources during this period...
A bill that would ensure automatic U.S. citizenship for the children of U.S. military service members will soon hit the president’s desk. The Citizenship for Children of Military Members &...
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...
Spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, has caused panic across the United States. With the number of confirmed cases on the rise, the coronavirus has started to affect several facets of...
The Trump administration is creating a new office of attorneys tasked with stripping immigrants of their U.S. citizenship. The task force will investigate and prosecute people it suspects...
The Trump administration has worked to close the door on all types of immigrants—including people trying to come to the United States on visas. Consequently, the United States is experiencing a...
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....
The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking damages from a U.S. Border Patrol agent who shot and killed a teenager across the U.S.-Mexico border. With this latest decision in the...
I am one of approximately 619,000 undocumented, Black immigrants living in the United States. My immigration story began at seven years old, when I came to the United States from Belize without my...
For the first time, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is requiring U.S. employers to register in order to have a chance to file an H-1B petition that is subject to the annual...
The Greyhound bus company announced it will no longer allow Border Patrol agents to conduct warrantless checks for people in the country without authorization. This reverses the company’s policy...
After months in the courts, the Trump administration declared victory and began enforcing its new “public charge” rule. The rule goes into effect on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, inside the United States...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been targeting U.S. citizens’ foreign spouses when they apply for legal immigration status. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Maryland put a...
A federal court found on Wednesday that U.S. Border Patrol may not detain migrants held in its facilities in Arizona’s Tucson Sector longer than 48 hours without providing for their “basic human...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to destroy thousands of records documenting horrific treatment of immigrants in the agency’s custody. The records contain vital details about...
The Trump administration is continuing to wage an escalating war on so-called sanctuary jurisdictions across the country. This is part of an ongoing campaign to coerce state and local governments...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—the largest law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security, with tens of thousands of officers charged with policing our borders—is...
A federal judge in Arizona reversed convictions of four volunteers of the humanitarian aid group No More Deaths last week. No More Deaths is an Arizona-based group that works to end death and...
A federal district court stopped U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from drastically changing how the agency determines when a foreign student or exchange visitor is “unlawfully...
The Trump administration is cracking down on New York over its refusal to share residents’ driver’s license records with immigration authorities. Now, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently proposed changes to how the agency will review certain denials of immigration benefits. The changes will apply to its Form I-290B, Notice...
President Trump issued the fourth travel ban of his presidency on Friday. This ban comes almost three years to the day after the first one brought thousands of protesters to airports around the...
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...
Three years into the Trump administration, it’s become clear that we have lost our rudder. For a nation that long-provided a welcome mat to the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, our...
A congressional oversight committee held a hearing this week on the need for immigration court reform and the systemic due process challenges within the immigration court system. The House...
After more than 20 years in the immigrant justice movement, I confess that I missed the mark. In my drive to improve the lives of immigrants and refugees, I was blind to some key realities taking...
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...
Monday marks the third anniversary of the Trump administration’s travel ban—a presidential proclamation that needlessly divides families on the basis of their religion and nationality. The...
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill sent a letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) this month demanding the release of all transgender people in ICE’s custody. At least two transgender...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began collecting DNA from people held at the border earlier this month. This is part of a pilot program that DHS plans to expand nationwide. The program...
Iranian students coming to the United States are being stopped at airports, having their visas revoked, and are being deported. Advocates warn this trend is emerging less than a month after...
The Trump administration received an unfortunate victory in the case against their family separation policy. On January 13, 2020, Federal Judge Dana Sabraw sided with the government in a lawsuit...
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...
The new process for petitioning for highly educated H-1B workers will officially begin on March 1, 2020. For the first time, a U.S. employer who wants to file a petition that is subject to the...
After more than four years of gathering evidence of the substandard conditions in the government’s short-term detention facilities in Arizona’s Tucson Sector, a case challenging these conditions...
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...
The government closed out the decade with yet another person’s death in immigration detention. Fiscal year 2019 was one of the most fatal years on the books for immigrants held in the custody of...
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...
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...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) recent proposal to increase most of their fees has been met with strong opposition. The proposal drew widespread attention, garnering nearly 10,...
Many New Yorkers had a reason to celebrate on December 16, as they were permitted to apply for a driver’s license for the first time, even if they lacked permanent immigration status. Now, thanks...
The defense spending package for the fiscal year 2020 will allow thousands of Liberians living in the United States to gain green cards. The $738-billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)...
When people who immigrate to the United States are enabled to become U.S. citizens, everyone benefits. Citizenship allows people to have more stable lives by granting access to better work,...
In a landmark decision last week, a federal court in Utah ordered the U.S. government to extend birthright citizenship to people born in the U.S. territory of American Samoa. In a lengthy decision...
Government officials were aware of the harm family separation would cause and were critical of the practice years before the Trump administration established it as an official policy. Advocates...
A recent federal court ruling in California could allow hundreds of thousands of immigrants currently and previously detained by private prison companies to demand compensation and damages for...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that U.S. employers will have to pay a $10 fee and register to have a chance at filing an H-1B petition subject to the statutory “...
As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has expanded immigration capacity across the country in recent years, the number of people held in its facilities with actual criminal records...
The rate at which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained pregnant women increased 52% during the first two years of the Trump administration, according to a Government Accountability...
If you have ever wanted to trace your family’s immigration history, you should do it now—accessing genealogical records from the 1800s and 1900s may soon become far more expensive than ever before...
Attorney General Sessions’ orders to prioritize prosecuting people for immigration-related offenses in 2017 and 2018 put a significant strain on law enforcement across the border, diverting...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—the agency responsible for systematically separating thousands of migrant families in the summer of 2018—lacked the technology or mechanisms to record and...
Every year, thousands of people are forced to face the complex deportation system without an attorney representing them. Now, the immigration courts are seeking to limit the assistance that these...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently published an update to its National Detention Standards (NDS), which govern the treatment of people held in facilities that rent some of...
During International Education Week (IEW), the United States celebrates the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. The joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the...
Each year, we gather around dinner tables at Thanksgiving with people we love—but don’t necessarily agree with—when it comes to politics and the direction of the country. The political discourse...
Over the last decade, the remains of more than 1,600 people have been found in the Arizona desert. Groups like No More Deaths, whose mission is “ending death and suffering in the U.S.-Mexico...
What do you envision when you think of a community that is welcoming? Researchers have developed ways of defining and evaluating how welcoming cities are across the United States. The results are...
White House Senior Policy Adviser Stephen Miller is no friend to immigrants—particularly those he views as racially “lesser than.” While this is evident from the anti-immigrant policies Miller has...
In yet another major blow to America’s asylum system, on Wednesday the Trump administration reportedly began sending some asylum seekers from Honduras and El Salvador to Guatemala rather than...
The Trump administration is preparing to seize private land in Texas to continue construction of the president’s long-promised border wall. According to government officials familiar with the...
Nearly 60,000 people seeking asylum in the United States have been returned to Mexico to wait for their U.S. court hearings under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the Remain...
A federal court ruled this week that sweeping policies permitting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to search personal cell phones,...
In a new proposal officially put forward on Thursday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) called for major fee hikes for immigration-related applications. The cost for becoming a...
The Supreme Court heard arguments on November 12 in three cases challenging President Trump’s attempted rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. The Court’s...
Poland officially began its participation in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP) on November 11. Under the program, Polish nationals can now spend up to 90 days in the United States without first...
On November 12, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments regarding the legality of President Trump’s 2017 rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. The...
The Trump administration, acting through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is disrupting the process by which U.S. employers obtain work authorization for highly skilled foreign...
The Trump administration is proposing a new rule that would delay work authorization for people seeking asylum in the United States. The move is drawing opposition from advocates across the...
It’s been nearly a year since the Trump administration announced the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), or the “Remain in Mexico” program. This program forces vulnerable asylum seekers to return...
Understanding how the immigration agencies operate has never been more important. Equally important is being able to rely on the information that those agencies release to the public. For this...
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s health care ban on Saturday, one day before it was scheduled to go into effect. The ban would have barred entry for any prospective...
At a time when skills related to the burgeoning field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are in very short supply, the U.S. government is making it harder to recruit highly trained professionals from...
At a House Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee Hearing on Tuesday, Congress heard testimony from experts about the impact of recent immigration policies affecting foreign-born military members,...
The cost of filing an application for citizenship—usually a hefty $725—has long been a barrier for some immigrants. Now, a change to the naturalization process may leave even more people priced...
American culture is increasingly a blend of traditions, holidays, and customs adapted from around the world. This is the case with the rise in popularity of the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos, or...
Following an agreement between the governments of the United States and El Salvador, Salvadorans with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will be able to extend their status for another year into...
The Trump administration began a secretive new asylum process in El Paso, Texas that came to light late last week. It seeks to deter asylum seekers from coming to the United States and to remove...
Beginning in December, all New Yorkers will be able to apply for a driver’s license—regardless of immigration status. The Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act, or “Green Light” bill, passed the...
Federal immigration officials are beginning to expand their use of surveillance technology to collect information on immigrants. As officials gather more tools in their arsenal—from DNA collection...
Rape, violence, kidnapping, and lack of basic health care is, unfortunately, a reality for hundreds of asylum seekers subjected to the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or “Remain in Mexico”...
The consequences of record-breaking workplace immigration raids are still overwhelming the legal system in southern Mississippi. After the Trump administration repeatedly threatened mass raids...
The ideology of President Trump is about more than limiting how many immigrants enter the United States each year; it’s about turning back the clock on U.S. social history. A recent analysis by...
President Trump has made the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border a cornerstone of his presidency. To date, not a single mile of new barriers has been erected. But the Trump...
A federal court in San Francisco certified two nationwide classes of immigrants and attorneys challenging extreme agency delays in producing immigration case files. Plaintiffs allege that U.S....
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Friday that will phase out private prisons—including federal immigration detention centers—throughout the state. The new law, AB 32,...
The Supreme Court began a new session this October, and in the coming months, the justices will hear several high-profile immigration cases. These cases involve the attempted termination of the...
The Trump administration suffered another immigration blow in court last Friday. The new “public charge” rule set to go into effect Tuesday, October 15, was blocked in three separate rulings by...
People in immigration detention who are represented by an attorney are more likely to receive a positive outcome in immigration court than those that face judges alone. Unfortunately, people who...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested millions of people based on unreliable electronic databases. In a recent court decision with nationwide impact, a federal judge in...
President Trump invoked the same legal authority used for the Travel Ban to impose a sweeping new ban on legal immigration last week. Under the new ban, which analysis suggests could block as much...
Officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—a law enforcement agency with a history of misconduct and abuse—are reportedly conducting screenings of asylum seekers pursuing protection in...
Nebane Abienwi, a 37-year-old man who had recently fled war-torn Cameroon, died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on Tuesday. His passing—the first of the new fiscal year...
The Trump administration announced last week that it had signed an “Asylum Cooperative Agreement” with Honduras, following two similar agreements signed with El Salvador and Guatemala. If any of...
For many small towns and rural communities, opening their doors to refugees is part of a local strategy to reverse population decline, stimulate their workforce, and build diverse communities....
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to significantly undo the Flores Settlement Agreement, which mandates certain protections for children held in immigration...
Newly released documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reveal that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) rolled out a major policy change impacting petitions for...
A federal judge blocked the expansion of a fast-track deportation program, known as “expedited removal,” minutes before the government said it would begin implementing its expansion on September...
President Trump yesterday proposed a reduction in the annual number of refugee admissions to 18,000 persons for 2020. This is the lowest number ever in the 40-year history of the refugee program,...
Immigration enforcement may be a federal responsibility, but state governments have a great deal of power over the conditions under which immigrants are detained. At a time when over-crowded...
The mass deportation of immigrants from the United States under the Secure Communities program has had no appreciable impact on local crime rates. Why? Because most of the immigrants being...
When Donald Trump took office in January 2017, the immigration courts faced a record backlog of over 542,000 cases. This month, the immigration court backlog hit a new historic high with over 1,...
In the Trump administration’s rush to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, 22 archaeological sites could be damaged or entirely destroyed. This warning comes from an internal National Park...
Five mothers and their children sued the U.S. government on Thursday for forcibly separating them in 2018. The five families are among the thousands of parents and young children who were split...
In summer 2018, the Trump administration attempted to deter asylum-seeking families from coming to the United States by separating children from their parents at the southern border. It was...
If you’re in the United States for your exchange program right now, you’ve chosen an exciting time to be here—during the 2020 presidential election season. But our election process can be...
At a new training facility at Fort Benning in Georgia, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reportedly planning to build “hyper-realistic” simulations of homes, schools, courtrooms,...
Tech startups are engines of innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Yet U.S. visa policies may be preventing startups from hiring the highly skilled foreign professionals they need to...
Welcoming Week 2019 has arrived. Communities around the nation are spending the week of September 13 – 22 bringing together immigrants, refugees, and longtime residents in a spirit of unity and...
The Trump administration is considering decreasing the maximum number of refugees accepted into the United States to 10,000 and as possibly low as zero, administration officials confirmed last...
The Supreme Court issued an emergency ruling on Wednesday allowing the Trump administration to implement a ban on asylum seekers at the southern land border. The ban applies to people who...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently proposed a rule that will further delay asylum seekers’ ability to receive work authorization. Under current law, USCIS must grant or...
The strongest hurricane to ever hit the Bahamas ripped through the islands last week. In the wake of such devastation, it would not be unusual for the U.S. government to announce temporary...
The first thing many people forcibly returned to Mexico tell you is that they’re afraid. Afraid of the cartels, afraid of Mexican immigration officials, and afraid of the months of uncertainty....
The Trump administration is raiding the Department of Defense’s budget to fund construction of its border wall. According to Pentagon officials, 127 military construction projects will be canceled...
The U.S. economy is changing—and immigration can play a major role in how it looks in the future. But how immigration shapes the future of the U.S. economy and its workforce is dependent on a...
Border Patrol agents placed a detained 9-year-old girl with a kidney disease at high risk of a urinary tract infection by not allowing her to shower or change her underwear for five days. Agents...
Iraqi interpreters who risked their lives to work with the American military have been effectively shut out from obtaining the special U.S. visa they were promised. The Trump administration issued...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently notified Congress of its intent to pull $271 million dollars from FEMA, the Coast Guard, and TSA for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)....
Immigration judges from across the country will soon be reassigned from their normal caseload to preside over thousands of immigration cases along the U.S.-Mexico border, reportedly in an effort...
Without so much as a formal announcement, the Trump administration sent letters to families of sick children containing a dire warning: leave the country in 33 days or face deportation and a years...
The Trump administration implemented more drastic changes to the U.S. immigration court system on Monday. A new rule gives the director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)—a...
Over 2,000 people from Central American who were seeking to live in the United States have reportedly given up and accepted a “free ride” home under a new, controversial program funded by the U.S...
Short-term thinking is inferior to long-term thinking, some argue, because it does a disservice to the future and those who will live it. Two long-term thinkers who have profoundly impacted U.S....
The Trump administration announced a new regulation on Wednesday allowing for the indefinite detention of immigrant children. The new regulation will end the Flores Settlement Agreement. Flores is...
Recent government statistics indicate that the United States is becoming a less welcoming destination for foreign students. According to data from the State Department, the number of student visas...
The Trump administration’s latest asylum ban went into effect in New Mexico and Texas—but not California and Arizona—on Friday after a ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling...
A federal appeals court in California ruled on Thursday that immigrant children must receive edible food, clean water, soap, and toothpaste while being detained by U.S. immigration authorities....
Legal immigration channels to the United States are continuing to suffer under the Trump administration. These restrictions are having an effect on employment-based immigration—particularly...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released more details about its plan to close its international offices. In an August 9 memorandum, USCIS clarified that all but seven of...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is preparing to expand its use of facial recognition technology to screen everyone entering the United States through borders and ports of entry. The...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the final version of its new “public charge” regulation on Monday morning. The rule would make it easier for the government to deny a green card...
Immigration judges around the country are denouncing the Trump administration’s latest move to “disband and destroy” their union. The judges’ union has been openly critical of the administration’s...
In an attempt to rush through immigrant families’ court cases, the government began implementing “rocket dockets” in September 2018 for parents and children who had recently entered the United...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted coordinated raids in several small Mississippi towns on Wednesday. With reports of 680 arrests, the raids may be the largest ICE worksite...
El Paso, Texas suffered a horrific tragedy on Saturday when a gunman entered a local Walmart and opened fire. The gunman—who was emboldened by racist rhetoric to specifically target immigrants and...
The Trump administration recently announced it would start applying a fast-tracked deportation process known as “expedited removal” to hundreds of thousands more people than ever before. People...
The Trump administration announced on Friday that it is ending a family reunification program for Filipino World War II veterans. This places a needless burden on our country’s veterans, many of...
After months of uncertainty, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Thursday that it will extend—but not redesignate—Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria. This life-saving...
There is a disturbing trend in aggressive immigration enforcement that is appearing more and more recently: the detention of U.S. citizens. There are clear indications that U.S. immigration agents...
Attorney General William Barr issued a decision that significantly restricts the ability of many current asylum seekers to win their cases on Monday. In Matter of L-E-A-, Barr issued a new...
This month, the United States celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. After years of a tense “space race” between the United States and the then-Soviet Union, American...
From the highest levels of corporate America to virtually every level of the labor force, immigration creates new jobs in the U.S. economy. The businesses founded by immigrant entrepreneurs...
The Trump administration signed an agreement with Guatemala last Friday that appears to allow the U.S. government to send certain asylum applicants to Guatemala, forcing them to seek asylum there...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision clarifying limits on when federal prosecutors can charge immigrants with illegal entry and reentry into the United States this week. Under...
A federal judge in California blocked the implementation of a new rule yesterday that would have prevented most immigrants who arrive at the U.S. southern land border from qualifying for asylum in...
UPDATE: On Thursday night, the House brought the bill back to a floor vote and passed TPS designation for Venezuela. Although this vote only required a simply majority, bipartisan support for the...
Over 2,000 immigrant children are being detained by the Trump administration at a “temporary emergency” facility in Homestead, Florida. All of the children at the facility have been designated by...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Monday morning that it would vastly expand “expedited removal,” a provision of the law that permits the agency to rapidly deport certain...
Since the mid-1980s, immigration courts have operated the Institutional Hearing Program (IHP). The program is designed to quickly deport people serving criminal sentences. Despite how long it’s...
While members of Congress were struggling to reach a bipartisan deal in February in order to end the government shutdown, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) quietly expanded its...
Despite losing at the Supreme Court, the Trump administration still managed to ask nearly a quarter of a million U.S. households about the citizenship status of their household members. That’s...
People fleeing persecution who arrive to the United States at the southern land border may no longer be able to seek asylum. As of Tuesday, these asylum seekers will instead be denied protection...
After word got out about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) plans to conduct widespread raids across the country on Sunday, ICE agents appeared to scale back their plans. The...
Every day, hundreds of non-English speaking immigrants show up to court for initial hearings where they will see an immigration judge for the first time. But due to a new policy, many immigrants...
Hosting foreign students is a vital way the United States builds better relations with other countries. Many foreign students go on to become government, business, and academic leaders in their...
The American public can still deliberate civilly with one another about issues of national importance. The most recent example comes from The Kettering Foundation who hosted 86 conversations...
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) issued a final rule last week that expands the authority of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and Attorney General William Barr when...
The Trump administration is reportedly seeking to end important programs that protect the family members of active duty service members and veterans from deportation. NPR reports that U.S....
Attorney General William Barr announced in April 2019 plans to eliminate bond hearings for immigrants who pass an asylum screening interview after entering the United States. This would have...
After months of speculation, last week the Supreme Court agreed to review three cases challenging the Trump administration’s decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The...
The Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement is seriously impacting noncitizens and citizens around the country. A new report by the American Immigration Council highlights how...
In a rebuke to the Trump administration, the Supreme Court ruled against adding a question on citizenship to the 2020 U.S. Census form—for now. Critics feared the question may discourage immigrant...
In Massachusetts, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials are barred from making civil arrests in courthouses. Such arrests have a chilling effect on the administration of justice...
New government documents show that family separations continue—despite the Trump administration’s claims to the contrary. Documents uncovered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request...
Case management isn’t necessarily something you would think of in relation to the U.S. immigration system, but a few years ago—for the first time in more than a decade—officials chose to invest in...
The American Immigration Council is proud to announce the winner of the 22nd Annual Celebrate America Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest. The contest encourages educators to incorporate lessons...
USCIS is beginning to transfer cases out of its busiest offices to even out the processing times across the country. Transferred cases will go to USCIS offices that have more manageable workloads...
Since 2004, a band of humanitarian aid workers organized by community and faith groups have trekked through remote areas of the Arizona desert between the United States and Mexico. They often...
Over 12.3 million Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) immigrants live in the United States, placing them among the fastest-growing racial groups in the country. Between 2010 and 2017, the...
The U.S. State Department announced a new rule last week that changes the Diversity Visa Program, a lottery system that grants 50,000 foreign nationals the opportunity to apply for an immigrant...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not following its own policies—and hundreds of men and women who have served in our military are getting deported for minor offenses due to the...
As the Trump administration ramps up efforts to expand immigration detention in the United States, many detained immigrants continue to suffer behind bars due to woefully inadequate medical and...
Only weeks after threatening to impose tariffs on Mexico, President Trump backed down on Friday after both countries announced that Mexico would step up immigration enforcement at its southern...
Applications for permanent residence and other immigration benefits are taking longer than ever to process. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency responsible for...
The Trump administration is cutting funds for educational programs, recreation, and legal services for unaccompanied children who are waiting to be placed with a sponsor in the United States. The...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is resuming its controversial “Remain in Mexico” policy. This policy requires asylum-seeking Central American migrants who arrive at our Southern border...
There are two pervasive trends taking hold in America today. One is deepening polarization and seemingly insurmountable political and cultural divides. And thanks to the rise in social media and...
More immigrants facing deportation are requesting “voluntary departure” from the United States instead of fighting their cases in court. Voluntary departure is a process though which certain...
The Florida legislature recently passed SB 168 with the stated intent of ensuring that state officials and agencies fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities in enforcing immigration...
New York Magazine, this week, tells the story of a Trump-Loving Town and its Favorite Undocumented Immigrant. The story features Alex Garcia, a native of Honduras, who has built deep personal...
Each new generation of immigrants to the United States has, in time, achieved a high degree of integration into U.S. society. Whether it was immigrants from southern and eastern Europe a century...
A federal district court recently prevented U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from imposing a new policy that radically changed how the agency determines when a foreign student or...
In a move designed to ratchet up pressure on Congress, last week the White House sent an emergency budget request to Congress asking for $4.5 billion of funding to deal with increased numbers of...
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has dramatically increased enforcement actions in and around state and local courthouses since 2017. As part of the Trump administration’s aggressive...
If you’re just arriving to the United States for your exchange program, you may be wondering: why do Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday? In the United States, the May 5 holiday...
Only weeks after being named the new Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kevin McAleenan made his first appearance in front of the House and Senate Appropriations...
President Trump is calling for new regulations that will target asylum seekers arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. These new rules would accelerate court hearings, limit options for relief, create...
We need to understand the views native-born Americans hold toward immigrants. This is central to building more welcoming communities and toning down our polarization. Unfortunately, most public...
Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kevin McAleenan will testify before two congressional committees this week. He is likely to be asked questions about the government’s family...
The U.S. population is aging quickly. Baby boomers are retiring en masse and Americans are having far fewer children, on average, than any other time in our history. The median age in this country...
The White House issued a memo on Monday directing the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to provide recommendations to reduce visa overstays. The recommendations, which are expected within...
An estimated 25,000 families in public housing are of mixed-status, meaning that at least one family member is a citizen, legal permanent resident, or refugee and another member is undocumented....
Under a new guidance issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), immigrants may find themselves barred from obtaining citizenship if they possess or use marijuana—even if doing so...
Attending a four-year public college or university is out of reach for many students without U.S. citizenship. But thanks to a growing number of new state laws—which make certain students eligible...
In a welcome immigration-related development, the Trump administration has proposed increasing the annual allotment of H-2B visas for temporary nonagricultural workers. As employers have long...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ international field offices provide critical services to Americans living abroad, as well as refugees and other immigrants. But in a supposed effort to...
In a disheartening decision on Tuesday, Attorney General William Barr announced he plans to eliminate bond hearings for asylum seekers who pass an initial asylum screening interview after entering...
The Trump administration has agreed to reverse course and begin the process of reuniting 2,700 children living in Central America with their parents in the United States. The decision comes as...
The survival of the nation’s Social Security system depends upon the taxes paid by each new generation of workers. As older workers enter retirement and draw upon Social Security, the continued...
The biased and narrow portrayal of immigrants and people of color in Hollywood is not a new phenomenon. However, some are beginning to turn the tide. As a 2017 study points out, 50 percent of...
American businesses rely on foreign-born workers in many industries and the country’s immigration system has channels specifically dedicated to employment-based immigration. The Trump...
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned from her position on Monday. She was reportedly forced from office after President Trump grew frustrated with the...
Asylum seekers are often imprisoned in immigration detention for weeks or months before they can ask a judge to release them, even though they’re entitled to bond hearings. But this injustice may...
As another H-1B season comes to an end, one thing is clear: the demand for educated foreign workers is as high as ever. The annual H-1B cap was reached within a mere 5 business days. U.S....
Oswaldo Barrientos has lived as a legal immigrant in Denver, Colorado for almost his entire life. Now 30, he and his mother immigrated to the United States from El Salvador when he was a year old...
The scene outside a technology repair company in Allen, Texas on Wednesday was bleak. In the aftermath of an immigration raid, family members gathered to make phone calls, connect with attorneys,...
Texas—and specifically El Paso—has been ground zero for many of the incredibly harmful policies introduced under the Trump administration, such as family separation, returning asylum seekers to...
President Trump has threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border—again. As families continued to arrive at the border in March—typically the busiest month for border crossings—Trump declared he...
For years, politicians, the media, and social scientists have predicted a declining white-majority population in the United States and a not-too-distant future where minorities assume political...
For the first time in two decades, the U.S. workforce has more jobs than people willing or able to fill them. Labor shortages are impacting almost every field in the country. But employers are now...
The White House announced Thursday afternoon that it will extend Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) protections for Liberians living in the United States. DED will be extended through March 30,...
When the U.S. government orders that an immigrant in its custody must be deported, the person isn’t supposed to remain incarcerated for long. Yet the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) often...
In an ongoing battle over President Trump’s border wall, the Pentagon is authorizing the transfer of $1 billion from planned military readiness projects to build fencing along the U.S.-Mexico...
Over the past few months, a new trend has emerged at the U.S.-Mexico border: more families are crossing and presenting themselves to U.S. officials to ask for asylum. But even though the number of...
In an exhaustive report on the immigration court system, the American Bar Association (ABA) called on Congress to make sweeping changes in order to fix a system “on the brink of collapse.”...
Immigrants with even minor, dated criminal convictions will now be placed in mandatory detention without the possibility of a bond hearing—even if they have already served their time and been...
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a landmark piece of legislation that was the first to offer clear protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, is up for reauthorization...
The Trump administration is set to issue a proposed rule that would prevent the spouses of certain high-skilled temporary foreign workers from getting jobs while they are in the United States. The...
More than 300,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders whose status was due to expire in the coming months have new reasons to be hopeful. On the legislative front, Congress proposed a new...
Many of the country’s top immigration agencies operate in secret. This lack of transparency in how immigration laws are implemented, administered, and enforced has the potential to devastate the...
In recent weeks, alarming stories have surfaced indicating that thousands more children were forcibly separated from their parents at the southern border than originally thought. In response to...
After weeks of tense negotiations, Congress averted a second government shutdown last month by reaching a bipartisan agreement on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget—a budget which gave President...
Many asylum seekers who travel to the United States seeking protection often receive something much less—they are arrested by immigration officials and provided no meaningful way to challenge...
A group of drag queens—clad in feathered boas and wigs—gathered at a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas last week to protest construction of President Trump’s border wall. Lip-syncing to...
In a combative hearing before Congress on Wednesday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen testified for the first time since Democrats became the majority in the House...
Family reunification has long been the cornerstone of U.S. immigration policies. Yet, last year when the administration made changes to guidance around “public charge”—a policy that many consider...
There is little doubt that highly skilled natives and immigrants have worked together for years to drive innovation in a broad range of fields and to build America’s private sector. However,...
Nothing is more delicate or worthy of comprehensive care than a newborn. Yet, over the past several weeks, detention watchdogs and public health experts have noticed an alarming uptick in the...
For many of our exchange visitors, the winter season marks the first time they’ve celebrated the holidays in the United States. From our country’s Thanksgiving feast to Christmas and New Year’s...
Contrary to President Trump’s claim that “large-scale unlawful migration” across the southern border constitutes a “national emergency” that requires building a wall, research suggests that...
The Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement tactics have made immigrants with final removal orders more vulnerable. That’s why it is more important than ever to have basic due process...
At an oversight hearing on family separation in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, government officials from four different agencies dug in against criticisms and denied any...
The Trump administration’s policy of turning back asylum seekers has been devastating, as vulnerable people are repeatedly denied access to the asylum process at ports of entry (POEs) along the U....
In some parts of the country, it has long been the practice for detained immigrants to appear for their immigration court hearings via video teleconference (“VTC”), rather than in-person. This is...
Workers who were detained during the first large-scale workplace immigration raid under the Trump administration filed a class action lawsuit against the government on Thursday. The raid, which...
A FOIA request has forced the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to produce its comprehensive plan for reducing the immigration court backlog. Though partially redacted, the aim of the...
The Department of Homeland Security began implementing a dramatic new policy last month requiring asylum seekers to return to Mexico to await immigration court hearings. Many denounced the so-...
Speaking from the Rose Garden on Friday, President Trump invoked the National Emergency Act after Congress refused to provide full funding for additions to the U.S.-Mexico border wall. By...
Following three weeks of spending negotiations, Congress passed a budget deal on Thursday to fund the federal government through the end of September. Even though it did not include the money...
With the fate of their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in jeopardy, immigrants from Honduras and Nepal brought a class action lawsuit against the federal government this week to stop the Trump...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its component agency U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have a long-standing and poor track record when it comes to transparency and...
On Monday evening in El Paso, Texas, two very different images of the U.S.-Mexico border emerged. President Trump held a rally to make the case for his border wall again, repeating his usual...
In April 2018, the Trump administration officially rolled out its “zero tolerance” policy—a policy that has since been universally condemned for its cruel and unlawful practice of separating...
The Trump administration began implementing a deeply troubling new policy on January 28, 2019, the “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP). Under the MPP, the government prevents asylum seekers from...
Despite the fact that immigrants living in and arriving in the United States today are not exactly receiving a warm welcome by key government institutions, a recent poll by the Cato Institute...
Speaking before Congress and the nation Tuesday evening, President Trump once again promised bipartisanship and instead delivered division. When it came to immigration, the president neither...
Immigration will undoubtedly be a central issue during President Trump’s State of the Union address. However, it’s unlikely that any of the proposals the president advances will move us closer to...
The Trump administration has slowed the processing of immigration benefit applications to a crawl, causing needless harm to immigrants, their families, and their employers. Under President Trump,...
On January 31, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a final regulation that changes the process U.S employers will have to follow in order to hire foreign workers under the “H-...
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) drastically expanded its network of immigration jails in the last month by a startling 7 percent. ICE now holds about 48,000 individuals in its jails and...
Immigration restrictionists have often repeated a bold and erroneous claim: that there is a serious problem of asylum seekers who come to the U.S. border and disappear once released from detention...
It has been two years since the Trump administration’s travel ban went into effect. Aside from multiple court challenges, the ban has largely disappeared from American headlines. And yet the ban...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is making it more difficult to hire temporary foreign workers in a “specialty occupation.” American businesses are fighting back in order to keep...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to immediately launch a new policy to force asylum-seeking migrants to wait in Mexico for their immigration court hearing. Officially...
Citing high rates of visa overstays, on January 18 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a new rule mostly barring nationals from the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, and...
New estimates of the undocumented population in the United States confirm a trend that has been apparent for several years: the number of people who become undocumented each year by overstaying...
President Trump went in front of the public on Saturday and claimed he was going to propose a “compromise” to end the ongoing government shutdown. Instead of offering a bipartisan bill that would...
Earlier this month, the Trump administration officially closed the doors of a “tent city” holding over 2,800 immigrant children in Tornillo, Texas. The closure comes after months of public...
As the partial government shutdown stretches on, many individuals, families, and businesses around the country are struggling. At the heart of the shutdown and budget standoff is President Trump’s...
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s plan to add a question on U.S. citizenship to the 2020 Census on Tuesday, ruling that the controversial move “violated the public trust” and...
Small and rural towns across America are increasingly faced with the opportunities and challenges that come with settling new immigrants. In nearly 3,000 rural American towns, the immigrant...
As an exchange visitor to the United States, you may have some questions about how the nation has entered a government shutdown and what comes next. Simply put, the U.S. government can enter a...
With the government shutdown dragging into its fourth week—marking the longest shutdown in U.S. history—most of the nation’s immigration courts remain closed. The Trump administration decries...
In November, President Trump took the unprecedented action of banning asylum for individuals who enter the United States between ports of entry. Although his actions were blocked in court only...
Lack of transparency has long dogged the enforcement branches of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in particular, has been the subject of...
The Trump administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for migrants from several nations—including El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti—has not only threatened over 300,000 long-...
There is no doubt that a thoughtful conversation needs to be had around border security. However, it must be grounded in the realities of who is actually arriving at the U.S. border with Mexico,...
As the Trump administration continues to strip away due process in immigration courts, the recent creation of two “Immigration Adjudication Centers” is cause for concern. The two new facilities...
Roughly 25 percent of the federal government closed on December 22 after President Trump declared his intent to veto any funding bill that didn’t contain five billion dollars for building a wall...
January 2 marked the final day for comments on a proposed rule by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that would implement a new registration requirement for H-1B visas for well-...
In early December, seven-year-old Guatemalan Jakelin Caal died within hours after coming into the custody of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Her tragic death brought renewed attention to the...
2018 proved that the only thing you can predict about the Trump administration’s immigration policy is it’s unpredictable. On Wednesday, two separate court decisions dealt blows to the Trump...
Data shows what many communities have been feeling the past couple of years: immigration enforcement in the interior of the United States has remained a priority for the Trump administration,...
In the first two years of the Trump administration, immigration hardliners made repeated attempts to reduce immigration court backlogs, from hiring nearly100 new immigration judges to limiting...
In 2018 alone, the Center for Disease Control has been called to investigate 24 instances of foodborne disease outbreaks, marking the highest number of investigations since 2006. These recent...
In a year marked by the Trump administration’s cruel attempts to deter asylum-seeking families from coming to the United States, the news that a child had died in immigration custody appears to be...
A federal court in Seattle on Tuesday permitted a case challenging unlawful delays in asylum screening interviews and bond hearings for asylum seekers to move forward over the government’s...
For the first time, countries across the world recognized the importance of coordinated action to address the growing challenges of managing migration. On Monday, more than 160 United Nations...
In its battle against undocumented immigration, the Trump administration appears to be focused on looking tough rather than addressing real problems. Judging from the latest official statistics on...
On Monday night, the 60–day comment period for the Trump administration’s proposed public charge regulation drew to a close. More than 210,000 comments were submitted, with the majority of...
On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in C.J.L.G. v. Whitaker, a case that addresses whether children facing deportation have the right to a court-appointed attorney....
Just months short of the normal starting date for the annual H-1B petition process, USCIS has proposed major changes. U.S. employers who rely on this visa category, which is for jobs that require...
Advocates of immigrant rights decry working in what feels like the age of the fact-free debate. A debate driven in large part by leaders willing to cherry-pick facts on immigration that encourage...
There is a lot that we don’t know about immigration detention. Although Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been in the headlines more often than in past years, the network of facilities...
New estimates indicate that the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States continues a decade-long decline, standing at about 10.7 million as of 2016 (down from 12.2 million in 2007)....
Following Jeff Sessions’ resignation as Attorney General, President Trump named Matthew Whitaker to replace him—a move that has already inspired multiple lawsuits that contend the designation was...
Thousands of migrant children are currently being held at a tent city in Tornillo, Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border. Most of the children traveled alone in order to flee from violence in their...
Roxsana Hernández Rodriguez, a 33-year-old transgender woman from Honduras, died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in May, weeks after presenting herself at the San Ysidro...
President Trump wants the Mexican government to turn back the “caravan” of Central American and Mexican asylum-seekers—and he’s threatening to close the U.S.-Mexico border if it doesn’t. In an...
States and localities continue exploring policies and positions on immigration to serve the needs of their communities and, at times, respond to the aggressive immigration agenda touted by the...
The situation in Tijuana, Mexico reached a boiling point on Sunday, after U.S. authorities fired tear gas at hundreds of migrants—including pregnant women and children—who had peacefully gathered...
“What if this is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb?” asked Valerie Kaur in her famed “Sikh Prayer for America.” In this prayer, she contemplates an America that is not on...
Ruling in a lawsuit late Monday night, a federal judge in San Francisco put the Trump administration’s asylum ban—an unprecedented move that barred asylum to any individual crossing the Southern...
After a summer in which almost 3,000 migrant children were separated from their parents at the border, the Trump administration admitted last week that it was holding a record number of children...
Ronald Vitiello, President Trump’s nominee to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had a nomination hearing in front of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee on...
The Trump administration’s move to deport more people from the United States has come into sharp focus again as it targets some of the most vulnerable immigrants with its Notice to Appear (NTA)...
Another form of family separation is on the rise—the deportation of relatives with longstanding ties to the United States. Those left behind in the United States often face significant hardships,...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stinging rebuke to President Trump’s ongoing efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative last week, unanimously...
The United States Armed Forces has done some of its greatest work when it has dismantled barriers to service and opened its ranks to Americans of different backgrounds and identities. Inclusivity...
In response to a much over-hyped caravan of migrants slowly trekking north through Mexico, the Trump administration announced new rules to block people from applying for asylum if they cross...
Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays in the United States. Families travel from afar to gather around a table of food and give thanks for all that has happened in the past year. One of...
Jeff Sessions resigned as Attorney General on Wednesday, less than two years after the Senate narrowly confirmed him to the post. Sessions’ tenure as the nation’s highest-ranking law enforcement...
While the pundits digest the lessons to be learned from the 2018 midterm elections, one takeaway is immediately clear: many Americans want Congress to resume its critical role of checks and...
As Americans go to the polls, many will also be taking part in another form of government participation—submitting comments on the Trump administration’s proposal to expand family detention for...
Latino voters are more engaged in the 2018 midterm elections than in years past. Enthusiasm towards voting is higher and Latinos have already contributed to record turnout in some states. Yet this...
On Thursday, President Donald Trump declared his administration would be taking drastic steps to prevent asylum seekers from coming to the United States. In a rambling speech filled with false and...
Five days before the midterm elections, President Trump vowed to build “massive tent cities” for families and restrict access to the asylum process. During Thursday’s announcement, Trump outlined...
On Monday night, President Trump told reporters that he intended to end birthright citizenship and claimed that he could do so with an executive order. Birthright citizenship comes from the...
Many of the billion-dollar startup companies in the United States, such as Uber and SpaceX, would not exist—or would have been created in another country—if U.S. immigration policies had not given...
In a world of instantaneous news, the nation learned of the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue on Saturday in Pittsburgh almost in real time. As the details emerged, we discovered that 11 Jewish...
In early October, a federal court ruled that the Trump administration had violated the law when it terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for individuals from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua,...
With the midterm elections fast approaching, immigration has become—yet again—one of the hottest political topics among candidates and likely voters. Much of the public debate over immigration is...
When people feel welcomed into a community, great things often happen that benefit the receiving community and even the nation. When newcomers feel accepted and included in a society, it provides...
Just two weeks ahead of the midterm elections, much attention is being placed on a migrant caravan of Central Americans making their way north through Mexico. Now reported to include more than 7,...
The horrifying and tragic legacy of the Trump administration’s family separation policy—which allegedly ended by executive order in June this summer—is far from over. Even with many children still...
When you think of a national border, you probably think of a defined edge—a place where one country ends and another begins. However, when it comes to federal immigration operations, the border...
Thousands of migrants—many of whom are mothers, fathers, and children fleeing their homes in violence-stricken areas of Central America—are traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of an...
Insurers have always depended on large numbers of participants to pay into a pool so that those with the highest rates of usage are covered by those with lower rates. In other words, everyone in...
Eight new asylum seekers joined a lawsuit last week that challenges U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials’ widespread and well-documented practice of turning back asylum seekers at U....
A new report alleges that the Trump administration (and partially Obama administration) may have separated thousands more families than previously reported and also details how thousands of asylum...
Overwhelmed immigration courts and massive court backlogs have long been a nation-wide problem. Hearings are regularly scheduled years in advance—in some jurisdictions, judges are scheduling...
Senators grilled Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen about the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies, including its practice of detaining migrant children...
If the U.S. government closes the door to highly skilled foreign workers, other countries stand ready to embrace their contributions. For instance, while the Trump administration contemplates an...
For years, the federal government has attempted to partner with local communities on immigration enforcement, raising a host of problems. This form of collaboration steers limited local resources...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a special report this week revealing its findings following an investigation into the Trump administration’s...
Just weeks ahead of thousands of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders beginning to lose their immigration status, a federal court in California blocked the Trump administration’s decision to...
When government officials conducted a surprise inspection of the immigration detention center in Adelanto, California this May, they were met by many signs of serious neglect and abuse, including...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued guidance to its officers in June instructing them to initiate deportation proceedings for certain applicants who were denied immigration...
On October 1, immigration judges around the country will arrive at work and face a daunting new task; complete 700 removal cases in the next year or risk official sanction. The new court quotas...
On October 1, the Supreme Court will begin hearing cases for the start of its 2018-2019 term. Although only one immigration case is currently scheduled to be heard, challenges to President Trump’s...
President Trump announced on Wednesday that he plans to sign a spending bill that will fund some federal agencies for the entire fiscal year, as well as provide a short-term fix for six others...
In his latest attempt to micromanage immigration judges and ensure a maximum number of deportations, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a decision last week restricting a judge’s ability to...
The Trump administration is holding a record level of 13,300 migrant children in its custody, forcing the government to shift hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure there is enough money and...
Over the weekend, the Trump administration took steps to radically transform a little-known provision of immigration law that could have an outsized impact on legal immigration. In proposed...
A growing number of communities are reevaluating their role in detaining immigrants on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Local officials in Atlanta, Georgia recently...
Every year, the Census Bureau releases new data from its American Community Survey (ACS), which contains a wealth of information about the characteristics of the U.S. population. Without fail,...
For the second time this year, a Border Patrol agent has been charged with murdering multiple people in Texas. Both agents were hired nearly a decade ago amidst a surge in staffing that backfired...
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday evening that the Trump administration intends to limit refugee admissions to no more than 30,000 people in Fiscal Year 2019. In an effort to soften...
Each year on September 17, America marks Citizenship Day, an annual opportunity to reflect on the benefits and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship. In years past, it was used as a day to...
As Hurricane Florence pummels the southeastern United States, newly released Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents show that a total of $200 million—including $10 million from the...
In a tentative partial settlement agreement reached with lawyers representing parents and children who were separated as a result of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, the...
In rural communities throughout the United States, immigration has been a demographic lifeline that offsets—at least in part—the dwindling number of native-born Americans. In fact, as a report...
Rather than encourage the new class of 44 immigration judges to be fair and impartial adjudicators in his Monday morning speech, Attorney General Jeff Sessions advocated for a deeply flawed...
The Pentagon recently announced that up to 4,000 National Guard troops will remain deployed on the U.S.-Mexico border through September 2019, following a 12-month extension authorized by Defense...
The Department of Justice (DOJ) released “Phase I” of its review of the federally-funded Legal Orientation Program (LOP) this week. The review came after Attorney General Jeff Sessions attempted...
The Trump administration is proposing new regulations to indefinitely detain immigrant children at the border and keep them in unsafe conditions, creating a false choice between separating...
President Trump’s nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court—D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh—appears in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee this week to answer...
This week will mark the one-year anniversary of President Trump’s announcement ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. Yet, defenders and recipients of DACA are...
In a blow to the Trump administration, a federal court in California recently allowed a class action lawsuit to move forward challenging U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) practice of...
Each year on the first Monday of September, the United States celebrates Labor Day. Considered to be the official end of the summer season, many Americans spend the holiday gathering with family,...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) currently uses hundreds of detention centers throughout the country to hold individuals in immigration proceedings. Many of these facilities have a...
The power of the U.S. workforce is that both native- and foreign-born workers complement one another with different and equally needed skill sets. They cannot simply be substituted for one another...
The United States Senate and Republican Party lost one of their biggest champions for bipartisan immigration reform and most vocal critics of President Trump’s immigration policies when Senator...
Over the past year, the Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for six countries, putting more than 300,000 mostly long-residing immigrants at risk of deportation. Newly...
Earlier this year, the Trump administration launched its “zero tolerance” policy, aimed at punishing immigrants, including asylum seekers, who enter the United States without authorization. Among...
In all the chaos of family separation, another disturbing detail has come to light: immigration officials may have coerced vulnerable parents into signing away their right to be reunified with...
Many immigrants bring advanced expertise when they come to the United States, but those skills are often underutilized. Due to a range of complex factors, such as professional credentialing and...
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a decision on continuances in immigration court that both recognized their importance and decried their alleged overuse. This decision will have widespread...
The average wait time on a U.S. citizenship application was about five months in 2014. Today, the average time a green card holder will wait for their citizenship application to be processed by U....
With many exchange visitors’ programs ending in August and September, you may be wondering which excursions you should take before leaving the United States. There are plenty of options for...
The National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), the union that represents the nation’s immigration judges, is challenging the government’s decision to remove an immigration judge from a...
In the wake of the government separating thousands of asylum-seeking families, the Trump administration has scrambled to reunite families. In place of family separation, the administration is...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a revised, final policy memorandum on August 9, 2018 that radically changes how the agency will determine when a foreign student or...
America’s generosity is reflected in our immigration system. Throughout our nation’s history (with some shameful exceptions), we have allowed individuals to come to the United States to reunite...
A small town in Nebraska was rocked last week when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents raided multiple businesses, arresting 133...
When the Trump administration began prosecuting migrant families and separating thousands of children from their parents, many in the administration predicted this would significantly deter...
A key part of President Trump’s effort to bar so-called “sanctuary” cities and counties from receiving money from the federal government has been ruled unconstitutional. Last week’s decision by a...
Recently released internal communications at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reveal a plan to restart the deportation cases of hundreds of thousands of people whose cases are currently...
The Trump administration is working hard to undermine the asylum system through additional and unnecessary barriers, making it more difficult for those seeking refuge in the United States to be...
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to restart the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative by August 23. This ruling in the D.C. District Court comes just...
Whether you’re participating in the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program as a trainee or intern, you’re required to follow a certain set of regulations that the U.S. Department of State has issued. The J-...
The court-imposed deadline of July 26 for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reunite families separated at the southern border has passed. So far, over 1800 children have been released...
The House Appropriations Committee passed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that provides the agency with its budget for Fiscal Year 2019, which begins October 1, 2018. The...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Tuesday that its agents had delivered I-9 audit notices to more than 5,200 businesses since January 2018, many of which were served in...
How long does it take to process an application for permanent residence in the United States, or a “green card?” You might be surprised by how difficult it is to find a reliable answer to this...
The cost of the Trump administration’s family separation policy continues to skyrocket. In order to finance its self-made crisis, the administration has dipped into funds that were reserved for...
The Secretary of Homeland Security completed her review of all pending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations this week, announcing that Somalia’s designation will be extended. That brings...
Among the many questions presented by the separation of immigrant families at the border is whether detained parents are being coerced into signing paperwork ensuring their deportation. Without...
Each year, the international exchange community comes together to recognize J Day, a nationwide celebration of the power of international exchange. American sponsor organizations and exchange...
In its latest attack on asylum seekers, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new guidance to asylum officers that will make it much harder for victims of domestic violence and...
As thousands of asylum-seeking parents were separated from their children in recent months, the Trump administration actively portrayed them as law breakers who must be prosecuted and punished for...
President Trump wasted no time after assuming office in signing three executive orders which fundamentally changed the nature of immigration enforcement in the United States: Border Security and...
Kitchens, restaurants, and housekeeping departments in high-end resorts are often staffed with foreign seasonal workers, who arrive into the United States during peak vacation months. American...
To build America’s competitive edge over other nations attempting to attract global talent, the Obama administration issued the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER) in 2014. This regulation...
After being order last month by a federal judge to reunite the thousands of children it had separated from their parents under the “zero tolerance” policy, the Trump administration said it would...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) consistently fails to conduct adequate inspections of its detention facilities or to follow up on recommended corrections at facilities that are...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new guidance to initiate deportation proceedings for thousands of applicants denied for any immigration benefit. This policy change will...
The immigration court system will begin to roll out an electronic filing pilot program in six immigration courts on July 16 this year, representing an important advancement for these courts that...
The Yemeni community in the United States received word today that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Yemen will be extended through March 3, 2020. Approximately 1,250 Yemeni TPS will now be...
Coinciding with the Fourth of July each year, naturalization ceremonies turn immigrants into new American citizens. This Independence Day, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will...
Hundreds of thousands of marchers gathered on June 30, 2018 to protest the Trump’s administration policy of family separation. Activists organized nearly 800 marches in all 50 states, from major...
Filled with barbecued food, family, and flags—the Fourth of July is a celebration of the United States independence from British rule. In 1777, the first Fourth of July celebration took place in...
In an 8-1 decision on June 21, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an individual previously prevented from applying for a type of relief from deportation known as cancellation of removal. In...
The Trump administration is quietly attempting to revamp the U.S. immigration system by circumventing Congress and changing the nation’s immigration policies through new federal regulations. The...
The forced separation of children from their parents by U.S. government officials has created a human rights disaster. Children—some just a few months old—continue to be housed in tent cities,...
The Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Trump v. Hawaii on Tuesday, upholding the third iteration of the president’s Muslim Ban. The decision by the closely divided court, which...
After an unprecedented public outcry last week, President Trump signed an executive order signaling an end to the government’s horrific practice of separating immigrant children from their parents...
Criticism continues to mount for the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy and practice of separating and imprisoning migrant families along the U.S.-Mexico border. While the administration...
President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday in response to public outcry about family separation – a horrific policy that has led to the forced separation of over 2,000 minor children...
Across the globe, people gather together to celebrate World Refugee Day on June 20. Started in 2001, this day not only commends the courage and determination of the currently 25.4 million...
Every day under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is choosing to separate children from their parents. Despite claims by the...
The outcry against family separation has only just begun. The Trump administration’s cruel policy of separating migrant children from their parents when they cross the U.S.-Mexico border is...
The American Immigration Council is proud to announce the winner of the 21st Annual Celebrate America Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest. This contest encourages educators to incorporate...
The end of Ramadan 2018 is here, which is the holy month of fasting, contemplation, and prayer for Muslims worldwide. Yet, despite the First Amendment’s protection of the right to practice one’s...
In the latest attack on asylum seekers, Attorney General Jeff Sessions single-handedly overturned years of immigration precedent to find that many victims of violence will not qualify for asylum....
Migration based on family ties has long been the foundation of the U.S. immigration system. Yet lawmakers are proposing drastic cuts to family-based immigration in favor of immigrants who come to...
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Monday his decision to overturn earlier court precedent effectively rolling back protections for asylum-seeking men, women, and children fleeing...
The holy month of Ramadan 2018 will come to an end this week. Eid Al Fitr, the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan, will be enjoyed by Muslims around the world with family, feasts, and...
More than 100 workers were arrested at a gardening and landscaping company in northern Ohio on Wednesday, marking another massive employment crackdown under the Trump administration. This raid...
Time and time again, immigrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border are never given a meaningful opportunity by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to explain why they fear...
Since the implementation of a “zero-tolerance” policy in April 2018 toward illegal entry (as well as attempted illegal entry) into the United States, criminal prosecutions of unauthorized border-...
June is Immigrant Heritage Month, and given the shrill and often negative rhetoric we hear around immigration, it seems more important than ever to take time to appreciate our immigration history...
The government has a longstanding history of failing to provide adequate medical and mental health care to immigrants detained in the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, CO. This...
For generations, the United States has opened its doors to individuals from around the world seeking safety and protection. The process of seeking asylum in the United States is rigorous and well-...
The Trump administration continued its shortsighted attack on businesses this week, indicating it will end a rule allowing foreign entrepreneurs to grow start-up companies in the United States....
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is changing the way the agency calculates the accrual of unlawful presence for J-1 exchange visitors and their family members in J-2...
When it comes to U.S. refugee policy, the Trump administration is asking Congress to let the fox guard the hen house. The administration has nominated Ronald Mortensen to be assistant secretary of...
The glut of stories surfacing about family separation and the increasing number of migrant children being taken into U.S. custody is deeply concerning. In the past, children detained in shelters...
Following implementation of a “zero tolerance” policy by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ), where migrants who enter without inspection are referred for...
There is no doubt that criminal gangs operating in the United States adversely impact the lives of many people living in communities throughout the country. However, in a nefarious act, President...
In a rare show of bipartisanship, 130 members of Congress sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirsten Nielsen urging her to maintain the current regulation granting...
When immigrants bring their skills to the U.S. labor market, everyone—immigrants and native-born workers alike—benefit from their company. Research has repeatedly shown that native-born workers...
The United States depends on a growing private sector to remain strong and immigrant entrepreneurship is a key component to this growth. Immigrants are more likely to start businesses than their...
Altering decades of practice in immigration court and placing immense pressure on an overburdened immigration court system, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a decision in an immigration case...
In another attempt to restrict legal immigration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a policy change to the way foreign students and exchange visitors accrue unlawful...
The Trump administration’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative set off a slew of lawsuits attempting to stop the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from...
Migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization frequently make a life-threatening journey, crossing the desert often with limited supplies of food and water. The Border...
Immigration policies may be crafted on a national scale, under the purview of the federal government, but it is at the local level that immigrants live their lives. And it is at the local level...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may soon be checking the immigration status of all potential sponsors of children who arrive unaccompanied at the U.S border, as well as any adult members...
As U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) begins adjudicating H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 “cap,”—the annual limit on the number of visas that will be made...
In recent months, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has methodically ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for six countries, including over 300,000 people from El Salvador, Honduras, and...
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced they will be stepping up prosecutions of individuals along the southern border. There is much folly in deciding...
Failure to get H-2B (seasonal worker) visas approved has put Maryland’s seafood industry in jeopardy. Almost half of the Eastern Shore’s crab houses do not have workers they need to pick the meat...
Nearly 60,000 Hondurans learned today that they will no longer be able to remain in the United States with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), placing them at risk of deportation when termination...
The government continues the appalling practice of detaining pregnant women, most of whom are seeking safety and protection in the United States. Following an official policy change by Immigration...
National Small Business Week, which runs from April 29 to May 5, highlights the hard work of the United States’ business owners, entrepreneurs, and innovators. America’s small businesses—nearly 30...
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it filed criminal charges on Tuesday to prosecute some migrants who recently crossed the border and were reportedly once a part of the caravan. The vast...
Recent reports from the San Ysidro Port of Entry in Tijuana, Mexico indicate that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have refused entry to a caravan of up to 200 migrant men, women, and...
If you’re an exchange visitor living in the United States for the first time, there may be no better way to see all the country has to offer than by grabbing your hiking boots and hitting the...
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen has announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nepal. Designated in 2015 based on a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake,...
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday in Trump v. Hawaii, one of several cases challenging President Trump’s third travel ban. After two earlier travel bans were partially or fully struck...
Just two weeks after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a suspension of the Legal Orientation Program (LOP), Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified today that DOJ will reverse course and...
For years, immigration enforcement officials prioritized recent border-crossers over long-time residents with U.S.-born children, clean criminal records, or other evidence of roots in the United...
A newly-released document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is making radical changes to the immigration court system that...
The United States has historically been viewed as a nation that welcomes refugees fleeing from violence and persecution in their home countries. Yet, the Trump administration recently reiterated...
In a directive dated Aug. 29, 2017, which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement only posted publicly this week, the government significantly weakened safeguards for the rights of parents during...
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling on Tuesday in Sessions v. Dimaya, declared a provision of immigration law so vague as to be unconstitutional. Noncitizens—including green card holders—can be...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—the Border Patrol in particular—has a reputation for repeatedly and systematically violating the rights of immigrants and U.S. citizens alike. Border...
Immigrants—both documented and undocumented—contribute billions of dollars in taxes to the United States every year. Immigrants who are authorized to work in the United States file the same taxes...
The United States has long been the country of choice for international physicians seeking a graduate medical education. But for the second year in a row, the number of foreign doctors who applied...
The largest employment crackdown in a decade was launched on April 5 at a meat-processing plant in Bean Station, a rural community outside of Knoxville, Tennessee. Nearly 100 immigrants were...
In its latest attack on due process and access to counsel in the immigration court system, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) has decided to suspend its Legal Orientation Program (...
Undocumented immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border increasingly consist of asylum seekers fleeing record levels of violence in Central America. But the Trump administration’s response to this...
There is no getting around it! Exchange visitors earning an income in the United States are required to file their income taxes. J-1 visa holders will pay approximately twenty-five percent of...
In an era of increased immigration enforcement, it is even more important to understand the ways in which some states and localities collaborate with the federal government. Recent research also...
President Trump first announced via tweet—and later a signed proclamation—that he plans to send the National Guard to the nation’s southern border. And yet, at the same time, he acknowledged that...
Demonstrating a critical demand for educated foreign workers in the United States, the annual H-1B cap has been reached within 5 business days. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services...
To shed light on the cruel and unlawful practice of family separation, a group of immigrant rights organizations filed a series of Freedom of Information Act requests to multiple government...
In a controversial move, the Department of Justice recently announced new case completion quotas for immigration judges. These new quotas will result in time constraints and pressure for judges to...
Slowing making their way north through Mexico is a large caravan of migrants searching for safe haven, an opportunity to work, or the chance to reunite with family. Some will remain in Mexico,...
A federal court judge in Seattle ordered the government to notify asylum seekers that they are required by law to file their asylum applications within one year of their entry, and to adopt and...
Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Thursday that it was ending its general practice of releasing pregnant women from immigration jail. Under its new policy, pregnant women will only...
Six months into fiscal year 2018, the Trump administration has admitted roughly 10,520 refugees, a number so low that it may be impossible to reach the 45,000 target set by the administration last...
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced Monday night that a question on citizenship status will be added to the 2020 decennial census questionnaire. This decision, which was adopted in response...
As part of the April 2017 “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, the Trump administration announced that it intends to revoke the employment eligibility of the spouses of foreign...
As thousands of Central American families arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border asking for asylum in 2014, human rights organizations raised alarms about asylum seekers’ treatment by Customs and...
This week Congress passed a $1.3 trillion bill to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year, running through September 30, 2018. Though the legislation includes record levels of...
A class action lawsuit was filed on March 15, 2018 challenging the U.S. government’s practice of detaining asylum seekers indefinitely and argues the practice is an attempt to deter future asylum...
Legal immigration and the number of foreigners visiting the United States has taken a serious hit within the last year, as the Trump administration makes changes to policies and procedures without...
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to their internal operations. The agency rarely discloses basic details about where their immigration detention...
The United States Senate has confirmed Kevin McAleenan to serve as Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. McAleenan has been a member of CBP leadership since 2006, serving as the port...
St. Patrick’s Day is seen as a tradition of celebrating Irish culture in cities across America. Americans of all races celebrate Irish pride with parades and parties where green beer flows and...
Contrary to much overblown rhetoric, President Trump’s preeminent symbol of immigration enforcement—The Wall—is not a cost-effective way to enhance the security of the U.S.-Mexico border. The...
While much of the national immigration conversation has focused on the fate of Dreamers and those with Temporary Protected Status, a little-known protection provided to Liberians is on the brink...
Immigration enforcement has become increasingly severe, especially in the past year. Yet news coverage often merely scratches the surface of what people across the country are experiencing....
Fewer international students came to the United States in 2017 to continue their studies, leaving American universities less diverse and financially solvent. There is no doubt that international...
In order to effectively fight crime, law-enforcement officers must gain the trust of the communities they intend to serve. Trust encourages victims of crime, as well as potential witnesses, to...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is pursuing a massive increase in resources for immigrant detention centers, a fundamentally flawed network of largely privatized and remote facilities...
With approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States, curbing unauthorized immigration has been at the forefront of the Trump administration’s enforcement...
A lawsuit challenging several California laws filed Tuesday is the U.S. Justice Department’s latest salvo in the ongoing policy and legal battle regarding “sanctuary” policies. The complaint,...
Immigrants are often used as convenient scapegoats for those feeling the economic pinch of joblessness. However, for at least the last 15 years, immigrants have not been a source of significant...
When President Trump terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative last fall, he only allowed those whose DACA was due to expire before March 5 an opportunity to renew....
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit this week to demand the immediate release and reunification of an asylum-seeking Congolese mother and her 7 year-old daughter, who had...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a damning report this week, finding that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) improperly modified...
Indefinitely detained immigrants facing possible deportation lost ground in their fight for the right to a bond hearing following a Supreme Court decision on Tuesday. Their sole remaining weapon...
The Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s request to hear an emergency appeal of a lower court’s January decision that prevents the government from fully ending the Deferred Action for...
Francis Cissna, Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), unveiled a new mission statement for the agency last week, notably deleting the words “a nation of...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made abrupt and sweeping changes to how the agency will schedule interviews for affirmative asylum applications. Rather than interviewing those...
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is an important humanitarian protection for people who are in the United States when certain natural disasters or civil conflict strike their home countries,...
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claims that a significant expansion of immigration detention is required to meet “operational needs” in light of the agency’s shifting policies and ramped...
In a rare move, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently referred an immigration case to himself, utilizing a regulation that gives attorney generals the power to reconsider cases previously...
The United States Senate had a golden opportunity this week to legislate a permanent solution for Dreamers—however a week that began full of hope ended as a dud, with no bill passing and the...
The scapegoating of immigrants for crime in the United States was on full display at a February 15 hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. The hearing was devoted to exploring the ways in which...
The U.S. Senate failed again to provide a permanent solution for Dreamers on Thursday when it rejected multiple bipartisan bills. The Senate voted on three different proposals that would have...
From their meme-worthy Opening Ceremony gloves to some stunning wins on the halfpipe, Team USA has started the 2018 Winter Olympics off with a bang. Early victories in the Pyeongchang, South Korea...
President Trump released his formal budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, which doubles down on his aggressive immigration enforcement agenda. The proposed budget seeks to fund the...
The Millennial Generation constitutes the most racially and ethnically diverse generation America has ever known. Millennials are the largest living generation by population size (79.8 million in...
After more than a century of research and analysis, it has become quite clear that immigrants are far less prone to criminal conduct than the native-born population. And yet researcher John R....
When agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided 77 businesses throughout northern California at the end of January and beginning of February, they were doing more than...
After a significant increase in arrests outside of courthouses in 2017, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has finally released new guidance that officially gives its agents permission to...
Senators McCain (R-AZ) and Coons (D-DE) introduced the United and Securing America (U.S.A) Act in the Senate this week, which includes a permanent solution for Dreamers as well as border security...
Immigrant women and girls face unique challenges in navigating the U.S. immigration system, their dire circumstances often exacerbated by the gender-based violence they encounter on the journey...
States, localities, and communities continue to hold their ground against the aggressive and punitive immigration enforcement agenda touted by President Trump and his administration. Compared to a...
For the first time in many months, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decided to extend a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation – this time for Syria. With civil war continuing to...
President Trump gave his first State of the Union address to Congress this week, during which he shared his vision for America’s future immigration policy—and it’s bleak. The address echoed much...
President Trump delivered his first State of the Union Address to Congress on Tuesday, remarking on the perceived successes of his administration’s first year in office and plans for future...
Following the contentious arrest of immigrant activist Ravi Ragbir, a federal district court ordered his immediate release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention on Monday. The...
The United States has always been a prime location for foreign tourists, historically maintaining its ranking as the world’s most visited country. But with more and more tourists opting to travel...
After President Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, he instructed Congress to pass legislation to protect Dreamers. However, Congress had to wait for...
Days earlier than anticipated, the Trump administration released the “White House Framework on Immigration Reform and Border Security.” It was discussed by Senior Advisor to the President, Stephen...
In the course of the first year under the Trump administration, states and localities have increasingly pursued immigration policies that serve the best interests of their own communities. While...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a report which comes to a rather predictable conclusion: most of the “international terrorists” in the United...
The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Monday to reopen the federal government after assurances by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that there will be an open debate and vote in the Senate on a...
With the national conversation focused squarely on Dreamers, Congress was unable to find common ground on a budget deal and has shut down the U.S. Government. Congressional leadership decided not...
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, where she was grilled by Senators on negotiations around Deferred Action...
Martin Luther King Jr’s commitment to nonviolence and activism is celebrated across the United States this week, with Americans encouraged to participate in a “Day of Service” in honor of his...
In a sharp departure from the practice of immigration courts around the country, immigration judges in North Carolina are refusing to conduct bond hearings for detained immigrants who come before...
There are more than 247,000 doctors with medical degrees from foreign countries practicing in the United States. A fourth of all physicians in the nation are foreign-trained—the majority of whom...
In a rare move, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently referred an immigration case to himself, invoking a federal statute that allows attorneys general to reconsider cases decided by the Board...
Media outlets around the globe reported on President Trump’s disparaging comments regarding nationals of certain countries. According to the Washington Post, during a discussion with lawmakers in...
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, taken away Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans in the United States, and staged raids...
There has been a flurry of activity around finding a long-term solution for Dreamers this week. All three branches of government have engaged in these head-spinning developments, ultimately...
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristjen Nielsen announced on Monday that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador would be terminated. The decision to terminate TPS for...
The Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen announced the Trump administration will end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 200,000 individuals from El Salvador after 17 years. TPS allows...
In another victory for over 300 Iraqis whose deportation was halted last July, a Michigan district court ruled that they must be permitted to seek bond while their immigration cases are pending....
With just a matter of days left before the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must decide the fate of 200,000 Salvadorans, momentum around this community of Temporary Protected Status (TPS)...
Social scientists have concluded that immigrants are far less likely than the native-born to commit serious criminal offenses or end up behind bars. More than one hundred years of research has...
A critical service that members of Congress provide for their constituents is case assistance with the agencies that oversee federal programs like Social Security and immigration. Oftentimes, when...
The 2017 news cycle was filled with devastating stories of family separation as the Trump Administration began to place its mark on American’s immigration policy. While the coverage of immigration...
Today, Congress agreed to continue funding the federal government at current levels through January 19, 2018, but it will not address a permanent legislative solution for Dreamers this year....
In the first days of 2018, 200,000 Salvadorans who have been vetted and are lawfully living and working in the United States will learn whether they will lose their immigration status. Having...
December marks the three-year anniversary of the opening of the country’s largest family detention center for non-citizen mothers and their minor children located in Dilley, Texas. Referred to as...
Anyone reading the news knows that immigration and the threat of aggressive enforcement have been prominent issues throughout 2017. But what the headlines often miss is how people in America—...
During its first ten months in office, the Trump administration has made aggressive immigration enforcement a priority. One of the areas in which this approach was crystalized was around so-called...
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) released a report which found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) detention facilities are violating their...
U.S. employers looking to hire foreign workers must often meet a number of preconditions. Those employers who want to hire workers through the H-1B temporary visa category (for “specialty...
Doug Jones, a former Democratic prosecutor once considered a longshot in Republican-majority Alabama, narrowly won the state’s Senate race Tuesday evening in what may ultimately prove to be a...
Current and former recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative are asking Congress to recognize the impact they and other Dreamers have on the United States, and to...
Kamila Nadrowska is from Poland and is currently training with a food manufacturer in Rochester, New York. My host company had an amazing lunch for the employees, where everybody presented their...
An alarming trend along the U.S.-Mexico border has escalated within the last year: the inhumane practice of separating immigrant children from their parents at the hands of U.S. immigration...
The Supreme Court—with a 7-2 vote on Monday—gave the green light to the Trump administration’s third travel ban, allowing it to fully go into effect. In two brief orders, the Supreme Court...
The modern U.S. economy owes much of its success to the contributions of immigrants and their children. Among these contributions, it would be difficult to overstate the value of entrepreneurship...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has publicly released immigration enforcement data for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, which shows that apprehensions at the border are at their lowest levels in...
This afternoon, the United States Senate confirmed Kirstjen Nielsen to be the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As Secretary, she will oversee an ever-growing agency which...
A growing coalition is voicing its support for finding a permanent, legislative solution for the young immigrants thrown into limbo with the recent termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood...
Foreign entrepreneurs who want to build innovative companies in the United States received good news on Friday, when federal judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court ruled in favor of a...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced last week that it would be ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. 50,000 Haitians, along with hundreds of thousands of nationals...
After being lured to participate in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiative that promised a reprieve from deportation, 51 Indonesian nationals suddenly were at risk for removal...
In the face of heightened threats around immigration enforcement, communities are taking action to ensure due process for their undocumented community members. These rapid response efforts are...
With the deadline for government funding fast approaching, the Senate Appropriations Committee finally released its draft version of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) funding bill—and...
Each year at Thanksgiving, Immigration Impact publishes a post about how to “talk turkey” on immigration. We’ve done it for several years to provide our readers with tips on how to talk about...
When a slowdown with the U.S. Postal Service caused over 100 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals renewal applications to arrive after the October 5 deadline, United States Citizenship and...
In a sweeping effort to increase local law enforcement’s role in immigration enforcement, the Trump administration is preparing to increase the number of officers who are authorized to act as...
It is an egregious, well-documented reality that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) frequently turns away people seeking asylum along the U.S. southern border. But new evidence presented to...
In the months following the government’s decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, more than 8,500 young immigrants have already lost their protection...
The average processing time for United States citizenship applications used to take five to seven months – already a lengthy timeline for immigrants waiting to get their citizenship vetted and...
The United States Armed Forces has long valued the contributions of immigrants—from the War of 1812 to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, U.S.-born and immigrant soldiers have fought...
The nominee to be the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kirstjen Nielsen, had her confirmation hearing before senators on Wednesday, during which she promised to largely...
At a time when anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies seem to be growing, immigrants in the United States continue to do what they have done for over a century—bring unique and vital experiences to...
Tonight, the Department of Homeland Security ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nicaragua. This decision means 5,300 Nicaraguan nationals will lose their temporary status to live and work...
It has been well established for decades that the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, immigrants who have committed no violent offense are often...
Thousands of immigrants living and working in the United States are poised to learn whether their temporary immigration status will be extended or terminated in the coming days. The 300,000...
Border apprehensions, which is the main indicator used to examine how many people are attempting to enter the United States are at record lows not seen since the 1970s. A September report released...
Americans value diversity and family. That is why our immigration system generally reflects those values. The U.S. diversity visa lottery, which was enshrined into law in 1990, was created to...
In a sweeping decision, a federal judge ruled the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) could not continue to prevent approximately 2,000 noncitizen Army Reserve soldiers from applying for citizenship...
Much has been said about Rosa María Hernández, the latest target of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the responsibility and...
With its current refugee ban formally expiring, this week the Trump administration announced it will resume the U.S. Refugee Admissions program—with one major caveat: refugees from 11 countries...
In a major reversal of longstanding policy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has created new and unnecessary hurdles for employers and foreign employees temporarily working in the...
The United States is currently home to an estimated 325,000 individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a temporary immigration status granted to nationals of specifically designated...
The Trump administration’s pick for the next Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Acting Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday...
The United States has been created by successive waves of immigration over the course of centuries. Each wave of immigrants from different parts of the world has helped to build the U.S. economy...
Immigrants facing deportation fare far better if they have a competent attorney representing them. For example, studies show that for asylum seekers, representation generally doubles the...
The Nobel Prizes, awarded annually in recognition of extraordinary achievement in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace, have once again been won by Americans who came...
Only hours before President Trump’s third travel ban was set to go into effect Tuesday night, it was halted by the same federal court in Hawaii that stopped the second version of the travel ban in...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has a long track record of operating in the dark, with little transparency and accountability. The most recent examples come from the agency’s failure to...
Among the laundry list of proposed restrictions and other attacks on immigration, the Trump administration is reportedly considering cuts to the Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) and therefore...
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly intending to implement numerical quotas on Immigration Judges as a way of evaluating their performance. This move would undermine judicial...
During a public appearance at the Department of Justice on Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions called on Congress to curb due process for immigrants by making it more difficult for an...
Now that the arbitrary deadline for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewals has passed, approximately 36,000 young immigrants are in danger of being deported. New data from United...
The White House released its Immigration Principles and Policies late Sunday night, providing an outline of the Trump administration’s proposals on immigration. The principles were sent to...
The anti-immigrant organization Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has released a report which attempts to make the case that undocumented immigrants in the United States impose a...
In an effort to fulfill the harsh requirements of the immigration executive order released during the Trump administration’s first week in office, the House Homeland Security Committee passed the...
The United States Senate confirmed Lee Francis Cissna to be Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Cissna will oversee the agency in charge of adjudicating and issuing most...
With the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) renewal deadline fast approaching, thousands of young immigrants are scrambling to have their paperwork in by October 5 for a final, two-year...
When the Supreme Court hears arguments in Jennings v. Rodriguez, the Justices will tackle a question eight of them considered in 2016: whether the Constitution allows the government to detain...
The White House announced late last week that for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, beginning Oct. 1, 2017, the United States will only admit a maximum number of 45,000 refugees. This represents the lowest...
In a sweeping encroachment upon privacy, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is planning to dramatically ramp up its surveillance of virtually anyone in the United States...
Heightened immigration enforcement has in turn heightened fear, anxiety, and confusion throughout the country. Arrests and stops by federal immigration officials at state and local courthouses is...
The announcement of the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative has hit home for many. The public has demonstrated a strong distaste for taking away young, undocumented...
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States each year beginning on September 15, marking the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, Honduras, El...
Pregnant women held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody are required to be released, as detention frequently leads to extreme stress, depression, and in some cases,...
Just as the Trump administration’s 90-day ban on travel from six Muslim-majority countries was set to expire, it announced the third version of its travel ban Sunday evening. This latest version...
While undocumented immigration remains a concern among two-thirds of the American public, most Americans, including Republicans, support proposals which provide law-abiding immigrants a chance to...
With the stroke of a pen, the Secretary of Homeland Security upended the lives of over 1,000 Sudanese nationals living in the United States with the announcement this week that Temporary Protected...
U.S. immigration officials have a long history of overstepping the boundaries of their legal authority and violating the constitutional and other legal rights of migrants at the Southwest border....
The Trump administration has repeatedly promised to create jobs in the United States, and yet it has delayed a policy that would have fostered the growth of innovative companies and guaranteed...
The Trump administration has repeatedly called for increased security along the United States southern border with Mexico, but a new report released earlier this month from the Department of...
Each year, a series of events and community gatherings take place across America that bring both the foreign- and native-born together to build inclusive communities. These “Welcoming Week”...
Following through on a directive from President Trump made during his first week in office, the State Department on Monday invoked a rarely-used law to impose visa restrictions on Cambodia,...
This week House Republicans are set to vote on yet another anti-immigrant bill that attempts to scapegoat immigrants and grant far reaching enforcement powers to the Department of Homeland...
With Hurricanes Irma and Harvey ravaging much of Florida and Texas, the states will soon begin a substantial, years-long rebuilding process. The aftermath of previous natural disasters has shown...
In a unanimous decision, the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court’s decision on Friday in Hawaii v. Trump, allowing extended family members as well as certain refugees to enter the United States. In...
Industries across the nation may find themselves in dangerously short supply of workers if no solution is found for the 800,000 young immigrants now at risk of deportation due to the termination...
With the Trump administration announcing it was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative on Tuesday, a number of states, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and DACA...
On January 13, 1898, the novelist Émile Zola penned a now famous open letter in the French newspaper L’Aurore, accusing the French government of anti-Semitism for falsely convicting military...
The Trump administration brought the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative (DACA) to an end on Tuesday, striking one of the largest blows to America’s immigrant community since taking...
The Trump administration announced the end of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) today. This means no new applications will be accepted and only those individuals with current DACA that...
The State of Illinois has taken steps to push back on the Trump Administration’s efforts to force local law enforcement into doing the job of federal immigration enforcement officers. Governor...
Texas’ Senate Bill 4 (SB4), the state’s punitive, anti-immigrant law slated to go into effect on September 1, was largely blocked by a Texas Judge late Wednesday evening. SB4 was passed into law...
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reportedly begun targeting undocumented parents and guardians who allegedly paid human smugglers to bring their children to the United States to...
The Trump administration continued its attack on legal immigration this month, announcing that it will start requiring additional in-person interviews for tens of thousands of individuals who have...
Hundreds, if not thousands, of noncitizens with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) now are eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence because of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision. In...
There is strong speculation that in the coming days President Trump will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. If the administration chooses to do so, there are...
The Administration’s efforts to massively expand immigration detention in the United States are already evident in Texas, where a for-profit prison company is building the largest complex in the...
Conventional thinking may lead some to believe that those communities that fight the hardest against immigration are the ones receiving the greatest influx of foreign newcomers. If people are wary...
Racial profiling often runs rampant in communities that have mobilized their law enforcement officers to act as immigration officials, with the Hispanic community frequently faring the worst. A...
Nothing is a better predictor of an immigrant’s success in their immigration case, than whether or not they have access to competent legal assistance. However, the U.S. Government has at times...
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently released a report calling into question the need for 10,000 additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (...
The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it was terminating the CAM (Central American Minors) Parole Program, a special program which allows certain at-risk children in Central America...
Volunteerism has long been rooted in the American spirit, with the country relying on volunteers as far back as the Revolutionary War. That same drive to help and build community continues today,...
Hundreds gathered in front of the White House on a rainy Tuesday, not only to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, but to fight for it...
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative celebrates its fifth anniversary on Tuesday. By providing hundreds of thousands of young people temporary relief from deportation, DACA...
America’s farmers have been acutely aware of the consequences of restrictive immigration policies for some time. When migration levels drop or restrictive policies drive migrants out of the state...
The Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act (RAISE Act) seeks to dramatically reshape American immigration by favoring youth and a narrow set of skills over family values and...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument on Tuesday in C.J.L.G. v. Sessions – a case that raises grave due process concerns for indigent immigrant children. At issue is whether an...
An immigration judge ordered the immediate release of a three-year-old immigrant child and his mother from a detention center in rural Pennsylvania on Monday, stating that it was one of the most...
In a move to reduce the number of times immigration judges reschedule immigration hearings, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) recently issued guidance suggesting judges should...
The recent deaths of ten migrants who suffocated in the back of a tractor trailer as they were allegedly being smuggled into the United States has brought renewed attention to the grave risks...
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...
The administration revealed legislation this week that seeks to drastically reshape American immigration, moving away from the family based immigration tradition that has both shaped our...
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...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has abruptly delayed the effective date of an important new program which would have allowed international entrepreneurs to develop their start-up...
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...
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...
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...
Over 300,000 individuals who currently have legal status could lose it if their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is terminated over the course of the next year. Nationals of ten countries who have...
With the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program now at risk of being terminated by the courts or the administration, pressure is building on Congress to pass legislation which...
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....
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...
The bipartisan Dream Act of 2017 was just introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) in the U.S. Senate. The bill provides legal status, as well as a path to...
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...
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...
This story was updated on July 19, 2017. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson ruled last week that “grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and...
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...
The Supreme Court recently rejected the government’s extreme argument that any false statement given during a naturalization exam—even a misstatement that had no impact on the naturalization...
Men, women, and children fleeing persecution, grave violence, and even death arrive daily at Ports of Entry (POE) all along the U.S.-Mexico border and present themselves to U.S. Customs and Border...
The Pentagon is considering halting a program that allows immigrants with urgently needed skills to serve in the military, putting the thousands of soldiers promised expedited citizenship in...
A recent story from ProPublica has revealed an internal February 2017 memorandum authored by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to its employees about the implementation of recent Executive...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a strong rebuke to the government’s years-long effort to strip detained immigrant children of the right to a bond hearing in immigration court. The 3-0...
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials recently confirmed their plans to initiate criminal prosecutions and deportation proceedings against immigrant parents and guardians who help...
Thanks to the nation’s dramatically outdated immigration system that values punitive enforcement over family unity, millions of individuals living in the United States suffer as a result of...
Along with the annual fireworks and family gatherings to mark the Fourth of July, 15,000 new citizens will be sworn in around the country and take the oath of citizenship. U.S. Citizenship and...
If there’s one certainty on the Fourth of July, it’s that Americans will come together to celebrate it with grilled food, family, and fireworks. Despite these annual traditions, there is a certain...
The House of Representatives passed two harsh immigration enforcement bills this week, both of which had the adamant backing of President Trump. The anti-immigrant bills, which passed largely...
The Trump administration is set to begin implementing part of its long-touted travel ban on Thursday, which seeks to ban the entry of nationals of six Muslim-majority countries for at least 90...
Despite being among some of the most vulnerable, children seeking asylum in the United States often fare the worst. Upon entering the United States, children are often detained for extended...
Over the past two decades, much of the immigration policy debate has focused on issues related to immigration enforcement. In fact, many argue that “enforcement first”—the notion that we must...
The Supreme Court has decided to hear the Travel Ban case when its fall session begins in October 2017. In the meantime, the Court will allow the administration to implement parts of President...
The American Immigration Council is proud to announce the winner of the 20th Annual Celebrate America Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest. This contest encourages educators to incorporate lessons...
Since the Trump administration announced its crackdown on undocumented immigrants, stories of individuals abruptly deported have pervaded the news. The accounts of longtime residents who have...
A bare majority of the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that six former immigrants of Arab or South Asian descent—all but one of whom are Muslim—cannot sue high-level U.S. officials over policies...
Each year on June 20, people around the world recognize the plight, resilience, and courage of those who have been forced to flee their homes. This World Refugee Day comes at a time when record...
Each year, hundreds of individuals perish while crossing into the United States from Mexico and Central America. Death while crossing the desert is often due to dehydration and other medical...
Refugee resettlement has long been a cornerstone of United States foreign policy, but in the first weeks of the Trump administration, the president attempted to suspend the decades-long program in...
Now marking its fifth year, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative has been a much-needed lifeline for more than one million young undocumented immigrants who were brought to...
With the Trump administration threatening to limit the immigration of highly skilled foreign professionals to the United States, now is a good time to take stock of just how valuable those...
Barely three weeks after the Fourth Circuit ruled that President Trump’s travel ban “drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination” and thus violated the First Amendment by...
After debate rocked the Texas State Capitol, Governor Greg Abbott signed the controversial Senate Bill 4 (SB4) in May, which purports to ban sanctuary city policies and gives local police the...
The U.S. Government has deported hundreds of thousands of individuals each year over the past twenty years. Since 2009, the numbers have grown dramatically and hovered right at or above 400,000...
Anyone familiar with the immigration system knows that the immigration courts have an enormous backlog which has persisted—and grown—for more than a decade. As of April 2017, the immigration court...
The House of Representatives passed The Anti-Border Corruption Reauthorization Act (H.R.2213) on Wednesday evening. The measure—which passed the House by a vote of 282-137, which includes 51 yes...
President Trump reignited discussion around his controversial travel ban through a series of early morning tweets on Monday, in a move legal experts say could ultimately cripple his administration...
Recent deaths at immigration detention centers in Georgia have made one fact disturbingly clear: detainees’ rights are being violated, with life and death consequences. These tragedies are not...
A judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an important immigration opinion last month, blasting the administration’s immigration policy and the unfettered discretion it is...
Since the reintroduction of family detention under the Obama administration, abuse of the mothers and children held in these facilities has run rampant. The family detention scheme has grown...
As the legislative session in Texas drew to a close on Monday, immigration advocates around the country celebrated the death of the “baby jails” bill—a measure that would have licensed Texas...
President Trump’s pick for the next director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Lee Francis Cissna, recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. This was the first...
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials unveiled their newest “overstay” estimates—the number of people from other countries who remain in the United States after their visas expire—at a...
This Memorial Day, Americans honor U.S. service members who have died while serving their country. Enlisting in the military, and risking one’s life, is considered a powerful demonstration of...
For the third time in five years the House Judiciary Committee has passed a draconian interior enforcement immigration bill out of committee on a party line vote. Immigration advocates and...
Americans will observe Memorial Day this year on May 29, often using the time to gather with family and welcome the summer months. However, it’s best to not lose sight of the meaning behind this...
In a sweeping decision issued Thursday, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a nationwide preliminary injunction against President Trump’s second Executive Order, which restricts...
When the White House issued its first Muslim travel ban, reports of noncitizens and citizens being held in airports’ secondary detention swirled. Individuals were being held for hours at a time...
President Trump released his formal budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 this week, which seeks to solidify the harsh proposals laid out in his immigration executive orders. The...
While campaigning for office, then-candidate Trump threatened to punish so-called sanctuary cities by defunding them. Soon after his inauguration, he released an executive order on interior...
After a massive earthquake struck Haiti in 2010, nationals of the country have been allowed to live and work in the United States under an immigration status called Temporary Protected Status (TPS...
California is once again taking a lead on protecting and integrating its immigrant communities and standing up to the enforcement policies of the Trump administration. The state’s governor and...
On Wednesday, a federal court in Seattle issued a nationwide temporary restraining order allowing nonprofits to continue to provide limited legal assistance to immigrants without being forced to...
The House and Senate Homeland Security Committees took action this month on two nearly identical bills that seek to fast-track the hiring of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers and Agents...
The new administration has demonstrated that no one is off limits when it comes to ramping up their deportation policies, and as a result community safety is in jeopardy. Despite the fact that...
President Trump signed an executive order last week calling for an investigation into alleged voter fraud in the American electoral system, in another attempt to give credence to his continuous,...
Some foreign students complete their stay in the United States by gaining professional experience in their field of study. Immigration restrictionists want to end that opportunity. For the second...
New government data points to a decline in apprehensions of undocumented immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border over the past few months. This can be attributed to a range of factors, only one of...
Democratic and Republican Members of Congress alike introduce “private immigration bills” designed as a last-minute effort to protect some immigrants facing deportation. This week, Immigration and...
The government often relies on “fast track” deportation methods to bypass due process protections in an effort to more rapidly process asylum seekers who come to the United States seeking...
After threats of a government shutdown echoed throughout Capitol Hill in early May, Congress finally passed a bill to fund the government through the remainder of the Fiscal Year. Though much of...
What can the first 100 days of the Trump administration tell us about how immigration will be handled in the next 100 days and beyond? Since his inauguration, President Trump has prioritized...
Texas Governor Greg Abbot is preparing to sign SB4, a fiercely-debated bill that will make it a crime for local law enforcement to refuse cooperation with federal immigration officials. Supporters...
The Trump administration continues to stack its deck with key players in the anti-immigrant movement, most recently naming Julie Kirchner as the new Ombudsman for the Citizenship and Immigration...
In a display of solidarity that united immigration activists, laborers, and business groups, hundreds marched through the hot streets of Washington D.C. on Monday afternoon to commemorate May Day...
Congress reached an agreement this week to fund the government through the rest of the Fiscal Year which ends on September 30, 2017. This agreement does not fund many of President Trump’s...
The fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative has left 1.3 million undocumented immigrant youth in limbo. President Trump has assured DACA recipients that they can “rest...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a new office for Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) on April 26, declaring that its “singular mission is to support victims of crime...
In the latest judiciary blow to the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, a U.S. District Court Judge blocked the president’s plans to deny funding to jurisdictions deemed uncooperative on...
“Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day” is an annual U.S. tradition celebrated on the fourth Thursday of April. Millions of families and organizations participate in the effort to reinforce the...
When President Trump signed three immigration executive orders in January of this year, much of the attention was focused on the travel ban and border wall. But within those orders is another...
Since a massive earthquake ravaged much of Haiti, nationals of the country have been allowed to live and work in the United States under a benefit called Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Their...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kelly stated this week that DHS is not targeting undocumented immigrants simply for being undocumented. Kelly asserted that the department is...
Under the Trump administration, immigration enforcement has become increasingly unfocused. Rather than prioritizing the apprehension and removal of immigrants who have committed serious crimes,...
On April 18, President Trump signed the Presidential executive order on Buy American and Hire American. Similar to the other immigration-related executive orders, this one has no immediate effect...
The Supreme Court denied review in Castro v. Department of Homeland Security on Monday, which involves dozens of asylum-seeking mothers and children at risk of deportation. The Central American...
Several media outlets have reported that on Tuesday, April 18, President Trump will sign an executive order mandating that the immigration agencies undertake a review of the H-1B visas...
Each year, undocumented immigrants file their tax returns, just like all Americans. They pay federal, state, and local taxes, in addition to income, property, and sales taxes. However, there are...
Standing in the shadow of the White House Thursday afternoon, children from around the country gathered to deliver one unified message to President Trump: don’t break our families apart. This...
After issuing only three weekly declined detainer reports, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will temporarily cease publishing them. Initiated by President Trump’s January executive order...
Attorney General Jeff Sessions decried drug dealers and armed cartels at the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday, but rather than announcing a crackdown on those elements, he instead declared war on...
On Thursday, April 6, the American Immigration Council hosted the annual Washington DC Immigrant Achievement Awards. As part of the Council’s mission to “strengthen America by honoring our...
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a shift in policy for the Department of Justice on Tuesday, directing U.S. Attorneys to prioritize criminal immigration enforcement and drastically expand...
President Trump’s campaign promise to ramp up immigration enforcement and build a beautiful wall along the southern border have found little support on Capitol Hill. As Congress leaves for spring...
U.S. employers are vying for the chance to hire skilled foreign workers, but once again, the annual H-1B cap has been reached within five business days. USCIS began accepting H-1B petitions on...
According to their own guidance on the subject, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is supposed to practice restraint when it comes to arresting people at “sensitive locations” such as...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee this week. During the hearing Secretary Kelly...
Public and private prisons previously crumbling under financial strains, reduced population numbers, and Obama-era regulations are receiving a boost under the Trump administration, thanks in large...
Increased attention to immigration enforcement in 2017 has propelled the serious issue of children being separated from an undocumented parent into national headlines. The stories of children,...
Immigrants rely heavily on the advice of their lawyers, often times entrusting their entire livelihood on the merits of the counsel. But what happens when a lawyer gives their client bad advice,...
As any reputable economist will tell you, immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy in many ways. Yet the often subtle complexities of immigration economics are largely absent from a March 24...
Universities hoping to recruit the usual influx of international students are coming up short this year, a signal that the Trump administration’s decidedly anti-immigrant tone and policies are...
Under the Trump administration’s recent executive order on interior enforcement, state and local police are being pressured to work closely with immigration officers to carry out sweeping...
If the Trump administration fulfills its promise to build a “big, beautiful wall” along the entire length of the U.S.-Mexico border, it will be a very costly solution to a problem that no longer...
A culture of fear fostered by the Trump administration’s immigration plan has begun to affect whether immigrants utilize their federal food benefits, leaving many families hungry and with limited...
The immigration executive order on interior enforcement signed by the President in January instructed the Department of Homeland Security to release a weekly list of jurisdictions that declined...
As part of the President’s immigration executive order on Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was directed to hire 5,000 additional...
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) heard testimony today about policies that prevent access to the U.S. asylum process for those fleeing grave danger in their home countries. U....
A young DACA recipient named Daniela Vargas was detained in Mississippi by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after speaking out earlier this month about her fear of being deported under...
President Trump released a preview of his Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget request this week, as well as a request for supplemental funds for this current year (FY 2017). These proposals would begin...
The Trump administration has failed in its attempt to rewrite the executive order banning individuals from targeted Muslim-majority nations in order to pass legal muster. On the eve of the new...
Buried inside the interior enforcement Executive Order issued by President Trump in January are the Administration’s plans to revive the 287(g) program. This is concerning because the program has...
This month gives Irish-Americans an opportunity both to celebrate the contributions they have made to the United States, and to reflect on the struggles faced by generations of Irish immigrants...
President Trump stated that he has “ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create an office to serve American victims during his Joint Address to congress. The office is called VOICE –...
In the week following President Trump’s issuance of a second travel ban targeting six Muslim-majority countries, several states and a number of immigrant rights groups immediately returned to...
The Atlanta immigration court is known as one of the worst places to be in deportation proceedings. For years, the judges have been accused of abusive and unprofessional practices and the denial...
This week the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is expected to issue a formal solicitation notice seeking ideas on how to design and build various types of wall structures along the Southwest...
International Women’s Day is an appropriate time to take stock of the many ways in which immigrant women contribute to the labor force of the United States. Some of these contributions are often...
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced it will halt premium processing of H-1B visa petitions on April 3, for up to six months. Through the H-1B visa category,...
President Trump re-issued his immigration executive order on Monday that halts all refugee admissions for at least 120 days and bans entry into the United States for nationals of six Muslim-...
President Trump made many promises on the campaign trail. One of which was to breathe new life into what some see as a stagnant U.S. economy. In fact, there are indications that it was this one...
State by state “sanctuary” policies have received significant attention lately. Hundreds of communities across the nation have passed some version of a sanctuary policy and in doing so have made...
This week, President Trump gave an address to a joint session of Congress where he continued his divisive, inaccurate rhetoric on immigration. Some analysts have said Trump moderated his tone in...
Noat Somprakit came to the United States from Thailand as an Exchange Visitor to complete a Business Management traineeship in New York, New York in the summer of 2016. Since then, Noat has been...
Effective February 27, 2017, new changes to the asylum screening process could lead to an increased number of deportations of asylum-seekers who fear persecution upon return to their home country...
The executive orders on immigration enforcement, both along the border and in the interior of the U.S., call for a significant increase in immigration detention. This means more noncitizens in...
Following the release of President Trump’s immigration enforcement executive orders and implementation memos, and the recent arrest of a transgender domestic violence victim at a courthouse in El...
The Trump administration ensured this week that its immigration enforcement policies will be a chaotic affair marked by mistakes, civil rights violations and overzealous enforcement. They did this...
Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—the federal agency which includes the Border Patrol—are rarely held accountable for their actions. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the...
The White House released the implementation memos and other information on Monday about how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will begin implementing President Trump’s immigration...
The public outrage against President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration has thus far been focused on the travel ban aimed at seven Muslim-majority countries and the attacks on the...
The various events commemorating the “Day Without Immigrants,” held in cities around the country today to fight President Trump’s anti-immigrant policies, underscore a key reality about the United...
The Trump administration is quickly unraveling the last administration’s efforts to prioritize those for deportation who pose a serious threat over those who don’t. The new administration is...
Americans will celebrate Presidents’ Day on February 20. The day will bring sales at retail stores, war re-enactments, and a variety of other ceremonies. However, it is an important time to...
The President has left the public in suspense as to what he will do with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, which grants young immigrants a temporary reprieve from...
Reports and rumors of immigration raids and round ups have been circulating since President Donald Trump took office. Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that hundreds...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sent some strong messages to the President: he cannot shield himself from court review by claiming “national security;” he may only set policies that are...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the federal government’s emergency request to lift the temporary restraining order halting the implementation of President Trump’s travel ban. The Court...
Jeff Sessions was confirmed as Attorney General this week by a vote of 52-47, following a very contentious confirmation process. As Attorney General and head of the Department of Justice (DOJ),...
President Donald Trump’s best known executive actions to date on immigration include his ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations and his directive to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico...
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly testified for the first time since being confirmed by the U.S. Senate in front of the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday in a...
Since President Donald Trump announced his immigration executive orders last month on border security, interior enforcement, halting all refugee admissions and banning nationals from seven Muslim...
The Trump administration released a memorandum this week–effective immediately–which orders the Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review (which manages the immigration courts...
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration enforcement, research reveals that carrying out a massive deportation plan would have devastating social and economic effects...
President Donald Trump announced his choice Tuesday to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia nearly one year ago. In nominating Tenth Circuit Judge Neil...
The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) Internal Revenue Code provides two separate tax structures—one for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and one for nonresidents. To prepare for tax season,...
The fallout continues from last week’s immigration executive order, which has been coined the “Muslim Ban.” Several lawsuits have been filed to challenge the executive order, including Ali v....
In his first week as president, President Donald Trump unleashed a series of executive orders, thereby launching his first strikes against current and future immigrants and refugees. In response,...
President Trump marked the end of his first full week in office with another sweeping Executive Order, this one bringing to a screeching halt the United States’ long history of providing refuge...
President Donald Trump’s Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements executive order is an attempt to fulfill his campaign pledge to build a wall at the southern border, to provide...
On January 25, President Trump signed a pair of immigration-related executive orders, one dealing with border security and the other with immigration enforcement in the interior of the country....
Our American values and laws dictate that everyone receive a just and fair process, whether they have been in in this country for decades or are arriving at our border today in search of safety...
California’s economy is big, and so is the immigrant contribution to it. The state’s economy is the sixth largest in the world, and immigrants provide one-third (or $715 billion) of the state’s...
The United States Conference of Mayors approved a resolution last week calling for immigration reform, the continuation of programs that protect DREAMers and the need for adopting a more welcoming...
Eight years ago, President Barack Obama entered the White House on a promise to reform America’s immigration system. His urgency ultimately dissipated and reforming America’s immigration system...
Determining when an immigrant who has been convicted of a crime can be deported is a feat that has been described by federal judges as “far from clear,” “dizzying,” and “labyrinthine.” There is no...
The 45th President of the United States will be installed Friday, January 20, 2017 during the 58th Presidential Inauguration. The ceremonies and activities associated with the inauguration of a...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), recently issued Matter of Dhanasar, which changes the standard that USCIS officers must follow when...
For many months, lawyers and advocates have received damning reports from asylum-seeking families, adults, and even unaccompanied minors fleeing Mexico and Central America who have been...
On January 12, the White House announced the end of the “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy towards Cuban migrants. Effective immediately, Cubans who attempt to enter the U.S. unauthorized will be treated...
Senator Jeff Sessions, who has been nominated to be Attorney General by President-elect Donald Trump, endured a 10-and-a-half-hour confirmation hearing this week where he answered questions on a...
Bipartisan legislation was introduced today in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate called The Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy (BRIDGE) Act, which would...
The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee held a hearing on the nomination of General John Kelly for the position of Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this...
President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to build a wall along the U.S-Mexico border took a step forward last week as Congressional Republicans discussed ways to get funding for the structure through...
When President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in later this month, for the first time in a decade, the Republican Party will have control of the House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, and the...
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that beginning on January 4, 2017, it has changed how it posts processing times. Rather that listing weeks or months, it now...
The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division recently issued a final rule, effective January 18, to update regulations that the agency uses to enforce employment-related anti-...
As the Obama Administration comes to an end and its legacy on immigration is solidified, one of the defining characteristics of the President’s eight years in office will be how he enforced...
Evaluating the merits of an application for J-1 intern or trainee program sponsorship is like putting puzzle together. Some puzzles have few pieces; others are more complex. Just as larger puzzles...
Since the election, states and localities have begun to think creatively about how to push back against President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to undermine current enforcement priorities and...
For many around the world, this time of year is full of colorful lights, cooking, spending time with loved ones, and spreading holiday cheer. However, take just a moment to reflect on the...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has officially ended a Bush-Era registry created after 9/11 to track men from predominantly Muslim countries. The registry known as the National Security...
Each year, tens of thousands of individuals are deported from the United States to Mexico without their personal belongings—including their identifications, money, and cell phones, among other...
Exchange visitors already in the U.S., as well as those arriving in the New Year, may be wondering what the election results and upcoming change in administration means to them. Immigration was a...
Entire jurisdictions in the United States have become so hostile to asylum seekers and their representatives that the U.S. government, and its immigration court system, is failing to deliver on...
In June of 2012, President Obama used his authority to provide protection from deportation and work authorization to certain undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. In the ensuing...
Earlier this month, President-elect Donald Trump selected retired General John Kelly to be his nominee for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). There is not much in the record...
There is significant evidence that immigrants boost the economy, create jobs, and bolster innovation. However, President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly stated he wants to “put American workers...
Along the campaign trail, then-candidate Donald Trump promised a special registry and database tracking system for Muslims in the United States. Although his spokesperson later claimed that he “...
Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) last week that continues the funding needed to keep the federal government open and running at current levels, but only through April 28, 2017....
With all the focus on what to expect at the national level on immigration under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, it’s easy to overlook the states and localities, which are reacting...
A bipartisan group of Senators introduced a bill on Friday to temporarily protect individuals eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Senators Durbin (D-IL), Feinstein (D-CA),...
High-skilled new Americans often face obstacles in obtaining jobs appropriate to their skill level. There are many reasons for this. Those who are educated outside the U.S. may fail to have their...
Unlike in criminal court, where those charged with a crime often hire bail bondsmen and consequently only have to pay 10 percent of the total bail amount, immigrants detained by Immigration and...
All participants of the American Immigration Council’s Exchange Visitor Program are required to have insurance coverage for the duration of their stay. Exchange visitors can choose one of the...
A Texas judge issued a final judgment last Friday prohibiting the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) from issuing a childcare license to the nation’s largest family...
The U.S. Department of Education recently released new data on university undergraduates that underscores the key role immigrants and their children play in our economy. New American...
One does not have to look hard to find what the restrictionists’ immigration agenda will look like for the next four years. The groups and individuals leading the charge are not shy about sharing...
The Supreme Court heard arguments this week in what may be the most important immigration case on its docket this fall, Jennings v. Rodriguez. The case, which began as a class action filed in...
Among the many things President-elect Donald Trump has promised is undo President Obama’s executive action protecting young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as...
A federal judge ordered the Border Patrol to immediately cease its practice of refusing to provide basic amenities to people detained in Border Patrol holding cells in Tucson, Arizona. The judge...
It is well known that immigrants make enormous contributions to the U.S. economy as workers, consumers, taxpayers, and entrepreneurs. As part of the labor force, immigrants are employed in a wide...
Let’s be honest. This is not the Thanksgiving blog we thought I’d be writing this year. But here we are. Most of us are still reeling from the surprise election results just a couple of weeks ago...
Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Lynch v. Morales-Santana, a case that will decide whether the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) unlawfully favors mothers over fathers of...
For more than a decade, the immigration court system has struggled with an enormous backlog. The latest figures from (TRAC) record the backlog at an all-time high of 521,676 as of the end of...
As President-Elect Donald Trump names his choices for key positions in his administration, it is clear that he intends to include quite a few people who subscribe to fringe, alt-right, racist...
This year on Veterans Day, over 40 naturalization ceremonies will take place and 7,500 veterans, service members, and military spouses will become the newest Americans. While that may seems like a...
This reminder provides information on what individuals should do if they encounter law enforcement or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
The 2016 presidential election is, at long last, behind us. While pundits will interpret the significance of the election results for months to come, already clear is the broad public support for...
Reports on early voting trends, election-eve polling and Election Day exit polls are coming together a powerful narrative about the Latino electorate and the public’s desire to move forward with...
After more than a year of intense campaigning, election-day is finally here. The two major party candidates have offered two completely different visions for America and the direction they would...
There is no denying that the number of foreign-born individuals in the United States has increased in recent years. According to the Pew Research Center, the foreign-born population rose from 39.9...
The U.S. has long been the beneficiary of the new ideas and energy generated by immigrants, yet today’s U.S. immigration system does a poor job of accommodating foreign entrepreneurs who want to...
Almost one year ago, on November 16, 2015, 29 Central American women and their 35 minor children, represented by the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, sought federal court review of the legality of...
Each year on November 1 and 2, people around the world celebrate the Day of the Dead—sometimes called All Souls Day or Día de los Muertos in Spanish—to remember and honor children and adults who...
One of the many lessons to be learned from this year’s presidential campaign is that immigration is far too complex to be captured by political slogans and soundbites. Whether a candidate is...
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) immigrants in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are more likely to be held in detention by ICE even when their detention...
Although the U.S. Constitution provides citizens and noncitizens the right to seek bail after an arrest, immigration detention is different. Certain noncitizens who are arrested by immigration...
Fees for immigration transactions will increase by an average of 21 percent beginning on December 23, 2016. Applications or petitions mailed, postmarked, or otherwise filed on or after December 23...
Bastien Chirat has been “extremely passionate about aeronautics” since long before he learned about the J-1 visa or exchange visitor programs. As a committed student at the French Civil Aviation...
Recently the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the agency that hears appeals of decisions of immigration judges nationwide, issued a call for amicus briefs on a deceptively simple question; when...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released new policy guidance clarifying how it determines whether an individual’s family will experience “extreme hardship” if the individual is...
In the event that there was any doubt, women and children from Central America’s Northern Triangle—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—are fleeing the same horrific conditions that were driving...
The 2016 presidential debate cycle is now complete and little was said on the topic of immigration until the final one. Not surprisingly, no new information came to light. In fact, each of the...
This week the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the total number of apprehensions by the Border Patrol of individuals trying to enter the country without authorization for Fiscal Year...
A border wall is a powerful symbol of exclusion: “We” are going to keep “them” out. And, by doing so, “we” are going to protect our people, our way of life, our society and economy from the threat...
The UNHCR estimates that worldwide there were over 65 million refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced people who fled conflict, violence, and human rights violations in 2015. On average...
This election season, tax returns have become a major campaign issue. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has refused to release his tax returns and admitted that he has not paid...
Putting down a welcome mat for immigrants—rather than building a wall—ultimately makes the United States a more secure nation. Of course, measures that ensure we keep those out who represent a...
The United States plays an important role in protecting thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people and is one of 33 countries that resettles refugees. Our long-held legal and moral...
Each year, the Nobel Foundation awards prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace to the most innovative scientists, researchers, writers, and peace-builders in our...
Calls to end the detention of immigrant children and their mothers seeking protection in the United States are not new. What is new is that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Advisory...
In a decision late last week, the federal district court in the Northern District of Illinois invalidated the practice of issuing immigration detainers by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
During last night’s vice presidential debate, candidates U.S. Senator Tim Kaine and Indiana Governor Mike Pence engaged in a heated exchange on immigration. Kaine reiterated his running mate...
This week, the United States Supreme Court declined to rehear arguments in United States v Texas, the case challenging expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action...
While the federal government is responsible for admitting immigrants to the U.S., immigrants live in states and local communities. And at the local level, immigrants are our neighbors, coworkers,...
California continues to lead the way on integrating its large immigrant community and protecting immigrants from the extreme consequences of federal immigration laws. On September 28, 2016,...
In 2014, a legal challenge was mounted against the federal government for its failure to provide legal representation to indigent children in deportation proceedings. The case, F.L.B.. v. Lynch...
Nationally, only 37 percent of all immigrants had legal representation, and only 14 percent of immigrants in detention had a lawyer. In a paper issued today, Access to Counsel in Immigration Court...
After six years of challenges, including a trip to the Supreme Court, the legal battle over Arizona’s SB 1070 has come to an end—for now. The law faced a wave of opposition soon after going into...
Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it will step up the deportation of Haitian nationals following a recent uptick in their number of arrivals at the San Ysidro...
Immigrants and their descendants make valuable contributions to the U.S. economy, according to a new report just released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine entitled...
This election, there has been much discussion about what to do about unauthorized immigration. While candidate Hillary Clinton proposes a plan to eventually legalize most undocumented immigrants,...
For over two years, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has examined body-worn cameras to see if this technology which is quickly becoming standard police practice, should be used by its agents...
Americans hold dear the ideal that the United States is a nation of immigrants. In fact, most Americans can easily recount their own family’s immigration history, and while we may hold differing...
September 17 marks the day the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for the last time to sign the U.S. Constitution. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is dedicated to all U.S....
Following the 15th anniversary of the tragic attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress is renewing its efforts to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again on U.S. soil. This was the message...
Under current law, the Border Patrol is allowed to conduct certain enforcement activities within 100 miles of the U.S-Mexico border that it isn’t permitted to in areas further interior. In fact,...
Despite its 3,000 mile border and long shared history, the U.S. and Mexico do not currently have a bilateral agreement to regulate the flow of “lower-skilled” labor. Yet, as has long been the case...
Fifteen years ago on September 11, 2001, it appeared that comprehensive immigration reform was imminent. The prior week, President Vicente Fox of Mexico visited the U.S. and spoke to President...
Congress returned to work this week after a six week recess. While September promises to be a busy month for lawmakers, it is unlikely that immigration reform will be high on their “to do” list....
When people think about immigration reform, they usually think about legalization, enforcement, and updating the legal immigration system. However, there are other upgrades to the immigration...
Serious economists know that immigrant and native-born workers cannot simply be swapped for one another like batteries. On average, immigrants and the native-born differ in terms of formal...
Serious economists know that immigrant and native-born workers cannot simply be swapped for one another like batteries. On average, immigrants and the native-born differ in terms of formal...
This national holiday provides families a time to wrap up their summer adventures in preparation for a new school year, workers to take a brief break after the summer work activities and...
More than two years after the Obama Administration launched its aggressive expansion of family detention in an attempt to “deter” the arrival of asylum-seeking Central American families, numerous...
Recent rumors that Donald Trump was considering “softening” his immigration policy positions were nothing but a ruse. In fact, what has happened in the past few days has been a hardening, and...
Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to the Supreme Court alerting the Justices that it had provided the Court with incorrect information regarding how long certain noncitizens...
No one is quite sure where Donald Trump stands on immigration anymore. More precisely, experts are trying to divine what Trump would do with the 11 million undocumented immigrants now living in...
In February 2015, a court in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction in the case challenging the expansion of President’s Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative...
The White House announced a proposed rule to encourage entrepreneurs throughout the world to develop their ideas and create jobs in the U.S. This long-awaited initiative is part of the executive...
When it comes to immigration, Donald Trump is big on rhetoric and short on substance. This is why no one is quite sure what to make of Trump’s change in tone as to what should be done about the 11...
The media has swooned over a few vague statements made of late by presidential candidate Donald Trump. He has spent the past few days hinting that he may “soften” his immigration policy with...
One of Donald Trump’s more recent, outrageous ideas having to do with immigration is to conduct what he calls “extreme vetting” of prospective immigrants to the United States. The basic idea is to...
This year, nearly 50 foreign-born athletes proudly represented the U.S. as part of the Olympic team in Rio de Janeiro, and eight of them won medals. Kerron Clement, born in Trinidad and Tobago,...
For two years, women and children from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala have been fleeing to the United States to escape the extreme violence of gangs which control large swaths of territory...
Each year, the Border Patrol—a division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—holds hundreds of thousands of individuals in detention facilities near the U.S. southern border. These...
In November 2014, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the end of the Secure Communities program and the launch of its replacement: the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP). Under PEP...
As any serious national security expert will tell you, trying to find a potential terrorist by treating all immigrants or Muslims as security risks is far too vague to be effective. Accurate...
In protest of their families’ ongoing and prolonged detention in the Berks County Residential Center, a group of mothers began a hunger strike on Monday, August 8. They penned a letter to...
The 2016 Summer Olympics provides us all with an opportunity to celebrate amazing athletes from around the globe and sit in awe of their accomplishments. The Olympics promote good relations and...
Since the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative was first implemented back in August 2012, it has positively changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of young individuals in...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is continuing to defend the controversial “Operation Border Guardian” program that took more than 100 Central American women and children from their homes...
Human Rights First (HRF) and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) each released reports this month detailing the flawed treatment of asylum seekers in the United States...
This summer, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in its lawsuit seeking the disclosure of unredacted versions of...
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York issued an important decision in July recognizing certain noncitizens’ right to a bond hearing before an immigration judge. It was a victory not only...
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are approximately 65 million refugees and internally displaced persons worldwide. Among them are world class athletes who...
The U.S. is well-represented by its citizens – both native and foreign born. Forty-seven of those competing on Team USA were born outside of the country.
The economic and political impact of immigration is often discussed at the national level. This makes sense, especially since immigration is a nationwide issue and a federal responsibility. Yet...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the 1997 settlement in Flores v. Reno—which governs the detention, treatment and release of immigrant children—covers both unaccompanied and...
Although much has been written about how the party of Abraham Lincoln became the party of Donald Trump, one additional area where these two men parted ways is immigration. The world of today is...
Khizr and Ghazala Khan appeared at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia last week to honor their son Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq in 2004 while serving in the U.S. Army...
Hillary Rodham Clinton accepted the nomination to serve as the Democratic Party’s pick for President Thursday night in Philadelphia, making her the first woman to ever top a mayor party ticket....
International doctoral students are significantly more likely than native-born U.S. students to major in and graduate from STEM fields In fact, international students make up about 40 percent of...
The latest figures show that the number of cases pending in immigration court continue to grow. According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), there were 496,704 cases in the...
Every year, cultural exchange sponsor organizations all over the United States plan an events to celebrate the power and impact of the international exchange visitor program and also to give back...
More than a year ago, Texas county officials began to require that foreign passports presented by parents seeking to obtain their child’s birth certificate include a valid U.S. visa. The state...
In contrast to the Republican Party Platform on immigration released last week, which was generally negative on immigration and lacked any practical ideas for reforming U.S. immigration, the...
Democratic Presidential Candidate, Hillary Clinton has named Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia as her Vice-Presidential running mate. A look into Tim Kaine’s past positions on immigration reveal that...
Historically, America has done well when everyone works together towards common goals that pool our collective strengths. We have built a great nation, and much of our success continues to derive...
Last month marked the four-year anniversary of President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. Since DACA was first announced in 2012, it has had positive impacts on...
For more than 10 years, the federal government has operated a program in federal courts along the Southwest border targeting unauthorized border crossers for criminal prosecution. The program,...
The immigration component of the 2016 Republican Party Platform is deeply flawed. The document reflects a fundamental lack of understanding not only of how the U.S. immigration system works, but...
Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or a new sojourner throwing yourself into the wide world of international experiences, it is likely that now or in the past you have experienced symptoms of...
Today, the Department of Justice filed a petition for rehearing with the Supreme Court in United States v. Texas. In June, the Court issued a 4-4 one sentence nondecision affirming the Fifth...
By 2050, minorities will become the majority in the United States. This is the first point Hillary Clinton made while speaking before the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) in...
In Mike Pence, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has found a kindred spirit in his crusade against immigrants. Trump’s get tough approach to immigration has been no secret and reports...
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is a manufacturing town that has seen hard economic times. After the coal mining industry disappeared, factories involved in shoemaking, dressmaking, ironwork and...
There are roughly 27.3 million eligible Latino voters in the United States (up from 19.5 million in 2008). So it should come as no surprise that, for any modern presidential candidate, winning...
Last month, the Supreme Court announced that, in fall 2016, it will hear arguments in Jennings v. Rodriguez, a challenge to the prolonged detention of noncitizens in removal proceedings. At issue...
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the Flores Settlement (a 1997 agreement that set legal standards for the detention and release of immigrant children) applies to both...
This week, the Senate defeated cloture on motions to proceed—a motion to begin debate—on two “Sanctuary City” bills sponsored by Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). Both bills...
Immigration law imposes a one-year deadline, beginning upon arrival in the United States, within which an asylum seeker must apply for asylum. With very limited exceptions, an individual who...
In December 2012, then acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) David Aguilar had announced a policy restricting his agencies’ officers and agents from acting as interpreters for...
More than 50 U.S. cities and counties were honored at the White House on Thursday, for their work in creating inclusive and welcoming communities that engage in local immigrant integration efforts...
A judge in Arizona unsealed photographs central to ongoing litigation challenging deplorable and unconstitutional conditions in Border Patrol’s short-term detention facilities in the Tucson Sector...
Over the years, more and more economists have come to the conclusion that immigrant workers “complement” the native-born majority of the labor force by bringing different sets of skills and...
Last week, a federal court certified a class in a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s failure to provide legal representation to children in deportation proceedings. Several thousand...
Republican presidential contender Donald Trump may claim to speak in the name of the “American people,” but the fact is that most Americans continue to reject his nativist rhetoric of fear and...
The American Immigration Council’s 19th Annual Celebrate America Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest winner is Eliana Jaffee from the Pardes Jewish School in Scottsdale, Arizona. The contest...
The Supreme Court issued a 4-4 decision in United States v. Texas, the case challenging expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and...
The House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committees unveiled and passed out of committee their budgets for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which begins on October...
The U.S.-Mexico border is not simply the dividing line between two separate nations. It is a vast expanse of communities that span both sides of the border, integrating the United States and...
This year, World Refugee Day marks a grim historical milestone: The number of people fleeing their homes to escape war and persecution is now higher than it has ever been since the United Nations...
Last month, the Obama Administration doubled down on their Central American refugee deterrence policy by beginning a new round of raids targeting mothers and young people for deportation back to...
Refugees and asylees are a relatively small share of U.S. immigrants – just eight percent of all immigrants living in the U.S. These are individuals who are fleeing persecution, war, conflict,...
On June 15, we celebrate the benefits of the four-year anniversary of President Obama’s Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. Since DACA was first announced in 2012, it has...
Governor Jerry Brown of California signed a historic law which could make his state the first to allow undocumented immigrants to purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. SB10...
The tentacles of the modern anti-immigrant movement in the United States extend far and wide, but they emanate from a single source: John Tanton—a white nationalist trying his hardest to ensure...
This week Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) introduced his national security agenda, which included a plan to “secure the border.” As part of that plan, Speaker Ryan says, “...
If there’s one constant throughout human history, it’s that everything changes. New scientific discoveries are made and new technologies are invented. New nations are born from the ashes of...
Beginning June 8, 2016, through the Filipino World War II Veterans Parole (FWVP) executive action, Filipino-Americans who bravely fought for the United States during World War II will be allowed...
Judge Hanen halts his order that would have the Department of Justice (DOJ) turn over personal information of about 50,000 individuals who have received three-year reprieves from deportation and...
Two years ago, the American Immigration Council released an analysis of data it had obtained from the Department of Homeland Security detailing an utter lack of responsiveness to complaints filed...
The massive immigrant detention industry is still growing. According to officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the government is adding to its existing 637 facilities by opening...
This week, the Obama administration filed a stay motion, a request to halt Judge Hanen’s highly extraordinary order in May telling the Department of Justice (DOJ) to turn over personal information...
New population projections from the University of Virginia’s Demographics Research Group show that in many states in the Northeast and Midwest, growth of the working-age population is slowing due...
Media outlets are reporting on the uptick in the number of individuals crossing the southern border into the U.S. This trend is not surprising given the ongoing violence in Central America. The...
This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee unveiled and unanimously passed out of Committee their budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which begins...
This week, the House Judiciary Committee marked up and passed bill H.R. 5203, the Visa Integrity and Security Act of 2016 (VISA Act). The stated goal of the legislation introduced by Rep. Randy...
May and June bring a flurry of graduation celebrations across America. Both high school and college seniors mark the end of their studies at commencement ceremonies. Spring commencement is a time...
The current backlogs in the immigration court and asylum systems have long been a problem and the government offices tasked with bringing the backlog down still have much to do. As detailed in the...
Last week, District Court Judge Andrew Hanen issued a highly extraordinary order telling the Department of Justice (DOJ) to turn over personal information of about 108,000 or so individuals who...
Each year, U.S. employers seeking highly skilled foreign professional workers submit petitions on the first business day of April to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the...
This week, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL) asked a federal judge to order the government to comply with the Flores settlement and appoint an independent monitor to...
Residents along the U.S.-Mexico border in Western Texas and New Mexico face repeated abuse from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP’s) Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at ports of...
The Obama Administration has recently announced plans to double down on its strategy of rounding up and deporting Central American asylum seekers to some of the most dangerous countries in the...
Reuters reported last week that the Obama Administration would begin to round up Central American women and children, including “minors who have entered the country without a guardian and since...
On Friday, a Texas judge extended the temporary restraining order preventing Texas from licensing the Dilley detention center as a childcare facility. Dilley is one of two privately operated...
Reuters reported late on Thursday that the Obama Administration will launch a new round of immigration raids targeting Central American women and children following their last round-ups in January...
Naturalization and voter registration rates have surged in recent months, but strict new voter laws in many states are threatening to reduce the number of Latinos voters (including many newly...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is primarily a fee-funded agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Every two years they are required to review the fees they...
It’s déjà vu all over again at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). Having released one flawed report on immigrant “welfare” use late last year, CIS has followed up with another that contains...
Donald Trump’s approach to immigration seems to rest on three pillars: the construction of a big wall across the entire U.S.-Mexico border, the banning of all Muslim immigration to the United...
Mother’s Day is a special day each year where we can honor and celebrate our mothers, as well as other influential mother-like figures in our lives, for the strong and wonderful people that they...
Mothers who risked everything to flee horrific violence in their home countries, only to be held in immigration detention, gathered alongside advocates in front of the White House earlier this...
Several notable developments took place in states across the U.S. over the past several months in 2016. In California, several recently passed immigration-related laws–collectively known as the “...
For more than a decade, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been criticized for the inadequate medical care available in its detention facilities, which has had deadly repercussions....
This week is National Small Business Week, which recognizes “the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories.” This provides a...
Last week, Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced the Willing Workers and Willing Employers Act of 2016, which would establish a 10-year guest worker pilot program. According to Flake, the bill...
Donald Trump opened a political rally in Southern California last night by sharing the stage with activists who have lost loved ones at the hands of immigrants in the U.S. without legal status....
Earlier this month, the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) voted to change the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which in some cases will lead to increased sentences for those convicted of “Unlawfully...
On April 18, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Texas, a case brought by 26 states to challenge President Obama’s deferred action initiatives, known as expanded...
It is easy to forget at times just how sprawling and labyrinthine the U.S. immigration detention system truly is. But this is an important fact to keep in mind. Due to the sheer size and...
After each of the last few national elections, Republican strategists prognosticated that despite their low support among Latino voters, the Republican Party could begin to win them over by...
The latest figures show that the number of cases pending in immigration court continue to grow. According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), there were 486,206 cases in the...
The oral arguments in U.S. v. Texas are now complete and dozens of news articles and analyses have attempted to predict what the Court will decide. However, all that truly matters is the final...
By Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, faculty scholar and law professor at Penn State Law-University Park. On April 18, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Texas, a case...
The oral argument in United States v. Texas shined a light on the confusion between the term “lawful presence” and what it means to have a legal immigration status in the United States. Early in...
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Texas. While lawyers presented their arguments before the eight Justices inside, on the outside families, advocates, immigrants, faith...
A judge in Pennsylvania this week sentenced Daniel Sharkey, a 41-year-old former counselor at the Berks County Residential Center, to six to twenty three months of jail time. Sharkey previously...
Unaccompanied children arriving from Central America face many challenges – post-traumatic stress, facing a judge without an attorney, separation from their families, and the fear of being...
Use-of-force by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 declined more than 26 percent compared with the previous year, according to statistics released last...
Immigration detention is being addressed at the state and local level in a variety of ways. In Indiana, local advocates are opposing a new private detention facility, and in California,...
In the spring of 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider United States v. Texas, a politically charged lawsuit about the legality of some of President Obama’s executive actions on immigration....
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 7 that the H-1B cap for fiscal year 2017 was reached—meaning that in five business days, U.S. employers filed more petitions...
26 Mexican nationals say the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deported them from the El Paso Border Patrol sector, which covers West Texas and all of New Mexico, without their identification...
Earlier this week the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held a thematic hearing on the “Human Rights Situation of Migrant and Refugee Children and Families in the United States.” A broad...
Paying taxes is not only a civic duty, but in a sense, it’s an act of faith. Most Americans pay them dutifully and with the hope that they will be put to the best uses possible—but also with the...
In contrast to the virulent anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from several presidential candidates, new polling shows that the majority of Americans – 62 percent – support allowing undocumented...
Last month the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that since the end of January they have been conducting “Operation Border Guardian,” which has been focusing on the removal of...
On April 1, employers will submit their petitions for H-1B visas for high-skilled temporary workers. The start of the H-1B season, when U.S. employers turn their attention toward hiring foreign...
This week, Texas and the 25 other states challenging the President’s executive actions on immigration filed their brief with the Supreme Court in United States v. Texas. The brief attempts to...
As baby-boomers age and retire and the demand for medical professionals grows, the U.S. is facing a crisis in the healthcare sector finds a recent report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs...
Protesters gathered in Lafayette Square just across from the White House on Monday. The protest coincided with the 138th annual White House Easter Egg roll. As families inside enjoyed the annual...
A federal district court in Seattle heard arguments in a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to ensure that all children in immigration court have legal representation. The case received a flurry of...
As part of its announced efforts to become more transparent and accountable, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) just released the results of a review of its processes for handling...
At a time when politicians and others are expressing concern about the U.S.’s refugee resettlement process, two new studies show that refugees want to integrate and are indeed integrating into the...
At a time when there is a great deal of national attention being placed on criminal-justice reform, it is troubling that the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) is now proposing, new amendments to...
This month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule which will allow international students in certain science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) fields to...
For years, immigrant rights groups have documented deplorable conditions in immigration detention facilities. Yet, in spite of the growing evidence pointing to the prevalence of inhumane...
When Donald Trump speaks of the Great Wall he would build between the United States and Mexico, he fails to account for a few inconvenient facts. For instance, there are millions of men, women,...
Proving that there is no kind of immigrant he thinks is good for America, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) called a hearing on immigration in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the...
This week, the newly created “Task Force on Executive Overreach” and its Chairman Steve King (R-IA) held a sparsely-attended hearing on President Obama’s executive actions on immigration,...
The Georgia Board of Regents is being hauled into court, once again, over its highly-controversial policies that limit young immigrants’ access to higher education. The Mexican American Legal...
Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) use-of-force policies are once again under a microscope after a new report written by former Baltimore police commissioner and Justice Department official...
While many of the recent Presidential debates have uncovered little new thinking or policy positions on immigration, last night’s Univision-sponsored debate at Miami-Dade College in Southern...
Over the past week, several media outlets reported that Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (ACIJ) Jack Weil claimed that he could teach immigration law to three- and four-year-old children such...
A diverse coalition of 326 immigration, civil rights, labor, and social service groups filed an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief with the U.S. Supreme Court today in United States v. Texas,...
There is no shortage of stories about immigrants dying from inadequate medical care while in detention centers operated or overseen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Take the case...
Within the next few months, the Supreme Court will determine whether the President’s deferred action initiatives announced in November 2014—namely, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and...
By Vinayak Gupta, J-1 Trainee from India I set off for an 11-month J-1 training at American Express in Arizona with the primary intent of enhancing my business knowledge and growing my leadership...
This week, the Obama Administration filed its brief with the Supreme Court in United States v. Texas, the case where Texas and 25 other states are challenging the President’s executive action on...
If one is judged by the company one keeps, then Donald Trump needs some new friends. The now-undisputed frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary campaign has been receiving endorsements...
Mexican migrants no longer being deported back to Mexico in the middle of the night is one important feature in new Local Repatriation Agreements finalized between the Department of Homeland...
Since the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was first implemented back in August 2012, it has positively changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of young individuals in the...
Since the summer of 2014, the government has detained thousands of mothers and children fleeing violence in Central America. Although the longstanding Flores settlement guarantees minimum...
Undocumented immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy in many ways. They fill essential jobs, they sustain U.S. businesses through their purchase of goods and services, and—contrary to popular...
Top officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continue to believe that deporting families and children quickly deters others who are considering coming to the United States. This view...
Last Tuesday, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a case filed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which seeks the disclosure of...
Last Tuesday, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a case filed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which seeks the disclosure of...
It is tax season in the U.S.! By January 31, 2016 anyone who received income from a U.S. source should have received a W-2 form for income from their employer or 1099 forms from investments such...
Advocates, community members, and attorneys gathered outside the Berks County Family Residential Center in Leesport, Pennsylvania on Monday to protest the continued operation of the center. The...
Earlier this week, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed away at the age of 79. The unexpected death of the then longest serving member on the Court means there is a vacancy on the nine-...
When tens of thousands of women and unaccompanied children from Central America journeyed to the United States seeking asylum in 2014, President Obama’s administration concentrated its efforts and...
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has issued a rule allowing for the two family detention facilities in Texas to apply for licenses to detain immigrant children and...
In anticipation of Pope Francis’ visit to the U.S.-Mexico border this week, a band of women will begin a day-long pilgrimage from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, to El Paso, Texas. They hope to bring...
As a recent Wall Street Journal article describes, Moody’s Analytics has concluded that the mass departures of unauthorized immigrants from Arizona “reduced competition for low-skilled jobs” and “...
Every day children, some as young as toddlers, are sent into immigration courts all around the country. They can be asked to make their own immigration cases before a judge, often while a...
Two mothers from Honduras and six from El Salvador, along with their children, were finally released from family detention centers in the past several days. These families were among those swept...
President Obama unveiled his proposed budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 which begins on October 1, 2016. While this is the President’s final budget and is largely seen as a political document, it...
For the past several months, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump has taken a harsh stance on immigration, stating more than once that he would finish the wall between the U.S. and Mexico and...
The Florida House of Representatives passed a sweeping “anti-sanctuary city” bill this week that would penalize Florida counties who do not aggressively target undocumented immigrants or who fail...
There are two competing narratives being spun about the Obama Administration’s response to the “surge” of refugees from Central America who are arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, and each of...
Three geographically diverse cities have created more welcoming environments for immigrants and each has implemented initiatives that promote immigrant entrepreneurship and innovation in their...
The Immigrant Investor Program, also known as “EB-5,” has become an increasingly important source of investment for development projects in the United States, attracting billions of dollars to the...
On January 27, 2016, Pennsylvania state officials informed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that it would not renew and would revoke the operating license for the Berks County Residential...
Earlier this week, it was reported that in 2014, when thousands of Central American children arrived at our border seeking protection from severe violence at home, government agencies released...
Seven mothers that have been held for four weeks in a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas penned a letter to President Obama asking him to release them and their children while they work...
Since 2014, the number of federal prosecutions for immigration crimes has declined. So has the number of removals (deportations) from the United States. Contrary to some suggestions, however, this...
A growing number of policy-players and makers are calling on the U.S. government to protect, rather than deport, Central American migrants and asylum-seekers. As rampant violence and organized...
Despite significant job growth and an economic recovery over the last few years, the undocumented population in the United States has continued to decline. According to a new report by the Center...
The GOP candidates for President are falling over one another to demonstrate who would be the “toughest” on immigrants and who would finally make U.S. borders “secure.” Leading the way is Donald...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a new report this week detailing visa overstays in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, estimating approximately 415,000 individuals overstayed their visa in...
This week, the Supreme Court announced it would hear arguments in United States v. Texas. The highest court will now determine whether the President’s deferred action initiatives announced in...
Today, the Supreme Court decided to review the Fifth Circuit’s decision in the Texas lawsuit that blocks implementation of President Obama’s 2014 deferred action initiatives—DAPA and expanded DACA...
In December of 2014, President Obama restored full diplomatic relations with Cuba and, for the first time since 1961, opened an embassy in Havana. Many believe that normalizing relations with...
U.S. children are clearly at a disadvantage if they have at least one undocumented parent. According to a report by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) released yesterday, of the estimated 5.1...
The recent immigration raids that saw 121 individuals rounded up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement have created not only a due process crisis, but a powerful political backlash from members...
Even before the recent ICE raids on Central American families began last week, there were serious signs that the government was undermining due process and not providing asylum-seekers a...
In a breakthrough decision issued at the end of last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which sits in New York City, ruled that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (...
At one level, it should come as no surprise that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken into custody and intends to deport 121 unauthorized immigrants who fled violence in Central...
After a series of immigration raids last weekend, resulting in a reported 121 children and mothers being rounded up, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) quickly transferred many of these...
As members of Congress make their way back to Washington, D.C. this week, the prevailing wisdom is that nothing substantive will happen on Capitol Hill because we have officially entered an...
This past weekend, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted immigration raids, primarily in Georgia, Texas and North Carolina where, according to DHS, they rounded up 121 individuals,...
As 2015 comes to a close we revisit the year’s most-read blog posts on ImmigrationImpact.com. The top 10 posts include analysis of the presidential candidate’s immigration policy positions,...
This week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its fiscal year (FY) 2015 deportation numbers. According to DHS, immigration enforcement agencies apprehended 406,595 individuals...
In 2015, displaced people around the world faced incredible challenges. The well-being of refugees and the policy decisions affecting them are still at the forefront of many people’s minds. Some...
Earlier this month, Customs and Border Protection released statistics showing an increase in the number of unaccompanied children arriving at the southwest border in October and November 2015. In...
This week, the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed a $1.15 trillion omnibus spending bill that funds the federal government for the rest of the Fiscal Year (FY), through September 30, 2016, as...
Each year, the Border Patrol—a division of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—holds hundreds of thousands of individuals in detention facilities near the U.S. southern border. These...
During the final GOP public debate of 2015, Republican candidates continued articulating what they would do on immigration if they were commander-in-chief. Many of the candidates have already...
For the last 10 years, in federal courts across the Southwest border, the federal government has systematically prosecuted unlawful border crossers in group hearings with little-to-no due process...
As we move through the 2016 presidential election cycle, the issue of immigration will continue to be a central topic of the debate. The United States is at a tipping point after more than two...
Seven groups have filed amicus briefs in support of a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court in United States v. Texas, requesting that the Court overturn the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals...
In 2002, in the wake of 9/11, Congress and the White House embarked upon an unprecedented bureaucratic experiment: grafting together 22 federal agencies into a single entity that was supposed to...
While Congress may be backing away from targeting the refugee resettlement program in reaction to recent terrorist attacks, lawmakers appear to have found a new target: the Visa Waiver Program (...
The latest, outrageous proposal out of the Trump for President campaign came via a “Statement on Preventing Muslim Immigration” where the candidate calls “for a total and complete shutdown of...
In the days after the Paris attacks, fear took hold of many across the United States, and some politicians proposed shutting our doors to refugees, particularly those from Syria and Iraq. This...
This week, Texas filed a lawsuit against the federal government and International Rescue Committee (IRC) to prevent the resettlement of a Syrian refugee family in the state. The family was...
Although our nation’s immigration courts currently have record backlogs, there may be some help on the way. That was the message from Juan Osuna, Director of the Executive Office of Immigration...
Senator Bernie Sanders, a contender for the Democratic nomination for President, recently released his updated and vastly expanded immigration platform. His initial plan was short on detail;...
Today, a coalition of 224 immigration, civil rights, labor, and social service groups filed an amicus (“friend of the court”) brief, urging the Supreme Court to review the Fifth Circuit’s decision...
Politicians who demonize immigrants do so at their own peril. Immigrants are already a key voting bloc in many states. And they are only going to get stronger as more and more of them become...
Family, football, and food! During the fall season, the Thanksgiving holiday is a special time when families in the U.S. reunite and give thanks, reflecting upon the end of another year. Whether it...
Today, I have the pleasure of following in the footsteps of Mary Giovagnoli, who, during her five years at the American Immigration Council, entertained and enlightened us with her annual blog...
The government recently began transferring families who have been held in Texas to the Berks County Family Residential Facility in Pennsylvania. Not only have these sudden transfers traumatized...
Last summer, the U.S. government decided to prioritize the deportations of unaccompanied children and of families with children in response to increased numbers of children fleeing violence in...
One year ago, President Obama announced executive actions his Administration would take on immigration. These actions were meant as common-sense reforms to an immigration system that has not been...
Today, the U.S. Department of Justice formally asked the Supreme Court to review the Fifth Circuit’s decision in the Texas lawsuit that blocks implementation of President Obama’s 2014 deferred...
Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4038, the “American Safe Act of 2015” by a vote of 289 to 137, with 47 Democrats and all but two Republicans supporting the bill. This comes less...
Presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-FL) recently released his immigration plan entitled, “Cruz Plan to Stop Illegal Immigration: Secure the Border, Restore the Rule of Law, and Protect...
Most people don’t think of foreign students as an economic resource, yet that is precisely what they are. Each year, students from other countries spend billions of dollars in the U.S. economy,...
The attacks that took place in Paris just days ago sadly reflect the volatile times in which we live. The horror we witnessed was quickly followed by national mourning and an outpouring of...
A startling number of media accounts continue to demonstrate that the Border Patrol is an agency which is unable to control many of its agents and shows little willingness to provide...
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) immigration policy platform was recently released and it showcases his thinking around immigration reform, enforcement and his...
Veterans Day, November 11 commemorates the sacrifices and contributions of military servicemen and women, both living and deceased, who served the country during war or peacetime. From the Concert...
Immigrants bring tremendous skills, talents, and energy to our country – including to our military forces. Veterans Day allows us the opportunity to not only honor those who made the pledge to...
Last night, a divided panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the federal government’s appeal of the preliminary injunction that has halted implementation of President Obama’s 2014...
Since the incidents in Ferguson, Missouri in August 2014, the use of body-worn cameras has been steadily on the rise. It was a major focus of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing,...
Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Torres v. Lynch, a case that provides a harsh reminder of the real life consequences of our unforgiving immigration laws. The petitioner in...
Recently, a leaked memo related to the Department of Homeland Security’s ongoing deliberations about reforming the employment-based immigrant visa system was published online. An “investigative...
Much is said and written about the immigrant population in the United States. However, most work focuses on immigrant populations from Latin America and Asia. Fortunately, the Pew Research Center...
Last week Congress passed and on Monday the President signed a two year bipartisan budget agreement that also raised the debt ceiling through March 2017. The two year budget sets federal spending...
Election Day 2015 is here! While the United States presidential election isn’t until next year, today’s elections for state and local governments are just as important. States are granted...
In a report released, the American Immigration Council shines a light on the primary channel through which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducts immigration enforcement in the...
On Friday, a Texas State Court Judge granted a temporary restraining order in Grassroots Leadership v. hs (TFPS) prohibiting TFPS from issuing licenses to family detention facilities in Dilley and...
By Sander Vocke, J-1 Intern at Mindtribe If you’re a techie, you probably have a few preconceptions about life as an engineer in the San Francisco Bay area. I also did when I began a three-month J-1...
On Thursday, Secretary Jeh Johnson of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) addressed the 12th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference, covering a wide-range of topics, from border...
The Northern Triangle of Central America—comprising El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—is now one of the most dangerous places on the planet. The United Nations estimates that Honduras has the...
In the discussion around family detention, little attention has been paid to the fact that states play an important role in licensing any facilities where children are cared for. That role has...
Last week, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) introduced legislation to remove derogatory language describing noncitizens as “aliens” from federal law. The bill, known as the Correcting Hurtful...
From Washington, D.C. to San Francisco to Raleigh, the debate over whether local law enforcement officers should be involved in enforcing federal immigration law is back at the fore. In the past...
After 9/11, the immigration detention system in the United States began to expand dramatically, with very little in the way of transparency or accountability as to how the system operated or what...
This week, the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held yet another hearing to examine the causes and implications of the high rate of migration from Central America,...
Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released a yearly report on the number of use of force incidents. The report stated that use of force incidents by officers and agents were down...
In May, a group of undocumented parents, represented by South Texas Civil Rights Project and Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas for denying their children, born...
The Senate will vote Tuesday on whether to begin debate on Senator David Vitter’s (R-LA) “Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act” (S. 2146). The bill is an enforcement-only approach to...
Although their numbers have declined this year, unaccompanied children (UACs) from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico continue to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border by the thousands. Many—...
A grave error was made last month by the Departments of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS) when they dashed the hopes of thousands of would-be permanent resident applicants who had expected...
The first Democratic debate of the 2016 presidential campaign was held Tuesday in Nevada, which is home to 529,164 immigrants and the highest percentage of undocumented immigrants of any state....
At a time when many states are adopting policies that harness immigrant’s social and economic contributions, elected officials in North Carolina are advancing anti-immigrant legislation that could...
This week, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) released new information about how the top 15 states of residence for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)-eligible youth are either...
This week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued draft guidance on what constitutes “extreme hardship” for purposes of an immigration waiver. The much anticipated guidance is a...
This week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released its long-awaited, new National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention and Search (TEDS), which govern the transfer of individuals in...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may finally be devoting more of its immigration enforcement resources to deporting people who represent a real threat to public safety. According to a...
Fifty years ago this past Saturday, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) into law. This Act is best known for having dismantled an earlier immigrant...
The United States plays an important role in protecting thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people fleeing persecution in their home countries. At no point in U.S. history has this role been...
Just hours before the federal government was set to shut down on Wednesday, Congress passed a continuing resolution, a stop-gap measure which continues funding the government at current levels and...
Justice was served on September 23, when a federal grand jury indicted Border Patrol agent Lonnie Swartz for the second-degree murder of 16-year-old José Antonio Elena Rodríguez in Nogales, Mexico...
Earlier this month, the immigration agencies took a positive step forward in implementing the executive action promise to reform the visa system when they issued the October Visa Bulletin,...
Related Content: Lack of CBP Accountability in Responding to Complaints of Abuse Deported migrants suffer a range of abuses at the hands of Custom and Border Patrol agents, according to a new Kino...
In the past, Pope Francis has not shied away from urging word leaders to show more humanity towards migrants around the globe. This week, during his first visit to the United States, Pope Francis...
Last week, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced changes to the regulations governing legal representation in immigration court and at the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA...
Related Content: The Effectiveness of Alternatives to Detention for Asylum Seekers. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced a pilot case management program as an alternative...
If you have been paying even a little attention to the Presidential debates, you might have picked up on the theme cast by some that there is something terribly wrong with today’s immigrants. That...
Related Content: New American Investors Making a Difference in the Economy In a new report, the Bipartisan Policy Center weighed in on the current discussion surrounding the immigrant investor...
Related Content: Family Detention Resource Page This week, the drumbeat to end family detention got louder when the United States Commission on Civil Rights (the Commission) released a report...
A federal judge in Arizona issued a decision on September 4, which some say signals the end of years of legal challenges against Arizona’s SB 1070 law. For the most part, the law has been gutted,...
Related Content: Why Legalization Must Lead to Citizenship September 17 marks Citizenship and Constitution Day, a combined event that commemorates the anniversary of the United States’...
Today, 100 immigrant women, domestic workers, and faith and immigrants’ rights leaders, set out on a 100-mile journey by foot from Pennsylvania to Washington D.C. Their message to Pope Francis—who...
The heated political rhetoric so far in the 2016 presidential campaign has often been at the expense of immigrants. And the policy solutions put forth by some candidates have centered around...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has taken a positive step, together with the U.S. Department of State (DOS), to encourage noncitizens to “stay the course” as they endure long...
As the Syrian refugee crisis mounts, the United States is being pressured both internally and externally to take in more of the nearly 4 million refugees that have been displaced due to ongoing...
On Friday evening, just before the Labor Day weekend, the government released five mothers and their five children, ranging in age from three to seventeen years old, from the South Texas...
Today, Congress returned to work after its annual August recess. While September promises to be a busy month for the lawmakers, especially given that the Senate is in session for only twelve days...
The Central American refugee influx along the U.S.-Mexico border, which generated so much press attention in 2014, is not going away anytime soon. The conditions which spur Salvadorans,...
Numerous studies have demonstrated and documented the ways in which immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy. As workers, consumers, taxpayers, entrepreneurs, and innovators, the overwhelming...
Save Jobs USA—an organization comprised of IT workers who claim they lost their jobs to H-1B workers—still wants to overturn the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that allows certain H-4...
A change in topic is desperately needed right now in the political and policy debate over immigration. The most recent public discussions on how to reform immigration—led in large part by the...
New data obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) shows that while the government’s use of detainers is decreasing, the number of detainers issued for individuals without...
Earlier this summer, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), announced new policies regarding transgender adult detainees in its custody—policies that were intended to provide a “respectful,...
Although this year’s presidential primary contests are dominated by the topic of immigration, the focus is on politically charged, hot-button issues like border walls and birthright citizenship....
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) released government documents this month that expose the severe lack of accountability in the immigration detention system. NIJC’s Immigration...
While some politicians on the campaign trail dial-up the anti-immigrant rhetoric and rehash old debates around birthright citizenship and mass deportation, the majority of America is unmoved....
In a decision issued Friday, a district court in California ruled yet again that the government is violating a long-standing settlement agreement protecting the rights of children in immigration...
Name: Ramachandran Nallusamy Training Location: Suwanee, Georgia Originally From: India What have you found most surprising about America? 99 percent of the people are following traffic rules. What’...
There has been a media frenzy over one of the more draconian components of Republican presidential contender Donald Trump’s immigration policy platform. In his plan, released earlier this week, he...
The nature of unauthorized immigration to the United States is changing. Economic and social conditions are changing in both the United States and the countries from which it has traditionally...
Currently, ten states and the District of Columbia offer driver’s licenses to undocumented residents of their states who can meet certain requirements. Two additional states, Hawaii and Delaware,...
Amidst last year’s uptick in arrivals of mothers and children fleeing violence and persecution in Central America, the Administration responded, in part, by ramping up family detention, increasing...
Over the weekend, Donald Trump—the current frontrunner in the race for the 2016 GOP Presidential nomination—released his immigration policy platform, which is at its core a smorgasbord of tired,...
This week, a federal district court issued a decision in Washtech (Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. DHS), a lawsuit brought, in part, by the Immigration Reform Law Institute, to...
It would seem to be a simple matter of conscience that no child should ever stand before a judge without having an attorney as an advocate. Younger children in particular may not even understand...
Since the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was first implemented in August 2012, hundreds of thousands of young immigrants were provided with a temporary reprieve from...
After long legal battles over punitive, state anti-immigration laws like Arizona’s SB1070 and Alabama’s HB56, state governments learned the limits on what types of immigration policies they can...
The government continued to defend its widespread detention of asylum-seeking women and children in documents filed last week in the Flores case. Advocates went to court in February to argue that...
In Cleveland, Ohio, home to nearly half a million immigrants, 10 Republican presidential candidates took to the stage in the first primary debate of the season. Given the pressing need to reform...
In recent weeks, former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley (D) and former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R) have unveiled their approaches to immigration. Although both presidential candidates tackle...
Among the executive actions on immigration unveiled last November was the announcement that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would end the controversial Secure Communities program and...
In January 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) implemented the “Risk Classification Assessment” (RCA)—a computerized tool that analyzes evidence and recommends whether to detain...
There is no denying that the granting of H-1B visas for highly skilled professionals from abroad is a politically charged topic. However, the recurring controversies over H-1Bs should not obscure...
Ohio Governor John Kasich is the sixteenth Republican to enter the 2016 presidential race. His campaign website states that Kasich has “done it all.” However, Kasich’s record shows that he has...
At a congressional briefing held earlier this week, Dr. Olivia López spoke out about her experiences as a former social worker at the Karnes family detention center alongside formerly detained...
The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled last month that eight immigrant men who were detained under extremely punitive conditions in maximum security facilities following 9/11, could...
Elvis Garcia is a migration counselor at the Catholic Charities Community Services of New York. He is also a former unaccompanied child who fled from his native Honduras in 2005 when he was 15...
A federal judge issued an order in the Flores case that should go a long way to ending the government’s practice of detaining children and their mothers in unlicensed, secure facilities in Dilley...
The Migration Policy Institute released a new report that examines the potential impact of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new policy guidance for immigration enforcement, which...
As part of November 2014’s Executive Action announcement, the President issued a memorandum directing the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to recommend improvements to the immigration...
When thousands of Central American families fled violence to the United States last year, the Administration responded by opening family detention centers, which are detaining mothers and children...
The tragic murder of Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco this month prompted Congress to schedule two hearings this week—one held today in the Senate Judiciary Committee and another scheduled for...
If there is one thing that the past few decades of immigration enforcement has made clear, it’s that unauthorized immigration responds much more to the U.S. job market and the natural desire for...
A recent U.S. government report found that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deported thousands of Mexican unaccompanied alien children (UACs) under age 14 in violation of its own policies...
This week, the federal government announced that it would take more aggressive steps to retrieve 2,600 3-year DACA grants, including launching home visits for a small number of people. This move...
On Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson testified to the House Judiciary Committee—his first appearance in Congress since the tragic killing of Kate Steinle in San...
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has just become the 15th candidate to announce his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination. His public statements and policy choices as Governor demonstrate a...
Last week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard oral argument in the most closely watched immigration case in years, Texas v. United States. This is a case brought by Texas and...
Last week, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Integrity Advisory Panel, whose creation was directed by the Secretary of Homeland Security in December 2014, released a report recommending...
On Tuesday, the Senate Homeland Security committee held a hearing examining the U.S. government’s response to last year’s arrivals of unaccompanied children fleeing Central American violence....
When it comes to understanding the relationship between immigration and crime, anecdotes are no substitute for evidence. And, as a new report from the American Immigration Council explains, the...
Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb is now the fifth Democrat to enter the 2016 presidential campaign. He has been more conservative than most Democrats on the issue of immigration policy while in...
U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) will shift its policies regarding transgender adult detainees in its custody according to a memo released last week. While the changes seem positive,...
While the Fourth of July invokes excitement as many Americans prepare to spend time with family, attend parades and watch fireworks shows, 4,000 immigrants are participating in a different sort of...
Some say the wheels of justice turn slowly; however, when justice is finally delivered it is sweet. After more than two years of litigation, the U.S. government has agreed to settle a lawsuit...
Some say the wheels of justice turn slowly; however, when justice is finally delivered it is sweet. After more than two years of litigation, the U.S. government has agreed to settle a lawsuit...
Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey became the 14th candidate to announce his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination. He’s highlighting his reputation as a straight-talking...
When Donald Trump threw his hat into the ring for the GOP Presidential nomination earlier this month, he made some of the most racist and offensive remarks ever made by a modern-day Presidential...
Last week, the nativist group Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) did it again. This time, CIS misrepresented data on children and families appearing in immigration court, echoing what Fox News...
First and foremost, we are here to help you. During your stay in the U.S., if you face any issues, especially regarding your housing, health insurance, or work place, then please contact your Case...
Last summer, the flow of Central Americans seeking refuge in the United States—many of them children—reached its height. One of the government’s first responses to the increased numbers was to...
Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby Jindal became the 13th presidential candidate to formally enter the 2016 presidential race. He is also the third declared 2016 presidential candidate that is...
Earlier this week, eight Democratic House Members took a trip to Dilley and Karnes, Texas to visit two immigrant family detention facilities and meet with women and children detained there. Dozens...
On June 24, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it designated Nepal for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) based on the conditions resulting from the devastating earthquake in...
25 years ago, the Board of Immigration Appeals held that people fleeing persecution based on their sexual orientation are eligible for asylum. Just months later, President George H.W. Bush lifted...
While immigrants make up around 13 percent of the U.S. population, they play an outsize role in entrepreneurship and business formation relative to their overall numbers.
The American Immigration Council is proud to announce the first place winner of the 18th annual Celebrate America Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest. This contest inspires educators to bring U.S...
With one of the highest growth rates for the immigrant population since 1990, there is mounting evidence that North Carolina’s immigrant population is a crucial contributor to the state’s economy...
The next poet laureate of the United States is Juan Felipe Herrera, the son of migrant farm workers. Herrera will be the first-ever Chicano poet laureate, signaling, as the Los Angeles Times put...
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush officially entered the 2016 Republican presidential race yesterday in Miami. The launch featured a moment when Bush addressed immigration advocates in the crowd...
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), President Obama’s deportation deferral program for DREAMers–undocumented young people brought to the United States as children–is celebrating its...
Immigration policy analysts released the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) results for the United States recently, including the survey’s implications for immigration and integration policy...
For years, the Border Patrol program “Operation Streamline” has criminally prosecuted asylum seekers in a terribly misguided effort to discourage them from reentering illegally again. A recent U.S...
Every day, over a thousand individuals are held in Border Patrol detention facilities near the U.S. southern border. These facilities are notorious for freezing cold temperatures, overcrowded...
Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican Senator (turned Democrat) and Governor from Rhode Island announced presidential bid for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States last week....
Former Texas governor Rick Perry announced his bid for the Republican presidential candidacy last week. His immigration rhetoric in the past several years has been one that focuses more on border...
Earlier this week, Lindsey Graham became the ninth candidate to announce his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. Attempting to distinguish himself from the other candidates,...
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court determined that the mere possession of a sock did not constitute a deportable offense in Mellouli v. Lynch. This unsurprising pronouncement serves as a first...
Former Republican New York Governor George Pataki recently entered the 2016 presidential race, highlighting what his national security and government reform agenda would be, but failing to mention...
Over the past year, the Obama Administration has rapidly propped up family detention facilities as a knee-jerk response to the influx of women and children who crossed our southern border last...
On Saturday, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley became the third Democratic candidate to enter the 2016 presidential race. In his announcement, O’Malley said that “for the sake of our...
In 2010 and 2011, Nebraska and Alabama made national headlines for their anti-immigrant measures. Fremont, Nebraska passed a local ordinance to check immigration status of renters, and Alabama...
Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), who finished second in the 2012 Republican Presidential Primary behind Mitt Romney, will again seek to secure the party’s nomination in 2016. Santorum said at...
Despite immigration restrictionists’ efforts to derail implementation, a new rule went into effect this week allowing certain H-4 spouses (i.e., spouses of H-1B workers) to apply for work...
Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the federal government’s request for an emergency stay of the preliminary injunction, which has temporarily stopped President Obama’s deferred...
Among serious researchers, it is largely a settled matter that comprehensive immigration reform benefits the U.S. economy at all levels, from deficit reduction and added tax revenue to job...
This week, the House Appropriations Committee recommended the largest increase in immigration judges in history—$74 million for 55 new immigration judges, and other court improvements. The...
In a decision issued last week, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) reversed course and decided that a subset of Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) who have been convicted of certain crimes may...
Today should have been the day when millions of undocumented moms and dads of U.S. citizens could have claimed their chance to work legally and live in dignity in the United States, alleviated, at...
In the last two decades, the state of California has transformed itself from a leader in anti-immigrant policymaking—most famously attempting to bar the undocumented from attending public schools...
Americans—77 percent, according to a recent Public Religion Research Institute poll—want Congress to take action on immigration reform. In the last Congress, comprehensive reform passed the Senate...
In February, advocates went to court to argue that the government’s family detention centers violate the long-standing Flores v. Reno settlement agreement, which set minimum standards for the...
By Karen Lucas, Legislative Associate at the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and Beth Werlin, Policy Director at the American Immigration Council. On Mother’s Day morning, we said...
Immigration policy has become a hot topic as the 2016 Presidential primary picks up steam. It is no surprise that the issue of Presidential authority over immigration has taken center stage in...
If there is any aspect of immigration reform over which there should be no partisan disagreement, it is the dire need to increase the number of immigration judges. As most Republicans and...
In 2009, the Obama Administration ended family detention at the infamous T. Don Hutto jail in Texas and cut the number of immigrants in family detention to less than a hundred. However, after the...
This week, three GOP candidates entered the 2016 race. Here’s what we know about their stance on current U.S. immigration policy: Carly Fiorina Fiorina announced on Monday that she is running in...
This week, National Small Business Week, which has occurred each year since 1963, recognizes the contributions of entrepreneurs and small business owners in the United States. According to the U.S...
It is unsurprising that the press is paying close attention to Texas v. United States, the case filed by Texas and a number of other states challenging President Obama’s executive actions on...
One form of humanitarian assistance the United States can offer to Nepal, a country now recovering from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that flattened buildings and killed more than 7,000 people, is...
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced this week that he will run for President, becoming the first to challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. The Associated Press reports Sanders...
Every day in immigration courts around the country, people facing deportation try to explain why they should be allowed to remain in the United States under our notoriously complex immigration...
On June 7, 2010, Sergio Adrian Hernandez Guereca, a fifteen-year-old Mexican national, was playing with a group of friends on the Mexican side of the border near the Paso del Norte Bridge in El...
The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing entitled “Birthright Citizenship: Is It The Right Policy For America?” The hearing will question whether those born in America will automatically...
Estrella is a four-year-old girl who has been locked-up in U.S. detention centers for over eight months or one fifth of her life. She is chronically ill and has been hospitalized for acute...
On Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP’s) Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske answered questions from the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee regarding CBP’s budget, and...
In the absence of meaningful immigration reform to address the situation of the millions of undocumented individuals living in the United States, state policies have become more and more important...
Since 2009, Congress has instructed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to maintain 34,000 beds in immigrant detention facilities across the country, a policy known as “the bed...
Undocumented immigrants contribute to the U.S. economy in many ways. They fill essential jobs, they sustain U.S. businesses through their purchase of goods and services, and they pay taxes to...
In cities and states across the country, there has been growing momentum towards building better immigrant and refugee integration programs . Yet there hasn’t been an official federal immigrant...
This week, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) became the latest candidate to announce his 2016 presidential bid, which he did from the Freedom Tower in Miami, Florida. Known as the Ellis Island of...
For decades, the United States has been pursuing an “enforcement-first” approach to immigration control, spending more on immigration enforcement than all other law enforcement combined, but...
On Tuesday, new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Sarah Saldaña, responsible for immigration enforcement inside the United States, testified for the first time to the U.S. House...
Nativist ideology is filled with falsehoods, half-truths, and distortions. From the impact of immigrants on the economy to the pace of their integration into U.S. society, the nativist creed more...
Hillary Clinton officially declared on Sunday that she will seek the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination for a second time. The announcement was made through a video where Clinton said, “...
Family reunification has stood as a central pillar of the U.S. immigration system, dating back to 1965. Despite this, a new study by researchers Maria Enchautegui and Cecilia Menjivar shows that...
Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) has entered the 2016 presidential race with the campaign slogan “defeat the Washington machine.” Yet his views and past legislative actions on immigration show that...
Yesterday, in Crane v. Johnson, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the same court deciding whether or not to keep in place the preliminary injunction blocking the President’s executive actions)...
Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that USCIS reached the “H-1B cap” for fiscal year 2016—meaning that in seven days, U.S. employers filed more petitions for an H1-...
Multiple legal briefs are being filed today in support of ending the injunction against the Obama Administration’s expansion of deferred action. On February 16, 2015, a Texas federal judge issued...
By Daniel Martinez, Assistant Professor of Sociology, The George Washington University and Jeremy Slack, Visiting Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Texas at El...
The New York Times published a series of maps illustrating the different ways in which states either attempt to welcome immigrants into their communities or go out of their way to make them feel...
A class action lawsuit was recently filed by three immigration attorneys and eleven noncitizens challenging U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) nationwide practice of failing to respond to...
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that since 2013, more than 7,000 immigrant children have been ordered deported after missing a hearing in immigration court, according to government data....
The New York Times details the government’s dangerous and expanding practice of detaining women and children who have recently crossed our southwest border in the magazine’s cover story this...
Since the government began “prioritizing” the deportation of unaccompanied children and mothers with children last summer, legal service providers and other court observers across the country have...
While some state attorneys general are suing to stop President Obama’s immigration executive actions, many state lawmakers are working to address immigration issues within their own states. New...
When the family detention center in Artesia, New Mexico, was hastily propped up by the U.S. government in order to detain and rapidly process women and children for deportation, immigration rights...
Each week, in immigration courts across the United States, hundreds of children, some as young as just a few months old, come before immigration judges and are called upon to defend themselves...
By Dree Collopy, partner at Benach Ragland LLP. The inhumanity of family detention and the danger of short-changing basic due process protections are on full display in the detention center in...
The lawsuit filed last week by the American Immigration Council, the ACLU, the National Immigration Project, and the National Immigration Law Center challenging government deportation policies at...
As families from Central America flee violence and persecution to seek refuge in the United States, hundreds of mothers and their children apprehended after crossing the border have been locked up...
One of the hundreds of children being held at an immigration detention facility in, New Mexico, was released last week when officials realized the 11-year-old boy was a U.S. citizen. According to...
Historically, “immigrants facing deportation are not provided an attorney if they cannot afford one.” But across the country, municipalities are taking steps to improve access to counsel for those...
By Megan Jordi, legal director at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center. The rule of law is only a mirage in the remote, dusty town of Artesia, New Mexico, where the Department of Homeland Security...
In the last week before the August recess, House and Senate members are trying to finalize vastly different bills that would provide additional funding to address the government agency needs...
More than half of the unaccompanied Central American children who are in U.S. custody after crossing the U.S. border could be found eligible for relief by a U.S. immigration judge, according to an...
As the number of unaccompanied children arriving at the United States border has increased, some lawmakers have argued that children frequently disappear into the woodwork, and propose mandatory...
The thousands of children fleeing violence and persecution and seeking refuge in the United States have brought to the forefront the issue of how our immigration system deals with children. The...
U.S. immigration laws provide only minimal due process protections for even the most vulnerable immigrants facing deportation, and in 59 percent of cases, immigrants are forced to navigate the...
News stories and NGO reports continue to document the plight of “unaccompanied children,” and their complex legal issues were brought to the attention of Congress when Attorney General Eric Holder...
A recent settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of thousands of asylum seekers is removing obstacles they faced in obtaining work documents while they pursue their asylum...
Every year, thousands of people flee persecution in their home countries and seek safe haven in the United States. Many of them spend their entire savings on the journey, travel under life-...
Findings released last week by the New York Immigration Representation Study reveal what immigration advocates long have said: whether a person has legal representation is a critical factor in...
Asylum applicants and their attorneys have long struggled to better understand how the employment authorization asylum clock (“EAD asylum clock”) functions. The clock, which measures the number of...
A report issued this week by the City Bar Justice Center highlights one of the most serious flaws of the removal process: noncitizens are not appointed a lawyer to represent them. The report...
