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Who Is Alejandro Mayorkas? The New DHS Secretary Will Spearhead Biden’s Immigration Agenda
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 firsts for the department—he will be the first Latino and immigrant to lead DHS. This is a significant departure from the leadership installed at DHS under the Trump administration. His […]
Read MoreDiscriminatory Treatment of Haitians Throughout History Informs Current Policy at the US-Mexico Border
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 recent amicus—or “friend of the court”—brief filed in a lawsuit challenging this policy argues that the true justification is racial hostility. In the […]
Read MoreNew US Citizenship Test Makes It Harder for Immigrants to Become Citizens
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 the change on November 13. The new test increases the total number of questions from 100 to 128. Applicants will be verbally asked 20 questions and must […]
Read MoreCouncil Files FOIA Lawsuit to Expose Immigration Enforcement in Federal Prisons
The American Immigration Council filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on behalf of the University of California (UCLA) School of Law Professor Ingrid Eagly seeking to uncover the scope and operation of immigration enforcement within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities. Why Was this Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request Filed? The Institutional Hearing […]
Read MoreUSCIS Is Proposing an H-1B Rule That Ignores Why the Category Exists
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 to the annual “cap.” USCIS will now give preference to jobs with the highest wages. But the law establishing the H-1B visa category does not […]
Read MoreBiden’s Immigration Plan Is a Promising Start in the Work Ahead
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 stands in stark contrast to the xenophobic agenda the Trump administration has put forward the last four years. Much of Biden’s plan revolves around […]
Read MoreElection 2020 Recap: Examining a Diverse Hispanic Electorate
This year’s election saw the most racially and ethnically diverse U.S. electorate in history. For the first time in U.S. history, Hispanic Americans were the largest minority group among eligible voters, overtaking African Americans. This shift in the electorate is likely to have significant effects on the outcomes of future elections. While Hispanics nationwide supported […]
Read MoreCourt Protects Some TPS Holders’ Right to Apply for Green Cards
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 Court held that receiving TPS is treated as an “inspection and admission” when someone applies for a green card. These prerequisites are […]
Read MoreImmigration Advocates Can Have a Role in Advancing National Unity
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 see each other again. To listen to each other again. To make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy. […]
Read MoreThe Media Is Obsessed With the ‘Latino Vote’ – There Is No Such Thing
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 voting patterns of “Latinos” in the United States. Exit polls show that President Trump fared well with Latino voters, particularly in Florida. And […]
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