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House and Senate Face Stalemate over Proposals to Fund Border Challenges
Members in the House and Senate are offering competing proposals to address humanitarian needs as child migrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border alone, but it could be difficult to reconcile the two plans before the August recess. The Obama administration requested $3.7 billion in additional funding earlier this month. If Congress fails to pass the additional […]
Read MoreRefugee Children Don’t Need More Immigration Enforcement
A humanitarian crisis requires a humanitarian response. In the case of the unaccompanied children from Central America who are arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, this would include decent food, shelter, and medical attention while in U.S. custody. Even more crucial, it would include careful screening of each child’s case to determine if he or she […]
Read MoreTaking Attendance: New Data Finds Majority of Children Appear in Immigration Court
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 detention as a solution. Some say as many as 90 percent fail to attend their immigration court hearings. Yet government data recently published by Syracuse University’s Transactional […]
Read MoreWhite House Discusses Strengthening Communities by Welcoming Immigrants
This week nearly 200 leaders from communities across the U.S. gathered at the White House for a National Convening on Immigrant and Refugee Integration. Attendees included practitioners, policymakers, elected officials, researchers, business representatives, and faith leaders. The participants discussed successful initiatives, as well as challenges and opportunities for immigrant integration. “This inaugural event gave peer […]
Read MoreDOJ Adds Temp Judges and Shifts Priorities in Response to Unaccompanied Minors
Congress has long neglected the immigration court system, like so many other aspects of our immigration infrastructure. For years, while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has dedicated more and more resources to immigration enforcement efforts, resources for the immigration courts have not commensurately increased. As a result, immigration courts cannot keep up with their […]
Read MoreSenate Hearing Debates Enforcement-Focused Solution to Humanitarian Challenge
On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the Administration’s emergency request for $3.7 billion to address the humanitarian situation as children and families flee violence in Central America. While the committee nominally addressed only the funding request, the president’s stated intention to ask for more “discretion in processing” children also was a […]
Read MoreThe Facts About the Humanitarian Challenge at the Border
What is our obligation as a country to the unaccompanied child migrants at our border? This seemingly straightforward question is frequently lost among the political debate surrounding the humanitarian challenge at our southern border. In a recent Senate homeland security committee hearing, several senators focused only on how to deter the child migrants. Sen. Johnson […]
Read MoreWhy We Are Suing the Government on Behalf of All Children Facing Deportation
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 current system subjects kids to the same deportation laws as adults. They are ordered to appear in immigration court, where they face off against […]
Read MoreAmerica’s Past Treatment of Central Americans Serves as Cautionary Tale
The Obama administration has put forth a plan on how to respond to the thousands of Central American families and unaccompanied children who are arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the administration plans to take a hard-line approach that is focused on deporting the vast majority of the children and families […]
Read MoreNativist Group Cherry Picks Data to Show False Decline in Central American Deportations
The nativist Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) recently issued a report titled, “Records Reveal Few Central Americans Deported,” to support their arguments to detain and deport more Central American children. The report centers on a comparison that, according to CIS, shows a 40 percent decline in deportations to Northern Triangle countries, while in reality, deportations […]
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