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The State of Texas is Arresting and Detaining Border Crossers for Trespassing
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 and criminal mischief. The arrests are the latest in a series of attempts by Texas officials to increase the consequences of entering or being present in […]
Read MoreFederal Judge Strikes Down DACA: What You Need to Know
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 children, Judge Andrew Hanen of the Southern District of Texas struck down the program on July 16, ordering U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to stop issuing […]
Read MoreAttorney General Garland Brings Back Administrative Closure for Immigration Judges
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 deportation to pursue all available paths to legal status. In Matter of Cruz-Valdez, the attorney general reversed a decision by prior Attorney General Jeff Sessions. […]
Read MoreStrategies and Considerations in the Wake of Niz-Chavez v. Garland
This practice advisory by the Council and partners provides an overview of the Niz-Chavez v. Garland decision and its impact on eligibility for cancellation of removal; eligibility for post-conclusion voluntary departure and broader applications of the decision.
Read MoreBiden Will Use Border Wall Funding for Safety and Environmental Protections
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 address safety and environmental issues, while funds diverted from the Department of Defense will be returned for their original purposes. President Trump centered […]
Read MoreBiden Took 3 More Executive Actions on Immigration. Did He Go Far Enough?
On February 2, 2021, following the confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of Homeland Security, President Biden signed three executive orders that take steps to further unwind the Trump administration’s restrictions on immigration. The actions build on Biden’s first round of immigration changes, which he signed on Inauguration Day. Here is a summary of the […]
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 MoreInstitutional Racism Is Rampant in Immigration Enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico Border
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 Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. She was tasked with enforcing U.S. immigration law, but nevertheless found herself racially profiled and discriminated against by U.S. immigration authorities. […]
Read MoreAfter Filing Suit, Council Releases Records Describing ICE’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The American Immigration Council filed a lawsuit after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) failed to timely respond to the Council’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The request asked for information about ICE’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in immigration jails and the measures it was taking to identify and treat detained individuals who are […]
Read MoreICE Must Release People From Detention to Slow the Spread of the Coronavirus
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) continues to detain approximately 38,000 people in close quarters. This conflicts with medical experts’ repeated advice to decrease the detention population. Earlier this month, over 3,000 medical […]
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