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Class Action Settlement Removes Obstacles Preventing Asylum Applicants from Working
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 claims. The inability to work for lengthy periods of time has had crippling effects on asylum applicants. Without proper work authorization, they have been […]
Read MoreNew Legal Analysis Shows State Compliance with ICE Detainers May Violate the Constitution
Chicago, New York, and San Francisco now prevent local jails from honoring immigration detainers—requests from federal immigration officials for state and local jails to hold a person so that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents can investigate the person’s immigration status—unless an arrestee has been charged with or convicted of certain criminal offenses. And California’s […]
Read MoreLicensing Barriers Leave Immigrant Doctors Driving Cabs Instead of Practicing Medicine
Instead of putting foreign medical and other advanced degrees to use in the United States, it is common among immigrant doctors and other professionals to work less skilled jobs, such as a taxi driver or waiter, because the complicated licensing process keeps them from applying their training in the U.S. market. According to a recent […]
Read MoreImmigrant Victims Left Waiting After U.S. Reaches U Visa Cap
The federal government has already reached its limit on the number of U visas—a special category for crime victims—available for the 2014 fiscal year. After only two months, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials have already filled the 10,000 visas available this year. Every year since the visa program began in 2008, USCIS has […]
Read MoreHouse Bi-Partisan Budget Deal Gives Hope to Immigration Activists
One day before Congress left town for the holiday recess, the House of Representatives approved a two-year budget deal by a wide margin. Despite some GOP opposition to the plan, House Speaker John Boehner allowed a vote on the plan, which passed with a majority of Democratic and Republican votes. The budget outline now heads […]
Read MoreNuevos Informes Revelan Cultura de Crueldad dentro de la Patrulla Fronteriza
Esta semana el American Immigration Council publicó dos nuevos informes que muestran a las claras ciertos patrones sistemáticos en el uso de la fuerza por parte de la Patrulla Fronteriza de los Estados Unidos. En particular, los informes ponen en evidencia una serie de abusos, tanto físicos como verbales, ejercidos contra inmigrantes indocumentados durante el […]
Read MoreHouse Hearing Misses the Mark on Asylum Claims
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Thursday about whether or not abuse of the asylum system is “overwhelming our borders.” What the committee ended up focusing on, however, was the alleged abuse of the credible fear screening process, a preliminary step in the application process for some asylum seekers. Although credible fear is different […]
Read MoreSupreme Court Considers Restrictive Interpretation of Child Status Protection Act
Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Mayorkas v. Cuellar de Osorio, a case challenging the government’s restrictive interpretation of the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). The CSPA provides relief for the longstanding problem of children included on a parent’s visa application who “age out” – that is, turn 21 and lose their status […]
Read MoreNew Reports Expose Subculture of Cruelty Within the U.S. Border Patrol
There is a subculture of cruelty within the Border Patrol—and, more broadly, within the entire machinery of the U.S. deportation regime. From the ranks of frontline Border Patrol agents to the guards in private, for-profit detention facilities, the abuse of detainees is widely tolerated and even accepted. This is the central finding to emerge from […]
Read MoreAs Congress Looks to Next Year, Activists Keep Immigration Reform Alive
Congress takes a holiday break at the end of this week and won’t return from recess until January. This pause in the legislative calendar, however, has little meaning for immigration activists who are continuing to push Congress to act on immigration reform. While the timetable may be changing, the commitment to work for reform has […]
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