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Congress Expands Premium Processing to Help Cash-Strapped USCIS
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 through with planned furloughs, Congress has nevertheless acted to provide the agency with a new way to raise money through the expansion of […]
Read MoreImmigrants Detained in California Win the Right to Sue Private Prison Companies
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 past weeks. California Governor Gavin Newson signed a bill allowing detained immigrants to sue private prison companies for failing to meet minimum standards of care outlined in the facilities’ contracts in […]
Read MoreFederal Judge Limits Trump Administration’s Foreign Worker Ban
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 found that the president likely did not have the authority to issue the ban. Who does the ruling impact? The decision, in National Association of […]
Read MoreThis Immigration Enforcement Agency Wants To Destroy Records on Abuses by Its Own Agents
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 Administration (NARA) approve the destruction of complaints–but over 100 organizations opposed this decision citing mounting evidence of CBP lack of accountability. Under the Federal Records Act, […]
Read MoreHow Trump’s COVID-19 Immigration Ban Has Impacted Family-Based Immigration
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 significantly increase employment-based immigration at the expense of people in the family categories—and without any involvement by Congress. On March 20, the administration suspended routine visa […]
Read MoreComments on U.S. Customs and Border Protection Records Destruction Schedule
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is attempting to permanently destroy records related to civil rights complaints against the agency, administrative and criminal investigations into CBP officials’ conduct, and records related to Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) allegations. On July 9, 2020, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) recommended CBP records destruction schedule be approved. The […]
Read MoreFederal Court Halts Massive USCIS Fee Increases for Immigration Applications
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 Services (USCIS) in August, is likely unlawful. Before the court issued its ruling, USCIS planned to implement the rule in early October. The rule would […]
Read MoreUSCIS is Preventing Asylum Seekers from Bringing Their Own Interpreters to Interviews
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 States— from bringing their own interpreters to asylum interviews. Instead, the government will provide free telephonic interpretation in 47 languages. The agency says the measure is intended to limit the […]
Read MoreProposed Student Visa Restrictions Would Disproportionately Impact African Nations
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 they are able to complete their degrees before having to depart the country. But under a new proposal put forward on September 25 by the […]
Read MoreProposed 15-Day Filing Rule for Asylum Seekers Is Designed to Be Impossible
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 asylum seekers that would stop all but the lucky few from receiving protections. How the Rule Would Affect Asylum Seekers Under the new […]
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