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Giving Thanks to the Hands That Feed America: Immigrant Farmworkers
With the approach of Thanksgiving, when many families will be celebrating with food and gratitude, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the people who help make Thanksgiving celebrations possible. Many of the fruits, vegetables, and other staples of our Thanksgiving celebrations are harvested by immigrant farm workers. In fruit and vegetable crop production, […]
Read MoreDocumented Dreamers: An Overview
This fact sheet provides an overview of Documented Dreamers, explains how they can age out of immigration status at 21, and summarizes the current federal legislative proposals to protect them from deportation.
Read MoreJudge Strikes Down ‘Keeping Families Together’ Parole Process
After initially blocking the Biden administration’s recent move to promote family unity for some U.S. citizens with undocumented spouses in August, a federal judge in Texas issued a final judgment last week ending the parole process altogether. Judge J. Campbell Barker found that the whole concept of “parole in place” – the practice of granting […]
Read MoreThe Council Received Data on City-Level Refugee Resettlement From the Department of State
A FOIA request provided demographic data on refugees resettled in the U.S. from October 2017 to December 2024, which the Council used to create a state-level visualization tool showing refugee nationality, age, gender, education, and English proficiency, while protecting individual privacy by redacting data in areas with fewer than 50 resettlements.
Read MoreFederal Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Asylum Seekers’ Rights to Present at POEs
Ports of entry along our borders are supposed to be where people in need of protection can come to seek humanitarian relief. But since 2016, every presidential administration has used different tactics to turn people away from ports of entry (POEs) along the U.S.-Mexico border before they even get there. Finally, in October, the Ninth […]
Read MoreWhat Is the ‘Bipartisan Border Bill’ and How Would It Change the US Immigration System?
The “bipartisan border bill” has been front and center in the presidential election, but it is often presented to the public without clarity on what the bill would actually do. In May, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced S. 4361, the Border Act of 2024. This bill includes nearly identical provisions to a bipartisan immigration […]
Read MoreSeasonal Immigrant Workers Are in High Demand. America’s H-2B Visa Program Isn’t Keeping Up.
Foreign workers have long provided critical support to American businesses in the busy seasons—filling temporary, seasonal jobs when domestic workers were not available. This support—almost always of manual labor—is possible due to the H-2 visa program, which Congress created in 1952 with the aim of “alleviating labor shortages … particularly in periods of intense production.” […]
Read MoreFOIA Documents Show Troubling Gaps in Transparency at Torrance County Detention Facility
The Torrance County Detention Facility, located in the remote deserts of New Mexico, is notorious for its mistreatment of migrants. The facility’s issues are compounded by the fact that Torrance has largely operated in secrecy. However, documents and data uncovered through a FOIA request have provided a glimpse into ICE detention practices into the facility. […]
Read MoreThe Expanding Role of H-2B Workers in the United States
Congress established the H-2 visa program in 1952 to allow U.S. businesses to directly hire seasonal foreign guest workers when American workers were not available, with the aim of “alleviating labor shortages … particularly in periods of intense production.” During the Reagan Administration, Congress created separate visa programs: the H-2A visa, for temporary agricultural workers; […]
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