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Department of Justice Eliminates Diversity and Inclusion Training for All Immigration Judges
At a time when tensions over race in the United States are high, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in an October 8 memo that it will cancel all diversity and inclusion trainings for its staff of over 115,000 people. The decision could have a particularly devastating impact on the U.S. immigration court system. […]
Read MoreIndigenous People Face Persistent Language Access Challenges in Immigration Detention
The effort to permanently replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day signifies a growing movement to honor the resilience and history of indigenous communities. The day presents an opportunity to learn more about the native communities who were here long before the violent arrival of Christopher Columbus. It is also a chance to reflect on […]
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 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 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 MoreThe Role of Immigrants in Mental Healthcare Services
Since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, ample attention has been paid to the value and demand for frontline healthcare workers such as doctors, nurses, respiratory technicians, and care aides. However, as the nation enters into its seventh month dealing with Covid-19, other forms of healthcare services are seeing upticks in demand. The trauma and […]
Read MoreNon-Judgmental Listening and Story Sharing Can Durably Change Attitudes Around Contentious Issues
Ushering in a more just and inclusive America can seem like a daunting prospect in a time of heightened conflict and division. Polarization creates incentives for each camp to hunker down, look inward, and activate its in-group or base. The self-perpetuating and self-reinforcing nature of this oppositional cycle makes it hard to transcend and see […]
Read MoreNew Americans in St. Paul
New research from New American Economy (NAE), released in partnership with the City of St. Paul highlights how immigrants are both essential to the city’s rapid response efforts and especially vulnerable due to gaps in our federal relief packages, language access barriers, and increased risks of infection associated with frontline and essential work. Key findings […]
Read MoreDiversity Visa Ban Struck Down by Judge
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume issuing diversity visas on September 5. Each year, the State Department uses a lottery system to select visa recipients from a broad array of countries. In April, President Trump banned diversity visa recipients from entering the country. What is the diversity visa? Congress established the Diversity […]
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