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Urgent Immigration Measures Rest With the Senate After August Recess
When members of Congress return from their August recess, they will find several immigration measures urgently awaiting their attention. The House Appropriations Committee already has passed a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the full House has passed both the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and the National Defense Authorization Act, which […]
Read MoreWelcoming and Inclusive State Policies: A Midyear Review of State Legislative Sessions in 2022
As immigration bills languish in Congress, state legislatures continue to pave the way in welcoming immigrants and refugees in 2022. With the majority of the 46 state legislatures that convened this year having adjourned, many states—once again—used the legislative process to pass bills that make their communities more inclusive for all state residents. These initiatives […]
Read MoreImmigration Agencies Get Hit with Record-High Lawsuits as Delays Worsen
Lawsuits asking courts to order government employees to decide long-pending immigration filings have increased sharply in the past year. According to a recent report by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), in May 2022 the federal courts recorded 647 immigration-related lawsuits for agency delay. This is “the highest number of such cases filed in a […]
Read MoreNew Report Reveals Why USCIS Is Plagued by Enormous Backlogs and Wait Times
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) operates under a flawed funding model. This virtually guarantees that the agency will always be under-funded and under-staffed. As a result, USCIS has been plagued for years by enormous backlogs of applications for immigration benefits. The people applying for immigration benefits must endure lengthy wait times before the agency […]
Read MoreUnpacking the Federal STEM Initiatives and Immigrants’ Role in the US Workforce
Demand for workers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) continues to grow in the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the country will need about one million more workers for new STEM jobs between 2020 and 2030. Meanwhile, immigrants are playing an increasingly important role in filling these […]
Read MoreIn Blow to Asylum, House Appropriations Committee Greenlights Title 42
The House Appropriations Committee on Friday passed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill for Fiscal Year 2023, as part of the year-over-year process that Congress undertakes to fund the government. Although the bill contains several pro-immigrant measures, much of that progress was overshadowed by a successful last-minute amendment targeting asylum. The amendment would […]
Read MoreBiden Administration Expands Exemptions for Afghan Nationals Otherwise Inadmissible
Obtaining immigration benefits from the U.S. government is always difficult, but it is even harder for people who have ever had any interaction with an organization or government that is deemed to support terrorism. As thousands of Afghans apply for immigration benefits in the United States, many risk being denied due to interactions with the […]
Read MoreBiden’s New Asylum Rules Go Into Effect On A Limited Basis
The Biden administration’s overhaul of the asylum system went into effect for the first time on May 31, but only a limited basis. According to guidance published by the Department of Homeland Security, the rule will initially be applied to several hundred asylum seekers per month. The rule will only be for those who are […]
Read MoreThe Economic Benefits of the Empire State Licensing Act
New research from the American Immigration Council, Economic Benefits of the Empire State Licensing: Immigrants in New York State’s Workforce, highlights the crucial role of immigrants and refugees in New York’s workforce, as well as the need to reduce barriers to professional and occupational licenses for all New York residents. New York law currently prohibits […]
Read MoreThe Border Patrol Is Going to Eliminate Its Secretive Critical Incident Teams
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced in a May 6 memorandum that it would eliminate its Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs). The teams have faced criticism for their secretive role at the scenes of incidents involving Border Patrol agents in which someone has died or been seriously injured. BPCITs currently respond to critical […]
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