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Obama Administration Seeks Balance Between Labor and Immigration Law Enforcement
Last week President Obama issued a blueprint for a twenty-first century immigration policy that highlighted, among other things, the need to promote accountability for employers who deliberately hire and exploit undocumented workers. The Administration’s recommendations for achieving this goal include a better employment verification system, more comprehensive anti-retaliation protections for workers, and a legalization program […]
Read MoreImmigration Court Backlog Likely to Get Worse Before It Gets Better
Our nation’s immigration courts are backlogged. Historically backlogged. At the end of last year, more than 260,000 cases remained pending before immigration judges. Across the country, the average wait was nearly sixteen months. In California, thousands of cases have been pending for more than two years. While justice is not always swift, our immigration courts […]
Read MoreSenate Judiciary Committee Holds Key Hearing on Challenges Facing Immigration Courts
Washington, D.C.—The American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center commends Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, for convening today’s hearing on “Improving Efficiency and Ensuring Justice in the Immigration Court System.” Immigration courts have long suffered from crushing backlogs that can delay the scheduling of hearings for years at a time. Additionally, […]
Read MoreDHS Announces Extension and Re-Designation of Temporary Protective Status for Haitians
Today, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the extension and re-designation of Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for Haitians currently in the United States. The extension would allow approximately 48,000 Haitian nationals—whose homeland was devastated by an earthquake in 2010 and is still plagued by disease and instability—to extend their TPS for an […]
Read MoreDHS Extends Temporary Protected Status to Haitians
Washington D.C. – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took an important step on behalf of Haitians affected by last year’s devastating earthquake, demonstrating the humanitarian side of its immigration responsibilities. Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that DHS would extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an additional eighteen months for Haitians currently residing in the […]
Read MoreResearch Shows Immigrant Entrepreneurs Leaving the U.S. to Become Our Competition
Restrictionists often perpetuate the myth that immigrants are not needed in our current economy—that they take jobs and hurt American workers. But research has shown that immigrants not only grow the economy, but help create jobs and are part of the solution to our economic woes. However, while immigrants can create jobs and start new […]
Read MoreGeorgia Gov. Nathan Deal Signs Arizona-Style Enforcement Law
Today, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed HB 87—an Arizona-style immigration law which allows police to investigate the immigration status of certain suspects and requires businesses to verify work eligibility of new hires—into law, despite the threat of economic boycotts and negative fiscal impacts. Georgia’s state legislature passed HB 87 last month amid outcries from businesses […]
Read MoreImmigrant Community Needs White House Muscle to Move Immigration, Politics and All
Plenty of people are calling this week’s events—especially the President’s speech on immigration in El Paso—pure politics. And some are rightly criticizing Administration policies—such as record levels of deportations—as inconsistent with the broader vision of immigration and economic prosperity the President outlined in El Paso. But placed in a broader strategic context, the El Paso […]
Read MoreAnother Study Highlights Need for Legal Representation in Immigration Court
Findings released last week by the New York Immigration Representation Study reveal what immigration advocates long have said: whether a person has legal representation is a critical factor in obtaining a favorable result in immigration court. The findings—which are based on a study of individuals apprehended in New York from October 2005 through December 2010—show […]
Read MoreSenator Durbin Re-Introduces DREAM Act on Heels of President’s Immigration Speech
Today, Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Harry Reid (D-NV) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) re-introduced the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or “DREAM Act,” which would provide a pathway to legal status for the thousands of undocumented students who graduate from high school each year (the companion bill in the House was also introduced […]
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