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Government Losing its License to Operate Family Detention Center in Pennsylvania
On January 27, 2016, Pennsylvania state officials informed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that it would not renew and would revoke the operating license for the Berks County Residential Facility, the immigration detention center in Leesport, Pennsylvania, which jails mothers and children, often for extended periods of time. The current license will expire on […]
Read MoreSenators and Rights Groups Call on White House to Protect, Not Deport Central Americans
A growing number of policy-players and makers are calling on the U.S. government to protect, rather than deport, Central American migrants and asylum-seekers. As rampant violence and organized crime continues to destabilize the Northern Triangle countries—evidenced not only by numerous reports but, by the thousands fleeing this region in the past several years—many are questioning […]
Read MoreAn Immigrant Family Behind America’s Pita Craze
In elementary school, Karen Toufayan’s friends never knew what to make of her lunch. While the others munched on Wonder Bread, Karen usually unwrapped a pita. “Nobody knew anything about pita bread,” says Karen. “They couldn’t even pronounce it. People were like, ‘What is that?’” She says it was like that scene from the movie […]
Read MoreUndocumented Population Continues to Decline in the U.S.
Despite significant job growth and an economic recovery over the last few years, the undocumented population in the United States has continued to decline. According to a new report by the Center for Migration Studies (CMS) released last week the undocumented population has decreased every year from 2009 to 2014, falling below 11 million for […]
Read MoreThe Long Road to Biometric Entry Exit
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a new report this week detailing visa overstays in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, estimating approximately 415,000 individuals overstayed their visa in the past year. The report was referenced heavily in a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest hearing this week, which focused on the failure […]
Read MoreDHS Begins Raids and Deportations of Central American Mothers and Children
This past weekend, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted immigration raids, primarily in Georgia, Texas and North Carolina where, according to DHS, they rounded up 121 individuals, mostly women and children. DHS now is transporting the families to Texas to process them for deportation. The raids were anticipated, as The Washington Post broke the news in […]
Read MoreWhat Maine can learn from how Lowell, Mass., welcomed immigrants, rebuilt its city
BDN Maine’s #TheEconomyProject asks us to think about how we can grow Maine’s economy in the face of Maine’s shrinking workforce. When Maine’s future is brought up, many worry about Maine’s declining birth rates, out-migration and lack of in-migration. How, people are asking, are we going to encourage more people to come to Maine? Some […]
Read MoreHieleras (Iceboxes) in the Rio Grande Valley Sector
These accounts reveal the dehumanizing conditions to which these women were subjected while in Border Patrol custody.
Read MoreEfforts to Pass Anti-Refugee Legislation Slows
In the days after the Paris attacks, fear took hold of many across the United States, and some politicians proposed shutting our doors to refugees, particularly those from Syria and Iraq. This knee jerk reaction resulted in the House of Representatives hastily passing a misguided bill, which, if signed into law, would effectively halt the […]
Read MoreWill the Immigration Court Backlog Finally Go Down?
Although our nation’s immigration courts currently have record backlogs, there may be some help on the way. That was the message from Juan Osuna, Director of the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR)—a division within the Department of Justice (DOJ) department which houses the immigration courts—at an oversight hearing in the House of Representatives Judiciary […]
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