Filter
The Perils of the Migrant Protection Protocols
Rape, violence, kidnapping, and lack of basic health care is, unfortunately, a reality for hundreds of asylum seekers subjected to the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or “Remain in Mexico” program. Multiple recent accounts, including a report by Human Rights First (HRF), have documented the cruel and inhumane consequences asylum seekers suffer when they are sent […]
Read MoreThe Cost of Removing Optional Practical Training for STEM Graduates
Workers who possess training or skills in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) are some of the most sought after segments of the labor market. Chronic shortages of specialized, high-skilled workers have been making headlines in the United States for nearly a decade, even during the Great Recession. To attempt to address this, in 2016, […]
Read MoreJudge Grants Class-Action Status to Thousands of Immigrants Waiting for Access to Their Immigration Records
A federal court in San Francisco certified two nationwide classes of immigrants and attorneys claiming that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have a systemic pattern and practice of failing to provide access to immigration case records within deadlines set by the Freedom of Information Act. The case records, known as A-files, contain information about individuals’ immigration history in the United States. This is the first time a court has certified a class in a lawsuit alleging a pattern and practice of violating FOIA
Read MorePennsylvania Should Widen Access to Justice for People in Immigration Detention
People in immigration detention who are represented by an attorney are more likely to receive a positive outcome in immigration court than those that face judges alone. Unfortunately, people who arrive in the U.S. from other countries are not guaranteed representation even though having one can be the difference between being allowed to stay or […]
Read MoreHow Trump’s New Healthcare Ban Threatens the Legal Immigration System
President Trump invoked the same legal authority used for the Travel Ban to impose a sweeping new ban on legal immigration last week. Under the new ban, which analysis suggests could block as much as two thirds of all immigrants from coming to the United States, immigrants will be banned from entering unless they can […]
Read MoreWhat the Safe Third Country Deals Mean for The Future of Asylum in the United States
The Trump administration announced last week that it had signed an “Asylum Cooperative Agreement” with Honduras, following two similar agreements signed with El Salvador and Guatemala. If any of these agreements go into effect, the United States could rapidly deport asylum seekers to a third country, without ever permitting them to apply for protections in […]
Read MoreLawsuit Demands Information on the Expansion of CBP’s Role in the Screening of Asylum Seekers
The American Immigration Council and Tahirih Justice Center filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in federal court to compel the government to release records about the Trump administration’s troubling new practice of allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to screen individuals seeking asylum in the United States. The lawsuit seeks these documents to shed light on changes to the asylum screening process, CBP’s role in conducting interviews and making determinations regarding an asylum seeker’s “credible fear” of persecution, and the measures taken by CBP, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Department of Homeland Security to implement this new practice.
Read MoreAfter SCOTUS Ruling, Asylum Seekers Ask Court for Protection
Immigrant rights attorneys moved to block the Trump administration’s Asylum Ban from affecting tens of thousands of migrants who have already attempted to access the U.S. asylum process before the ban was implemented. With limited exceptions, the Asylum Ban prohibits anyone who traveled through a third country and did not seek protection there from obtaining asylum here. The request filed today is in the ongoing case challenging the Trump administration’s policy of turning back asylum seekers at ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border, including the “metering” policy.
Read MoreICE Plans to Build ‘Hyper-Realistic’ Tactical Training Facility That Can Simulate ‘Urban Warfare’
At a new training facility at Fort Benning in Georgia, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is reportedly planning to build “hyper-realistic” simulations of homes, schools, courtrooms, and commercial buildings to replicate the type of environment its agents encounter on the field. The facility will reportedly be used to train ICE “Special Response Teams,” as […]
Read MoreChaos and Dysfunction at the Border: The Remain in Mexico Program Firsthand
The first thing many people forcibly returned to Mexico tell you is that they’re afraid. Afraid of the cartels, afraid of Mexican immigration officials, and afraid of the months of uncertainty. This is what they’ve faced since the Trump administration sent them back to Mexico as part of the “Remain in Mexico” program—formally called the […]
Read MoreMake a contribution
Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
