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New Report Evaluates Scale of the Central American Refugee Influx
The Central American refugee influx along the U.S.-Mexico border, which generated so much press attention in 2014, is not going away anytime soon. The conditions which spur Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans to flee their countries in large numbers—namely, widespread violence and grinding poverty—have not changed. Nor has the fact that so many unaccompanied children are […]
Read MoreNewly-Released Government Docs Reveal Dangerous Flaws in Immigration Detention Contracting
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) released government documents this month that expose the severe lack of accountability in the immigration detention system. NIJC’s Immigration Detention Transparency and Human Rights Project publicly posted 90 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contracts and inspections from 2012 after a four-year legal battle to obtain the documents through […]
Read MoreBirthright Citizenship: What It Is and Why We Need to Preserve It
There has been a media frenzy over one of the more draconian components of Republican presidential contender Donald Trump’s immigration policy platform. In his plan, released earlier this week, he writes that the U.S. should “End Birthright Citizenship.” However, despite the attention Trump is getting for this, he is not the first—nor the last—to suggest […]
Read MoreIs In-Country Processing a Genuine Humanitarian Solution for Central American Refugee Children?
Amidst last year’s uptick in arrivals of mothers and children fleeing violence and persecution in Central America, the Administration responded, in part, by ramping up family detention, increasing incentives to the Mexican government to interdict and deport Central Americans before they arrive at the U.S. border and upping development dollars to Northern Triangle countries. In […]
Read MoreWhite House Report on Improving Our Legal Immigration System: Too Little Too Late?
As part of November 2014’s Executive Action announcement, the President issued a memorandum directing the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to recommend improvements to the immigration system. After seeking public input and receiving roughly 1,650 responses, the agencies submitted their recommendations to the White House and on July 15, the White House released its […]
Read MoreFrom an ‘Undocumented’ Boyhood to a Doctorate
As Dan-el Padilla Peralta toggled fluidly between worlds for much of his life — ancient and modern, poor and privileged, Dominican and American — there were times when he managed to forget he was a child without a country. He found refuge in New York’s libraries, the Greek and Latin texts speaking to him even […]
Read MoreA Humane Approach Can Work: The Effectiveness of Alternatives to Detention for Asylum Seekers
For decades, the U.S. refugee protection system has been a symbol of the nation’s generosity and openness to the world’s persecuted. Yet since Congress’ enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), asylum seekers arriving at the United States-Mexico border have been subject to mandatory detention and summary deportation processes, resulting […]
Read MoreDHS Secretary Johnson Testifies to House Judiciary Committee About Detainers
On Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson testified to the House Judiciary Committee—his first appearance in Congress since the tragic killing of Kate Steinle in San Francisco. Secretary Johnson faced Congressional representatives who repeatedly supported making immigration detainer requests mandatory. Johnson responded by repeatedly emphasizing “cooperation” with local authorities, rather than mandated […]
Read MoreRupert Murdoch: Donald Trump is wrong
Rupert Murdoch, the 21st Century Fox/News Corp. chief who has long pushed the Republican Party to embrace immigration reform, took Donald Trump to task over the weekend for his recent controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants: https://twitter.com/rupertmurdoch/status/620352927807377408 https://twitter.com/rupertmurdoch/status/620346262747910144 The public admonition may surprise those who associate Murdoch’s Fox News with Trump’s anti-immigrant views. In fact, Murdoch […]
Read MoreAppellate Court Hears Oral Argument in Texas v. United States
Last week, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard oral argument in the most closely watched immigration case in years, Texas v. United States. This is a case brought by Texas and a number of other states challenging the legality of two key components of President Obama’s immigration executive actions announced last […]
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