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Municipalities Help Advance Access to Counsel for Immigrants
Historically, “immigrants facing deportation are not provided an attorney if they cannot afford one.” But across the country, municipalities are taking steps to improve access to counsel for those who otherwise would be forced to proceed in immigration court alone. Cities are establishing programs to provide free legal assistance for immigrant detainees. In June, New […]
Read MoreStates and Cities Welcome Unaccompanied Children
Many of the Central American children who crossed the U.S. border after fleeing their home countries are being placed with family members and sponsors across the country as they await hearings to adjudicate their claims to stay in the U.S., and some states and cities are welcoming them. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R), who released […]
Read MoreRestauranteur: Meaningful immigration reform needed this year
In Oklahoma, immigrants are making a significant mark in starting new businesses. Despite accounting for 5.5 percent of the state’s population, 7 percent of the state’s business owners are foreign born. Oklahoma’s foreign-born entrepreneurs generate more than $475 million in annual revenue, according to the Partnership for a New American Economy. Economic contributions such as […]
Read MoreChildren in Jail: What It’s Like for Immigrants Held at Artesia Center
By Megan Jordi, legal director at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center. The rule of law is only a mirage in the remote, dusty town of Artesia, New Mexico, where the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is holding more than 600 Honduran, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan women and children. The children in the 278 families range from […]
Read MoreHouse Fails to Address Problems While Stripping Deportation Relief for Immigrants
The House of Representatives approved two bills Friday night, one that allocated only a fraction of the funds needed to address the humanitarian situation surrounding unaccompanied children and another that strips deportation relief for more than half a million young immigrants. Both passed on largely partisan lines. The funding bill only provides $694 million out […]
Read MoreMore Cities Charting an Immigrant-Friendly Path
Positive changes are happening at the local level throughout the country. A growing number of cities, counties, and metropolitan areas get that welcoming immigrants for better and more comprehensive integration is good for their communities. Just within the past week, for example, the Ohio cities of Cincinnati and Springfield officially decided to become more immigrant-friendly. […]
Read MoreTaking Attendance: New Data Finds Majority of Children Appear in Immigration Court
As the number of unaccompanied children arriving at the United States border has increased, some lawmakers have argued that children frequently fail to appear for proceedings and thus proposed mandatory detention as a solution. Some say as many as 90 percent fail to attend their immigration court hearings. Yet government data recently published by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) indicates the opposite. Not only do a majority of children attend their immigration proceedings, according to TRAC, but 90 percent or more attend when represented by lawyers.
Read MoreRestrictionists Spread Unfounded Rumors About Migrant Children and Disease
More often than not, anti-immigrant groups use their hateful rhetoric to blame immigrants for all of our nation’s ills. On a regular basis, restrictionist groups release reports that portray immigrants as criminals, terrorists, a threat to American workers, an economic and fiscal burden, or an obstacle to national unity, to mention just a few. The […]
Read MoreRefugee Children Don’t Need More Immigration Enforcement
A humanitarian crisis requires a humanitarian response. In the case of the unaccompanied children from Central America who are arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, this would include decent food, shelter, and medical attention while in U.S. custody. Even more crucial, it would include careful screening of each child’s case to determine if he or she […]
Read MoreTaking Attendance: New Data Finds Majority of Children Appear in Immigration Court
As the number of unaccompanied children arriving at the United States border has increased, some lawmakers have argued that children frequently disappear into the woodwork, and propose mandatory detention as a solution. Some say as many as 90 percent fail to attend their immigration court hearings. Yet government data recently published by Syracuse University’s Transactional […]
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