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These Two States Are Pushing Back on Private Immigration Detention
Immigration detention is being addressed at the state and local level in a variety of ways. In Indiana, local advocates are opposing a new private detention facility, and in California, legislators are attempting to limit private detention and enforce national detention standards. California State Senator Ricardo Lara recently introduced the “Dignity not Detention Act” (SB […]
Read MoreWeekend Reading: Highlights from this week’s immigration news (April 4 – 8)
In the Tallahassee Democrat, the President of Independent Colleges & Universities in Florida, Dr. Ed Moore, argues that the passage of the Florida Seal of Biliteracy “reflects legislators’ commitment to make Florida a welcoming state to international business and talent, and shows we are working proactively to ensure our graduates are competitive in this increasingly […]
Read MoreIowa City Councilwoman Says Immigration Reform Helps Economy and Can Help End Cycle of Abuse
Sara Monroy-Huddleston, a Mexican immigrant and the first Latina woman to run for Iowa’s State House of Representatives, spent years at a local domestic violence agency where she witnessed the systemic obstacles immigrant women faced when trying to escape their abusers. “They face not only domestic violence,” she says. “They face many barriers: cultural barriers, […]
Read MoreBona v. Ashcroft – Ninth Circuit
The Council filed amicus briefs in numerous courts of appeals challenging the pre-2005 regulatory bar to adjustment of status for “arriving aliens” in removal proceedings. Several courts accepted our arguments that the regulation violated the adjustment of status statute. Succar v. Ashcroft, 394 F.3d 8 (1st Cir. 2005); Zheng v. Gonzales, 422 F.3d 98 (3d Cir. 2005); Bona v. Ashcroft, 425 F.3d 663 (9th Cir. 2005). Ultimately, DHS withdrew the challenged regulation and replaced it with one providing USCIS with jurisdiction to adjust the status of an “arriving alien” in removal proceedings. 71 Fed. Reg. 27585 (2006). The amicus brief filed in Bona v. Ashcroft is representative of the briefs filed in other circuits.
Read MoreRamirez v. Dougherty – Ninth Circuit
The Council, with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, filed this amicus brief arguing that a grant of TPS satisfies the “admission” requirement for adjustment of status under INA § 245(a) and that, as a result, an individual who entered without inspection and later received a grant of TPS has been “admitted” and may adjust to lawful permanent resident status if otherwise eligible.
Read MoreWhat Everybody Ought to Know About Undocumented Immigrants and Taxes
Most Americans pay taxes dutifully with the hope that they will be put to the best uses possible—and with the knowledge they will one day collect benefits from those contributions. However, undocumented immigrants who pay their taxes each year know full-well they may never actually receive many of the benefits associated with their tax contributions, like […]
Read MoreIs It Time to Change the H-1B Visa Cap?
On April 1, employers will submit their petitions for H-1B visas for high-skilled temporary workers. The start of the H-1B season, when U.S. employers turn their attention toward hiring foreign talent, provides an opportunity for policymakers to consider whether it is time to change the cap on the number of visas available each year to […]
Read MoreImmigrants with H-1Bs essential to U.S. economy
All too often, the topic of immigration reform is mentioned in the same breath as “social justice,” as though one is merely an extension of the other’s moral imperative. To do so is to exclude a careful consideration of the myriad productive components, and to therefore fundamentally misunderstand immigration as an indelible and invaluable mainstay […]
Read MoreU.S. Sentencing Commission Proposes Further Criminalizing Migrants
At a time when there is a great deal of national attention being placed on criminal-justice reform, it is troubling that the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) is now proposing, new amendments to Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which could lead to increased sentences for those convicted of “Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States” or “Smuggling, […]
Read MoreU.S. Sentencing Commission Proposes Further Criminalizing Migrants
At a time when there is a great deal of national attention being placed on criminal-justice reform, it is troubling that the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) is now proposing, new amendments to Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which could lead to increased sentences for those convicted of “Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States” or “Smuggling, […]
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