Customs and Border Protection
Inspector General Report Overlooks Serious Medical Care Issues Within Border Patrol Custody
The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently published a report analyzing U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) treatment of noncitizens at the border in 2019. While the report critiques the agency for not meeting its own standards, it also allows CBP to… Read More
Court-Ordered Release of Children May Lead to Family Separation
Federal Judge Dolly Gee has ordered that children held for more than 20 days at U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) family detention centers must be released. The order was the latest development in Judge Gee’s oversight of the Flores Settlement, a decades-old binding decree governing the detention and treatment of immigrant children in government custody. Read More
ICE and CBP Agents Were Deployed at Black Lives Matter Protests
People have taken to the streets across the country to protest the murder of George Floyd, who died at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. This exercise of First Amendment rights has been met with a militarized response—including the deployment of Homeland Security personnel and technology. The presence of… Read More
The Trump Administration Expands Legal Immigration Ban, Using COVID-19 Pandemic as Excuse
The Trump administration has banned foreign nationals on certain employment-based nonimmigrant visas from entering the United States. The new ban begins June 24, at 12:01 am ET. The administration also extended its April 23 ban on the entry of certain immigrants, which would have expired on June 22. These… Read More
US Refugee Program Faces Grim Milestone: Historically Low Admissions
Each year on June 20, World Refugee Day celebrates the resiliency of refugees who have fled persecution in their home countries. It also honors the process that allows countries to take in refugees. This year, the occasion is more somber in the United States, where refugee admissions are historically low. Read More
DACA Made It Possible For Me to Fight Against COVID-19. The Supreme Court May Soon Make That Impossible.
My name is Sonia Martinez. I am a Certified Nursing Assistant working to help treat patients with COVID-19 at University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. I am also one of the 650,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients in the United States today. According to… Read More
The Government Said It Wouldn’t Separate Families at Ports of Entry. It Was Lying.
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently condemned U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for its role in separating families at the border in 2018. Like previous inspections, the government oversight agency said CBP repeatedly underreported the number of people it separated. This time, the OIG found that a… Read More
Cities with ‘Sanctuary’ Policies Save Lives from Domestic Violence
Many communities across the U.S. have adopted so-called “sanctuary policies” that are intended to ensure that we all live in safe neighborhoods. When these policies are in place, local police don’t take part in the enforcement of federal immigration laws. These policies allow immigrants to work with local law… Read More
Board of Immigration Appeals’ Restructuring and Hiring Plan Reveals Anti-Immigrant Bias
The Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) hiring process for immigration appellate judges was recently revealed. Now, the integrity of the immigration court system has never been more in question. These procedures reflect how the agency has altered the hiring process to promote judges with a track record of anti-immigrant bias. Read More
Board of Immigration Appeals Green Lights Major Errors on Notice to Appear Forms
The U.S. government rejects an immigrant’s entire application for a visa or immigration benefit over a single blank field on a form. Applications can be rejected if a box is left unchecked or has a missing line—say, for an apartment number when the applicant lives in a house, or… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone