Customs and Border Protection
House Judiciary Marks Up Criticized Visa Security Act
This week, the House Judiciary Committee marked up and passed bill H.R. 5203, the Visa Integrity and Security Act of 2016 (VISA Act). The stated goal of the legislation introduced by Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA) is to enhance the security procedures for the processing of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. Some… Read More
CBP Officers Accused of Abusive Behavior at Ports Of Entry
Residents along the U.S.-Mexico border in Western Texas and New Mexico face repeated abuse from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP’s) Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers at ports of entry, including excessive use of force, verbal abuse, unwarranted searches and intimidation. These allegations of misconduct are all according to a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico Regional Center for Border Rights (RCBR), the ACLU Foundation of Texas (ACLU-TX), and the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) on behalf of 13 border residents. Read More
Celebrate National Small Business Week With These Facts About Immigrant Economic Contributions
This week is National Small Business Week, which recognizes “the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories.” This provides a special opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs and immigrant-owned small businesses. Here are five facts that illustrate the tremendous… Read More
Sorry Donald Trump, Immigration is Still Associated with Less Crime and Safer Communities
Donald Trump opened a political rally in Southern California last night by sharing the stage with activists who have lost loved ones at the hands of immigrants in the U.S. without legal status. While no one can minimize the pain associated with losing a family member, Trump’s motive behind… Read More
Understanding Justice Kennedy’s “Upside Down” Argument in U.S. v. Texas
On April 18, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Texas, a case brought by 26 states to challenge President Obama’s frozen deferred action programs, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Plus (expanded DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and… Read More
Custom and Border Protection Use–of-Force Data Raises More Questions
Use-of-force by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel in Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 declined more than 26 percent compared with the previous year, according to statistics released last week by CBP. During FY 2015, which ended in September of last year, CBP reported 756 uses-of-force, down from the… Read More
When Immigrants Are Deported Without Their Belongings or IDs, They Are Placed in Even Greater Danger
26 Mexican nationals say the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deported them from the El Paso Border Patrol sector, which covers West Texas and all of New Mexico, without their identification, money, cell phones and other possessions, exposing them to greater danger in Mexico and making it nearly impossible to… Read More
Customs and Border Protection Releases Independent Review of Its Complaints System
As part of its announced efforts to become more transparent and accountable, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) just released the results of a review of its processes for handling allegations of employee misconduct. The review, which was conducted by an independent consulting firm and completed four months… Read More
CBP Advisory Panel Recommends Revising Use of Force Policies and Adding Investigators
Last week, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Integrity Advisory Panel, whose creation was directed by the Secretary of Homeland Security in December 2014, released a report recommending specific steps CBP should take in order to increase transparency, assure integrity, and ensure compliance with use of force policy. Read More
Challenging CBP’s Failure to Respond to FOIA Requests
A class action lawsuit was recently filed by three immigration attorneys and eleven noncitizens challenging U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) nationwide practice of failing to respond to requests for case information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in a timely manner. Brown et al. v. U.S. Customs… Read More
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No one should face the immigration system alone
