Customs and Border Protection
CBP’s Plan to Expand Data Collection of Individuals Before Arrival at the Border Leaves Questions Unanswered
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) plan to collect information from more individuals before they arrive at the border has raised questions about how the agency will gather and use the information as well as privacy concerns. CBP’s proposal would broaden the category of individuals who may submit biographic and… Read More
Apprehensions at the Border Dropped 15% This Fall, Highlighting Mexico’s Role in Stopping Migrants
Data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows that the number of individuals apprehended by the Border Patrol at the U.S.-Mexico border fell by 15% from September to October, with the agency reporting nearly 27,000 fewer apprehensions than the previous month. October marks the third straight month of… Read More
Family Separation Has Caused Life-Long Trauma Years Later
Four years ago, immigration lawyers and advocates began to see a disturbing practice emerge: the U.S. government began to forcibly separate children—some very young—from their parents at the border. Now, years later, some families are still separated. For those put back together, the scars of trauma are life-long and… Read More
DHS Issues New Memo Restricting Enforcement Activities in ‘Protected Areas’
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued “Guidelines for Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas”—a new memo that provides a framework for when and where DHS law enforcement entities can conduct enforcement activities in sensitive locations. The memo applies to enforcement activities of both U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement… Read More
The Border Isn’t Open. Just 1 in 3 People at the Border Last Year Could Access the Asylum Process.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published new data last week showing that over the past 12 months, the Border Patrol has carried out nearly 1.7 million apprehensions at the southern border—a record. Opponents of President Biden quickly jumped on the news to renew claims that the border is… Read More
ICE Fails to Provide Basic Oversight of Solitary Confinement and Unlawfully Destroys Records
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been known to improperly subject individuals in its custody to solitary confinement and has destroyed solitary confinement records in violation of a records retention schedule and an agreement to preserve records in a lawsuit. On October 13, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security… Read More
Turning Back Asylum Seekers is Against the Law, Court Finds
A federal court concluded Thursday that the U.S. government’s turning back of asylum seekers at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border—primarily through a practice called metering—not only violates U.S. law, but also is unconstitutional. Before the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and Title 42, U.S. Customs and Border… Read More
TX Court Issues Stunning Order: US Government Can’t Set Priorities for Immigration Enforcement
Judge Drew Tipton of the Southern District of Texas on August 19 blocked a set of enforcement priorities the Biden administration had issued in January and February 2021 in an attempt to focus limited enforcement resources. This preliminary injunction will be in effect beginning September 3 unless it is overturned. Read More
Federal Court Orders Biden to Restore the ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program
The Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program, inflicted extreme harm on vulnerable people seeking asylum at the border beginning in January 2019. Thankfully, President Biden suspended the program on the day he took office. However, a new decision from a federal… Read More
The New CBP One App May Put Immigrants and Travelers’ Privacy at Risk
It is unquestionable that technology creates efficiencies. But efficiency should not come at the total expense of privacy. A new app from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) toes that line between productivity and the need for users’ privacy. In October 2020, CBP launched a new mobile application to help… Read More
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