Family Separation
Read the 2021 ‘Celebrate America’ Creative Writing Contest Winning Entry
The first-place winner of the American Immigration Council’s 24th annual (2020-2021) Celebrate America Creative Writing Contest was Kyla O’Halloran, whose poem “Welcome: Two Syllables, One Word” was submitted by the Chicago Chapter. Kyla’s poem examines the impact a simple, welcoming message can have on someone’s life. Welcome: Two Syllables,… Read More
Government Watchdog Finds Hundreds of Parents Separated by Trump Never Given Opportunity to Reunify
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) recently found that the Trump administration deported as many as 348 parents that had been separated from their children without ever giving them an opportunity to reunify. The blistering new report tracks deportations throughout 2017 and 2018 during… Read More
Biden Administration Begins Reuniting the First of Thousands of Migrant Families Still Separated
Four families separated under the Trump administration will be reunited this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced. They will be the first families to be reunited thanks to the efforts of the Family Reunification Task Force, launched by the Biden administration in February. It’s estimated that over… Read More
The Supreme Court Makes It Harder for Immigrants to Fight Deportation
The U.S. Supreme Court published a new decision on March 4 that will make it harder—if not impossible—for many longtime immigrants to fight deportation. The case, Pereida v. Wilkson, abandons decades of Supreme Court precedent on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions. Undocumented immigrants and other noncitizens who are… Read More
President Biden Ends Part of Trump’s Ban on Legal Immigration
President Biden has ended a 10-month ban on immigrant visas—the COVID-19 immigrant visa ban. The Trump administration issued the ban in April 2020 in the name of “protecting” American jobs during the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The real purpose was not to provide any meaningful… Read More
Biden Took 3 More Executive Actions on Immigration. Did He Go Far Enough?
On February 2, 2021, following the confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of Homeland Security, President Biden signed three executive orders that take steps to further unwind the Trump administration’s restrictions on immigration. The actions build on Biden’s first round of immigration changes, which he signed… Read More
Trump’s Presidency Begins and Ends With Demonizing Immigrants
Five years ago, Donald Trump descended an elevator and declared that Mexico was sending rapists and “bringing crime” across the border. Now, while America still reels from the deadly insurrectionist attack on the Capitol building, Trump is set to travel to Texas on January 12 to boast about the… Read More
How Biden Can Restore Humanitarian Protection at the Border
This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. The United States has long been a place of refuge for those seeking protection. At least one million people have arrived at our southern border… Read More
Talking Turkey: How to Discuss Immigration for Long-Lasting Change
While our Thanksgiving dinner tables may look a little different this year, one thing remains the same: Thanksgiving is a time to catch up and reconnect with loved ones. Whether you are doing this by phone, Zoom, or at a social distanced gathering, many of our conversations will reveal that… Read More
‘We Had a Shortage Last Night of Beds for Babies.’ Congressional Report Reveals Cruelty, Chaos of Family Separation
Congress released the “first complete narrative” on the Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy on October 30. This hallmark of President Trump’s immigration legacy led to the forcible separation of thousands of children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018. The House Judiciary Committee report provides an in-depth… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
