Asylum

Attorney General’s Decision Would Deprive Asylum Seekers of Bond Hearings

In a decision today, Attorney General William Barr ruled that individuals with valid protection asylum claims who entered between ports of entry no longer are eligible for release on bond by an immigration judge. The decision could result in the unnecessary detention of thousands more individuals each year, despite the enormous financial and human costs. With the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and the ACLU, the American Immigration Council intends to challenge the new decision.

Statement for the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security on "Stopping the Daily Border Caravan: Time to Build a Policy Wall"

The statement shares our analysis and research regarding the nation's asylum system and the United States' obligations, as well as our deep concern around the administration's family separation policies and increased prosecution of migrants for entry-related offenses that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have implemented.

Statement for the Senate Judiciary Committee on "The Unaccompanied Children Crisis: Does the Administration Have a Plan to Stop the Border Surge and Adequately Monitor the Children?"

The statement shares our analysis and research regarding the children and families that have fled Central American violence to the United States.

Certain Detained Asylum Seekers Must Receive a Bond Hearing Within 7 Days, Judge Orders

Asylum seekers are often imprisoned in immigration detention for weeks or months before they can ask a judge to release them, even though they’re entitled to bond hearings. But this injustice may soon be corrected for some asylum seekers. On Friday, a U.S. district court judge ruled that certain detained asylum seekers must receive a […]

Federal Court Orders Timely Bond Hearings and Legal Protections for Asylum Seekers

In a groundbreaking decision, a federal judge in Seattle dealt a blow to the government’s campaign to deter and obstruct asylum seekers applying for protection in the United States. Judge Marsha Pechman ordered the government to provide certain individuals with bona fide asylum claims either a bond hearing before an immigration judge within seven days of their request or to release them from detention.

‘Your Client Is Going Bye-Bye.’ Investigation Details Immigration Judges’ Cruel Behavior in El Paso Court

Texas—and specifically El Paso—has been ground zero for many of the incredibly harmful policies introduced under the Trump administration, such as family separation, returning asylum seekers to Mexico to wait for hearings, and keeping migrant families under an overpass for days to wait for processing. Findings uncovered in a new complaint, however, reveal profound deficiencies […]

Trump Threatens to Close the Border After Cutting Aid to Central American Countries

President Trump has threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border—again. As families continued to arrive at the border in March—typically the busiest month for border crossings—Trump declared he would close the border and cut off aid to three Central American countries for not stopping people from coming to the United States. This marks at least the […]

How the El Paso Immigration Court Fails to Uphold Due Process

This complaint highlights systemic due process violations that are undermining justice for detained immigrants called before judges at the El Paso Service Processing Center (SPC) Immigration Court. The complaint draws from court observations of hundreds of immigration hearings, several sworn statements from legal practitioners appearing before the El Paso SPC Immigration Court, standing orders used by the Immigration Judges, and more.

The Pentagon Is Transferring $1 Billion to Trump’s Border Wall at the Expense of Military Readiness

In an ongoing battle over President Trump’s border wall, the Pentagon is authorizing the transfer of $1 billion from planned military readiness projects to build fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan announced the decision Monday evening. The Department of Defense (DOD) funds will now go to construction contracts. The Pentagon gave […]