Asylum

Government Coerced Parents into Signing Their Rights Away Before Being Reunited with Their Children

In all the chaos of family separation, another disturbing detail has come to light: immigration officials may have coerced vulnerable parents into signing away their right to be reunified with their children. In a complaint filed on Thursday with the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, organizations allege that Immigration and Customs Enforcement […]

The Illegal and Systematic Practice of Coercing Separated Families Must Be Investigated

The Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy led to not only to the forcible separation of thousands of children from their parents, but the extreme duress and coercion of separated families while in DHS custody. The American Immigration Council (Council) and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) demand an investigation into the illegal and systemic practice of coercion used by DHS officials on the separated parents.  

Detention Is Not the Solution to Family Separation: 15 Years of Government Data Explain Why

In the wake of the government separating thousands of asylum-seeking families, the Trump administration has scrambled to reunite families. In place of family separation, the administration is pursuing the expansion of an equally horrific practice: holding families in detention camps. This practice has sadly persisted in the United States since 2001. Neither option—separation or detention—is […]

Detaining Families

This report presents findings from the first empirical analysis of asylum adjudication in family detention. Drawing on government data from over 18,000 immigration court proceedings initiated between fiscal years 2001 and 2016, this report documents how families detained in the United States’ family detention centers proceeded through the court process.

Family Separation, Harsh Enforcement Tactics Do Not Deter Migration

When the Trump administration began prosecuting migrant families and separating thousands of children from their parents, many in the administration predicted this would significantly deter migrants looking to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. That has not been the case. A recent study based on new data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shows this policy […]

Immigration Judges Are Rejecting More Asylum Requests Under the Trump Administration

The Trump administration is working hard to undermine the asylum system through additional and unnecessary barriers, making it more difficult for those seeking refuge in the United States to be granted asylum. This is an ominous trend given that the U.S. government’s decision to either grant or reject an asylum request can be a life-or-death […]

The Family Reunification Deadline Passed. What’s Next for Separated Families?

The court-imposed deadline of July 26 for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reunite families separated at the southern border has passed. So far, over 1800 children have been released to their parents. However, the Trump administration has refused to reunite hundreds of others by excluding many families from the reunification process. It remains unclear how far the […]