Refugee Status

CARA: 33 Mothers and Children Protected from Immediate Deportation
Washington D.C. – In the last week, 121 mothers and children were brought to the South Texas Residential Family Center in Dilley, Texas, after being rounded up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project reviewed the cases of 13 families, filed appeals for 12, and… Read More

Statement on Administration’s Plans to Round up Central American Families for Deportation
Washington D.C. – Late last night, The Washington Post broke the news that the Obama Administration is considering plans to begin fugitive-operation round-ups of Central American families who remain in the U.S. after an immigration judge has ordered them removed. For the past few years, refugee families and children have… Read More

Five Incarcerated Refugee Families Finally Released After Being Held for Months on End
Washington, DC – Today, Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), the American Immigration Council, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), partners in the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project, responded to Friday’s release of five… Read More

Judge Stands Up for Refugee Families, Castigates Government for Policies That Traumatize Children
Washington, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council (Council) welcomed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee that should signal the end of the mass incarceration of children and mothers seeking asylum in the U.S. “After months of negotiations between the plaintiffs and the… Read More

Release of Refugee Families is Long-Overdue Step
Washington, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council welcome plans announced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the release of some mothers and children detained after seeking refuge at our borders with the following statement: “Today ICE is following through on DHS Secretary… Read More

Immigrants’ Rights Groups to Provide Pro Bono Legal Services to Detained Families in Texas
Washington D.C. – Immigrants’ rights and immigrant legal services groups are announcing the establishment of a family detention project to provide legal services to children and their mothers detained in Karnes City and Dilley, Texas, and to advocate for the end of family detention. The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, the … Read More

A Guide to Children Arriving at the Border: Laws, Policies and Responses
This Guide provides information about the tens of thousands of children—some travelling with their parents and others alone—who have fled their homes in Central America and arrived at our southern border. Read More

Learning from Our Past: The Refugee Experience in the United States
This report provides background on the refugee experience in the United States, including welcoming and exclusionary responses, the impacts of these disparate reactions, and lessons to consider in determining our response to the current refugee crisis Read More

Number of Refugees and Internally Displaced Now at an All-Time High
This year, World Refugee Day marks a grim historical milestone: The number of people fleeing their homes to escape war and persecution is now higher than it has ever been since the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) began keeping records in the 1950s. In the 2015… Read More

Cases Show U.S. Policies Failing Central American Refugee Families
Last month, the Obama Administration doubled down on their Central American refugee deterrence policy by beginning a new round of raids targeting mothers and young people for deportation back to some of the most dangerous and violent places in the world. However, similar to the first time… Read More
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