Humanitarian Protection

The United States has long-been a beacon of hope for individuals around the world seeking protection and refuge. Our immigration policies must continue to protect those who need it. Learn more about how America can continue to provide humanitarian protection to those in times of crisis.

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An Overview of U.S. Refugee Law and Policy

Before admission to the United States, each refugee must undergo an extensive interviewing, screening, and security clearance process. They go on to contribute to our communities and our economy.

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All Humanitarian Protection Content

  • Blog

Court Decision Ensures Many TPS Holders in Ninth Circuit May Become Permanent Residents

August 28, 2017

Hundreds, if not thousands, of noncitizens with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) now are eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence because of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision. In...

  • Blog

More Immigrants are Dying in Detention, and the Government Wants More Facilities

August 24, 2017

The Administration’s efforts to massively expand immigration detention in the United States are already evident in Texas, where a for-profit prison company is building the largest complex in the...

  • Blog

Settlement Reached With Government Over Access to Mental Health Evaluations in Family Detention Centers

August 21, 2017

Nothing is a better predictor of an immigrant’s success in their immigration case, than whether or not they have access to competent legal assistance. However, the U.S. Government has at times...

  • Blog

Three-Year-Old Immigrant Child Released After Two Years of Detention

August 9, 2017

An immigration judge ordered the immediate release of a three-year-old immigrant child and his mother from a detention center in rural Pennsylvania on Monday, stating that it was one of the most...

  • Blog

How Many People Are at Risk of Losing Their Temporary Protected Status?

July 26, 2017

Over 300,000 individuals who currently have legal status could lose it if their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is terminated over the course of the next year. Nationals of ten countries who have...

  • Blog

Hawaii Judge Rules That Grandparents and Other Close Relatives Are Excluded from the Travel Ban

July 17, 2017

This story was updated on July 19, 2017. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson ruled last week that “grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and...

  • Blog

Groups Sue U.S. Government for Turning Away Asylum Seekers

July 12, 2017

Men, women, and children fleeing persecution, grave violence, and even death arrive daily at Ports of Entry (POE) all along the U.S.-Mexico border and present themselves to U.S. Customs and Border...

  • Blog

Travel Ban Bars Grandparents, Grandchildren from Entering US – The Lawsuits Practically File Themselves

June 29, 2017

The Trump administration is set to begin implementing part of its long-touted travel ban on Thursday, which seeks to ban the entry of nationals of six Muslim-majority countries for at least 90...

  • Blog

The Government Continues to Ignore the Rights of Children in Detention, Court Finds

June 28, 2017

Despite being among some of the most vulnerable, children seeking asylum in the United States often fare the worst. Upon entering the United States, children are often detained for extended...

  • Blog

Who Will and Won’t Be Impacted by the Travel Ban After the Supreme Court’s Decision

June 26, 2017

The Supreme Court has decided to hear the Travel Ban case when its fall session begins in October 2017. In the meantime, the Court will allow the administration to implement parts of President...

  • Blog

American Communities Benefit From Welcoming Refugees – The White House Wants to Stop That

October 3, 2019

For many small towns and rural communities, opening their doors to refugees is part of a local strategy to reverse population decline, stimulate their workforce, and build diverse communities....

  • FOIA Litigation

FOIA Lawsuit Demands Information About CBP Officers’ Role in Credible Fear Interview Process

This lawsuit seeks to uncover information about the government’s troubling new practice of employing U.S. Custom and Border Protection officers to screen asylum seekers.
  • Press Release

Lawsuit Demands Information on the Expansion of CBP’s Role in the Screening of Asylum Seekers

October 2, 2019
The American Immigration Council and Tahirih Justice Center filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in federal court to compel the government to release records about the Trump administration’s troubling new practice of allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to screen individuals seeking asylum in the United States. The lawsuit seeks these documents to shed light on changes to the asylum screening process, CBP’s role in conducting interviews and making determinations regarding an asylum seeker’s “credible fear” of persecution, and the measures taken by CBP, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Department of Homeland Security to implement this new practice.
  • Blog

Refugee Admissions to Hit 40-Year Low Under Trump

September 27, 2019

President Trump yesterday proposed a reduction in the annual number of refugee admissions to 18,000 persons for 2020. This is the lowest number ever in the 40-year history of the refugee program,...

  • Press Release

After SCOTUS Ruling, Asylum Seekers Ask Court for Protection

September 26, 2019
Immigrant rights attorneys moved to block the Trump administration’s Asylum Ban from affecting tens of thousands of migrants who have already attempted to access the U.S. asylum process before the ban was implemented. With limited exceptions, the Asylum Ban prohibits anyone who traveled through a third country and did not seek protection there from obtaining asylum here. The request filed today is in the ongoing case challenging the Trump administration’s policy of turning back asylum seekers at ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border, including the “metering” policy.
  • Blog

‘Don’t Let Them Take Me Away Again.’ Mothers and Children Sue Trump for Harm Inflicted by Zero Tolerance Policy

September 20, 2019

Five mothers and their children sued the U.S. government on Thursday for forcibly separating them in 2018. The five families are among the thousands of parents and young children who were split...

  • Press Release

Parents and Children Torn Apart by Family Separation Policy Sue the Trump Administration

September 19, 2019
Five asylum-seeking mothers and their children who were torn apart under the Trump administration’s family separation policy filed a lawsuit against the United States for the cruel treatment and agony U.S. immigration agencies inflicted on them. The five parents and their children, who were as young as five at the time of the separation, claim that the U.S. government intentionally subjected them to extraordinary trauma that will have lifelong implications.
  • FOIA

Freedom of Information Act Request Regarding Asylum Negotiations Between the U.S. and Guatemala

The American Immigration Council filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State (DOS) seeking information regarding the...

  • Blog

Trump Administration Considers Lowering the Refugee Cap to Zero

September 13, 2019

The Trump administration is considering decreasing the maximum number of refugees accepted into the United States to 10,000 and as possibly low as zero, administration officials confirmed last...

  • Blog

Why It’s Bad to Force Asylum Seekers to Seek Protection Elsewhere

September 12, 2019

The Supreme Court issued an emergency ruling on Wednesday allowing the Trump administration to implement a ban on asylum seekers at the southern land border. The ban applies to people who...

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