February 12, 2020 – A federal district court stopped U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from drastically changing how the agency determines when a foreign student or exchange visitor is “unlawfully present” in the United States. “Unlawful presence” is defined by law as any time a foreign national spends in the United States after their […]
Immigration Impact
Trump’s Immigration Restrictions Extend to Nearly 7% of the Entire World
February 6, 2020 – President Trump issued the fourth travel ban of his presidency on Friday. This ban comes almost three years to the day after the first one brought thousands of protesters to airports around the country. People from Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar, and Kyrgyzstan are now barred from immigrating to the United States. Those from Sudan and Tanzania […]
Conditions in Border Facilities Deny Asylum Seekers Meaningful Screening Interviews
In U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody, asylum seekers are detained in horribly cold and overcrowded facilities, unable to sleep, without access to food, water, or adequate medical care, and without access to an attorney. Under two new government processes—the Prompt Asylum Claim Review (PACR) and the Humanitarian Asylum Review Process (HARP)—people seeking asylum […]
Suzette Brooks Masters: Demographic Change Is Hard, Especially When Our Leaders Stoke Our Worst Fears
January 30, 2020 – After more than 20 years in the immigrant justice movement, I confess that I missed the mark. In my drive to improve the lives of immigrants and refugees, I was blind to some key realities taking root in America. I failed to see the surge of cultural anxiety driven by demographic, […]
Privacy Concerns Over Trump’s Demand to Collect the DNA of Hundreds of Thousands of People
January 23, 2020 – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began collecting DNA from people held at the border earlier this month. This is part of a pilot program that DHS plans to expand nationwide. The program is currently operating at the port of entry in Eagle Pass, Texas and within the Border Patrol’s Detroit Sector. When fully […]
Judge Allows Certain Family Separations at the Border to Continue
January 22, 2020 – The Trump administration received an unfortunate victory in the case against their family separation policy. On January 13, 2020, Federal Judge Dana Sabraw sided with the government in a lawsuit challenging continued separations at the border. Although the judge ordered an end to most family separations in 2018, he has allowed […]
Immigration Courts Further Limit Legal Help Available to People Facing Deportation
December 3, 2019 – Every year, thousands of people are forced to face the complex deportation system without an attorney representing them. Now, the immigration courts are seeking to limit the assistance that these individuals can receive from “friend of the court” attorneys. The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the agency which includes the […]
Trump Administration Begins Sending Asylum Seekers to Guatemala
Nov. 21, 2019 – In yet another major blow to America’s asylum system, on Wednesday the Trump administration reportedly began sending some asylum seekers from Honduras and El Salvador to Guatemala rather than permit them to seek protection in the United States. Under the “Asylum Cooperative Agreement” deal signed with Guatemala in July, the Guatemalan […]
Marco Dorado: I Have DACA. No Matter What the Supreme Court Decides, I’ll Continue to Build American Communities
Nov. 11, 2019 – On November 12, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments regarding the legality of President Trump’s 2017 rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. The court’s decision will impact the ability of nearly 700,000 DACA recipients across the country to continue to live and work in the […]
What the Safe Third Country Deals Mean for The Future of Asylum in the U.S.
Oct. 7, 2019 – The Trump administration announced last week that it had signed an “Asylum Cooperative Agreement” with Honduras, following two similar agreements signed with El Salvador and Guatemala. If any of these agreements go into effect, the United States could rapidly deport asylum seekers to a third country, without ever permitting them to […]
National Park Service Warns Border Wall Construction Could Destroy 22 Archaeological Sites
Sept. 23, 2019 – In the Trump administration’s rush to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, 22 archaeological sites could be damaged or entirely destroyed. This warning comes from an internal National Park Service report that details how new border fencing, bulldozers, excavators, and Border Patrol four-wheelers could irrevocably harm ancient remnants of Native American tribes […]
Govt. Watchdog: US Officials Were Unprepared to Address Children’s Trauma After Family Separation
Sept. 23, 2019 – In summer 2018, the Trump administration attempted to deter asylum-seeking families from coming to the United States by separating children from their parents at the southern border. It was immediately clear that separated children’s trauma would be long-lasting. Now, the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) […]
Why It’s Bad to Force Asylum Seekers to Seek Protection Elsewhere
Sept. 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 transited through another country prior to arriving at the border. Although the ruling is a temporary development while litigation continues, […]
USCIS Wants to Make it Harder for Asylum Seekers to Get Work Permits
Sept. 11, 2019 – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently proposed a rule that will further delay asylum seekers’ ability to receive work authorization. Under current law, USCIS must grant or deny an initial asylum applicant’s employment authorization application within 30 days. Under the proposed rule, USCIS would have no time frame in which […]
Chaos and Dysfunction at the Border: The Remain in Mexico Program Firsthand
Sept. 9, 2019 – The first thing many people forcibly returned to Mexico tell you is that they’re afraid. Afraid of the cartels, afraid of Mexican immigration officials, and afraid of the months of uncertainty. This is what they’ve faced since the Trump administration sent them back to Mexico as part of the “Remain in […]
Which Military Construction Projects Are Losing Funds to Build Trump’s Wall?
Sept. 6, 2019 – The Trump administration is raiding the Department of Defense’s budget to fund construction of its border wall. According to Pentagon officials, 127 military construction projects will be canceled in order to free up $3.6 billion to build 175 miles of wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. President Trump previously said this would […]
ICE Manipulates the Appropriations Process to Increase Mass Incarceration of Immigrants
September 3, 2019 – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently notified Congress of its intent to pull $271 million dollars from FEMA, the Coast Guard, and TSA for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). DHS will use this money to increase immigration detention capacity and construct tent courthouses along the Texas border. The department is […]
Iraqi Interpreters Who Risked Their Lives Working With US Military Shut Out by Trump Administration
Sept. 3, 2019 – Iraqi interpreters who risked their lives to work with the American military have been effectively shut out from obtaining the special U.S. visa they were promised. The Trump administration issued only two visas to former Iraqi interpreters last year, according to Department of State data provided to Congress. The visas, now […]
Tent Immigration Courthouses Are Being Built at the Texas Border
Aug. 29, 2019 – Immigration judges from across the country will soon be reassigned from their normal caseload to preside over thousands of immigration cases along the U.S.-Mexico border, reportedly in an effort to speed up hearings under the controversial “Remain in Mexico” program. To handle the cases faster, the Trump administration is in the […]
DOJ Moves to Further Politicize Immigration Court System
August 28, 2019 – The Trump administration implemented more drastic changes to the U.S. immigration court system on Monday. A new rule gives the director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)—a Trump political appointee—the power to adjudicate cases and appeals. Described as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” the rule turns the immigration court […]