Immigration Impact

August 15, 2019 – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released more details about its plan to close its international offices. In an August 9 memorandum, USCIS clarified that all but seven of its 23 international offices will be shuttered within the next year. USCIS’s International Operations Division has a diverse mission, encompassing everything […]

Aug. 15, 2019 – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is preparing to expand its use of facial recognition technology to screen everyone entering the United States through borders and ports of entry. The border enforcement agency is searching for a private vendor to upgrade a sweeping range of its technological systems and recently put […]

Aug. 13, 2019 – Immigration judges around the country are denouncing the Trump administration’s latest move to “disband and destroy” their union. The judges’ union has been openly critical of the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda. The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a petition to the Federal Labor Relations Authority on Friday asking to revoke the […]

Aug. 9, 2019 – In an attempt to rush through immigrant families’ court cases, the government began implementing “rocket dockets” in September 2018 for parents and children who had recently entered the United States together without authorization. The program is intended to discourage Central American families from coming to the United States by quickly deporting […]

Aug. 8, 2019 – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted coordinated raids in several small Mississippi towns on Wednesday. With reports of 680 arrests, the raids may be the largest ICE worksite crackdown in over a decade. More than 600 ICE agents raided seven food processing plants in several small towns near Jackson, Mississippi. […]

July 30, 2019 – The Trump administration signed an agreement with Guatemala last Friday that appears to allow the U.S. government to send certain asylum applicants to Guatemala, forcing them to seek asylum there. Framed by the president as a “Safe Third Country” agreement, this move will place thousands of asylum seekers at risk in […]

July 26, 2019 – The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision clarifying limits on when federal prosecutors can charge immigrants with illegal entry and reentry into the United States this week.  Under this decision, it will be more difficult for the government to criminally charge immigrants who attempt to enter the United States […]

July 22, 2019 – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Monday morning that it would vastly expand “expedited removal,” a provision of the law that permits the agency to rapidly deport certain individuals without an opportunity to see an immigration judge. Under the expansion, DHS can rapidly deport undocumented immigrants in the United […]

July 19, 2019 – Since the mid-1980s, immigration courts have operated the Institutional Hearing Program (IHP). The program is designed to quickly deport people serving criminal sentences. Despite how long it’s been in operation, little is known about the IHP. With a lawsuit filed earlier this week, advocates hope to shed light on this inherently […]

July 12, 2019 – Every day, hundreds of non-English speaking immigrants show up to court for initial hearings where they will see an immigration judge for the first time. But due to a new policy, many immigrants will lose the help of dedicated court interpreters to ensure they understand what’s going on in the hearing. […]

July 9, 2019 – The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) issued a final rule last week that expands the authority of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and Attorney General William Barr when reviewing an immigration judge’s decision following a removal proceeding. The BIA reviews an immigration judge’s decision if ether the individual or […]

June 26, 2019 – New government documents show that family separations continue—despite the Trump administration’s claims to the contrary. Documents uncovered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request show that children continue to be separated from their parents at the border in high numbers. This cruel practice continues despite a June 2018 executive order, […]

June 13, 2019 – As the Trump administration ramps up efforts to expand immigration detention in the United States, many detained immigrants continue to suffer behind bars due to woefully inadequate medical and mental health care. In the past two years, 24 people died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention alone as a […]

June 6, 2019 – The Trump administration is cutting funds for educational programs, recreation, and legal services for unaccompanied children who are waiting to be placed with a sponsor in the United States. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which contracts with shelters around the country to hold unaccompanied immigrant children, says that if it […]

May 23, 2019 – Immigrant soldiers in the U.S. military often use their service as a catalyst to apply for and gain citizenship. Traditionally, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) honored that service with a fast-tracked pathway to naturalization—granting soldiers citizenship to a country they already risked their lives for seemed beyond fair. But that […]

May 16, 2019 – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is resuming its controversial “Remain in Mexico” policy. This policy requires asylum-seeking Central American migrants who arrive at our Southern border to return to Mexico to await their immigration court hearings in the United States. A federal judge in California had previously blocked the policy’s […]

May 7, 2019 – A federal district court recently prevented U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from imposing a new policy that radically changed how the agency determines when a foreign student or exchange visitor is “unlawfully present” in the United States. “Unlawful presence” is a legal term used to describe any time spent in […]

April 26, 2019 – The White House issued a memo on Monday directing the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to provide recommendations to reduce visa overstays. The recommendations, which are expected within 120 days, may include suspending or limiting entry of nationals of countries with high nonimmigrant visa overstay rates. Why is the administration […]

April 24, 2019 – Under a new guidance issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), immigrants may find themselves barred from obtaining citizenship if they possess or use marijuana—even if doing so is legal where they live. The new policy also clarifies that even employment in the industry can prevent an immigrant from being […]