Abuses
State, Federal Policies Escalate Attacks on Immigrant Children
Federal and state policy efforts targeting immigrant kids are on the rise. The new wave of cruelty includes plans that plainly violate existing law. Many of these attacks seem designed to tee up court battles intended to weaken the rights and wellbeing of children in the United States. Mass Child… Read More
The Chilling Effect of Trump’s Indiscriminate Immigration Arrests & Propaganda
As we near the one-month mark of the new Trump administration, it is clear that the president’s thinly veiled threats of imposing mass deportation on “criminal immigrants” are in fact a promise to target all immigrants—and sometimes even U.S. citizens. In the first weeks, we have already seen wrongful… Read More
Council and RMIAN File FOIA Seeking Information about Detrimental Transfers of People in ICE Custody
Council and RMIAN seek records to shed light on why people in ICE custody are moved to different detention centers across the country with limited explanation and without notifying their families or attorneys. Read More
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Block on SF 2340, Iowa’s Anti-Immigrant Law
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI, JAN. 25, 2025 — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit today upheld a temporary block on SF 2340, Iowa’s worst-ever immigration law. The Iowa law was passed during the 2024 Iowa legislative session and was temporarily blocked by the courts just weeks after. It conflicts… Read More
ICE’s Inadequate Recordkeeping on Treatment of Detained Asylum Seekers Threatens Their Lives
By Anne Peterson, Center for Gender and Refugee Studies As the Trump administration prepares for a dramatic increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, advocates are sounding the alarm that immigrants and people seeking asylum will suffer increasingly inhumane conditions in detention facilities. Immigration detention facilities—often run… Read More
American Immigration Council Calls for USCIS to Conduct Appropriate Searches When Processing FOIA Request for Immigration Records
On November 25, 2024, the Council sent a letter to the USCIS Ombudsman and FOIA Liaison asking them to investigate and cure the agency’s growing pattern of misprocessing FOIA requests for immigration records. Read More
Council Lawsuit Changes USCIS Policies for Withholding Information in Refugee Case Files
This FOIA lawsuit seeks to compel U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) to end policies of unlawfully withholding application assessments, interview notes, and other records from refugees’ case files. Read More
FOIA Documents Show Troubling Gaps in Transparency at Torrance County Detention Facility
The Torrance County Detention Facility, located in the remote deserts of New Mexico, is notorious for its mistreatment of migrants. The facility’s issues are compounded by the fact that Torrance has largely operated in secrecy. However, documents and data uncovered through a FOIA request have provided a glimpse into ICE… Read More
NEW REPORT: Gaps in Detention Data from Torrance Detention Facility Show Racial Disparities
In a New Mexico detention center, ICE categorized People with African, Asian, and South American backgrounds as racially ‘white’ Read More
Torrance County Detention Facility’s Troubling Role in Detaining Haitian Migrants During the 2021 Del Rio Incident
Table of Contents Background Methodology & Organization Analysis of Detained Individuals Race and Ethnicity Analysis Placements into Torrance in 2021 Haitians at Torrance Abuses Continue into 2022 Conclusion Executive Summary The Torrance County Detention Facility (Torrance) is one of approximately… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
