Congress
Who Is in ICE Detention Right Now? New Data Provides a Snapshot of Sprawling Detention System
Recently published data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) provides insight into who ICE is detaining and for how long. The results show that the majority of noncitizens are being held in the rural South, and many are subject to fast-track removal proceedings. But still, many people remain locked… Read More
Time Is Running Out for Congress to Act on Immigration This Year
Can immigration avoid a cold winter in Congress? That’s the question immigrants and their advocates are asking as time runs out on the current Congress. The fate of Afghan evacuees, Dreamers, farmworkers and others who are stuck in our outdated immigration system hinges in the short term on whether crucial… Read More
Gainesville Takes Steps Toward Immigrant Inclusion With Gateways for Growth Program
Written by Ethan Maia de Needell, Immigrant Programs Manager, Rural Women’s Health Project The immigrant community in Gainesville, Florida has been steadily increasing over the years, already making up over 10% of our total population. Despite this, our local institutions and public agencies have a long way to go to… Read More
Dueling Court Orders May Decide Fate of President Biden’s Title 42 Expulsions
In just under two years, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has carried out over 1.5 million rapid “expulsions” of asylum seekers and migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border under Title 42, a controversial public health law invoked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At least 200,000… Read More
Immigration Reform in Budget Reconciliation Is Off to a Rocky Start but Much Is Yet to Come
Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough on September 19 rejected Democrats’ initial attempt to include immigration reform provisions in a $3.5 trillion spending bill currently making its way through Congress. Senate Democrats are already formulating alternative proposals for MacDonough to consider in the days ahead. Democrats had initially proposed that the… Read More
The House Offers First Glimpse at Legalization for Millions of Immigrants Through Reconciliation
House Democrats began to mark up a budget reconciliation bill on September 10 that would provide a path to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Although the bill will likely go through multiple changes before a final vote, the text provides an important marker… Read More
In a Win for Transparency, Court Orders Board of Immigration Appeals to Make Immigration Court Decisions Public
The Second Circuit has found that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) must publish immigration decisions, reversing an earlier federal district court decision. The case challenged the Department of Justice’s longstanding practice of failing to publish immigration decisions by the BIA—the highest administrative court deciding immigration cases—in any… Read More
The Border Patrol’s Culture of Racism Impacts Every Facet of the Agency Today
The U.S. Border Patrol has been rooted in institutional racism since its founding in 1924. Almost a century later, the agency continues to commit racially fueled violent acts with near impunity. The American Immigration Council details this history in a new report, The Legacy of Racism within the U.S. Read More
Congress Passes Bill Ensuring US Citizenship for Children of Military Members
A bill that would ensure automatic U.S. citizenship for the children of U.S. military service members will soon hit the president’s desk. The Citizenship for Children of Military Members & Civil Servants Act passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support last Thursday. Until recently, children born abroad to… Read More
What We Know About USCIS’ New H-1B Cap Registration System
The new process for petitioning for highly educated H-1B workers will officially begin on March 1, 2020. For the first time, a U.S. employer who wants to file a petition that is subject to the annual limits must first register with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The agency then… Read More
