COVID-19
Citizenship Backlogs at USCIS Will Block Hundreds of Thousands from Voting in the 2020 Election
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants might be prevented from voting in the 2020 election—even though they are just one step away from becoming new Americans. Years of fiscal mismanagement at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)—coupled with a series of policy changes under the Trump administration—have led to an… Read More
Diversity Visa Ban Struck Down by Judge
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume issuing diversity visas on September 5. Each year, the State Department uses a lottery system to select visa recipients from a broad array of countries. In April, President Trump banned diversity visa recipients from entering the country. What… Read More
ICE Makes It Almost Impossible for People to Make Phone Calls from Detention Centers, Even in a Pandemic
Communication with the outside world is crucial for people in jail. This includes individuals facing deportation while detained in immigration detention centers, who do not have the right to court-appointed counsel. Having the ability to make a phone call in a detention center is essential for a variety of… Read More
USCIS Cancelled Planned Staff Furloughs, But Budgetary Challenges Remain
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) told Congress in May that it was running out of money and would need a $1.2 billion bailout to maintain its operations without major disruptions. The agency threatened to furlough over 13,000 of its staff in the process—a step that would bring the… Read More
Department of Justice Proposes New Limit to the Board of Immigration Appeals’ Power
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is proposing a range of measures that will limit the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) authority. The new rule—scheduled to be published on August 26—will make it harder for the BIA to independently make decisions and accelerates the removal of individuals from the United… Read More
Where Does Trump Get the Money to Build the Border Wall? Not From Steve Bannon
Over 250,000 Americans donated a total of $25 million to the “We Build the Wall” campaign, a crowdfunding effort led in part by former White House Adviser Steve Bannon. The campaign alleged that all funds collected would go directly toward erecting a wall on the U.S.-Mexico… Read More
The Stories From Immigration Nation ICE Didn’t Want You to See
Immigration Nation, a six-episode docuseries that provides a rare view of the internal workings of immigration enforcement—and its impact on individuals and families—began streaming on Netflix in August. The series provides a unique, up-close look at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) operations in communities from 2017 to 2020 and… Read More
Legal Victory Brings Hope to Asylum Seekers Turned Away at the Border
Asylum seekers got a major win in a lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) illegal policy of turning back asylum seekers at ports of entry. In Al Otro Lado v. Wolf, a federal judge decided that the case may proceed as a class action. This decision means… Read More
Deaths in Immigration Detention Are at a Record High. ICE Can Prevent the Next One.
Three men died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on within a week of each other. Two of the men died in hospitals after being diagnosed with COVID-19, while the other died in his cell of a massive intercranial hemorrhage. These tragedies increased the total deaths in ICE… Read More
Why a Shorter Census Timeline Hurts Immigrant Communities
The Trump administration announced on August 3 plans to end the 2020 Census one month earlier than previously planned. The change has led to fears that immigrant and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities will be undercounted. This has the real potential to harm them financially and politically… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
