Department of Homeland Security
Another Trump Barrier Broken as DHS Withdraws Two Proposed Rules for Limiting Access to Legal Immigration
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently withdrew two rules proposed by the Trump administration. On the surface, it seems they have nothing in common: a proposed expansion in collecting biometrics and the proposed end to a program for foreign entrepreneurs to develop new ventures in the United States. But… Read More
USCIS Begins to Reverse Course on H-1B Petitions
Employers and workers are starting to see a shift from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on unlawful restrictions of the H-1B specialty occupation visa category. Over the past nine months, USCIS rescinded three policy memoranda after federal courts found the agency’s positions to be contrary to the law and… Read More
ICE’s New Case Review Process Lets Immigrants Appeal Detention and Deportation
The Biden administration announced new “enforcement priorities” for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on February 18. The priorities were an initial step away from the Trump administration’s enforcement strategy that made every undocumented immigrant a target for deportation. But issuing priorities is one thing; meaningful implementation… Read More
The Supreme Court Makes It Harder for Immigrants to Fight Deportation
The U.S. Supreme Court published a new decision on March 4 that will make it harder—if not impossible—for many longtime immigrants to fight deportation. The case, Pereida v. Wilkson, abandons decades of Supreme Court precedent on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions. Undocumented immigrants and other noncitizens who are… Read More
Why Has Immigration Become Such a Divisive Issue?
Why has immigration become such a heated issue for those on the right and the left? It’s because many Americans have—without realizing it—sacralized their values and beliefs associated with immigration. This explains in part why the debate has become uncompromising and moralized. What can we do about it? Answers can… Read More
DHS Strikes Down Trump Deal with ICE Union, Paving the Way for Biden’s Changes to Immigration Enforcement
Just days before it was due to take effect, the Biden administration has struck down a last-minute deal made between the Trump administration and the union for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The agreement would have given ICE’s union the authority to veto President Biden’s immigration enforcement policies. The… Read More
Biden Administration Unveils Plan to Process Asylum Seekers Subject to the Migrant Protection Protocols
The Trump administration sent over 70,000 people who came to the U.S border seeking asylum back to Mexico to wait for court hearings. This so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” (“MPP”) program placed people in serious danger and made it nearly impossible for anyone to win protection. Court hearings under MPP… Read More
Biden Took 3 More Executive Actions on Immigration. Did He Go Far Enough?
On February 2, 2021, following the confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of Homeland Security, President Biden signed three executive orders that take steps to further unwind the Trump administration’s restrictions on immigration. The actions build on Biden’s first round of immigration changes, which he signed… Read More
Immigrants Appear for Their Court Hearings, New Data Shows
Do most immigrants show up for their immigration court hearings? A new report released by the American Immigration Council reveals that the answer to this question is a clear “Yes.” As the Biden administration begins its overhaul of the immigration enforcement system, we must ensure that our policies… Read More
New Leadership Strikes a New Tone for America
America turned a corner today. We not only installed new leadership, but these leaders set a distinctively new tone for the next four years. A president is a political and policy leader, but he or she is also our conductor-in-chief, coordinating the timing and performance of government agencies and setting… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
