Department of Homeland Security
Women in ICE Detention Given Hysterectomies Without Their Consent
A whistleblower has come forward to expose serious allegations of medical malpractice at a for-profit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Ocilla, Georgia. The whistleblower—who was until recently employed as a nurse at the Irwin County detention center—worked with several non-governmental organizations to file two complaints with… Read More
USCIS Wants To Increase the Amount of Biometric Data It Collects by Over 60%
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to dramatically expand the personal information that it collects in support of immigration petitions and applications. This new rule will increase the total number of people who are required to submit biometric data from 3.9 million currently to 6.07 million—an increase… 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
Cuccinelli and Wolf Were Found Ineligible to Serve at DHS. What Happens Next?
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) top two officials are under scrutiny once again after a congressional oversight office found they were unlawfully appointed to their positions. The independent nonpartisan agency, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), released a report that determined that Chad Wolf and Ken… Read More
Trump’s Public Charge Rule Is Blocked Again Over Impact of COVID-19
A federal judge in New York has once again put the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule on hold, but only for the duration of the COVID-19 national emergency. This rule, which went into effect in February after the Supreme Court stepped in, has restricted the ability of low-income immigrants to… Read More
Trump Deployed a Federal Agency With a History of Excessive Force to Police Racial Justice Protests
The May 25 killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police officers rightly sparked public outrage and protests throughout the United States. In response, the Trump administration deployed federal forces from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—which houses federal immigration enforcement agencies including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—to different… Read More
Canadian Court Rules US Is No Longer a ‘Safe Third Country’ for Asylum Applicants
A Canadian court has ruled that the United States is no longer a country to which the Canadian government could safely return asylum seekers who crossed the U.S-Canada land border. This upends more than 15 years of bilateral cooperation between the two countries. On July 22, the Federal Court of… Read More
ICE’s ‘Citizens Academy’ Has No Place in Communities That Welcome Immigrants
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced last week that it was launching a “Citizens Academy” in Chicago. The move justifiably generated everything from confusion to anger and fear from elected officials and community members. The program is already the subject of recently introduced bills to… Read More
ICE Says International Students Must Take Classes in Person or Leave the Country
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge across the United States, many universities have chosen to temporarily move to online-only classes to protect public health. However, new guidance from the Trump administration will not allow international students to stay in the United States if their classes move online this fall. Read More
Court-Ordered Release of Children May Lead to Family Separation
Federal Judge Dolly Gee has ordered that children held for more than 20 days at U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) family detention centers must be released. The order was the latest development in Judge Gee’s oversight of the Flores Settlement, a decades-old binding decree governing the detention and treatment of immigrant children in government custody. Read More
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