Department of Homeland Security
As Florence Hits US, Trump Administration Diverts Funds for Disaster Relief Towards Immigration Enforcement
As Hurricane Florence pummels the southeastern United States, newly released Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents show that a total of $200 million—including $10 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—was transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during the summer of 2018. This… Read More
Government Agrees to Give Some Separated Families A Second Chance to Seek Asylum
In a tentative partial settlement agreement reached with lawyers representing parents and children who were separated as a result of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, the government has agreed to give thousands of parents and children a second chance to seek… Read More
Trump Administration Proposes Regulations in ‘Flores’ to Detain Migrant Children Longer in Unsafe Conditions
The Trump administration is proposing new regulations to indefinitely detain immigrant children at the border and keep them in unsafe conditions, creating a false choice between separating families or detaining children indefinitely. This misguided effort would continue the administration’s pattern of inflicting needless suffering on asylum-seeking children. The Flores… Read More
Family Separation, Harsh Enforcement Tactics Do Not Deter Migration
When the Trump administration began prosecuting migrant families and separating thousands of children from their parents, many in the administration predicted this would significantly deter migrants looking to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. That has not been the case. A recent study based on new data from… Read More
DHS to Restart Deportation Cases for Hundreds of Thousands of Immigrants
Recently released internal communications at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reveal a plan to restart the deportation cases of hundreds of thousands of people whose cases are currently administratively closed. This initiative has the potential to swell the immigration court backlog (currently at 730,000 cases) to… Read More
Judge Orders A Full Restart of DACA, but Its Future Remains Uncertain
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to restart the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative by August 23. This ruling in the D.C. District Court comes just days ahead of another hearing before a hardline conservative federal judge in Texas, where seven states have challenged the… Read More
The Family Reunification Deadline Passed. What’s Next for Separated Families?
The court-imposed deadline of July 26 for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reunite families separated at the southern border has passed. So far, over 1800 children have been released to their parents. However, the Trump administration has refused to reunite hundreds of others by excluding many families from the reunification process. Read More
TPS Is Extended for Somalia, Leaving Only 4 of 10 Designations Intact
The Secretary of Homeland Security completed her review of all pending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations this week, announcing that Somalia’s designation will be extended. That brings the total number of remaining TPS designations to just four countries, down from ten at the start of the Trump administration. Since January… Read More
USCIS Is Redefining Who Qualifies For Asylum in This New Guidance
In its latest attack on asylum seekers, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new guidance to asylum officers that will make it much harder for victims of domestic violence and gang violence to obtain asylum. The guidance follows a strongly worded opinion known as “Matter of AB” issued by… Read More
It Is Legal to Seek Asylum
As thousands of asylum-seeking parents were separated from their children in recent months, the Trump administration actively portrayed them as law breakers who must be prosecuted and punished for coming to the United States. Left out of the narrative is one well-established fact: it is legal to seek asylum. The… Read More
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