Department of Homeland Security
What a Donald Trump Victory Means for Immigrant Rights
The 2016 presidential election is, at long last, behind us. While pundits will interpret the significance of the election results for months to come, already clear is the broad public support for sensible and humane immigration policies. In fact, despite the rhetoric on the campaign trail, a range of post-election… Read More
New Census Numbers Underscore Importance of Immigration
There is no denying that the number of foreign-born individuals in the United States has increased in recent years. According to the Pew Research Center, the foreign-born population rose from 39.9 million in 2010 to 42.2 million in 2014. This is good news for a nation and economy that… Read More
The Death Toll of Immigration Detention
Each year on November 1 and 2, people around the world celebrate the Day of the Dead—sometimes called All Souls Day or Día de los Muertos in Spanish—to remember and honor children and adults who have died. To date, since 2003, 165 people have died in immigration detention, including… Read More
The Changing Face of Those Apprehended at the Southern U.S. Border
This week the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the total number of apprehensions by the Border Patrol of individuals trying to enter the country without authorization for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. The overall number of apprehensions is up from last year, but down when compared to FY 2013… Read More
Even the Government’s Own Advisory Committee Wants to End Family Detention
Calls to end the detention of immigrant children and their mothers seeking protection in the United States are not new. What is new is that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers, created by DHS itself, has now added its voice to the chorus calling… Read More
After Urging Nations to Protect Most Vulnerable at U.N., Obama Steps Up Deportation of Haitians
Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it will step up the deportation of Haitian nationals following a recent uptick in their number of arrivals at the San Ysidro Port of Entry by San Diego. Deportations of Haitians had been scaled back significantly following a massive… Read More
Government Officials Explain Extensive Refugee Vetting Process in Hearing
Following the 15th anniversary of the tragic attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress is renewing its efforts to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again on U.S. soil. This was the message many members conveyed at a House Homeland Security hearing yesterday examining “terrorist pathways” to the… Read More
Why “Family Detention” is a Misnomer
More than two years after the Obama Administration launched its aggressive expansion of family detention in an attempt to “deter” the arrival of asylum-seeking Central American families, numerous problems associated with such practice have been brought to light.One such issue is the separation of family units while… Read More
Why the Department of Homeland Security Should Also End Private Prison Contracts
For two years, women and children from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala have been fleeing to the United States to escape the extreme violence of gangs which control large swaths of territory within their home countries. And for two years the Obama Administration has responded to this humanitarian crisis… Read More
DACA Still Has Room for Many Potentially Eligible Young Adults
Since the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative was first implemented back in August 2012, it has positively changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of young individuals in the United States. According to the most recent official statistics, as of March 2016, 820,000 individuals have applied for… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
