Department of Homeland Security
New Reports Examine Who Might Benefit from Immigration Administrative Action
As the Obama administration continues its deliberations over what sorts of executive actions the President might take to begin repairing the broken U.S. immigration system, it would be wise to keep in mind just how much a part of U.S. society the unauthorized immigrant population has become. At this… Read More
11-Year-Old U.S. Citizen Held in Immigration Detention at Artesia
One of the hundreds of children being held at an immigration detention facility in, New Mexico, was released last week when officials realized the 11-year-old boy was a U.S. citizen. According to the boy’s attorney, he spent more than a month there before an immigration attorney visiting… Read More
Children in Jail: What It’s Like for Immigrants Held at Artesia Center
By Megan Jordi, legal director at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center. The rule of law is only a mirage in the remote, dusty town of Artesia, New Mexico, where the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is holding more than 600 Honduran, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan women and children. The… Read More
Refugee Children Don’t Need More Immigration Enforcement
A humanitarian crisis requires a humanitarian response. In the case of the unaccompanied children from Central America who are arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, this would include decent food, shelter, and medical attention while in U.S. custody. Even more crucial, it would include careful screening of each child’s case… Read More
DOJ Adds Temp Judges and Shifts Priorities in Response to Unaccompanied Minors
Congress has long neglected the immigration court system, like so many other aspects of our immigration infrastructure. For years, while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has dedicated more and more resources to immigration enforcement efforts, resources for the immigration courts have not commensurately increased. As a result, immigration courts cannot keep up with their current workload. This has become increasingly evident as courts struggle to handle the growing number of deportation cases DHS has brought against unaccompanied children. And while the Obama administration has requested emergency supplemental funding to hire 25 new immigration judges, it is unclear whether this funding will materialize. In an attempt to bring some immediate relief, the Department of Justice announced a new rule that permits the Department to hire temporary judges. Read More
New Report Helps Explain Why Central American Children Are Leaving Their Home Countries
Ever since President Barack Obama described the record number of minors traveling alone and crossing the U.S.-Mexico border as an “urgent humanitarian situation requiring a unified and coordinated Federal response,” the debate about how to address the unaccompanied migrant children has become increasingly heated, especially about the reasons… Read More
Effort to Quickly Deport Child Migrants Fails to Address the Problem
The White House informed Congress Monday that it would seek additional funding for an aggressive border enforcement strategy designed to thwart the dramatic increase in unaccompanied minors and families crossing the southwestern border, to expend more resources on fighting traffickers and drug smugglers, and to work closely… Read More
Not All Members of Congress Recognize the Nation’s Role in Protecting Unaccompanied Minors
The House Committee on Homeland Security held a hearing today entitled, “Dangerous Passage: The Growing Problem of Unaccompanied Children Crossing the Border.” Committee members questioned the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson on the growing humanitarian crisis at our southern border. Thousands of children from Central America… Read More
District Court Decides Some TPS Beneficiaries May Finally Become Lawful Permanent Residents
When a massive earthquake leveled much of Haiti, and when civil war broke out in Syria, the U.S. government did not blindly send Haitians and Syrians home to near-certain death. Instead, the government did the humane thing and offered safe haven to nationals of those countries who were here… Read More
USCIS Anuncia Procedimiento para Renovación de DACA
En el día de ayer el Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de los Estados Unidos (USCIS) anunció los términos del proceso para la renovación de la Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA). Mediante la renovación de DACA, aquellos individuos que actualmente ya cuentan con el beneficio… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
