Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Hispanic Americans Are Helping Put the Rio Grande Valley on the Map
Located on the U.S.-Mexico border at the southern tip of Texas lies the Rio Grande Valley, or as Texans call it “the Valley” or “RGV.” While the RGV–made up of Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy counties–most recently made national news during Texas Governor… Read More
Supreme Court Rejects Review Over Factual Questions in Immigration Removal Proceedings
The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision on May 16 rejecting federal court review of fact-finding done by immigration courts. The Court’s reasoning could have wide-ranging impacts on many more types of immigration relief. The case—Patel v. Garland—centers around Pankajkumar Patel, a native of India, who erroneously checked a… Read More
The Border Patrol Is Going to Eliminate Its Secretive Critical Incident Teams
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) announced in a May 6 memorandum that it would eliminate its Border Patrol Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs). The teams have faced criticism for their secretive role at the scenes of incidents involving Border Patrol agents in which someone has died or been seriously… Read More
Local Communities Take the Lead in Welcoming All
Local communities across the country have long experienced the positive effects of growing immigrant and refugee communities. As a result, many local governments, chambers of commerce, and nonprofits have been thinking proactively about how to create an environment that sends a message of inclusion and social cohesion, maximizes the contributions… Read More
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in ‘Remain in Mexico’ Case
Over three years after the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) went into effect, the Supreme Court finally heard oral arguments in a case about the program, also known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Rather than debate the legality of the program itself, Tuesday’s arguments were about a different question… Read More
I Visited Biden’s MPP Tent Courts. The Changes Since Trump Don’t Fix the Program’s Flaws.
More than two years after visiting the Trump administration’s “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP) tent courts in Laredo, Texas, I returned to see how they had changed under the Biden administration. While some changes have been made, they haven’t resolved the program’s biggest flaws, such as the danger asylum… Read More
Moving Past Politics: How States Are Leading on Immigrant and Refugee Inclusion
While much of today’s immigration debate is laser-focused on the U.S.-Mexico border, states across the country are increasingly creating their own policies that affect the day-to-day lives of millions of immigrants and refugees. Some states like Florida are pursuing restrictive measures that sow fear and uncertainty. But many others… Read More
What is President Biden’s Plan for Ending Title 42?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in early April that it would end Title 42, the pandemic border policy that allowed immigration officials to rapidly “expel” migrants over 1.7 million times. However, the CDC delayed the termination until May 23 to give the U.S. Department… Read More
ICE’s New Guidance to Government Attorneys Aims to Reduce Immigration Court Backlog
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a long-awaited memo on Sunday to guide ICE attorneys on exercising their prosecutorial discretion in immigration court. Authored by ICE’s Principal Legal Advisor Kerry Doyle, the memo’s stated goal is to ensure that ICE focuses its limited resources effectively and pursues… Read More
Biden Administration Announces End to Horrific Title 42 Border Policy
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Friday that it will be terminating the Title 42 border policy. The U.S. government has used this policy to turn away asylum seekers and migrants over 1.7 million times since March 2020. The policy will end on May 23 to give… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
