Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Diversity Visa Ban Struck Down by Judge
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume issuing diversity visas on September 5. Each year, the State Department uses a lottery system to select visa recipients from a broad array of countries. In April, President Trump banned diversity visa recipients from entering the country. What… Read More
Hurricane Laura Devastated ICE Facilities, Leaving People Detained in Horrific Conditions
Days after Hurricane Laura tore through Louisiana, the situation for people held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities remains critical. ICE reportedly evacuated at least two immigration facilities in southern Louisiana before the hurricane hit. But the storm led to catastrophic conditions at ICE facilities further inland. Major… Read More
Institutional Racism Is Rampant in Immigration Enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico Border
A Black former U.S. diplomat recently shared her experience of months of racial profiling by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials while she was stationed at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. She was tasked with enforcing U.S. immigration law, but nevertheless found herself racially profiled and discriminated… Read More
ICE Makes It Almost Impossible for People to Make Phone Calls from Detention Centers, Even in a Pandemic
Communication with the outside world is crucial for people in jail. This includes individuals facing deportation while detained in immigration detention centers, who do not have the right to court-appointed counsel. Having the ability to make a phone call in a detention center is essential for a variety of… Read More
Where Does Trump Get the Money to Build the Border Wall? Not From Steve Bannon
Over 250,000 Americans donated a total of $25 million to the “We Build the Wall” campaign, a crowdfunding effort led in part by former White House Adviser Steve Bannon. The campaign alleged that all funds collected would go directly toward erecting a wall on the U.S.-Mexico… Read More
The Lie About Kamala Harris and Birthright Citizenship
People born in the United States are American citizens, regardless of what President Trump claims. Birthright citizenship—enshrined by the Fourteenth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution—guarantees it. Trump recently suggested to the contrary after a Newsweek column erroneously argued that vice presidential candidate… Read More
The Stories From Immigration Nation ICE Didn’t Want You to See
Immigration Nation, a six-episode docuseries that provides a rare view of the internal workings of immigration enforcement—and its impact on individuals and families—began streaming on Netflix in August. The series provides a unique, up-close look at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) operations in communities from 2017 to 2020 and… Read More
Updates to USCIS Policy Manual Give Broad Discretion to Issue More Denials
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has imposed new requirements on its officers for exercising discretion that will substantially increase time and expense for the agency and applicants. Applications for work authorization will be particularly impacted. On July 15, USCIS issued updates to its Policy Manual. This manual contains… Read More
Deaths in Immigration Detention Are at a Record High. ICE Can Prevent the Next One.
Three men died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on within a week of each other. Two of the men died in hospitals after being diagnosed with COVID-19, while the other died in his cell of a massive intercranial hemorrhage. These tragedies increased the total deaths in ICE… Read More
Why a Shorter Census Timeline Hurts Immigrant Communities
The Trump administration announced on August 3 plans to end the 2020 Census one month earlier than previously planned. The change has led to fears that immigrant and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities will be undercounted. This has the real potential to harm them financially and politically… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
