Immigration and Customs Enforcement
When Deportation Hits Home and the Soccer Field
Diego and Lizandro Claros were deported to El Salvador this week, a country they fled as youngsters and a nation plagued by gang violence and instability. Since arriving in the United States, the Claros brothers both graduated high school and spent their free time working and playing soccer. 19-year-old… Read More
Massachusetts’ Highest Court Declares Immigration Detainers Are Unenforceable
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a unanimous decision on Monday holding that Massachusetts court officers may not arrest and detain immigrants based solely on a detainer. Although other courts have struck down detainers on the grounds that they violate the Constitution, the Supreme Judicial Court concluded that… Read More
Trump Administration Targeting Immigrant Children Is a New Low
The recent trend of broadly labeling unaccompanied immigrant children as criminals and gang members is just the latest in a series of attacks on some of the most vulnerable individuals in the U.S. immigration system. In reality, most immigrant children from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala are fleeing the very… Read More
Six Months of Immigration Enforcement Under the New Administration
Now that we have passed the six-month mile marker of the new administration, the wheels of immigration enforcement have had a chance to settle into their new rhythms. Enforcement targets have expanded, enforcement tools have been sharpened, and enforcement locations have been widened, triggering pervasive fear of deportation and separation… Read More
Groups Sue U.S. Government for Turning Away Asylum Seekers
Men, women, and children fleeing persecution, grave violence, and even death arrive daily at Ports of Entry (POE) all along the U.S.-Mexico border and present themselves to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to seek asylum in the United States. The right to seek asylum is guaranteed under… Read More
Ending Deportation Priorities Breaks Away from Decades of History and Sound Policy
A recent story from ProPublica has revealed an internal February 2017 memorandum authored by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to its employees about the implementation of recent Executive Orders on immigration enforcement. The memo is stunning in its declaration: “effective immediately, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers will… Read More
Parents Risk Prosecution for Helping Children Seek Safety in the United States
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials recently confirmed their plans to initiate criminal prosecutions and deportation proceedings against immigrant parents and guardians who help bring their children to the United States through the use of smugglers or traffickers. Reports indicate that these enforcement actions are already underway. The… Read More
U.S. Citizen Children Among Those Hurt by Deportations
Thanks to the nation’s dramatically outdated immigration system that values punitive enforcement over family unity, millions of individuals living in the United States suffer as a result of immigration enforcement. For example, an estimated six million U.S. citizen children live with at least one family member who is undocumented,… Read More
Fast-Track Deportation Expansion Could Impact Hundreds of Thousands of Immigrants
The U.S. Government has deported hundreds of thousands of individuals each year over the past twenty years. Since 2009, the numbers have grown dramatically and hovered right at or above 400,000 deportations per year. However, while the total number rose during the Obama administration, the underlying numbers of individuals… Read More
The Dire State of Immigration Detention in Georgia
Recent deaths at immigration detention centers in Georgia have made one fact disturbingly clear: detainees’ rights are being violated, with life and death consequences. These tragedies are not isolated incidents, but rather part of an ongoing trend in Georgia’s immigration system that consistently violates basic human rights, disregards detention… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.