Detention
Yes, All Immigrants – Even Undocumented – Pay Billions in Taxes Each Year
Immigrants—both documented and undocumented—contribute billions of dollars in taxes to the United States every year. Immigrants who are authorized to work in the United States file the same taxes as any U.S.-native including local, state, and federal taxes. Unauthorized immigrants pay taxes as well, often using the Individual… 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
Supreme Court Limits Power to Revoke Naturalized Person’s Citizenship
The Supreme Court recently rejected the government’s extreme argument that any false statement given during a naturalization exam—even a misstatement that had no impact on the naturalization decision—could later be a basis for stripping the person of their citizenship. In Maslenjak v. United States, the government’s interpretation of… Read More
Court Rules That Immigration Authorities May Not Deny Bond Hearings to Children
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a strong rebuke to the government’s years-long effort to strip detained immigrant children of the right to a bond hearing in immigration court. The 3-0 decision, authored by Judge Reinhardt on Wednesday, came in a case involving the 1997 Flores settlement… 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
President Trump Unveils Harsh Immigration Budget Proposals
President Trump released his formal budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 this week, which seeks to solidify the harsh proposals laid out in his immigration executive orders. The budget aims to fund the beginnings of a border wall, as well as increase immigration enforcement, detention, and deportations. Read More
Justice Department Changes Tune on Sanctuary Cities, Acknowledging Administration’s Bark Is Worse Than Its Bite
While campaigning for office, then-candidate Trump threatened to punish so-called sanctuary cities by defunding them. Soon after his inauguration, he released an executive order on interior enforcement. The order partially focused on getting local officers to become force multipliers by assisting federal immigration agents in the identification, detention,… Read More
Undocumented Immigrants Without Criminal Records Are Being Targeted, Despite Claims
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kelly stated this week that DHS is not targeting undocumented immigrants simply for being undocumented. Kelly asserted that the department is focusing on people that are undocumented “plus,” categorizing this as an immigrant that has another factor—such as criminal activity—that makes them… Read More
Government Detains LGBT Immigrants at Higher Rates
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) immigrants in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are more likely to be held in detention by ICE even when their detention is not required. These were the findings released earlier this week from the Center for American Progress (CAP)… Read More
Immigrants’ Access to Legal Representation Is Unequal and the Consequences Are Serious
Nationally, only 37 percent of all immigrants had legal representation, and only 14 percent of immigrants in detention had a lawyer. In a paper issued today, Access to Counsel in Immigration Court, Ingrid Eagly and Steven Shafer analyzed 1.2 million individual removal cases in immigration court between fiscal years… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone