USCIS
Proposed 15-Day Filing Rule for Asylum Seekers Is Designed to Be Impossible
The Trump administration has spent most of the year trying to destroy asylum law—and the blows keep coming. On Sept. 23, the Department of Justice proposed yet another regulation aimed at certain asylum seekers that would stop all but the lucky few from receiving protections. How the Rule Would… Read More
ICE Violates the Fourth Amendment When It Detains People Without Probable Cause, Court Rules
A federal appeals court recently ruled that the Fourth Amendment requires a neutral decisionmaker to review the detention of anyone held based on an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer. The decision came after ICE attempted to detain an American citizen without probable cause and flagged him as… Read More
Women in ICE Detention Given Hysterectomies Without Their Consent
A whistleblower has come forward to expose serious allegations of medical malpractice at a for-profit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Ocilla, Georgia. The whistleblower—who was until recently employed as a nurse at the Irwin County detention center—worked with several non-governmental organizations to file two complaints with… Read More
Citizenship Backlogs at USCIS Will Block Hundreds of Thousands from Voting in the 2020 Election
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants might be prevented from voting in the 2020 election—even though they are just one step away from becoming new Americans. Years of fiscal mismanagement at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)—coupled with a series of policy changes under the Trump administration—have led to an… Read More
USCIS Wants To Increase the Amount of Biometric Data It Collects by Over 60%
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to dramatically expand the personal information that it collects in support of immigration petitions and applications. This new rule will increase the total number of people who are required to submit biometric data from 3.9 million currently to 6.07 million—an increase… Read More
Judge Says “Poppycock!” to Trump Program That Let Border Patrol Screen Asylum Applicants
A federal court on Monday halted a secretive program started under the Trump administration that allowed Border Patrol agents to be harsh gatekeepers to the asylum process. The court rejected the government’s defense of the program as “poppycock.” In spring 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quietly began… Read More
Immigrant Workers are Essential to the United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS) will play an outsized role in the 2020 presidential election, as more states focus on mail-in voting to help curb the spread of the coronavirus at polling places. Central to USPS’ work are the staff members who sort, process, and deliver our mail—through… Read More
USCIS Cancelled Planned Staff Furloughs, But Budgetary Challenges Remain
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) told Congress in May that it was running out of money and would need a $1.2 billion bailout to maintain its operations without major disruptions. The agency threatened to furlough over 13,000 of its staff in the process—a step that would bring the… 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
COVID-19 Wreaks Havoc on Immigration Courts With No Clear Plan to Stop Spread
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread throughout the United States, immigration courts around the country remain in turmoil. The Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”) initially postponed all non-detained hearings when lockdowns began in March. However, EOIR refused to close all… Read More
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