Unaccompanied Children
Senate Shoots Down House’s Bad Homeland Security Funding Bill
The House-passed bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security—and the anti-executive action amendments that were added—failed to advance in the Senate on a procedural vote. Senators voted 48 to 51, with Republican Dean Heller (NV) joining with the Democrats to vote against the measure. Because it… Read More
The Cost of Citizenship is a Barrier for Some Immigrants
Of the 13.3 million legal permanent residents (LPRs) in the United States, 8.8 million are currently eligible for citizenship. Many, however, are not making the leap from legal permanent resident status to citizen. The number of those naturalizing has been less than 800,000 for the past five consecutive years,… Read More
What Happened at the Meeting Between the Mexican and U.S. Presidents
The U.S. and Mexico share a nearly 2,000 mile border, and most of the immigrants in the U.S. are from Mexico. The relationship between the two countries runs deeper than just immigration even though attention in the last year has focused on the record number of children and families who… Read More
Top Five Immigration Stories of 2014
This year, the narrative on immigration swung from hope that the House of Representatives would follow the Senate’s lead and act on comprehensive immigration reform legislation to hopelessness when Republican leaders refused to act. Then attention turned to anticipation of the President’s announcement of temporary executive actions to… Read More
State Department Launches In-Country Refugee Program to Reunite Central American Families
Last week, the U.S. Department of State announced the launch of its in-country refugee processing program in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The program is part of the Obama Administration’s response to last summer’s influx of unaccompanied children and families fleeing to the United States from Central America and… Read More
States Sue Over President Obama’s Immigration Executive Action
Seventeen states filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging President Obama’s decision to temporarily defer deportation for millions of immigrants who qualify for DACA of the new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program. The lawsuit argues that the president’s executive actions “violated his constitutional duty to enforce the laws and illegally… Read More
Some Schools Need Reminding of their Obligation to Educate All Children
In the past year, more than 50,000 children have fled violence and persecution from Central America and Mexico and have crossed into the U.S. seeking protection. Most of them have been reunited with family members in America as they await their immigration court dates. In the meantime, our laws… Read More
New Evidence Confirms Immigrant Children Show Up in Immigration Court
As many of the unaccompanied minors who crossed the U.S-Mexico border earlier this summer navigate the immigration court system, recent government numbers confirm that the vast majority are showing up for their immigration hearings. Data released by the U.S. Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) shows that between July… Read More
Children in Jail: What It’s Like for Immigrant Families Held at Karnes, Texas
This summer, tens of thousands of Central American families fled violence to the U.S. southern border. The administration responded by accelerating deportation proceedings, converting government facilities to family detention centers, and then prioritizing the detention and removal of families. First, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) turned the Federal Law… Read More
Deploying National Guard to Border Hurt Texas Economy
The thousands of Central American children and families fleeing violence and arriving at the southern U.S. border became national front-page news over the summer. Congress responded by saying a lot but doing nothing, while many states and cities welcomed them into their communities and provided… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
