Immigration News Resources

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 eligible for deportation from the United […]

The post ICE Violates the Fourth Amendment When It Detains People Without Probable Cause, Court Rules appeared first on Immigration Impact.

During National Hispanic Heritage Month, AILA Diversity & Inclusion Committee Member Magaly Rojas Cheng shares her family’s story along with key data about the contributions of the Latinx community to our shared prosperity.

The Trump administration’s justification for ending administrative closure is on thin ice. A new report casts doubt on key arguments presented in a proposed regulation that would end the practice of administrative closure. This tool allows immigration judges to temporarily suspend a hearing by taking it off of the court’s active docket. The Syracuse University-based […]

The post New Data Disproves Trump Administration’s Push to End Administrative Closure appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 Department of Homeland Security oversight […]

The post Women in ICE Detention Given Hysterectomies Without Their Consent appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In a split decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for four countries can proceed. The fate of nearly 250,000 people from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan—and their families—is at stake. The case, Ramos v. Nielsen, was filed in federal district court after […]

The post Ninth Circuit Court Allows Trump’s Plan to End Temporary Protected Status to Go Forward appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Welcoming Week—an annual celebration in communities across the nation that brings neighbors together to build connections across lines of difference—begins Saturday, September 12. Despite the challenges of coming together during a pandemic, a string of events will take place in virtual spaces. Events include dance parties, watch parties, and even civic dinners via Zoom. There […]

The post Welcoming Week 2020 Encourages Everyone in America to Create Home Together appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 enormous backlog of citizenship applications at […]

The post Citizenship Backlogs at USCIS Will Block Hundreds of Thousands from Voting in the 2020 Election appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 of more than 60%. The proposed […]

The post USCIS Wants To Increase the Amount of Biometric Data It Collects by Over 60% appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 is the diversity visa? Congress established the Diversity […]

The post Diversity Visa Ban Struck Down by Judge appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA member Peter Choi shares an analogy that he has found makes explaining the green card process to clients easier by comparing it to a visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles with various queues and required paperwork.

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 damage occurred at LaSalle ICE […]

The post Hurricane Laura Devastated ICE Facilities, Leaving People Detained in Horrific Conditions appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 against by U.S. immigration authorities. […]

The post Institutional Racism Is Rampant in Immigration Enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico Border appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 a pilot program in which Border […]

The post Judge Says “Poppycock!” to Trump Program That Let Border Patrol Screen Asylum Applicants appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Dree Collopy, chair of AILA's upcoming Virtual Asylum Conference highlights some of the changes impacting asylum that have come recently and what will be covered by the conference, noting that while this is a tough fight to keep up, "We can lift each other up, help each other succeed, and save our clients' lives."

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 “snow, rain, heat, and gloom of […]

The post Immigrant Workers are Essential to the United States Postal Service appeared first on Immigration Impact.

El Salvador experienced a 40% drop in remittances in April 2020 compared with April 2019, the largest decline among the six nations analyzed.

The post Amid COVID-19, remittances to some Latin American nations fell sharply in April, then rebounded appeared first on Pew Research Center.

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 reasons. Individuals need to secure legal […]

The post ICE Makes It Almost Impossible for People to Make Phone Calls from Detention Centers, Even in a Pandemic appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 U.S. immigration system to a near […]

The post USCIS Cancelled Planned Staff Furloughs, But Budgetary Challenges Remain appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is proposing a range of measures that will limit the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (BIA) authority. The new rule—scheduled to be published on August 26—will make it harder for the BIA to independently make decisions and accelerates the removal of individuals from the United States. The proposed changes raise concerns […]

The post Department of Justice Proposes New Limit to the Board of Immigration Appeals’ Power appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 border. An 18-foot high, half mile-long steel barrier did […]

The post Where Does Trump Get the Money to Build the Border Wall? Not From Steve Bannon appeared first on Immigration Impact.