Immigration News Resources

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued “Guidelines for Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas”—a new memo that provides a framework for when and where DHS law enforcement entities can conduct enforcement activities in sensitive locations. The memo applies to enforcement activities of both U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border […]

The post DHS Issues New Memo Restricting Enforcement Activities in ‘Protected Areas’ appeared first on Immigration Impact.

It is estimated that at least 700,000 immigrants from 12 countries currently have or are eligible to have a reprieve from deportation under TPS.

The post Biden administration widens scope of Temporary Protected Status for immigrants appeared first on Pew Research Center.

A recent class action settlement is expected to result in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approving more market research analyst H-1B petitions. The lawsuit was filed by four U.S. employers whose H-1B petitions had been denied when USCIS determined that market research analysts were not a “specialty occupation” as required for an H-1B visa […]

The post Class Action Settlement Gives Second Chance to Qualifying US Employers for H-1B Petition Approval appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Author Joyce Brake shares insights from her recent pro bono work with Afghan evacuees and helping them find their footing in the new situation they are in; she urges readers to reach out and do the same.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published new data last week showing that over the past 12 months, the Border Patrol has carried out nearly 1.7 million apprehensions at the southern border—a record. Opponents of President Biden quickly jumped on the news to renew claims that the border is somehow open. But focusing only on […]

The post The Border Isn’t Open. Just 1 in 3 People at the Border Last Year Could Access the Asylum Process. appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In a split decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on October 20 lifted a lower court’s protections for medically vulnerable people locked up in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The protections included requiring that ICE adhere to public health and safety protocols to reduce the risk of […]

The post Ninth Circuit Lifts Injunction Protecting People in ICE Detention from COVID-19 appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA Media Advocacy Committee Member Emily Haverkamp highlights the huge obstacles facing asylum seekers seeking work permits while their asylum request is being processed, noting the impact of bad policies on the asylum seekers but also employers seeking workers.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been known to improperly subject individuals in its custody to solitary confinement and has destroyed solitary confinement records in violation of a records retention schedule and an agreement to preserve records in a lawsuit. On October 13, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General […]

The post ICE Fails to Provide Basic Oversight of Solitary Confinement and Unlawfully Destroys Records appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Two months after a federal court ordered the Biden administration to reinstate the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols (also known as “Remain in Mexico”), the administration announced that it will reinstate the program in mid-November if Mexico agrees. In response, some advocates staged a virtual walkout of a listening session held by the administration, refusing to […]

The post Biden Administration Announces Plan for Reinstating the Migrant Protection Protocols appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Two parole programs that were terminated under the Trump administration are getting a second life under President Biden. The Filipino World War II Veterans Parole (FWVP) program and The Haitian Family Reunification Parole (HFRP) program aim to reunite eligible U.S. citizens and residents with certain family members who live abroad and who are waiting in […]

The post USCIS Brings Back Family Reunification Programs for Haitians and Filipino Veterans appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) need to establish clear guidance for when ICE should release someone from detention. So far, the Biden administration, like past administrations, has failed to issue this essential guidance. This inaction has left thousands of people needlessly detained. On October 5, the American […]

The post ICE Needs a Consistent System of Discretionary Release from Detention appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Biden administration just took a significant step toward reining in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a memorandum that orders the agency to halt all mass worksite raids. The memorandum also orders the agency to shift its focus to employers that break the law—rather than […]

The post Biden Administration Halts Mass Worksite Raids By ICE appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In September, nearly 15,000 Haitians arrived near Del Rio, Texas seeking asylum in the United States. But rather than allowing them to seek protection, as is their right under United States law, the Biden administration instead began a process of mass expulsions to Haiti. With expulsions to Haiti finally slowing to a trickle  after 70 […]

The post Biden Administration Doubles Down On Title 42 As Del Rio Expulsions Draw to A Close appeared first on Immigration Impact.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials improperly developed intelligence reports nicknamed “baseball cards” about individuals arrested in Portland, Oregon during the civil unrest following George Floyd’s murder, a DHS internal review found. The internal report found that the Intelligence & Analysis (I&A) branch of DHS directed federal agents to collect these reports (i.e., dossiers) […]

The post DHS Infringed on First Amendment Rights by Collecting Intel on Portland Protestors appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA member Manish Daftari shares insights into the situation facing those fleeing from Afghanistan and the urgent need to simplify processing of vulnerable Afghan evacuees, similar to the treatment of Vietnamese evacuees in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

The Biden administration failed to issue more than 200,000 permanent resident visas (or “green cards”) that were allotted in fiscal year 2021 for immigrants sponsored by U.S. employers or family members. Roughly 150,000 visas for family-based immigrants and as many as 80,000 visas for employment-based immigrants had gone unused by September 30, which was the […]

The post The Biden Administration Let Over 200,000 Green Cards Go to Waste This Year appeared first on Immigration Impact.

On September 30, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued the long-awaited new set of enforcement priorities, entitled “Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Laws”. The guidelines, which will go into effect on November 29, 2021, will replace the February 18 interim enforcement priorities memo issued to U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), […]

The post New Enforcement Priorities Show Some Improvement, Maintain Old Framework appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced a new lawsuit on Tuesday seeking an order requiring the Biden administration to detain almost all people arriving at the Southwest border. It is the latest in a string of lawsuits brought by states with Republican governors seeking to shape federal immigration policy. In its lawsuit, Florida argues that the […]

The post With New Florida Lawsuit, States’ Efforts to Dictate Federal Immigration Policy Continue appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA Policy Associate Paul Stern welcomes the rescission of the regional travel bans that will take effect in November but urges additional changes recommended by AILA because "The Department of State faces an uphill battle to overcome the significant delays and backlog created by the pandemic."

In this blog post, AILA member Vaman Kidambi shares common concerns immigration attorneys and their clients deal with as they wait because of USCIS processing delays and highlights some of the AILA recommended solutions that could effect change.