Immigration News Resources

AILA Second Vice President Jeremy McKinney shares his plans to apply for assistance through the Small Business Administration during the COVID19 crisis to help his law firm stay in business; an update on how he navigates the process is forthcoming.

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads and entire states go into quarantine, immigrants and their attorneys are still being forced to gather in cramped immigration courtrooms inside detention centers around the country. These hearings pose an obvious public health risk and run contrary to the government’s own recommendations regarding social distancing during the outbreak. This […]

The post It’s Time to Close the Immigration Courts appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The movement of people across borders has halted in much of the world as countries close their borders in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

The post More than nine-in-ten people worldwide live in countries with travel restrictions amid COVID-19 appeared first on Pew Research Center.

Social distancing has been mandated in many places throughout the United States to slow the spread of COVID-19, the new coronavirus. Meanwhile, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to detain approximately 38,000 people in close quarters. This conflicts with medical experts’ repeated advice to decrease the detention population. Earlier this month, over 3,000 medical […]

The post ICE Must Release People From Detention to Slow the Spread of the Coronavirus appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA member Aaron Kochenderfer shares the positive impact that immigrants have had on Detroit, Michigan as the city orchestrates a comeback from bankruptcy only a few years ago, writing "Detroit's history was written by immigrants and I firmly believe they will help author its future as well."

Alma Rosa Nieto, AILA Media Advo Committee member, offers some details from her day-in-the-life of an immigration attorney amid the COVID19 pandemic, writing: "This too will pass and we will all have learned new ways of doing things, skills we can use later."

We are in the midst of a crisis unlike any we’ve experienced in our lifetimes. We are scared and scrambling to protect ourselves and the ones that we love. This is normal and understandable. However, if we’re not mindful, the spread of the coronavirus and the accompanying fear could create a shift in American culture […]

The post How Storytelling During the COVID-19 Crisis Can Help Defeat Nativism appeared first on Immigration Impact.

President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on Friday, March 27. The $2 trillion stimulus package goes a long way to improve our response to the COVID-19 outbreak. But it fails to deliver for millions of immigrants across the country, including first responders who are on the front lines […]

The post Coronavirus Relief Package Fails to Provide Aid to Millions of Immigrants, Including Many on the Front Lines appeared first on Immigration Impact.

AILA Asylum Committee Vice Chair Lindsay Harris describes the asylum seekers she met with just before the COVID-19 pandemic really began in the U.S. She encourages us all to take action and "right the wrongs being committed in our name on our Southern border."

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) completed its first registration period on March 20 for H-1B petitions. The H-1B visa category allows highly educated foreign workers to temporarily work for employers in the United States. This was the first year USCIS used a new registration process for U.S. employers hoping to file an H-1B petition […]

The post The H-1B Registration Period Has Ended. How Did the New System Handle It? appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Sandra Feist, Chair of AILA's Media Advocacy Committee, shares a glimpse into the life of an immigration attorney during the COVID19 pandemic, ending with a positive note: "My hope is that we all come out of seclusion with greater self-confidence about our own fortitude in a crisis and a greater connectivity with our community, as we come together to support one another."

The coronavirus outbreak has significantly disrupted the operations of government agencies around the country, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS is the agency that processes applications for various types of immigration benefits. USCIS Changes Office Operations During Coronavirus Outbreak The USCIS Seattle office was the first to temporarily close in early March when […]

The post How the Coronavirus Is Disrupting USCIS Processing of Immigration Applications appeared first on Immigration Impact.

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, the U.S. health care system will likely be pushed to its limits. During this time, it is important to remember the role that immigrant health care workers play alongside their native-born colleagues on the front lines of this fight—and how strongly our health care capacity depends on the expertise of […]

The post Immigrant Health Care Workers Play a Vital Role in the United States’ COVID-19 Response appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Trump administration detailed its plans to begin rapidly deporting to Mexico people encountered at or near the southern border—without any due process—as the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the globe. The plans were released in a new order issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director on March 21.  The order instructs border officials to turn away anyone who crosses the border without […]

The post How Coronavirus is Changing US Asylum Policy at the Border appeared first on Immigration Impact.