This Week in Immigration - American Immigration Council

On May 23, members of Congress introduced what has sadly become an increasingly rare bit of legislation; a comprehensive immigration reform bill aimed at addressing large-scale systematic problems with large-scale systematic action. The “DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act” represents one of the most sweeping attempts to modify the immigration system that has been proposed in years. Like […]

The post Congress Introduces Sweeping Immigration Reform Bill ‘DIGNIDAD Act’ to Address Systematic Challenges appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Supreme Court has agreed to decide a case that asks the Court to overturn Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council—an influential decision that requires courts to defer to federal agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous laws. The Supreme Court’s decision to take the case about fishing regulations—Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimond—has immigration attorneys talking. But […]

The post Is Chevron deference on the Supreme Court’s chopping block? appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled last week that a transgender woman from Guatemala did not need to jump through an additional hoop—filing a new motion with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)—before she could take her case to federal court to challenge her deportation order. The Court ruled that such motions are […]

The post Supreme Court Declines to Impose New Hurdle on Immigrants Appealing their Cases appeared first on Immigration Impact.

One of the biggest concerns after the end of the Title 42 policy of mass expulsion at the U.S.-Mexico border was that large numbers of people would cross in the hours and days afterward. When the switch happened last Friday at midnight, people feared that bottlenecks throughout the processing system would lead to dangerous overcrowding […]

The post Border Patrol Custody Is Already Dangerous and This Florida Lawsuit Is Making It Worse appeared first on Immigration Impact.

If you are an asylum seeker in the United States who cannot afford an attorney, your chance of finding pro bono assistance is now slimmer than ever. As the number of cases in immigration court has increased, the amount of free representation for immigrants has not. At the Immigration Justice Campaign, we have seen that […]

The post Finding a Pro Bono Immigration Attorney Is Harder Than Ever appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Each May, the United States recognizes the influence and contributions of Asian and Pacific Islanders during AAPI Heritage Month. It also serves as a time to reflect on the many differences among AAPI individuals in this country. The 19.7 million Asians and Pacific Islanders living in the United States make up one of the most […]

The post Data Snapshot: Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Back in February, when the Biden administration proposed a new regulation that would essentially restrict the vast majority of border crossers from qualifying for asylum, we broke it down with a guide to qualifying for asylum in the United States in 12 not-so-easy steps. The final regulation, published Wednesday, will go into effect Friday with […]

The post How To Seek Asylum (Under Biden’s Asylum Transit Ban), In 15 Not-At-All-Easy Steps appeared first on Immigration Impact.

With the pandemic-related expulsion policy “Title 42” set to expire May 11, the House GOP introduced its first large-scale border and immigration package on Monday. The bill combines three separate bills into one, including a bill effectively ending asylum which previously passed out of the House Judiciary Committee. The package, which is set for a […]

The post Newly Introduced Border Bills Would Create More Chaos at the Border, Not Less appeared first on Immigration Impact.

As of 2023, Arizona remains the only state with English-only education legislation still in effect. Its law—Proposition 203—exemplifies the ongoing impact of the American English-only education movement that poses obstacles to equitable education for English language learners (ELLs), especially immigrants. The American English-only education movement refers to assimilationist pressure against bilingual and native language instruction […]

The post English-Only Education is on the Decline—But Arizona Holds Out appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Title 42 – a policy that has allowed the U.S. government to expel border-crossers without giving them a chance to seek asylum – is expected to officially sunset next week. Federal courts prevented the Biden administration from lifting the “public health” order until it lifted the nationwide state of public health emergency. It’s doing so […]

The post The End of Title 42 Might Be Chaotic, But It Doesn’t Have to Be Confusing. Here’s What You Should Know appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Departments of State and Homeland Security announced recently that the Central American Minors (CAM) Program is being expanded, which will allow more children from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala to safely reunite with parents and guardians already living in the United States.  The expansion makes children eligible for CAM if their parent or guardian […]

The post Expansion of Central American Minors Program Offers New Opportunities for Families to Reunite appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the launch of CeBONDS, a new system people can use to pay bonds and secure the release of individuals in immigration detention. The new system allows people paying the bond—referred to as obligors—to go through most of the process online without having to make the payment […]

The post ICE Is Shifting Bond Payments to an Electronic System appeared first on Immigration Impact.

With all eyes on the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of the end of Title 42 on May 11, Texas lawmakers are pushing to increase the state’s role in enforcing federal immigration laws—despite Supreme Court precedent making clear that immigration enforcement is the federal government’s responsibility. A bill currently before the Texas legislature, House Bill 20, would […]

The post Texas’ Proposed ‘Border Protection Unit’ Doubles Down on Failed Deterrence Policies appeared first on Immigration Impact.

A family with a baby, waiting outside in the cold overnight. A pregnant woman, enduring the elements for multiple days. An Afghan who worked for the U.S. Army as a translator, hoping for food and water. Asylum seekers who traveled from as far as Africa and Asia, looking for protection. These are some of the […]

The post The Border Patrol’s Inhumanity Has Reached New Heights appeared first on Immigration Impact.

On Monday, April 17, the House GOP introduced its first comprehensive border bill of the 118th Congress. The bill comes after months of disagreement within the caucus surrounding legislative responses to the border, with moderate Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) having branded a proposal by Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) to mandate the expulsion of most […]

The post GOP’s Extreme Border Bill Rejects Solutions and Embraces Ending Asylum appeared first on Immigration Impact.

On April 6, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the death of 61 year-old Salvador Vargas at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA which occurred on April 4. Deaths in ICE custody are far too common, and particularly devastating in detention centers with a history of medical neglect. Though this is the first reported […]

The post A Closer Look at Deaths in ICE Detention Facilities appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Over the next 30 years, immigrants will pay more in taxes than they will consume in benefits, a new study from the Cato Institute found. This net positive flow in tax contributions shows that immigrants will continue to play an outsized role in supporting public services like schools and safety net programs such as nutrition […]

The post Immigrants Help Fund Our Public Programs appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Biden administration is yet again turning to the Trump playbook as it tries to slap together a border crackdown to succeed the end of the Title 42 “public health” order next month. The latest revived Trump-era idea: keeping asylum seekers in Border Patrol custody for longer, and conducting asylum screening interviews in phone booths, […]

The post Biden’s Reviving Phone-Booth Asylum. Here’s Why It Was a Disaster appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Written by Raul Pinto and Rebekah Wolf of the American Immigration Council The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) implementation of Alternative to Detention Programs (ATD) on March 17. ATD programs provide noncitizens in removal proceedings the ability to remain in their […]

The post DHS Publishes Privacy Document About ATDs and the Data They Collect – Two Decades Late appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The public has spoken: an asylum transit ban was bad policy during the Trump era, and it’s bad policy now. On February 21, the Biden administration released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking laying out the details of a planned asylum transit ban. The proposed rule, a new version of a Trump-era policy, would all but […]

The post A Groundswell of Opposition to Biden’s Asylum Transit Ban appeared first on Immigration Impact.