This Week in Immigration - American Immigration Council

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is opening a new service center to try to fix some of its most egregious backlogs. The agency reportedly has already reassigned 150 employees – and plans to have over 300 – to staff a virtual service center, which will eventually operate fully remotely (though it will accept paper […]

The post New USCIS Center Is Good News For Some Of Its Worst Backlog Victims appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Written by Emma Winger and Raul Pinto of the American Immigration Council The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) published a decision last week seeking to address a seemingly basic question: what law should an immigration judge apply when deciding the case of a noncitizen facing removal? In a time of remote hearings, when the immigration […]

The post What Is the Law? Under New Immigration Decision, the Answer Isn’t Always Clear appeared first on Immigration Impact.

On Monday night, 39 migrants died, and another 27 were seriously injured, in a fire in a Mexican detention center in Ciudad Juarez. The migrants—most of them from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Venezuela—were being held for deportation by the Mexican immigration enforcement agency INM, after a sweep to pick up migrants who were working […]

The post Deadly Detention Center Fire Is a Reminder: Both the US and Mexico Are Failing Migrants appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The United States and Canada announced the expansion of their Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) last week during President Biden’s visit to Canada. Under U.S. law, a so-called “Safe Third Country” agreement allows the United States to deport asylum seekers to a third country without allowing them to apply for asylum. The move was kept […]

The post US and Canada Expand Safe Third Country Agreement in Another Move to Limit Asylum appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Last week, a federal court in California issued a decision allowing asylum seekers and other plaintiffs to continue their legal challenge to the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” program, officially (and in true Orwellian fashion) called the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). The program—which forced migrants to wait indefinitely in Mexico for their immigration court asylum hearings […]

The post Where the ‘Migrant Protection Protocols’ Stand, Four Years After Going Into Effect appeared first on Immigration Impact.

As Tax Day approaches, it is important to acknowledge the tax contributions made by immigrants—even those who are undocumented. These contributions play a vital role in the funding and sustainability of America’s public services and programs. Immigrants’ Tax Contributions Undocumented immigrants make significant contributions to the U.S. tax system by paying sales, income, and property […]

The post Dispelling the Myth: How Undocumented Immigrants Pay Taxes and Contribute to the US Tax Base appeared first on Immigration Impact.

On March 8, a Florida court blocked the Biden administration from using a key border program referred to as Parole plus Alternative to Detention (Parole + ATD). The court’s decision vacated the policy as unlawful. While the written order includes commentary on a wide range of border-related issues, including parole itself, the decision only directly […]

The post A Florida Court Blocks ‘Parole + ATD’ Program in Latest Fight Between State and Federal Immigration Authority appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Immigration agencies have a problem with transparency. With an immigration system as complex as ours and Freedom of Information Act offices that are chronically underfunded, it’s no surprise that immigration agencies violate FOIA—a statute created to strengthen our democracy by helping regular citizens understand what the government is up to—by failing to timely provide details […]

The post Immigration Agencies Violate FOIA, Harming Immigrants and Government Transparency Alike appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In March 2020, the world came to an unfamiliar halt. The COVID-19 pandemic was no longer a looming and distant concern. Events rapidly fell off calendars, schools shuttered, and those who could sheltered in place. Our hopes that the impact of the pandemic would be short lived were shattered with each passing month. Beyond the […]

The post Three Years of Title 42 appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Biden administration announced on Monday that it would grant another year of temporary legal status for some Ukrainians who fled the Russian invasion for the United States before April 25, when the Biden administration rolled out the Uniting for Ukraine program. The extension fixes an obvious injustice between Ukrainian refugees who arrived in the […]

The post Ukrainians Get a Temporary Reprieve Instead of a Permanent Fix appeared first on Immigration Impact.

State governments are leading the way on eliminating a blemish from their communities—immigration detention centers. As some state governments begin their legislative sessions, bills attempting to ban certain immigration detention centers have been introduced in multiple states. Following the lead of states like New Jersey and Illinois, New Mexico and Colorado have bills pending that […]

The post States Lead the Way in Banning Immigration Detention Centers appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Undocumented students, like millions of other students in the United States, have the ambition to succeed. College opportunities are often priceless for these students. And though a degree can mean many things—like financial security and greater opportunities—a college diploma signifies perseverance in the face of hardship for many of these families. In Florida, these dreams […]

The post Florida Has Everything to Lose If It Repeals In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Written by Atenas Burrola, Pro Bono Manager and Crystal Massey, National Pro Bono Coordinator for the Afghan Project at the American Immigration Council The Biden administration is reportedly considering reopening family detention. This is horrific news—news that left us in tears. Between the two of us, we dedicated countless hours working and volunteering in what […]

The post 6 Firsthand Stories That Reveal the Problem with Family Detention appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Biden administration is reportedly planning to detain large numbers of immigrant families again this spring. This is part of the administration’s plan to replace Title 42 with a new policy that will make it very difficult for the majority of migrants crossing the border to qualify for asylum in the United States. According to […]

The post This Is Pretty Simple, Mr. President: Don’t Restart Family Detention appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Florida made headlines last year as it spent millions of dollars to bus migrants out of Florida and purchase them flights from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. Now, Florida doubled down by passing a bill last month that authorizes state officials to spend state resources to relocate migrants within the United States. The new law establishes […]

The post Florida Doubles Down with New Law Designed to Spend Millions to Relocate Migrants appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In January and February of this year, the Biden administration announced new policies to process individuals seeking asylum at ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border. A key component of these new policies is the increased use of the CBP One app. CBP One allows certain people to submit their biographic information to U.S. Customs […]

The post CBP One Is Riddled With Flaws That Make the App Inaccessible to Many Asylum Seekers   appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The New York Times has published a horrifying investigation into the exploitation of children who migrated to the United States as unaccompanied minors. The investigation by Hannah Dreier finds these children pressed into labor in every state in the U.S., in violation of labor law and often in horrifying conditions. It’s an essential read. But […]

The post Biden Wants to End Exploitation of Migrant Children, But His New Asylum Policy Could Make It Worse appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Written by Steven Hubbard, Senior Data Scientist and Robin Lundh, Research Manager Black immigrants make up a vital part of America’s rich cultural life. Think of authors Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; musicians Miriam Makeba and Wyclef Jean; comedian Trevor Noah; activist Marcus Garvey; NBA hall of famer and philanthropist Dikembe Mutombo—to name but […]

The post Black Immigrants in the United States: Population, Spending Power, and Political Capital appeared first on Immigration Impact.

A recent policy change by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) should reduce the number of children who age out of green card eligibility. For immigration purposes, a “child” means someone who is under 21 years old and unmarried. Because of backlogs, noncitizens whose only path to a green card depends on being classified as […]

The post USCIS Policy Change Will Reduce Number of People Who ‘Age Out’ From Green Card Eligibility appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The Biden administration recently announced a proposed regulation that would all but eliminate access to asylum for the overwhelming number of asylum seekers who come to the United States via the southwest border. But the regulation doesn’t put it that way. The regulation, announced on February 21, would create a new asylum restriction for adults […]

The post How To Seek Asylum (Under Biden’s Proposed Asylum Transit Ban), In 12 Not-At-All-Easy Steps appeared first on Immigration Impact.