President Donald Trump signed a presidential memo Tuesday aiming to exclude the number of undocumented immigrant populations when redistributing congressional seats following the 2020 census. The unprecedented move, which civil rights advocates say is unconstitutional, comes a year after the Trump administration tried and failed to include a citizenship question in the census. If implemented, […]
New Applications Rejected Despite Supreme Court DACA Ruling
Although the Supreme Court voted to uphold the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program nearly a month ago, the Trump Administration is still not accepting new applications. Renewals are being accepted and processed, but hundreds of thousands of first-time applicants are left fearful of their future in the United States. The DACA program protects […]
Three-Fourths of Detainees in ICE Detention Center Test Positive for COVID-19
COVID-19 outbreaks in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers have continued to grow with alarming speed. In Farmville, a Virginia ICE detention center, all those held at the facility were tested for COVID-19 after a number of new detainees tested positive for the virus. Of the 366 people being held at Farmville, only 19 […]
Trump’s Anti-Asylum Rule Will Harm Refugees Fleeing Gender Violence
In June, the Trump administration proposed a new rule that would make it virtually impossible for refugees to obtain asylum status in the United States. If implemented, the new regulation would eliminate gender-based asylum entirely and forbid asylum judges from hearing any cases involving “private” disputes wherein the persecutors are not directly linked to the […]
17 States Sue Trump Administration Over International Student Visa Rule
Amid rising unrest and uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration issued a directive last week that would endanger the visas of international students whose colleges or universities plan on implementing remote coursework this fall. This directive has forced international students as well as higher education institutions to reconsider their fall plans. This comes […]
ICE Transfers and Deportations Spread COVID-19 Within Detention Centers, Globally
As lockdowns, social distancing, and mask-wearing become the norm all across the world, ICE continues to detain people, moving them from state to state, often deporting them, which is contributing to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus both domestically and abroad. The Marshall Project and the New York Times conducted an investigation, published July […]
Trump Administration Is Now Blocking Most Legal Pathways to Immigration
In the last four months, the Trump administration has used fear of the coronavirus pandemic to severely restrict most avenues for legal immigration, effectively making it impossible to legally migrate to the United States. In early March, the administration issued a public health order that mandates the immediate removal of migrants, including children and asylum […]
ICE Says International Students Must Take In-Person Class to Stay in U.S.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a rule Monday that prohibits international students from staying in the U.S. on their student visas if their college opts to hold courses entirely online. The order will affect F-1 and M-1 visa-holders, forcing students to either take in-person classes or risk deportation. Students in colleges teaching entirely online […]
Federal Judge Rules Against Trump Administration’s Strict Asylum Policy
On Tuesday night a federal judge ruled that the strictest asylum policy that the Trump administration created is illegal. This decision comes at the heels of the new Supreme Court decision, made on June 18, to uphold the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The “third-country asylum rule,” instituted in 2019, “prohibited immigrants from claiming […]
Recent Gallup Poll Suggests Support for Immigration Has Risen Significantly Among Americans
A recent Gallup Poll found that a larger margin of Americans are supportive of increased immigration to the United States than are unsupportive. Gallup has observed the trend in public opinion towards immigration since 1965, but its 2020 poll is the first time that more Americans prefer increased immigration than decreased immigration, and marks the […]
Judge Orders Release of Migrant Children from Family Detention Centers
This Friday, Judge Dolly M. Gee, a federal judge of the Central District of California, ordered the release of migrant children from family detention centers, primarily citing the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic as her reasoning. This order demands that the children must be released by July 17. The ruling applies to children who have […]
ACLU Secures the Release of 25 ICE Detainees in Rhode Island
The Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, Rhode Island has released 25 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees since a class-action lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Last month, the ACLU filed a federal class-action lawsuit asserting that it was not safe to keep detainees there amid the spread of COVID-19. […]
Trump Suspends Multiple Temporary Work Visas Through End of Year
The Trump administration announced Monday a suspension of new temporary employment-based visas at least through the end of this year. The sweeping order will halt temporary visas for workers in specialized fields and many seasonal workers. Multinational companies will also be prohibited from transferring foreign employees to temporarily work in the United States. New restrictions […]
House Democrats Urge ICE to Release Detainees Amid Spike in COVID-19 Cases
On Monday, Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) called upon ICE to release detainees and improve conditions ICE detention centers as COVID-19 cases continue to increase. Since early 2020, the pandemic has taken the lives of nearly 120,000 Americans. States like Texas and Arizona house approximately 40 immigration detention centers, and are […]
Supreme Court Rules Trump Administration Cannot End DACA
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration could not immediately end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and deport nearly 700,000 immigrants who arrived as children. The decision allows the Trump administration to end DACA in another attempt if it appropriately follows administrative law. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s four […]
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Sanctuary Law Case
The Supreme Court announced Monday it will not hear a challenge to California’s sanctuary laws, therefore allowing the laws to stay in place. The court, following tradition, did not give a reason for rejecting to hear the case. Two conservative members of the court, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, said the court should have […]
Immigrants Arrested on Mistaken Charges at Phoenix Protests Face Deportation
Four undocumented people were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being arrested at protests condemning the murder of George Floyd in Phoenix, Arizona. The Phoenix Police Department arrested all four immigrants the night of Saturday, May 30. They were held overnight in a Maricopa County jail before being transferred to ICE custody. One […]
Homeland Security Agencies Join Law Enforcement in Response to Protests
Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have committed to aiding law enforcement responding to protests across the country. The demonstrators are protesting against the long-standing history of anti-Black racism and police brutality in the US, catalyzed by the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahumaud Arbery, Sean Reed, and […]
Action on DACA Will Shape the Immigration Status of Essential Workers
Approximately 62,000 beneficiaries of the Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are healthcare workers constituting the frontlines of the United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The immigration status of these frontline workers, including thousands of women, will be in jeopardy when the Supreme Court reaches a decision regarding the Trump administration’s 2017 decision […]
Immigrant Woman Sues Over Sexual Assault in Detention Center
On Wednesday, an immigrant woman formerly in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Houston sued a private prison company, CoreCivic, after she was raped in 2018 in a dark, isolated cell along with two other women the day before she was deported to Mexico. The woman, Jane Doe, became pregnant as a result of […]
