Immigration On the Hill

Biden Administration Proposes New Rule to Protect DACA

The Biden administration published a rule Tuesday that could help to preserve Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in the administration’s latest attempt to protect the program from legal challenges. The rule would cement DACA, protecting hundreds of thousands of people without documentation who were brought to this country as children from losing their ability […]

Courts Immigration On the Hill

Biden Administration Appeals Ruling that Found DACA Illegal

The Biden administration appealed a federal district court ruling on Friday that declared the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program illegal and blocked new applicants from receiving the program’s benefits. The appeal challenges a ruling made by Texas federal district Judge Andrew Hanen in July. Judge Hanen ruled that DACA was unlawful because it […]

Immigration

DACA Application Backlog Puts Thousands of Recipients at Risk of Losing Work Permits

As a result of a paperwork backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) application and renewal process has been significantly delayed, preventing undocumented people from receiving DACA benefits and existing DACA recipients from being able to work due to expired permits. Over 62,000 first-time DACA applications had been […]

Immigration

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 […]

Courts Immigration

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 […]

Immigration Police

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 […]

Immigration

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 […]

Courts Immigration On the Hill

Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments on DACA Case

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) case. The Obama-era federal program that has allowed over 700,000 undocumented immigrants to avoid deportation, was rolled back by the Trump administration. The initiative allows children of undocumented immigrants who’ve arrived in the US when at a very […]

Politics

Government Shutdown Now at 32nd Day, Impacting Federal Workers

On Saturday, during a White House address, President Trump stated he would grant a temporary three-year protection for Deferred Action For Child Arrivals (DACA) immigrants from deportation, without a pathway to citizenship, in exchange for $5.7 billion to fund a permanent wall on the U.S. – Mexico border. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he […]

Uncategorized

HUD Denies DACA Recipients Government-Insured Housing Loans

Recently, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Trump Administration has been directing lenders to deny Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients government-insured home loans. While an official policy has not been issued, lenders and borrowers have reported that Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and HUD officials verbally tell lenders to deny […]

Politics

Democratic Majority to Prioritize Passing the Dream Act and Immigrant Protections

Nancy Pelosi promised to pass legislation protecting Dreamers and immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) once the House Democratic majority convenes in January. Colleagues are urging Pelosi to schedule a vote on bills that protect Dreamers and TPS immigrants from deportation and provide pathways to citizenship within the first 100 days of the new Congress. […]

Uncategorized

Federal Court Rules Against Immediately Ending DACA

On Thursday, the US court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled against the Trump administration’s efforts to end DACA, a two-year program protecting young immigrants who entered the United States as minors, from deportation. The 3-judge panel unanimously concluded that DACA was not illegal but rather a “permissible exercise of executive discretion.” Moreover, the […]

Politics

Budget Bill Passes Without Protections for Dreamers

Early Friday morning, a contentious Congress passed a two-year budget bill that did not include protections for Dreamers, ending the litany of short-term spending bills that have threatened government shutdowns every few weeks since September, but that Democrats have also been using as leverage in the immigration debate.

Global

Civil and Human Rights Groups Urge Lawmakers to Pass DREAM Act

Late last week, the Feminist Majority Foundation joined 186 civil and human rights groups who signed onto a letter to Congress urging them to pass the DREAM Act without amendment. The DREAM Act, introduced to Congress by Democratic Senator Richard Durbin (D – IL) and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (R – SC), is a bipartisan […]

Other Issues Politics

Trump Administration Set To End DACA Immigration Program

President Trump has reportedly decided to repeal the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, as soon as Friday. Implemented under President Barack Obama, DACA is a two year, renewable program for undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as minors. Immigrant rights activists say the DACA program has improved the lives of thousands […]