On Sunday, a migrant protest at the border against the slow and backlogged U.S. asylum process turned into a chaotic incident as Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) launched dozens of canisters of tear gas at migrants who had begun running towards the border, many of whom were women and children. The U.S. government then closed […]
Trump Considering New Family Detention and Separation Policy
On Friday, the Washington Post reported that rather than reviving the forced separation policy that separated over 2,500 children from their parents in May and June, the Trump administration is considering a new family separation plan called the Binary Choice.
Trump Administration to Deny Visas to Same-Sex Partners of UN Diplomats and Staff
At the beginning of the month, the Trump Administration unveiled a new policy requiring international United Nations staff, officials, and diplomats working at the UN headquarters in New York to marry their partners by the end of the year, otherwise their partners will be deported.
Unaccompanied Migrant Children Transported at Night to Tent City
Roughly 2,000 unaccompanied migrant children have been quietly removed from shelters and transferred to a temporary tent city in Texas as part of a mass reshuffling by the Trump administration. Permanent shelters are at full capacity, with 12,800 undocumented children currently in federal custody after crossing the border alone or being separated from their families.
6 Year Old Sexually Abused in Immigration Detention Told to Stay Away from Assailant
After a 6-year-old girl was sexually abused in an immigrant detainment center in Arizona, she was forced to sign a document saying it was her responsibility to stay away from her abuser. The girl was residing in the detention facility after being forcibly separated from her parents at the southern border. Her abuser is an older child staying in the same center, Casa Glendale.
Thousands March for Humane Immigration Policy
On Saturday, June 30, over 30,000 people gathered in Lafayette Square across from the White House to protest Trump’s policy of family separation and indefinite detention at the southern border.
Judge Temporarily Blocks Arbitrary Detention of Asylum Seekers
On Monday, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia issued a preliminary injunction halting Trump’s system of arbitrary detention for asylum seekers. The judge ruled that according to a 2009 directive, asylum seekers must be considered for release.
New Concerns Arise as Trump Signs Order to Allegedly End Family Separation Policy
President Trump signed an executive order today, claiming it will end the family separation policy his administration implemented in April. But legal analysts have voiced concern over language in the order that could allow for the indefinite detention of children with their parents, a practice that until now has been forbidden due to a 20 day legal limit on children’s stays in immigration facilities.
Reproductive Justice and Immigrant Rights Activist Detained by ICE Granted Bond
In March, Alejandra Pablos was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and was held in the Eloy Detention Center in Arizon for 43 days. Alejandra traveled to Arizona from Virginia for a scheduled check-in with ICE where she was subsequently detained. On April 19, Alejandra was released from the Eloy Detention Center after a […]
Supreme Court Declines to Hear DACA Case, Leaving it in Place for Now
President Trump set March 5 as the arbitrary end-date for the Differed Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but a decision by the Supreme Court last week has left an injunction in place that keeps the program on life support for now.
Trump Again Sabotages Senate Attempts to Pass an Immigration Bill
On Thursday, after voting on several immigration amendments, including a promising bi-partisan agreement, the Senate failed to pass any bill to protect recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program from deportation.
Activists Call for Resignation of Scott Lloyd, Office of Refugee Resettlement Director
Women’s rights activists are calling for the immediate resignation of Trump-appointed Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Director Scott Lloyd, who is abusing his power over pregnant teenagers in his custody by pursuing a policy that systematically denies them access to abortion.
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.
Government Shutdown Ends, Immigration Unrest Continues
“Promises aren’t going to protect our community, promises aren’t going to grant us a permanent solution” says Antonio Jaregui, a 20-year-old college student and Dreamer who was disappointed by the results of the government shutdown.
Trump Administration Terminates Protected Status for People from El Salvador
On January 8, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kirstjen M. Nielsen announced that the United States would terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from El Salvador. The United States granted TPS to citizens of El Salvador in January 2001 when a deadly earthquake struck the country.
Trump Administration Blocking Unaccompanied Minors from Accessing Abortion
On Friday morning, a federal appeals court in Washington DC ordered the Trump administration to find a sponsor for a pregnant 17-year-old undocumented immigrant in federal custody so that she can access an abortion without government facilitation. For weeks, the Trump administration has been desperately trying to obstruct her judicially approved abortion.
Trump Administration Slows Progress on DREAM Act with Immigration Demands
The Trump Administration has issued a number of demands to be included in any new immigration bill, jeopardizing the future of 800,000 undocumented youths who are relying on passage of the DREAM Act.
Trump Administration Issues Indefinite Travel Ban
On September 24 the Trump administration announced its latest version of the travel ban. In the newest form of the administration’s already controversial travel ban, there are new constraints on travelers from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen on entering the United States.
Supreme Court Upholds Trump Administration’s Travel Ban by Blocking Court of Appeals Decision
On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court blocked a lower court’s decision that exempted refugees from the Trump Administration’s travel ban. The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that refugees who currently have contracts with resettlement sponsors or refugee organizations would be permitted to enter the country while the legality of travel ban […]
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 […]