September 06, 2023

Immigration Narratives in the Age of Disinformation: Live Event

Immigration Narratives in the Age of Disinformation "Join Jose Antonio Vargas (Founder and President of Define American) and Dr. Joan Donovan (Assistant Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media Studies at Boston University) for a thought-provoking conversation on the impact of online misinformation and disinformation for immigrant communities. How can we identify and combat the spread of disinformation? How...

September 05, 2023

Documents Reveal Widespread Use of Fake Social Media Accounts by DHS

Brennan Center for Justice, Sept. 5, 2023 "The Department of Homeland Security routinely uses fake social media accounts to collect information about people, according to over 3,000 pages of documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the Brennan Center. The internal records include guidance for agency personnel and emails — but there is little or no evidence of adequate rules...

September 05, 2023

To What Extent Can Immigration Practitioners Ethically Rely on ChatGPT to Aid Their Practice?

Cyrus Mehta, Sept. 5, 2023 "To what extent can ChatGPT assist immigration lawyers in their immigration practice? What are the ethical pitfalls if a lawyer relies on ChatGPT? There is one case that was widely publicized all over the world In Mata v. Avianca Inc , Judge Castel in the Southern District of New York sanctioned two New York lawyers and their law firm for $5000 for submitting a brief citing fake cases...

September 01, 2023

Georgia Tech to Pay $500K Penalty for Immigration Discrimination

DOJ, Aug. 31, 2023 "The Justice Department secured a settlement agreement today with Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), a public, non-profit university within the University System of Georgia. The settlement resolves the department’s determination that Georgia Tech violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by operating a job recruiting platform on which third-party employers paid to...

September 01, 2023

Expert: Only Congress Can Address Work Permit Delay for Asylum Applicants

Tim Balk, NY Daily News, Aug. 31, 2023 "Mayor Adams on Thursday urged the federal government to “stand up” and expedite work authorizations for asylum seekers pouring into New York , continuing calls that he began a year ago as relations between New York leaders and the White House remain tense. ... Asylum seekers must wait for months to get their work papers approved: the standard 150-day gap between...

August 30, 2023

New Report Reveals Immigrant Roots of Fortune 500 Companies

AIC, Aug. 29, 2023 "In an annual review of the most successful companies in the United States, the American Immigration Council unveiled today a report that sheds light on the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs and their children to the U.S. economy. The report, “ New American Fortune 500 in 2023: The Largest American Companies and Their Immigrant Roots ,” reveals that an impressive 44.8% of Fortune...

August 30, 2023

ACLU Report: Cal. Prisons Sweep Americans Toward Deportation

ACLU, Aug. 29, 2023 "The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) systematically, and illegally, discriminates against immigrants, refugees, and anyone who prison officials suspect is born outside of the United States, a major Public Records Act investigation released today by civil rights groups reveals. The report, Profile, Tag, Deport: CDCR Betrays California’s Values , analyzes...

August 29, 2023

Texas National Guard member fires across Rio Grande, wounds Mexican citizen

URIEL J. GARCÍA, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE, AND DAVIS WINKIE, MILITARY TIMES, AUG. 28, 2023 "A National Guard member on duty at the Texas-Mexico border in El Paso fired across the Rio Grande, injuring a 37-year-old Mexican man in Ciudad Juárez on Saturday night, according to the Texas Military Department and Mexican news outlets. “On the night of 26 August, a National Guard Servicemember assigned to...

August 29, 2023

Texas National Guard disbanded intelligence wing after members used WhatsApp to spy on migrants

DAVIS WINKIE, MILITARY TIMES, AND JAMES BARRAGÁN, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE, AUG. 29, 2023 "Four members of the unit working on Gov. Greg Abbott’s border mission have been punished after whistleblowers reported the surveillance operation violated long-standing rules against state-run spy operations."

August 29, 2023

Border Patrol Violates Court Order in Arizona

Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept, Aug. 28, 2023 "The U.S. Border Patrol has been detaining asylum-seekers outdoors in a deadly corner of the Arizona desert for the better part of a year — significantly longer than was previously known — according to photos, video, and interviews conducted by The Intercept. The practice was one of several described by concerned officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection...

August 28, 2023

Expert: States, Feds Need Better Coordination on Migrant Matters

Joshua Solomon, Times Union, Aug. 27, 2023 "[M]igrants are falling behind in the process of seeking asylum to gain working papers, despite elected leaders repeatedly highlighting the need for that authorization to fill well-documented labor shortages and reduce government assistance for temporary shelters. ... Stephen Yale-Loehr, professor of immigration law at Cornell Law School , noted a lack of clarity around...

August 25, 2023

Did You Know ... ?

... about the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman ? "If you or someone you know has or had a problem while in immigration detention, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO) can help. OIDO is an independent office within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). OIDO is NOT a part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is NOT a part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection...

August 24, 2023

DOJ Sues SpaceX for Discriminating Against Asylees and Refugees in Hiring

DOJ, Aug. 24, 2023 "The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) for discriminating against asylees and refugees in hiring. The lawsuit alleges that, from at least September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status, in violation of the Immigration...

August 24, 2023

U.S. Risks Decline And Stagnation Without Immigrants

Stuart Anderson, Forbes, Aug. 23, 2023 "The U.S. labor force will shrink, and America risks stagnation and declining living standards without immigrants, according to new research . Immigrants can boost the U.S. working-age population and offset America’s falling birthrate and the retirement of Baby Boomers. U.S. elected officials must decide whether to change immigration laws and policies to bolster America’s...

August 23, 2023

Advocates Submit Federal Complaint Regarding Ongoing Human Rights Violations at Torrance County NM Immigration Jail

Las Americas, Aug. 21, 2023 " This week, the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center (NMILC), Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center (LAIAC), Innovation Law Lab, and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico (ACLU-NM) submitted a complaint to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and other oversight agencies, calling for an immediate investigation into ongoing...

August 22, 2023

Operation Lone Star Triggers Overdetention Lawsuit

Uriel J. García, Texas Tribune, Aug. 21, 2023 "Immigrant rights advocates on Monday filed a federal lawsuit against two South Texas sheriffs and two state prison wardens on behalf of four Mexican migrants, claiming they were held in prison for as long as six weeks after they served their sentences or had their trespassing charges dropped. The lawsuit, filed in the Western District of Texas by the American...

August 21, 2023

Expert: We really have failed the people of Afghanistan in so many ways

Ava Sasani, The Guardian, Aug. 19, 2023 "“For countries like Afghanistan or others where there is war, or other problems, it can be particularly hard to show that you intend to return home after you finish your studies in the United States,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration law professor at Cornell University . The fate of Afghan students is particularly troubling this month, which marks two...

August 17, 2023

Expert: States, Feds Need Better Action Plan for Welcoming Migrants

Crystal Bermudez, WENY, Aug. 17, 2023 " Nearly 100,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since the Spring of 2022. While asylum seekers are granted permission to come to the U.S. to await their hearings, new numbers show the concrete jungle is running out of space to provide resources and shelter. ... Stephen Yale-Loehr , a professor of Immigration and Law practice for Cornell University, says ... a better...

August 17, 2023

DHS Reopens USCIS Field Office in Havana, Cuba

DHS, Aug. 17, 2023 "Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), announced the reopening of an international field office in Havana, Cuba. The Havana office will assist with U.S. immigration benefits and services, including conducting interviews and processing cases for pending Cuban Family Reunification Parole (CFRP) cases and Form I...

August 17, 2023

The White House told Russians to flee here instead of fighting Ukraine. Then the U.S. tried to deport them.

Hamed Aleaziz, Tracy Wilkinson, Hannah Levintova, Los Angeles Times, Aug. 17, 2023 "Numerous Russians attempting to escape conscription onto the Ukrainian battlefield have made perilous journeys to the United States, trusting in the Biden administration’s declaration that the U.S. would “welcome” those fleeing the war and their forced participation in it. Instead of winning asylum, however, some...

August 16, 2023

The Changing Make-Up of Immigration Court Cases Now That Title 42 Has Ended

TRAC, Aug. 16, 2023 "A large influx of new Immigration Court cases was widely expected after the termination on May 11, 2023, of Title 42 -- a public health policy that allowed individuals arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border to be immediately expelled without a hearing. According to the latest case-by-case records released by the Immigration Courts, this influx did not occur. Before May 11, the number of new Court...

August 16, 2023

Federal Inspectors Find 'Barbaric' Conditions in ICE Immigration Jails

Tom Dreisbach, NPR, Aug. 16, 2023 " "There is no justifiable correctional reason that required the detainee who had a mental health condition to have his clothes cut off by a female officer while he was compliant in a restraint chair. This is a barbaric practice and clearly violates ... basic principles of humanity." These findings are all part of a trove of more than 1,600 pages of previously secret...

August 15, 2023

A Close Look at the Geography of Border Patrol Arrests: TRAC

TRAC, Aug. 15, 2023 "The Southwest Border is often represented as a single, uniform line separating the United States and Mexico. But at nearly 2,000 miles, touching four U.S. states and six Mexican states, and crossing multiple terrains and ecosystems, this representation of the border can obscure the geographically-specific trends in the number and nationality of migrants arrested by Border Patrol in each of...

August 15, 2023

Will United States v. Hansen Come Back to Bite Trump?

Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box, Aug. 15, 2023 "Former President Trump was indicted on August 1, 2023 by Special Counsel Jack Smith for his efforts to overturn the 2020 elections. Although Trump believes his actions were protected by the First Amendment, a recent Supreme Court case involving an immigration statute, United States v. Hansen , held that speech constituting fraud does is not protected under the First...

August 08, 2023

Abuses at the U.S.- Mexico Border: How To Address Failures and Protect Rights

WOLA, Aug. 2, 2023 "A U.S.-Mexico border that is well governed and that also treats migrants and asylum seekers humanely can go hand in hand and should not be seen as an unattainable aspiration. For this to happen, U.S. government personnel who abuse human rights or violate professional standards, must be held to account within a reasonable amount of time and victims must receive justice. Right now, at the U...