March 17, 2023

Advocates Release FOIA Data, Seek Transparency for Thousands of Afghans Seeking Humanitarian Parole and the Extensive Delays They Are Facing

AIC, Mar. 16, 2023 "Today, the American Immigration Council (The Council) and International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)  released government records  documenting the extensive delays experienced by thousands of Afghans who filed for humanitarian parole since the United States’ chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) produced the documents...

March 17, 2023

Court Allows Remain in Mexico Lawsuit to Move Forward

CGRS, Mar. 16, 2023 "On Wednesday, a federal court largely denied the Biden administration’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit,  Immigrant Defenders Law Center et al. v. Mayorkas ,​ brought on behalf of people seeking asylum who were stranded outside the United States as a result of the Trump administration’s unlawful “Remain in Mexico” policy. In its  decision  the court declared that, if true, the Plaintiffs’ allegations...

March 16, 2023

Experts: Relief for Laid-Off H-1Bs May Take Time

Shilpa Phadnis, TNN, Mar. 16, 2023 "Amid mass layoffs in the US, the presidential advisory panel has recommended extending the grace period for laid-off H1B workers from 60 to 180 days that could come as a reprieve for many affected employees. In the past six months, many laid-off H-1B employees have taken to social media to highlight their plight of finding another job within the 60-day grace period. Stephen Yale...

March 15, 2023

Extension for Certain Ukrainians Paroled into the United States Following Russia’s Invasion

DHS, Mar. 10, 2023 "Certain Ukrainian nationals and immediate family members were paroled into the United States last year, on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons, during an approximate eight-week period after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and before the  Uniting for Ukraine  process was available. Such individuals were generally paroled for a period of one year, while participants in...

March 14, 2023

Providing Competent Representation to Undocumented Noncitizens Despite the Criminal Encouragement Provision

Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box, Mar. 14, 2023 "Our  previous blog  discussed  United States v. Helaman Hansen , a case in which the Supreme Court granted certiorari on December 9, 2022.  Oral argument  in the case is set for March 27, 2023.  Hansen  questions whether INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv), or the “encouragement provision”, which prohibits individuals from “encourag[ing] or induc[ing] an alien to come to, enter...

March 14, 2023

How to Become an Immigration Judge: EOIR Webinars

EOIR Invitation, Mar. 13, 2023 "EOIR to Host Recruitment Outreach Sessions Join Us to Learn How to Become an Immigration Judge SUMMARY: The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is looking for qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our immigration judge corps. Interested parties are invited to attend an information session where senior EOIR staff will discuss the immigration judge career...

March 11, 2023

Biden Authorizes Release of Funds for Turkey/Syria Earthquake Victims

Presidential Determination No. 2023–04 of February 24, 2023 - "By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (22 U.S.C. 2601(c)(1) (MRAA), I hereby determine, pursuant to section 2(c)(1) of the MRAA, that it is important to the national interest to furnish assistance under...

March 10, 2023

Class Action Lawsuit Challenges Immigration Agency’s Denial of the Right to Work to Temporary Protected Status Applicants

NILA, NWIRP, Mar. 9, 2023 "Today, four applicants who qualify for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), filed a national class action against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in federal district court in Seattle, Washington. The lawsuit challenges the agency’s denial of the right to work to TPS applicants while their applications are pending before the agency. Federal law requires that eligible...

March 09, 2023

25 Years of Immigration Court Decisions: TRAC

TRAC, Mar. 9, 2023 "As  TRAC recently reported , Immigration Court case closures are headed to a new high this year. But are we also headed to record numbers of removal orders or grants of relief? This report attempts to answer this question by examining the outcomes of Immigration Court decisions on deportation cases through the wider lens of history. Results presented compare the last two years under the current...

March 09, 2023

Immigration Reform: Lessons Learned and A Path Forward

Owen Lubozynski, Cornell Law, Mar. 7, 2023 "Congress has been unable to enact comprehensive immigration reform for over thirty years. On February 24, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., a diverse group of policymakers, experts, advocates, students, and stakeholders convened to explore what it would take to change that. They were presenters and attendees at “Immigration Reform: Lessons Learned...

March 08, 2023

Fast, Not Fair: How Expedited Processes Harm Immigrant Children Seeking Protection

Young Center, Feb. 2023 "Expedited processes prioritize speed over fairness in considering children’s asylum cases. They deny the reality of children’s distinct developmental stages; the impact of trauma on their ability to build their case; their need for support from trusted adults, counsel and advocates; and instances where children are eligible for protection independent of their parent or legal guardian. Yet...

March 07, 2023

TRAC: False Reporting by Contractor on Alternatives to Technology Activities

TRAC, Mar. 7, 2023 "What lies behind ICE’s frequent posting of Alternatives to Technology (ATD) data that the agency now admits was incorrect? The data ICE had been posting for months showed that use of GPS ankle monitors had been increasing.  ICE now reports  this is incorrect, that ankle monitor usage is in fact way down, not up. TRAC received a partial answer in the data we received March 1, 2023, in response...

March 06, 2023

Split At The Root: Documentary (Streaming Now)

Split at the Root "SPLIT AT THE ROOT follows the emotional journey of mothers separated from their children at the U.S. border and the grassroots initiative that, against all odds, reunites those families. When a Guatemalan mother seeking asylum was separated from her kids under Zero Tolerance Policy, a Facebook post by a mom in Queens coalesced into a movement as thousands of like-minded women across the US refused...

March 03, 2023

Unpacking the New Asylum Transit Ban Details (Webinar Recording)

American Immigration Council, Mar. 2, 2023 "This webinar will unpack the recently announced asylum transit ban, discuss how the proposed rule will affect asylum seekers at the Southern border, analyze the rule’s legality, and examine the intersection of this rule and other administrative actions, including parole programs, CBP One, and Title 42."

March 02, 2023

New Mexico Groups Call On DHS to Provide Asylum Seekers Relief From Torturous Conditions, Investigate Retaliation and Abuse at Torrance County Detention Facility

Innovation Law Lab, Mar. 1, 2023 "On February 24, 2023, Innovation Law Lab, New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, and Santa Fe Dreamers Project delivered a  letter  to the offices of: US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro J.  Mayorkas Acting Deputy Assistant Director of US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), Todd J. Thurlow El Paso ICE Field...

March 02, 2023

Penn State Law Assoc. Dean Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia Appointed to CRCL Post

Penn State Law, Mar. 1, 2023 " Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia , associate dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion , Samuel Weiss Faculty Scholar, clinical professor of law, and director of the Center for Immigrants' Rights Clinic at Penn State Law in University Park, will be appointed to the position of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Officer (CRCL) in the Department of Homeland Security. This is a presidential...

February 28, 2023

Experts: Cornell Law Asylum Clinic Students Save Lives

Owen Lubozynski, Cornell Law, Feb. 17, 2023 "Twenty years ago, Cornell Law School established its  Asylum and Convention Against Torture Appellate Clinic . Since then, some 200 students have represented close to 100 clients. In a system where the vast majority of asylum seekers lose their appeals, the clinic has won an estimated sixty-six percent of its cases. “Because of the complexity of immigration law, it...

February 28, 2023

Experts Hail Rare Victory for Immigrants: Zelaya v. Hammer

Miriam Jordan, NYT, Feb. 27, 2023 "Nearly 100 immigrants who were rounded up during a 2018 raid at a meat processing plant in Tennessee have reached a $1.17 million settlement against the U.S. government and federal agents, who they said used racial profiling and excessive force during the operation, stepping on a person’s neck and punching another in the face. The agreement, approved late Monday in the U.S. District...

February 26, 2023

Former CBP Agent Narrowly Escapes Deportation Himself

Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN, Feb. 26, 2023 "Raul Rodriguez says he’ll never forget the moment he realized his life was built on a lie. He was so shaken that he felt the blood rushing to his feet. In a matter of seconds, a family secret had shattered the way he saw the world and his place in it. “That day will never leave my mind. … It’s a terrible feeling,” he says. It all began in April 2018 when federal investigators...

February 24, 2023

Imminent End of Formal U.S. Pandemic Emergencies Marks New Era in Immigration Realm

Muzaffar Chishti, Julia Gelatt, MPI, Feb. 23, 2023 "The looming termination of the U.S. public-health emergency designation imposed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic will usher in sweeping changes that touch many facets of life in the United States, including for people arriving at U.S. borders and immigrants residing in the country. The lifting of the emergency declaration, set to occur on May 11, could end...

February 23, 2023

The Border Narrative Machine: A Reflection on a Lost Debate at Yale

Todd Miller, The Border Chronicle, Feb. 23, 2023 "I lost the debate, I got hissed at, and I got a dose of humility. More importantly, I got a privileged view of how the national discourse works to shut down alternatives to militarizing the border."

February 23, 2023

Death on a Dairy Farm

Melissa Sanchez, Maryam Jameel, ProPublica, Feb. 23, 2023 "When an 8-year-old Nicaraguan boy was run over on a Wisconsin dairy farm, authorities blamed his father and closed the case. Meanwhile, the community of immigrant workers knows a completely different story."

February 22, 2023

Expert Doubts Biden Asylum Transit Ban Will Survive Court Challenge

Jorge Cancino, Univision, Feb. 22, 2023 "Democrats, lawyers, analysts, organizations and activists who fight for the rights of immigrants in the United States branded the recently presented new strategy as one of the “most restrictive” border control measures to date under any administration that has occupied the White House. … ”The Biden administration is between a rock and a hard place. Congress has failed to...

February 22, 2023

Proposed Asylum Transit Ban "Illegal and Immoral"

AIC, Feb. 21, 2023 "[T]he U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S.  Department of Homeland Security released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that will implement a new asylum transit ban—one of the most restrictive border control measures to date under any president. The policy will penalize asylum seekers who cross the border irregularly or fail to apply for protection in other nations they transit through...

February 21, 2023

NPR Podcast on the Mariel Cuban Boatlift, and More: White Lies

White Lies: Season 2 Trailer - "In 1991, a group of men took over a federal prison in rural Alabama. But these men weren't prisoners, they were immigration detainees, all of them from Cuba. And none of them were serving time for a sentence; they were being indefinitely detained. Who were these men? What in the world had brought them from Cuba to a prison in rural Alabama, and what became of them afterward? On...