May 03, 2022

Documented Dreamers Age Out

Aishvarya Kavi, New York Times, Apr. 30, 2021 "In 2011, after five years of working and living with his family in the United States on a temporary visa, Barathimohan Ganesan submitted green card applications for his wife, his 5-year-old daughter and his 11-year-old son. Mr. Ganesan, who was born in India and has also lived in Singapore and Australia, was nervous about when his wife and children might gain permanent...

May 02, 2022

Race, Religion and Refugees

Laura E. Alexander, Jane Hong, Karen Hooge Michalka and Luis A. Romero, Apr. 28, 2022 "The different treatment of Ukrainian versus Central American, African, Haitian and other asylum seekers has  prompted   criticism  that the administration is enforcing immigration policies in racist ways, favoring white, European, mostly Christian refugees over other groups. This issue is not new. As scholars of  religion , ...

May 02, 2022

Lawsuit Alleges Texas' "Operation Lone Star" Unconstitutional

Jolie McCullough, Texas Tribune, Apr. 28, 2022 "In a new challenge to Gov.  Greg Abbott ’s controversial border security crackdown, a lawsuit filed Wednesday is asking a federal court to shut down Texas’  system of arresting migrants en masse  along the Texas-Mexico border and to make the state pay more than $5 million to men who were illegally imprisoned under the system. The lawsuit comes nearly a year after...

April 30, 2022

Over 225,000 Immigrants Monitored by ICE's Alternatives to Detention Technology: TRAC

TRAC, Apr. 28, 2022 "According to new data available in  TRAC's Quick Facts  detention data tool, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is now monitoring 227,508 immigrants using 'alternatives to detention' (ATD) technology. The most common ATD technology used by ICE is SmartLINK, a smartphone app, with more than 172,000 people (or more than 75 percent of all people on ICE's ATD caseload) monitored...

April 28, 2022

ACLU Research Report: License to Abuse: How ICE’s 287(g) Program Empowers Racist Sheriffs and Civil Rights Violations

ACLU, Apr. 2022 "This ACLU research report,  License to Abuse: How ICE’s 287(g) Program Empowers Racist Sheriffs and Civil Rights Violations ,   examines the records of sheriff offices and other law enforcement agencies that participate in Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) 287(g) program. This comprehensive review revealed that racial profiling, poor jail conditions and other civil rights violations...

April 28, 2022

CRS on U.S. Immigration Courts and the Pending Cases Backlog

CRS, Apr. 25, 2022 "... EOIR has become increasingly unable to adjudicate in a timely manner the hundreds of thousands of cases it receives from DHS each year and, as a result, immigration courts have a large and growing backlog of pending cases. At the end of the first quarter of FY2022, the backlog reached an all-time high of 1.5 million cases, with 578 IJs on staff to adjudicate them. Because of the backlog...

April 28, 2022

A Pro Bono Victory for Law Students, Clinicians

ABA Commission on Immigration, Apr. 27, 2022 "“I’m really happy and grateful because I won my case, but on my own I would not have known how. Today, I am happy because I am free.” Soon after receiving the news that he had been granted asylum, Boubacar reflected on the outcome of his appeals case and shared his feelings of relief and appreciation. The impact of this win is major: not only will Boubacar be able to...

April 27, 2022

Fact-checking Texas leaders’ claims about Operation Lone Star

BY PERLA TREVIZO AND LOMI KRIEL, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE AND PROPUBLICA, KENGO TSUTSUMI, PROPUBLICA, AND ANDREW RODRIGUEZ CALDERÓN, THE MARSHALL PROJECT APRIL 27, 2022 "As reporters investigated Gov. Greg Abbott’s border initiative, they repeatedly found situations in which Abbott and Department of Public Safety officials cited accomplishments that lacked crucial context or did not match reality. Here are a few examples...

April 26, 2022

Prof. Ana Muñiz: Transgressing Borders

Prof. Ana Muñiz, Apr. 22, 2022 "[P]olitical and law enforcement leaders have successfully deployed the specter of supposed violent cross-border criminals and gang members to justify the destruction of land for border militarization.  In my forthcoming book,  Borderland Circuitry , I examine how politicians and law enforcement authorities access, interpret, and perform data in such a way as to construct immigrants...

April 25, 2022

DHS "Uniting for Ukraine" Parole Program

DHS, Apr. 25, 2022 "On April 21, 2022, President Biden announced Uniting for Ukraine, a new streamlined process to provide Ukrainian citizens who have fled Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression opportunities to come to the United States. This represents a key step toward fulfilling the President’s commitment to welcome Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Uniting for Ukraine builds on the robust humanitarian...

April 23, 2022

Another Giant Falls: Prof. Michael A. Olivas, R.I.P.

On Friday, April 22, 2022, renowned immigration law scholar and educator Prof. Michael A. Olivas died at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  His passing is an incalculable loss for the immigration law community.  Prior to the publication of an official obituary, readers can learn more about Prof. Olivas and his legacy at these links: 1.  Univ. of Houston Law Center tribute video 2.  Faculty bio 3.  2020 ‘Latin@ Trailblazer...

April 22, 2022

GAO: Border Patrol's Migrant Death Program is Missing Data

GAO, Apr. 20, 2022 "Border Patrol has not collected and recorded, or reported to Congress, complete data on migrant deaths, or disclosed associated data limitations. Specifically, Border Patrol’s fiscal year 2020 report to Congress did not contain complete data because the agency did not record all available information on migrant deaths from external entities in its system of record, or describe these data limitations...

April 21, 2022

Bring Them Home!

BRING THEM HOME is a short documentary about discarded American heroes, deported military veterans. ​"Robert "Rob Young" Walker and Andrei "Drei Ros" Rosca met Hector Barajas; a deported American military veteran. Upon hearing his story, they embark on a journey to shed light on the issue. In the film, the two connect with experts and travel to Tijuana Mexico gathering first-hand accounts...

April 21, 2022

President Biden to Announce Uniting for Ukraine, a New Streamlined Process to Welcome Ukrainians Fleeing Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

DHS, Apr. 21, 2022 "Today, the President will announce  Uniting for Ukraine , a new streamlined process to provide Ukrainian citizens who have fled Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression opportunities to come to the United States, fulfilling President Biden’s commitment to welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russia’s aggression as a result of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. In addition, the State...

April 19, 2022

Book Launch Discussion: Crossing Borders (Apr. 27, 2022)

CROSSING BORDERS "New Book Shifts Focus From Fear to Restoring Immigrant Dignity Wednesday, April 27, 2022, 1pm EDT Over the last decade, record numbers of displaced people have been caught in the middle of an intensifying tug-of-war between Western liberal democracies and Eastern autocrats. With little chance of returning to their homes in Syria or Central America, these people crossed borders to seek political...

April 19, 2022

DHS Announces Registration Process for Temporary Protected Status for Ukraine and Sudan

USCIS, Apr. 18, 2022 "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted today two Federal Register notices on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukraine and Sudan . These notices provide information about how to register for TPS under each country’s designation. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas previously announced the 18-month designation of Ukraine for TPS and the 18-month designation...

April 18, 2022

Cyrus Mehta on Portability

Cyrus Mehta, Apr. 18, 2022 I-485 Supplement J Should Not Be the Only Vehicle to Express Portability "It is well settled that noncitizens must have the requisite intent to work for their employers at the time of entry or adjustment of status under the employment second (EB-2) or employment third preferences (EB-3) unless they are exercising job portability under specific statutory provision. A noncitizen who does...

April 15, 2022

Linda Chavez: More Immigration, Less Inflation

Linda Chavez, Apr. 14, 2022 "... [A]dmitting asylees and giving them work authorizations, as well as allowing in more Ukrainian and Afghan refugees, could alleviate some of the country’s labor shortage. The Department of Labor  reported  last month that there were 11.3 million job openings in February, a number that has remained at historic highs for months. We should be opening our doors wider so that those seeking...

April 13, 2022

What About At-Risk Afghans?

2-15-22 Letter Requesting Creation of the Afghan Parole Program, a Designated Parole Program for At-Risk Afghans 4-6-22 DHS Response

April 13, 2022

Tulane Law Prof. Laila L. Hlass Wins 2022 NIP Brodyaga Award

National Immigration Project "Each year the National Immigration Project honors a member doing outstanding work for immigrant justice. In 2021, NIPNLG named this annual award after Elisabeth S. "Lisa" Brodyaga, a longtime National Immigration Project member whose career representing asylum seekers, other immigrants, and U.S. citizens spanned more than 40 years. In 1985, Lisa co-founded Refugio Del Rio...

April 13, 2022

Expert Blasts Texas Tuition Ruling

Kate McGee, Texas Tribune, Apr. 13, 2022 "A federal judge has ruled that the University of North Texas can’t charge out-of-state American students higher tuition than undocumented Texans who qualify for lower in-state tuition under a 2001 Texas law. UNT lawyers appealed last week’s decision by U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan , a Trump appointee, over the weekend. If upheld, the decision could impact...

April 13, 2022

Experts on Title 42: At Some Point, We Have to "Rip Off This Bandage"

Angi Gonzalez, Spectrum News1, Apr. 12, 2022 "The Trump administration enacted the restrictions in March 2020 when the pandemic erupted. “(The policy) said that for public health reasons they were going to turn back most people who tried to enter from Mexico into the United States, if they did not already have a valid visa like a tourist visa,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a professor of immigration law at Cornell...

April 12, 2022

Did You Know...?

... about the interagency " Unified Immigration Portal "? "... DHS conceived the Unified Immigration Portal (UIP) as an interagency solution between CBP, USCIS, ICE, DOJ, and HHS . The UIP was developed to connect relevant data from agencies across the immigration lifecycle to enable a more complete understanding of an individual’s immigration journey. To provide real-time statistics and more efficient...

April 11, 2022

Pro Se Asylum Remote Workshop

Prof. Kate Evans (Duke Law) reports: " Prof. Kaci Bishop , director of UNC's Immigration Clinic, and I launched a pilot pro se asylum remote workshop this spring with the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy .  We were able to assist about 20 families in filing their asylum applications with immigration court or USCIS to meet either their Mendez Rojas deadlines or their one-year deadlines.  Including derivatives...

April 11, 2022

Fact: Immigrants Draw Less Welfare Than Native-Born Americans

Alex Nowrasteh and Michael Howard, CATO, Mar. 30, 2022 "On the welfare program level, immigrants consume less welfare than native‐​born Americans in all cases except for the cheapest program of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children."