For the first time in decades, the U.S. did not admit any refugees last month. The State Department delayed refugee admissions three times, cancelling the flights of approximately 500 refugees who had already been told they could enter the U.S. The fees associated with cancelling and rebooking are expected to fall on taxpayers. “We will work with […]
U.S. Admits No Refugees in October, Cancelling Hundreds of Flights Read More »
On September 27th, a federal judge ruled against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), saying the agency could not solely rely on flawed databases to target illegal immigrants for deportation. U.S. District Court Judge Andre Birrote Jr. handed down the permanent injunction that will bar ICE agents from using the databases to issue a request for
Judge Says ICE Can’t Rely Solely on Databases to Detain Immigrants Read More »
On October 1st, a federal appeals court took a closure look at two of the Trump administration’s controversial asylum policies that require certain migrants to remain in Mexico throughout their immigration proceedings and eliminated the practice of asking migrants if they are afraid to return to Mexico to wait for a hearing date. Speaking to
Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments About Asylum Policies Read More »
Looking at Human Trafficking Differently Atlanta is one of the worst cities for human trafficking. We hear this often, but I wonder how many of us actually see this – or take the time to look for it. Trafficking victims can be babysitters, braiders, cooks, cleaners, convenience store workers, and even spouses. These are people
Looking at Human Trafficking Differently Read More »
20 organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, filed a legal brief to block a federal regulation that would allow the government to indefinitely detain migrant children. The lawsuit argues that the regulation is “contrary to the best interests of children.” Nonprofit groups and medical associations filed the brief in response to the a proposal
20 Organizations File Suit to Block Indefinite Detainment of Immigrant Children Read More »
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency will start reopening pending cases of immigrants who applied for deportation relief. The announcement came after USCIS said it would end deferment requests and was criticized by those seeking relief for medical issues. In August, family members who previously requested relief from deportation received a letter from USCIS that
USCIS to Re-Open Deferred Deportation Requests Read More »
On August 7, 2019 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stopped accepting and adjudicating requests for non-military “deferred action,” a form of temporary relief from deportation for vulnerable immigrants often facing life-threatening circumstances. This is a cruel change in policy that will undoubtedly lead to untimely deaths. I’d like to tell you about three families
End of Deferred Action Read More »
Later this week, I’ll talk about some positive things that happened for our clients, but I wanted to share some updates to US immigration policy that came out this month and have the potential to, at worst destroy lives, and at best to cause major inconvenience. End of Deferred Action for Certain Humanitarian Cases Over
A Difficult August: Deferred Action and Public Charge Updates Read More »
According to reports, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be making new changes to the Naturalization Civics Exam that immigrants must take to become U.S. citizens. The test was first issued in 1986 and later revised in 2008. In a tweet sent out on July 19th, USCIS wrote: “We’re improving the current naturalization test
USCIS Plans to Redesign the Naturalization Civics Exam Read More »
On July 30th, The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a case in federal court regarding the more than 900 children who have been separated from their families at the U.S. border since June 2018. The filing asks the court to block the Trump Administration’s practice of separating immigrant children from their parents. Last year,
ACLU Claims Trump Administration Separated Over 900 Children from Their Families Read More »
