asylum

Weekly Immigration News: Dismantling the Trump-era

The Biden administration has ramped up its political agenda this week, with various new policies that aim to correct Trump-era institutions. After ending the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, the Biden administration announced that the United States will start letting in asylum seekers stranded in Mexico. The shift will be starting its phase 1 today along the southern border, but only migrants currently affected by the “Remain in Mexico”...

Weekly Immigration News: Slow Shifts to Change

President Biden is not acting quickly on immigration issues – will his slow shifts help move us towards change? Alejandro Mayorkas, a former Obama administration immigration official and a Cuban immigrant, has been officially nominated to become DHS (Department of Homeland Security) secretary in a Tuesday Senate vote. Although some Republicans opposed Mayorkas’ nomination due to a 2015 internal investigation on his actions during his role as head of...

Immigration in Pandemic Times, Election Edition

The election continues as issues of immigration are being heavily contested. How will our next president approach these serious issues? President-Elect Biden has promised to reinstate DACA and do away with the Muslim ban on his first day in office. His administration is also likely to undo many of the anti-immigrant changes made under Trump. This past Monday, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to enforce a...

Working Without Authorization In Pandemic Times Vol. 2, No. 3

Minority groups continue being targeted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and migrant children and immigrants continue to be discriminated against at the border and throughout the country while top brass at DHS continue to flout the rule of law by occupying their jobs unlawfully. Both the DHS acting and second-in-command Homeland Security Secretaries, Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli, are legally unable to continue working in their roles after a Government...

Immigration in Pandemic Times, Vol. 2, No. 2

The COVID-19 pandemic has persisted throughout the many months of 2020, and not only is the Trump administration still using it as a guise for further restricting immigration, but there are still severe financial repercussions facing many as we continue to battle through COVID-19. The number of deaths in ICE custody is the highest since 2006. As of August 7, the ICE custody death toll for the current fiscal year is...

Immigration In Pandemic Times, Vol. 1, No. 10

In the past week, there have been various criticisms of how ICE and the Trump administration is handling the COVID-19 pandemic as the virus continues to spread. The para-military state is here. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents invaded the State of Oregon in unmarked vans kidnapping alleged protesters. The Department of Homeland Security says it has the authority and jurisdiction to carry out these extra-judicial kidnappings based on...

Immigration in Pandemic Times Vol. 1, No.8

Using the pandemic as a cover, there have been increasing attempts by the Trump administration to limit immigration to the United States. Read more, below. As of June 22, the USCIS has announced a change to try to stop undocumented immigrants from entering the US illegally. This new rule overlooks intent and instead prevents all undocumented immigrants who entered without legal status from obtaining employment permission when their asylum...

Immigration in Pandemic Times Vol. 1, No. 6

Although many states have begun re-opening businesses and life is starting to return to normal, minorities continue to face the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. A video posted on June 5 shows HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) officers shoving a peacefully protesting, unarmed Puerto Rican man to the ground in a New York City George Floyd rally. The officials in question were part of the team deployed by ICE (Immigration...

ICE Ends Presumption of Release for All Pregnant Detainees

On March 30, 2018, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a directive entitled “Identification and Monitoring of Pregnant Detainees,” as well as the following FAQ: What is the new policy? ICE has ended the presumption of release for all pregnant detainees. Instead, as with all detainees, absent the requirements of mandatory detention, ICE will complete a case-by-case custody determination taking any special factors into account. ICE detention facilities will...

District Court Orders DHS to Provide Asylum Seekers Notice of One-Year Bar

In Mendez Rojas v. Johnson, District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez has ruled that the United States government’s failure to provide asylum seekers with notice of the one-year asylum application deadline and failure to create and implement procedural mechanisms that guarantee class members the opportunity to timely submit their asylum applications violates the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), governing regulations, and due process. As background,...