This Week in Immigration - American Immigration Council
A Young U.S. Citizen’s Long Legal Road Back Home
Across the country, deportation is often discussed as an absolute end. Many politicians run on a platform of stoking fear on immigration, with deportation being the punishment and means to remove millions in the United States. Even at the community level, advocates fighting against a deportation will often simply move on to a new case […]
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ICE Makes Sweeping Arrests in Chicago, Endangering City’s Livelihood
By Karen Aho and Anna Shepperson Chicago has been bracing for immigration raids since the presidential inauguration, following tips that it would be the first sanctuary city targeted under the Trump administration’s mass deportation initiatives. On Sunday, “Operation Safeguard” began in Chicago, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announcing “enhanced targeted operations,” along with […]
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Breaking Down the Latest Court Decision Impacting DACA
Nearly 13 years since the Obama administration first created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, more than 500,000 people who currently benefit from DACA—and their families—remain in a state of cruel uncertainty. The latest in a long-running court battle took place on January 17 in a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals […]
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ICE’s Inadequate Recordkeeping on Treatment of Detained Asylum Seekers Threatens Their Lives
By Anne Peterson, Center for Gender and Refugee Studies As the Trump administration prepares for a dramatic increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, advocates are sounding the alarm that immigrants and people seeking asylum will suffer increasingly inhumane conditions in detention facilities. Immigration detention facilities—often run by private prison companies or by […]
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Trump’s Day 1 Orders Use Fearmongering to Expand His Immigration Authority
On January 20, 2025, the day President Trump took office for his second term, he issued a series of immigration-related executive orders and proclamations that will quickly re-shape the U.S. immigration system. These executive orders affect nearly every facet of a complex and demanding system. Most of the policy changes introduced through these actions are […]
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Centering Humanity in the Immigration Debate
“La tierra se secó.” That was my dad’s short explanation for why he left Mexico as a teenager in the 1970s. His family relied on their small farm in rural northern Mexico for subsistence. But when the droughts came, the land could no longer sustain them. So, he, like my mother, moved to the U.S. […]
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Biden Keeps Nearly 1 Million People From Losing Legal Status Under Trump – Until Fall 2026
As one of the Biden administration’s final acts on immigration, the Department of Homeland Security has announced that it is extending four grants of Temporary Protected Status – covering nearly 1 million immigrants from Venezuela, El Salvador, Ukraine, and Sudan – through fall 2026. The extensions will allow people from those countries who are currently […]
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The Supreme Court Cuts Off Judicial Review of USCIS Decisions Again
The Supreme Court recently cut off another path for judicial review of decisions by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjudicators. In Bouarfa v. Mayorkas, the Court held that a decision to revoke the prior approval of an immigrant visa petition filed by a U.S. citizen on behalf of her noncitizen spouse could not be […]
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The Laken Riley Act Would Give States Sweeping Power Over Immigration Policy
Who runs the U.S. immigration system? If the Senate passes the Laken Riley Act this week, the answer might not be Congress or the president. The bill, already passed in the House, would hand state attorneys general, like Ken Paxton in Texas, veto power over large swaths of federal immigration policy. Under a provision of […]
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H-1B Modernization Rule Provides Some Comfort But Also Raises Concerns
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued its long-awaited H-1B modernization rule. The final rule takes effect on January 17, 2025. USCIS describes several of the regulations as codifying policies the agency has followed for years. The agency also emphasized that several of the regulations were enacted to strengthen “program integrity.” The final rule […]
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Mass Deportations Will Undermine Our Safety
When the Trump administration deported Goura Ndiaye, he had lived in the United States for 20 years, running his own business as an electrician, working as primary breadwinner for his three U.S. citizen daughters, and serving as an active member of his church in Ohio. For 10 years, Goura regularly checked in with immigration authorities […]
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Businesses and Workers Get Win with Permanent Work Permit Extension Rule
On December 13, the Biden administration issued a permanent rule that automatically extends the validity of certain work permits by up to 540 days if they are timely renewed. The American Immigration Council and many other organizations and businesses made this a key ask to the outgoing administration to protect workers from employment gaps as […]
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Policy Options: Protecting Immigrant Communities at the State and Local Level
State and local communities are at the forefront of shaping the lives of immigrants. While some have advanced harmful policies, other state and local governments championed efforts to protect newcomers and enable their full participation in their communities. As we look ahead to 2025 and the uncertainty around federal immigration policy, it will be increasingly […]
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What Will Mass Deportations Look Like?
In less than two months, President-elect Donald Trump will begin his second term. We expect a flurry of immigration-related executive actions within days, including a dramatic shift in immigration enforcement in the interior of the United States. On the campaign trail, Trump promised that on “day one” he would “launch the largest deportation program of […]
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Embracing Two Cultures: Our Thanksgiving Story
Thanksgiving is a relatively new tradition in my life, but one that has marked the start of one of my favorite love stories. Even though I’ve lived in the U.S. for 22 years, the holiday always marked an opportunity for my mother to take a break from the demands of single parenthood and her role […]
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Immigration Was on the Ballot in Multiple States on Election Day – Here’s What Happened
On Election Day, voters gathered in various cities and states across the country to cast ballots on immigrant-related issues, like immigration protections, integration, and noncitizen voting. Here are the results of some key ballot measures. Arizona’s Proposition 314 In Arizona, the passage of Proposition 314, also known as the Secure the Border Act, has raised significant […]
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Giving Thanks to the Hands That Feed America: Immigrant Farmworkers
With the approach of Thanksgiving, when many families will be celebrating with food and gratitude, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the people who help make Thanksgiving celebrations possible. Many of the fruits, vegetables, and other staples of our Thanksgiving celebrations are harvested by immigrant farm workers. In fruit and vegetable crop production, […]
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Judge Strikes Down ‘Keeping Families Together’ Parole Process
After initially blocking the Biden administration’s recent move to promote family unity for some U.S. citizens with undocumented spouses in August, a federal judge in Texas issued a final judgment last week ending the parole process altogether. Judge J. Campbell Barker found that the whole concept of “parole in place” – the practice of granting […]
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Biden Should Use His Authority to Protect Vulnerable Immigrants Before He Leaves Office
President-elect Donald Trump vowed to deport millions of immigrants in his successful bid for a second term at the White House. This week, we gained a clearer picture about how he aims to fulfill this promise. Tom Homan, former acting chief for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will oversee border policy and work to fulfill […]
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Federal Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Asylum Seekers’ Rights to Present at POEs
Ports of entry along our borders are supposed to be where people in need of protection can come to seek humanitarian relief. But since 2016, every presidential administration has used different tactics to turn people away from ports of entry (POEs) along the U.S.-Mexico border before they even get there. Finally, in October, the Ninth […]
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