This Week in Immigration - American Immigration Council

At a time when immigration policy remains one of the most divisive issues in American politics, an area of bipartisan agreement has emerged: expanding licensure pathways for international medical graduates (IMGs). IMGs are physicians who received their training outside of the United States. Communities across the country recognize the urgent need to address physician shortages […]

The post States with Healthcare Shortages Turn to Foreign-Trained Doctors, Showing Bipartisan Immigration Policies Benefit All appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In recent weeks, significant personnel reductions throughout the federal government made in the name of eliminating “waste” have caused concerns about the government’s ability to continue providing timely services. Agencies that provide immigration-related services have not been spared from these cuts, including those within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of State (DOS), […]

The post While Federal Firings Focus on Immigration Processing, Funding for Immigration Enforcement Expands appeared first on Immigration Impact.

In 2001, Texas set a precedent by enacting House Bill 1403, commonly known as the Texas Dream Act, which grants eligible undocumented students access to in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities. This landmark legislation—the first of its kind in the nation—has enabled countless students to pursue higher education, contributing significantly to the state’s […]

The post Texas Dream Act: Protecting Undocumented Students’ Access to Higher Education Is Economic, Educational Imperative appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Major awards shows play a key role in shaping American cultural identity. They reflect societal values, define what is considered significant in entertainment, and have the power to influence perspectives on history and the present moment. Among them, the Oscars stand as the most prestigious and globally recognized, dating back to 1929. The 97th Academy […]

The post Beyond the Red Carpet: ‘A Lien’ and the Power of Film appeared first on Immigration Impact.

By Karen Aho, Robin Lundh, and Anna Shepperson This year, as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to deport millions of immigrants, it’s important to understand the contributions that immigrants make to our economy and social wellbeing. The American Immigration Council’s annual analysis of the American Community Survey, which updates national and state-level data from […]

The post The Number of Immigrants in the US Increases Yearly – And That’s a Good Thing appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Federal and state policy efforts targeting immigrant kids are on the rise. The new wave of cruelty includes plans that plainly violate existing law. Many of these attacks seem designed to tee up court battles intended to weaken the rights and wellbeing of children in the United States. Mass Child Deportation Plan An ICE memo […]

The post State, Federal Policies Escalate Attacks on Immigrant Children appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Efforts to penalize so-called “sanctuary cities” are back. On his first day back in office, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to explore denying federal funds to “sanctuary” jurisdictions and pursue civil or criminal actions against them. Thereafter, the DOJ has repeatedly threatened […]

The post H.R. 32 Would Empower President to Cut Essential Services in States and Cities appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Early Friday morning, the Senate is expected to begin the process for passing a budget reconciliation bill, a somewhat obscure Congressional procedure which allows a funding bill to pass both houses of Congress with only a simple majority threshold — avoiding a 60-vote filibuster obstacle in the Senate. The Senate deal will reportedly include at […]

The post GOP Budget Reconciliation Plan —Cutting Essential Programs To Supercharge Deportations  appeared first on Immigration Impact.

This is a guest blog by Kelsi Lo and edited by Victor Yang. They are high school students whose families have both been impacted by immigration policies and seek to raise awareness about the barriers that birthright citizens and mixed-status families face. You can follow more of their work at JustSoli.com  Yeisvi was no older […]

The post The Impact of Family Separation on Children appeared first on Immigration Impact.

From his first day in office, President Trump made clear that part of his immigration agenda was to strip legal protections from people who currently qualify for them, rendering them deportable as “illegal immigrants.” In his first weeks, the administration has made a few opening moves in that effort, while leaving the door open to […]

The post What We Know About Trump’s Efforts to Roll Back TPS For Venezuelans and CHNV Parole appeared first on Immigration Impact.

As we near the one-month mark of the new Trump administration, it is clear that the president’s thinly veiled threats of imposing mass deportation on “criminal immigrants” are in fact a promise to target all immigrants—and sometimes even U.S. citizens. In the first weeks, we have already seen wrongful immigration arrests of people with U.S. […]

The post The Chilling Effect of Trump’s Indiscriminate Immigration Arrests & Propaganda appeared first on Immigration Impact.

The first few weeks of President Trump’s second term in office have instilled a heightened level of fear, as longtime neighbors, residents, and tightly knit communities have encountered increased federal immigration enforcement, elimination of safeguards like sensitive locations, and significant shifts in immigration policies. Nevertheless, many communities continue to show up for one another in […]

The post Communities Continue to Stand by Immigrants Amidst Fear, Heightened Enforcement appeared first on Immigration Impact.

Last week, President Trump ordered the Secretary of Homeland Security to expand immigration detention at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to house up to 30,000 people. Since then, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has transferred at least two flights of migrants from the United States to its detention facility there. Immigration detention at Guantánamo […]

The post Sending Migrants to Guantánamo Bay Is a Costly, Abusive Shift in Immigration Detention appeared first on Immigration Impact.

By Laila Khan and Raul Pinto On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship for babies of undocumented immigrants and for people with temporary status in the U.S. Executive Order 14156: Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship departs from over 125 years of […]

The post Breaking Down Trump’s Attempt to End Birthright Citizenship appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 […]

The post A Young U.S. Citizen’s Long Legal Road Back Home appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 […]

The post ICE Makes Sweeping Arrests in Chicago, Endangering City’s Livelihood appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 […]

The post Breaking Down the Latest Court Decision Impacting DACA appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 […]

The post ICE’s Inadequate Recordkeeping on Treatment of Detained Asylum Seekers Threatens Their Lives appeared first on Immigration Impact.

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 […]

The post Trump’s Day 1 Orders Use Fearmongering to Expand His Immigration Authority appeared first on Immigration Impact.

“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. […]

The post Centering Humanity in the Immigration Debate appeared first on Immigration Impact.