U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) keeps making an inexcusable error: it has been deporting U.S. citizens by mistake. 70 potential U.S. citizens were deported between 2015 and 2020, a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded. They were deported even though U.S. citizens cannot be charged with violations of civil immigration law. […]

As the number of families coming to the border has increased from June to July, the Biden administration is beginning yet another crackdown. Late on July 26, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would begin subjecting some families to “expedited removal.” This legal procedure allows individual immigration officials to issue deportation orders […]

The state of Texas has started a concentrated effort to arrest immigrants who have recently crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. The immigrants are charged with criminal state offenses of trespassing and criminal mischief. The arrests are the latest in a series of attempts by Texas officials to increase the consequences of entering or being present in […]

Nearly a decade after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to provide protections to undocumented immigrants brought here as children, Judge Andrew Hanen of the Southern District of Texas struck down the program on July 16, ordering U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to stop issuing […]

Attorney General Merrick Garland vacated Matter of Castro-Tum on July 15, reviving a key tool to help judges prioritize cases in the overburdened immigration court system and allow people facing deportation to pursue all available paths to legal status. In Matter of Cruz-Valdez, the attorney general reversed a decision by prior Attorney General Jeff Sessions. […]

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may soon have its first Senate-confirmed leader in nearly five years. On July 15, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee held a hearing on the nomination for the head of ICE, Ed Gonzalez, who is currently the Sheriff of Harris County, Texas. Gonzalez’s nomination presents a unique […]

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to expand a unique venture for the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo: The Refugee Olympic Team. The expansion is part of the IOC’s long-term effort to empower displaced athletes both before and after the Olympics.    The Refugee Olympic Team will feature athletes from 13 countries around the world, including Afghanistan, South Sudan, Syria, and Venezuela. The success of the original refugee team—which featured just 10 people during the […]

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will no longer detain most people who are pregnant, postpartum, or nursing, according to a new policy released on July 9. However, ICE did not commit to a total ban, saying that there will still be “very limited circumstances” that will allow the agency to detain pregnant people. The […]

Since the founding of the United States, immigrants have served in the U.S. military. In recognition of the sacrifices involved in military service, the federal government has provided an expedited path to citizenship for immigrant servicemembers for years—but it isn’t automatic and not all who serve qualify. Given how easy it is for the federal […]

Backlogs, processing delays, and revenue shortfalls are nothing new at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The agency has long suffered from severe structural problems that hurt people who depend on it for work authorization, adjustment of status, naturalization, and many other immigration benefits. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on agency operations has […]