- House GOP’s Immigration Framework Recreates Trump’s Border Wish List August 18 2022As midterm election season heats up, House Republicans on the “American Security Task Force” have produced a new framework for what they say is a plan to “secure the border.” Despite the claim of new ideas to tackle the situation at the border, the framework is almost identical to prior legislative and administrative efforts under […]Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
- Recent Supreme Court Ruling Limits Advocates’ Relief on Asylum Seekers’ Case August 17 2022A federal court decision this month confirmed what advocates feared: that a recent move by the Supreme Court would undermine the fight against illegal government practices, like turning back asylum seekers at the border. On August 5, a federal court concluded that it could not issue an injunction against this unlawful U.S. government behavior at […]American Immigration Council Legal Staff
- Urgent Immigration Measures Rest With the Senate After August Recess August 16 2022When members of Congress return from their August recess, they will find several immigration measures urgently awaiting their attention. The House Appropriations Committee already has passed a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the full House has passed both the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and the National Defense Authorization Act, which […]Walter Ewing
- Who Enforces Immigration Policy Anyway? August 10 2022The lack of a major overhaul in the United States’ immigration system for roughly thirty years has created an ecosystem where states have attempted to insert their authority over immigration, especially when it comes to enforcement. Texas has made headlines with its tougher approach and outsized role in shaping America’s immigration enforcement policy, while some […]American Immigration Council Staff
- Senate Rejects Harmful Immigration Amendments to Inflation Reduction Act August 8 2022On Sunday after nearly 24 hours of deliberation, the Senate passed a historic budget reconciliation package, known as the “Inflation Reduction Act,” that rejected a series of harsh immigration enforcement provisions and approved a myriad of federal programs climate change, tax enforcement, and healthcare. The version of the bill that was introduced did not include […]Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
- Debunking Major Myths About Immigrants’ Socioeconomic Status in the US August 4 2022Opponents of immigration often claim that European immigrants who came to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are radically different than the Latin Americans and Asians who immigrate here today. A new book by two economic historians disproves that by examining several of the most widely held myths about economic […]Walter Ewing
- New Report Reveals Widespread Failures by DHS To Prosecute Immigration Court Cases August 3 2022Thousands of immigration court cases have been dismissed this year for an astonishing reason: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has failed to file the most basic paperwork with the courts. According to a report released last week by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) of Syracuse University, tens of thousands of cases across the […]Rebekah Wolf
- Bond Hearings for Asylum Seekers Are Latest Casualty of the Recent Supreme Court Term August 2 2022For almost two decades, asylum seekers taken into Border Patrol custody who passed a “credible fear” interview have been eligible to seek release from detention on bond while they go through the asylum process. But now that right is gone. On July 29, a federal district court in Washington erased a key legal victory which […]Emma Winger
- What you need to know about the new proposal to update The Registry July 28 2022Democrats in the House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least seven years to legalize their status. The bill would change a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act known as “Registry,” which allows certain long-term residents of the United States […]Walter Ewing
- Welcoming and Inclusive State Policies: A Midyear Review of State Legislative Sessions in 2022 July 27 2022As immigration bills languish in Congress, state legislatures continue to pave the way in welcoming immigrants and refugees in 2022. With the majority of the 46 state legislatures that convened this year having adjourned, many states—once again—used the legislative process to pass bills that make their communities more inclusive for all state residents. These initiatives […]American Immigration Council Staff