City agrees to pay $21.5K each to protesters trapped by NYPD during 2020 protest, per new settlement

City agrees to pay $21.5K each to protesters trapped by NYPD during 2020 protest, per new settlement

New York City has agreed to pay more than $20,000 each to hundreds of individuals who were trapped by police and attacked with batons and pepper spray during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx. According to documents filed in federal court on Tuesday evening, the city and the NYPD reached a […]

Is a Pardon for Dreamers the Only Way to Protect Them?

Is a Pardon for Dreamers the Only Way to Protect Them?

With the prospect of a legislative solution for Dreamers – and the millions of undocumented immigrants in the country – as far off as ever, the California-Mexico Studies Center is raising anew the idea of a presidential pardon in its newsletter, “El Magonista.” The idea is not new. In 2017, immigrant rights activists asked former […]

CBP One Is Riddled With Flaws That Make the App Inaccessible to Many Asylum Seekers

CBP One Is Riddled With Flaws That Make the App Inaccessible to Many Asylum Seekers

In January and February of this year, the Biden administration announced new policies to process individuals seeking asylum at ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border. A key component of these new policies is the increased use of the CBP One app. CBP One allows certain people to submit their biographic information to U.S. Customs and […]

Biden Wants to End Exploitation of Migrant Children, But His New Asylum Policy Could Make It Worse

Biden Wants to End Exploitation of Migrant Children, But His New Asylum Policy Could Make It Worse

The New York Times has published a horrifying investigation into the exploitation of children who migrated to the United States as unaccompanied minors. The investigation by Hannah Dreier finds these children pressed into labor in every state in the U.S., in violation of labor law and often in horrifying conditions. It’s an essential read. But it’s […]

NYS Department of Labor finalizes farm worker overtime regulations

NYS Department of Labor finalizes farm worker overtime regulations

The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) on Wednesday, February 23 announced the adoption of the final farm labor overtime regulations, codifying Commissioner Roberta Reardon’s order that accepted the Farm Laborers Wage Board’s report and recommendations in September. The phased-in, gradual reduction in the overtime pay threshold will begin on Jan. 1, 2024, with the threshold set at […]

In New York, Department of Corrections Questioned About Collaboration with ICE at New York City Council Hearing

In New York, Department of Corrections Questioned About Collaboration with ICE at New York City Council Hearing

During a city council hearing on Wednesday, February 23 years of emails were made public showing collaboration between some members of the Department of Corrections and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Immigrant Defense Project (IDP) and Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) were able to obtain dozens of emails between the DOC and ICE spanning from 2015 […]

USCIS Issues Clarifying Guidance for Individuals Authorized to Work Under Special Student Relief Provisions

USCIS Issues Clarifying Guidance for Individuals Authorized to Work Under Special Student Relief Provisions

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify the validity period of employment authorization for F-1 nonimmigrant students experiencing severe economic hardship due to emergent circumstances (also known as special student relief (SSR)) who are work authorized under the SSR provisions of 8 CFR.  The update clarifies that in […]

Leaders Speak Against Biden’s Latest Asylum Ban: “If the Admin Goes Forward, We Will Sue”

Leaders Speak Against Biden’s Latest Asylum Ban: “If the Admin Goes Forward, We Will Sue”

Lawyers and asylum experts condemned the latest asylum ban proposed by the Biden administration. American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt, who argued the challenge against the Trump asylum ban, said: “If the Biden administration goes through with its proposed asylum ban, we will sue, just as we successfully sued over the Trump asylum bans. […]

Biden Administration’s Proposed Asylum Transit Ban

Biden Administration’s Proposed Asylum Transit Ban

The Biden administration recently announced a proposed regulation that would all but eliminate access to asylum for the overwhelming number of asylum seekers who come to the United States via the southwest border. But the regulation doesn’t put it that way. The regulation, announced on February 21, would create a new asylum restriction for adults […]