ICE Begins Mass Mailing Court Notices to Asylum Seekers Released at the Border

ICE Begins Mass Mailing Court Notices to Asylum Seekers Released at the Border

By Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Immigration Impact Since President Biden took office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have released over 250,000 people seeking asylum directly at the border. In nearly half of these cases, people were not released with a formal “Notice to Appear” in immigration court. Instead, officers gave them a “Notice to Report” […]

DHS Issues New Memo Restricting Enforcement Activities in ‘Protected Areas’

DHS Issues New Memo Restricting Enforcement Activities in ‘Protected Areas’

By Rebekah Wolf, Immigration Impact The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued “Guidelines for Enforcement Actions in or Near Protected Areas”—a new memo that provides a framework for when and where DHS law enforcement entities can conduct enforcement activities in sensitive locations. The memo applies to enforcement activities of both U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement […]

Ninth Circuit Lifts Injunction Protecting People in ICE Detention from COVID-19

Ninth Circuit Lifts Injunction Protecting People in ICE Detention from COVID-19

By Rebekah Wolf, Immigration Impact In a split decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on October 20 lifted a lower court’s protections for medically vulnerable people locked up in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The protections included requiring that ICE adhere to public health and safety protocols […]

ICE Fails to Provide Basic Oversight of Solitary Confinement and Unlawfully Destroys Records

ICE Fails to Provide Basic Oversight of Solitary Confinement  and Unlawfully Destroys Records

Demonstrators call to “Free Them All” during an Abolish ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) protest for Javier Maradiaga on February 15, 2021 in New York City. (Shutterstock) By Emily Creighton U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been known to improperly subject individuals in its custody to solitary confinement and has destroyed solitary confinement records […]

Students and Advocates Demand LexisNexis End ICE Contract

Students and Advocates Demand LexisNexis End ICE Contract

By Deanna Garcia, Undocumented NY About 30 law school students and immigrant advocates gathered in front of the LexisNexis office in Midtown East on Thursday to protest the legal research firm’s $16.8 million contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Demonstrators are asking for an end to ICE contracts and urging New York University  and other law schools […]

Lawsuit Challenges new law Closing Immigrant Detention Center in Tacoma

Lawsuit Challenges new law Closing Immigrant Detention Center in Tacoma

By Nina Shapiro, Seattle Times The GEO Group, a huge private prison corporation, is suing the state, claiming a new law mandating the closure of the immigrant detention center it runs in Tacoma would unconstitutionally subvert federal authority. Not only does the law enacted by the Legislature in March interfere with a contract signed between […]

Firsthand Experiences Inside ICE Facilities During the Pandemic Underscore Why Immigration Detention Should be Abolished

Firsthand Experiences Inside ICE Facilities During the Pandemic Underscore Why Immigration Detention Should be Abolished

ICE Protest outside Bergen County Jail: Protesters outside the jail with abolish ICE signs. – Hackensack, New Jersey, USA – November 29th, 2020 (Shutterstock) By American Immigration Council Staff, Immigration Impact Many of us will always vividly remember the fear and lack of control that took hold as COVID-19 spread through our communities. While many […]

Advocates Win Federal Court Appointment of Special Master to Oversee ICE Custody Releases

Advocates Win Federal Court Appointment of Special Master to Oversee ICE Custody Releases

ICE Protest outside Bergen County Jail – “Breakdown Walls At The Border Detention Centers and Prisons” Banner held up at march against ICE. – Hackensack, New Jersey, USA – November 27th, 2020 (Shutterstock) RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A federal court last night granted civil rights organizations’ motion to appoint a special master, or independent third party, that will […]

DOJ Appeals Ruling Limiting Immigrant Detentions Without a Court Hearing

DOJ Appeals Ruling Limiting Immigrant Detentions Without a Court Hearing

By Paul Moses and Tim Healy, Documented NY The Biden administration has filed a notice to appeal a Manhattan federal judge’s groundbreaking order that limited immigrant detentions by instructing the government to provide court hearings for immigration detainees within 10 days of their arrest. Judge Alison Nathan’s Nov. 30 ruling at U.S. District Court in […]