New Report Details Biden’s Broken Promises on Ending the Use of Private Prisons in Federal Incarceration and Immigration Detention

New Report Details Biden’s Broken Promises on Ending the Use of Private Prisons in Federal Incarceration and Immigration Detention

Washington, DC — The Biden administration has failed to deliver on the promise to end the use of private prisons in federal incarceration and immigration detention, according to “Broken Promises: Limits of Biden’s Executive Order on Private Prisons” a new report released today by Detention Watch Network and Project South. The report provides an overview […]

Family Separation Has Caused Life-Long Trauma Years Later

Family Separation Has Caused Life-Long Trauma Years Later

By American Immigration Council Staff, Immigration Impact Four years ago, immigration lawyers and advocates began to see a disturbing practice emerge: the U.S. government began to forcibly separate children—some very young—from their parents at the border. Now, years later, some families are still separated. For those put back together, the scars of trauma are life-long […]

Groups Call for Transparency Regarding Abuse and Mistreatment of Black Immigrants in Detention

Groups Call for Transparency Regarding Abuse and Mistreatment of Black Immigrants in Detention

By Tsion Gurmu, Legal Manager and Staff Attorney at the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and Emily Creighton, Legal Director of Transparency The public watched in horror this September as U.S. Border Patrol agents on horses chased down Haitians and other Black migrants who were coming to the United States to seek protection. Despite outcry from […]

New Polling: 75% of Americans Back Immigration Reform Provisions of BBB Legislation

New Polling: 75% of Americans Back Immigration Reform Provisions of BBB Legislation

By America’s Voice Washington, DC – A new poll from Data for Progress on the immigration provisions in the BBB legislation finds broad bipartisan support for relief targeted at long-settled undocumented immigrants. The poll asked 598 voters whether they support or oppose “a proposal that provides Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants who pass a background check and […]

DHS Announces Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs

DHS Announces Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State (DOS), has announced the lists of countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs in the next year. The notice listing the eligible countries will be published in the Federal Register on Nov. 10, 2021. For the next […]

$1/Day Labor Program for Immigrants in Detention Ruled Unlawful in Washington State

$1/Day Labor Program for Immigrants in Detention Ruled Unlawful in Washington State

By Rebekah Wolf, Immigration Impact In a landmark court decision, Geo Group—one of the largest private prison companies that own and/or manage dozens of immigrant detention centers across the United States—was found to have violated Washington state’s minimum wage laws. The company has been ordered to pay over $23 million, $17.3 million of which will […]

Federal Jury: Immigrant Detainees Are Owed Minimum Wage

Federal Jury: Immigrant Detainees Are Owed Minimum Wage

By Gene Johnson, AP News SEATTLE (AP) — A federal jury has determined that The GEO Group must pay minimum wage — rather than $1 a day — to immigration detainees who perform tasks like cooking and cleaning at its for-profit detention center in Washington state. The verdict came Wednesday in U.S. District Court in […]

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 […]

Bill Protecting Immigrants from Blackmail Becomes Law in NY

Bill Protecting Immigrants from Blackmail Becomes Law in NY

Governor Hochul speaks before signing package of bills to fight opioid crisis with activists and elected officials at her side at John Jay College. – New York, NY – October 7, 2021 (Shutterstock) Elmont, NY: On October 9, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation aimed at protecting vulnerable immigrant New Yorkers from those who would […]