This USCIS Policy Change Will Reunite Vulnerable LGBTQ Refugee and Asylum Couples

This USCIS Policy Change Will Reunite Vulnerable LGBTQ Refugee and Asylum Couples

By Andrew Lim, Immigration Impact In February, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reversed Trump administration guidance that limited recognition of marriages performed abroad only to those considered “valid” in the country where they took place. This narrow interpretation of the “place-of-celebration” rule left many refugees and asylees without a way to reunite with their […]

Title 42, the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis, and U.S. Immigration Policy

Title 42, the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis, and U.S. Immigration Policy

Hungary-Beregsurany, 02.26.2022. Ukrainian families flee the war across the Hungarian border to a peaceful area. (Shutterstock) By MSNBC Allen Orr joins José Díaz-Balart to discuss migrants applying for asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. “We call the people from Europe that are coming here now refugees. We call the people coming here from Central America illegal […]

Black and Brown Refugees are Once Again Being Turned Away in Europe Amid Ukraine Migrant Crisis

Black and Brown Refugees are Once Again Being Turned Away in Europe Amid Ukraine Migrant Crisis

Budapest, Hungary – 03 01 2022: War refugees are waiting at the train station while the Hungarian red cross and volunteers are giving out clothes, food, water, pillows and other donations. (Shutterstock) By Grace Hauck, USA Today Hundreds of refugees from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Yemen were stranded at the border of Belarus and Poland […]

USCIS Issues Guidance on Informal Marriages for Derivative Refugee and Asylee Status

USCIS Issues Guidance on Informal Marriages for Derivative Refugee and Asylee Status

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate (RAIO) announced guidance recognizing that a spousal relationship may exist for the purpose of obtaining derivative refugee or asylee status, in certain circumstances, if there is evidence of an informal marriage. This guidance applies to the adjudication of a pending or newly filed Form I-589, […]

Biden’s ‘Secret’ Flights of Migrants Debunked as a Routine Part of the US Immigration System

Biden’s ‘Secret’ Flights of Migrants Debunked as a Routine Part of the US Immigration System

A group of Central American families being transported to a processing center after turning themselves in to the Border Patrol to seek asylum boards a bus. – La Joya, TX, USA – Nov. 16, 2021 (Shutterstock) By Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Immigration Impact Some media outlets have reached a fever pitch over what they have deemed President […]

Hochul Adds $2 Million to Help Afghan Refugees Resettle in New York State

Hochul Adds $2 Million to Help Afghan Refugees Resettle in New York State

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul Addresses People of New York at State Capitol Building. (Shutterstock) By Kevin Duggan, AMNY Governor Kathy Hochul is dedicating $2 million additional state funds to help Afghan refugees resettle in New York State, she announced Tuesday, Dec. 7 Some 7,500 people from the war-torn Middle Eastern nation have already arrived in […]

Migrant Caravan Makes its way Through Mexico Despite Injuries, Dengue Fever Outbreak

Migrant Caravan Makes its way Through Mexico Despite Injuries, Dengue Fever Outbreak

Families separated by immigration policies are allowed to embrace in the middle of the river, the national border between Mexico and the United States. (Shutterstock) By Diana García, Arizona Republic | La Voz, AZ Central MEXICO CITY — A migrant caravan, composed of thousands of immigrants from Central and South America, continues its journey on […]

Here’s How Americans Can Sponsor Afghan Refugees as They Resettle in US Communities

Here’s How Americans Can Sponsor Afghan Refugees as They Resettle in US Communities

By Mohammed Naeem, Immigration Impact Since the last evacuation flights left Afghanistan, there have been over 68,000 Afghan allies housed on Department of Defense bases waiting for resettlement. The scope and size of the mission, designated as Operation Allies Welcome, is of historic proportions. It has brought together interagency governmental taskforces, refugee resettlement organizations, non-profits, […]

Haiti Faces Disasters and Chaos. Its People are Most Likely to be Denied U.S. Asylum

Haiti Faces Disasters and Chaos. Its People are Most Likely to be Denied U.S. Asylum

 Haitian migrant families wait in front of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance to request refuge in Mexico. – Mexico City, Mexico – September 23, 2021 (Shutterstock) By Marisa Peñaloza, NPR Like thousands of Haitians, Gibbens Revolus, his wife, Lugrid, and their 2-year-old son, Diego, made the treacherous journey to the U.S.-México border from Chile […]