The Courts
A U.S. District judge last week denied the government’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit against the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the agency’s use of private security guards to make arrests in California’s prisons…
On 8/24, the Supreme Court refused to block a ruling from a federal judge in Texas requiring the Biden administration to reinstate a Trump-era immigration program that forces asylum seekers arriving at the southwestern border to await approval in Mexico…
A federal district court judge in Nevada struck down a decades-old law making it a felony to re-enter the United States after deportation on the grounds that it has "racist, nativist roots”…
President and Administration
Some employment-based visas are set to go to waste at the end of September, U.S. officials say, painting a bleak picture of the government’s ability to smooth legal immigration and address perennial backlogs and resource constraints…
The Department of Homeland Security is weighing how to redefine “public charge” as it rejects the Trump administration’s effort to turn away immigrants who may need food stamps, housing assistance, or other aid…
On 8/18, the Biden administration proposed a major overhaul to the U.S. asylum system that would speed up processing, a move that comes as migrant apprehensions at the U.S. southern border have reached a 21-year high…
The number of children traveling alone who were picked up at the Mexican border by U.S. immigration authorities hit an all-time high in July - 19,000 - and the number of people who came in families likely reached its second-highest total on record…
Congress
The Senate parliamentarian is planning to hear dueling arguments Friday, 9/10, over whether Democrats can include a pathway to legal status for certain undocumented immigrants in their $3.5 trillion social spending plan…
Afghan Refugees
The White House is asking Congress to pass a law to allow all Afghan refugees brought to the U.S. to apply for a green card after a year, which would provide a solution for the legal quandary the Biden administration created when it began bringing tens of thousands of Afghans to the country without a permanent immigration status…
Gov. Gavin Newsom said California will be “a place of refuge” for Afghans fleeing the Taliban, with the governor and legislative leaders announcing last Friday, 9/3, a $16.7-million proposal to provide cash assistance to refugees and a partnership with Airbnb to provide free, temporary housing for refugees settling in the state…
The Biden administration's plan to resettle tens of thousands of Afghan refugees - with nearly 20,000 Afghan refugees at military installations in five states, while another 40,000 evacuees remain at bases overseas awaiting processing - is facing formidable operational and legal challenges…