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Your weekly summary from the Council
LATEST ANALYSIS
Isabel Doe's husband was bleeding when the family begged U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for asylum. The cartel had tracked them to Tijuana. Officers—contradicting official policy—refused to let them in without an appointment on the CBP One app. Read More »
The Biden administration has officially reinstated its enforcement guidelines for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The move comes after the Supreme Court reaffirmed the federal government’s authority to set priorities in immigration enforcement—and to discourage federal agents from spending time and energy on people who aren’t priorities. Read More »
FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
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A group of labor and immigrant rights organizations based out of New York are calling on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to extend work authorization and deportation protections for more asylum seekers. In the last year, over 100,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City.
The groups are calling for the Biden administration to provide Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for migrants whose countries are already designated but who are unable to receive the protections based on when they arrived to the United States.
If the migrants receive TPS, they can get a work permit faster, lessening the strain on New York City’s social services. Currently, asylum seekers must wait an excruciatingly long 180 days after filing an asylum application before they can receive a work permit.
This fact sheet from the American Immigration Council dives into the importance of TPS for individuals like the asylum seekers in New York. It discusses how countries are designated for the temporary protection, benefits, and how to apply.
Read more: Temporary Protected Status: An Overview
ACROSS THE NATION
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This week, a group of asylum seekers moved to block the Biden administration’s policy of turning back people seeking asylum at ports of entry along the southern border. The request for preliminary injunction is part of a lawsuit filed by the American Immigration Council and our partners challenging this unlawful “turnback” policy.
The policy requires asylum seekers to secure an appointment through the government’s CBP One app before they are allowed to request protection at the border. But the unreliable and glitchy app has made doing so needlessly difficult—ultimately sending vulnerable individuals back into danger.
The request for preliminary injunction details the traumatic experiences of asylum seekers who were unable to secure CBP One appointments. Their testimonies describe how they are now stranded in parts of Mexico notorious for high levels of violence, with no end in sight.
Read more: Asylum Seekers Ask Court to Block Turnback Policy
- This week, the Council released our 2023 Mid-Year Report, detailing our achievements during the first half of the year. Despite a challenging political climate, we’ve accomplished a tremendous amount to help improve the lives of immigrants and make our country a more welcoming place.
Some highlights of the report include our advocacy work in over 100 communities and the growth of our pro bono network of attorneys, paralegals, and interpreters working to secure asylum for vulnerable individuals, including Afghan refugees.
Read more: Mid-Year Report 2023
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“ICE is responsible for the safety of detained individuals, which it has repeatedly demonstrated it cannot provide. The egregious use of solitary confinement is detrimental to detained individuals' mental and physical well-being. Despite a documented history of abuse and numerous deaths at the Aurora facility, this complaint illustrates the systemic failure by ICE to ensure a safe environment for the people they detain. The misuse and overuse of solitary confinement leaves people in detention fearful to report safety concerns for fear of its punitive use, and without recourse to protect themselves.”
– Noa Gutow-Ellis, law school intern at the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, in A Letter To The Editor "Cruelty at the Border" in the New York Times
FURTHER READING
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