[[link removed]] Your weekly summary from the Council.
LATEST ANALYSIS
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Trump’s Day 1 Orders Use Fearmongering to Expand His Immigration Authority [[link removed]]
On the first day of his second term, President Trump issued a series of immigration-related executive orders and proclamations that will quickly re-shape the U.S. immigration system. These executive orders affect nearly every facet of a complex and demanding system. Most of the policy changes introduced through these actions are framed as directives to federal departments and agencies. However, their language also aims to stoke fear as a means of testing the boundaries of executive authority.
ICE’s Inadequate Recordkeeping on Treatment of Detained Asylum Seekers Threatens Their Lives [[link removed]]
As the Trump administration prepares for a dramatic increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, advocates are sounding the alarm that immigrants and people seeking asylum will suffer increasingly inhumane conditions in detention facilities.
FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
This week, President Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security to expand all 287(g) agreements to the “maximum extent permitted by law.”
Through the 287(g) program, state and local law enforcement officers collaborate with the federal government to enforce federal immigration laws. These programs are costly for localities, historically target individuals with little or no criminal history, and harm the relationship between police and local communities.
This recently updated fact sheet from the American Immigration Council provides an overview of how the 287(g) program works and discusses some of the problems associated with its operation.
Read more: The 287(g) Program: An Overview | American Immigration Council [[link removed]]
ACROSS THE NATION
P resident Donald Trump issued 10 executive orders and proclamations on his first day in office seeking to change the face of the U.S. immigration system.
The Trump administration has followed up the record of its first term, and the promises of its presidential campaign, with an effort to redefine America to exclude everyone from border-crossers seeking refuge to children born next month to parents who are in the U.S. with temporary status. Woven through these executive orders are novel legal arguments that fully task the U.S. military with repelling asylum seekers; threaten aggressive use of criminal penalties to ensure compliance; and open the door to future invocations of the centuries-old Insurrection Act and Alien Enemies Act.
This new rapid analysis from the Council represents our best effort to synthesize the executive actions, and to point out some future developments to watch for as these orders are implemented across the country.
Read more: After Day One: A High-Level Analysis of Trump's First Executive Actions [[link removed]]
Donald Trump is now the 47th president of the United States. He’s made his immigration goals clear: conduct mass deportations, end birthright citizenship, and dismantle the asylum system.
Americans want to fix our broken immigration system. But these cruel and expensive policies aren’t solutions. Instead, we should focus on real solutions that strengthen our communities, empower immigrants, and create an immigration system that is both fair and functional.
The Council provides ways you can get involved, from volunteering to connecting with your local community.
Get Involved: Taking Action During Donald Trump's First 100 Days [[link removed]]
Victory! On Friday, a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a temporary block on SF 2340, Iowa's worst-ever immigration law.
A Federal Appeals court agreed with the federal district court that the law is unconstitutional and that every part of the law should remain blocked while litigation continues.
The court was considering two lawsuits asking that SF 2340 be declared unconstitutional and blocked. One was by the U.S. Department of Justice; the other was by the American Immigration Council, the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, and the national ACLU on behalf of Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice and the thousands of immigrants that the organization assists, including two individual Iowans.
Read more: Challenging Iowa’s State Deportation Law [[link removed]]
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Trump claims to have a power in the Constitution that lets him suspend entire acts of Congress. Immigrants taken into custody have rights. No president can erase immigration law with the stroke of a pen.”
– Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council [[link removed]]
FURTHER READING
NPR: Big changes for the border [[link removed]]
CNN: How Trump’s immigration plans could affect care for your elderly parents [[link removed]]
San Antonio Express News: San Antonio needs immigrants to thrive; let's make it easier to hire them [[link removed]]
MSNBC: Trump's immigration orders 'already being challenged' on constitutionality [[link removed]]
Reason: The Laken Riley Act Reminds Us: If a Law Is Named After Someone, It's Probably Bad [[link removed]]
Washington Post: Fearing Trump’s deportation plans, immigrants turn to churches, lawyers [[link removed]]
Politico: Americans hate high prices. Mass deportations could spark new surges. [[link removed]]
MAKE A CONTRIBUTION
Give $10 [[link removed]] Give $25 [[link removed]]
Give $50 [[link removed]] Give $100 [[link removed]]
Give $250 [[link removed]] Other Amount [[link removed]]
Blog [[link removed]] | www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org [[link removed]] | unsubscribe: [link removed]
1331 G St. NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C., xxxxxx