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Emergency motion protects immigrant teens from ICE detention

Last weekend, the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) filed an emergency motion with the American Immigration Council (AIC) to enforce a 2021 court ruling that stops U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from illegally jailing unaccompanied immigrant children in adult detention centers once they turn 18. Thankfully, the order was granted, preventing ICE from enacting any new directives targeting teenagers as they turn 18.

NIJC and AIC filed the motion after several documented cases emerged, exposing how ICE restarted its practice of trying to transfer immigrant children who entered the U.S. alone into adult detention facilities once they turned 18, in violation of a 2021 permanent injunction in Garcia Ramirez v. ICE.

Read NIJC’s full press release. 

This comes as immigration attorneys received troubling information about a possible ICE operation targeting unaccompanied immigrant children. See NIJC’s community alert for more guidance. 

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Advocates sound alarm over Midwest detention expansion

The Trump administration is expanding immigrant detention in the Midwest: From the processing center in Broadview, Illinois, to prisons in Bunker Hill, Indiana, and Leavenworth, Kansas, to county jails throughout the region.

ICE started detaining people in Indiana's Miami Correctional Facility last week, with plans to hold at least 100 people by week's end.

NIJC calls on elected officials to exercise their rights and demand access to the Miami Correctional Facility to hold ICE accountable for violating due process protections and unlawfully detaining people in the ongoing raids.

Read NIJC's full statement here. 

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ICE ambushes and abducts more people during routine immigration court hearings

Over the past several months, people seeking asylum and other immigrants have gone to court seeking protection, only to have their cases dismissed and then be shackled by ICE agents and disappeared into an increasingly lawless immigration detention system. 

IN THE NEWS: In a new story, The Guardian captures the experience of a Cuban man who arrived for a routine hearing in an asylum case, only to be jailed in a detention center across the country.

“The Fifth Amendment says that all persons have a right to due process. It doesn’t say ‘all U.S. citizens.’ And immigrants are people,” said NIJC’s Mary Georgevich in an interview with The Free Press about the rise in these types of unlawful immigration court arrests and the story of one plaintiff in the joint lawsuit that NIJC filed with partners this summer to challenge these injustices.

Former immigration judges unpacked the role of these arrests in the Trump administration's broader plan to eliminate due process from the immigration court system in the latest episode of This American Life. The episode also features a plaintiff in the joint lawsuit, who (using the pseudonym David), vividly describes his experience after being abducted by ICE at an immigration hearing where he had planned to submit his asylum application. 

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ICE refuses to return father to family after judge grants him bond

By defying judges as part of a larger assault on due process, the Trump administration has shown that it will even undermine the rights of people with strong cases – like Edgar, a husband and father of an 18-month-old, who is one of thousands of people caught in a legal standstill. ICE refuses to return him to his family, even though he was granted bond by an immigration judge.

IN THE NEWS: In an interview with Borderless Magazine, NIJC Managing Attorney Lisa Chun posed the question, “If they can do these things that are blatantly unlawful to immigrants, then what’s to say they can’t do it in other areas or to other people?”

Read more here. 

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NIJC attorney shares 'Know Your Rights' information at community roundtable

NIJC Senior Know Your Rights Attorney Laura Cholula Chang joined the Chinese American Service League and La Raza Chicago at a roundtable hosted by Latino News Network to discuss the Trump administration's threats against Chicago and inform people on the best ways they can prepare and protect themselves from ICE raids.

"Everyone must know their rights and exercise every single one," Cholula said. "Demand warrants, remain silent."

Watch the full discussion here. 

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Legal volunteers help refugees apply for green cards 

Last month, volunteers from Faegre Drinker and Discover assisted 12 refugees with their green card applications at a pro bono legal clinic. Our clients came from Burma, Iraq, and Venezuela and ranged in age from 5 to 85 — and now they are all one step closer to permanent residency here in Chicago. Many thanks to our pro bono network for contributing their time and skills to support our community members. Congratulate them on LinkedIn! 

Last chance to RSVP for the 7th Annual 5K for Immigrant Justice

Event Information 
Race Day  
Saturday, October 11, 2025  
11:00 – 2:00 p.m. EDT In-person in Goshen, IN
 
Virtual Race Week  
Saturday, October 11 – Saturday, October 18, 2025 

Race week kicks off THIS SATURDAY, October 11! Join us for the 7th Annual NIJC Community for Immigrant Justice 5K in person in Goshen, Indiana or virtually. For seven years, this event has brought together runners, walkers, and supporters nationwide to champion immigrant rights and raise critical funds for legal services that keep families together.

You can join us in person in Indiana or participate virtually from your own neighborhood. We can’t wait to see you at this year’s race! Register here. 

NIJC showcases policy and community impact in new report

This past year, NIJC has defended the rights of people and their families to help them achieve safety and stability amidst unparalleled attacks on due process and the rule of law. 

Thanks to your support and the assistance of our legal network, we have remained steadfast in protecting and educating our community members, and making systemic change. And now, NIJC has compiled the highlights of our work and victories over the past year in our new 2025 Impact Report.

Read the FY2025 NIJC Impact Report here.