Your weekly summary from the Council

 LATEST ANALYSIS 

• Legal Victory Brings Hope to Asylum Seekers Turned Away at the Border
  
  Thousands of asylum seekers illegally turned away at the border can now sue the government. This victory is a welcome development in the face of an otherwise grim situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Read More »
   
• Updates to USCIS Policy Manual Give Broad Discretion to Issue More Denials
  
  USCIS has imposed new requirements that will increase time and expense for the agency and applicants. Applications for work authorization will be particularly impacted. Read More »
   
• Deaths in Immigration Detention Are at a Record High. ICE Can Prevent the Next One
  
  Three men died in ICE custody within a week of each other. Two died after being diagnosed with COVID-19. These tragedies increased the total deaths in ICE custody this year to 18, the highest number since 2006. Read More »

FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW

• The Trump administration is citing COVID-19 as a pretext to ban people seeking asylum—but this was part of their anti-immigrant agenda from the beginning. This report outlines the major immigration policy disruptions since the pandemic began.
  
  Read more: The Impact of COVID-19 on Noncitizens and Across the U.S. Immigration System

ACROSS THE NATION

• The American Immigration Council joined a lawsuit to stop U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from denying detainees the ability to contact their lawyers and the outside world by phone. These phone access issues have made it extremely difficult to represent detained individuals in the El Paso area because in-person visits are impossible due to COVID-19.
  
  Read more: Stopping Government Interference to Attorney Phone Access in Immigration Detention Centers
  
  The government often issues notices to appear—which instructs a person when to appear in immigration court—with fake dates and times. We just submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in Niz-Chavez v. Barr that argues this and other practices are at odds with fundamental fairness and due process.
  
  Read more: Council Submits Amicus Brief on Two-Step Notice Practice to Supreme Court in Niz-Chavez v. Barr

 QUOTE OF THE WEEK 

“Placing a halt on the H-1B visa program will frustrate ongoing efforts to jump-start our economy. Economists project a one-year freeze on the already capped 85,000 H-1B visas awarded annually will result in a reduction of 155,550 jobs. Meanwhile, a study cited by the American Immigration Council highlights that an expansion of H-1B visas would generate approximately 1.3 million jobs and increase GDP by more than $158 billion by 2045.”

–Dennis E. Nixon, CEO of International Bank of Commerce in Laredo and chairman of the board of International Bancshares Corp. 

Read more: Suspending visas will further upend our economy

 FURTHER READING 

• U.S. News & World Report: Top DHS Officials Serving Illegally, GAO Finds
   
• Above The Law: It’s About To Become A Lot More Expensive To Immigrate Legally

• Forbes: Trump Immigration Policy Now Blocks World’s Most Highly Skilled

• Redirect: Immigration Law and Perspectives: Customer Probationary Bureau

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