The U.S. turns its back on refugees

The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) condemns the Trump administration's proposal to accept into the U.S. fewer refugees than ever before in our country's history. "This administration has once again turned its back on refugees around the world, who are fleeing for their lives at record number,” said NIJC Executive Director Mary Meg McCarthy. Read more.

Tens of thousands of Chicagoans receive legal aid in midst of global pandemic

In the fourth year of the Chicago Legal Protection Fund, NIJC and our partner organizations provided legal information, screenings, and/or representation to more than 35,950 Chicagoans, even through the challenges of a pandemic! Read more in our annual report.

Watch our webinar replays & learn more about the latest immigration issues

Policy Corner: Defending the right to asylum — a Sisyphean task
Watch the webinar
NIJC's policy experts and attorneys review the state of the asylum system after several years of brutal attacks, and how you can advocate for and defend the right to seek asylum.

Justice & Java: How attorneys and asylum seekers fight for protection in a pandemic
Watch the webinar
Learn how attorneys and asylum seekers are successfully obtaining protection despite the extraordinary changes to the asylum system brought about by COVID-19.

Policy Corner: The budget as a moral document — Appropriations & how to defund hate
Watch the webinar
NIJC's policy team gives an insider's view of the annual appropriations process, and how you can join in the call to divest funds from immigrant detention (which alone has a $3 billion budget) and invest in our communities.

NIJC holds webinars regularly to keep you updated with the latest in immigration issues. Check our calendar for upcoming events.

TAKE ACTION: Send a comment to protect due process for asylum seekers!

Send a comment to oppose a new rule that would strip due process rights from countless asylum seekers! By law, the Trump administration is required to accept comments from the public about regulations before they go into effect. We only have until Friday, October 23rd to express our outrage and protect the right to asylum in immigration court. Use our click-to-comment action page and template that makes it quick and easy to submit your comment. Send your comment now!

Deadline tomorrow: Register for NIJC's Virtual 5K for Immigrant Justice!

Join us from Sunday, November 8th through Sunday, November 15th for NIJC's Virtual 5K for Immigrant Justice Week! Register by tomorrow, October 12th, to get a free T-shirt with your registration! During the event week, choose your favorite route near you and run, walk, or wheel together (virtually) with people around the U.S. to support immigrant rights and fund life-changing legal services. Thanks to NIJC's amazing team and our partners in Goshen, Indiana, for organizing this fun event. Register now: bit.ly/NIJC5K2020

What we're reading

In her book, Here We Are: American Dreams, American Nightmares, NPR journalist Aarti Namdev Shahani tells a personal story about immigration that’s more complicated than the narratives that usually make the headlines. Shahani, who delivered the keynote at this years’ NIJC Human Rights Awards, tells the story of her and her father—she, a brilliant student at a New York City prep school, her father a shop keeper in deportation proceedings for unwittingly selling watches and calculators to members of a drug cartel—with love and tenderness. Buy on bookshop.org (and find your favorite bookstore to benefit), or buy it directly from your local bookstore.