Landmark ruling finds deportation program unconstitutional

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) primary deportation program was ruled unconstitutional, which prohibits ICE from issuing many types of arrest requests (known as detainers). NIJC along with several partner organizations represented the plaintiffs in this lawsuit, which we originally filed in 2013.

Separated families sue the government

We're suing the Trump administration on behalf of five asylum-seeking mothers and their children, who are demanding monetary compensation for the extraordinary trauma they suffered after the U.S. government forcibly separated them.

Immigration detention is inhumane. Period.

NIJC Director of Policy Heidi Altman testified before the House Judiciary Committee, asking them to end ICE detention. Read and watch Heidi's testimony.

The morning of the hearing, CQ Roll Call published an article featuring new documents obtained by NIJC that reveal neglectful conditions inside ICE jails and expose the immigration detention system's profit-fueled growth.

And last month, documents were released showing that ICE uses solitary confinement excessively and arbitrarily. The government's own Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties called the use of solitary confinement “both inhumane and in violation of [the] ICE Directive.”

On the blog - Fernando's long journey back home

Fernando spent over a year in immigration detention, not knowing if or when he'd be reunited with his family. It was particularly difficult to be separated from his son, who has autism and didn't understand what was happening. “The hardest thing was the separation, something I wouldn’t wish on anyone," Fernando said.

Read Ashley's Twitter threads from the border here and here.

Attorneys report back from the border

NIJC attorneys and legal staff have been monitoring rights violations at the U.S.-Mexico border and shared their observations with the media.

Ashley Huebner spoke to the Associated Press from Laredo, Texas about being shut out of the sham tent "court" hearings for asylum seekers at the border. “[Attorneys] want to ensure that people’s due process rights are being protected, and there’s no opportunity to do that,” Ashley said.

Lisa Koop told NPR's Morning Edition about the tent courts, "I don't think there's any good intent behind this. I don't think there's any effort to say, 'Let's make the program more efficient' or 'Let's give asylum applicants a quicker opportunity to present their cases.' This is clearly an effort to foreclose asylum."

Elizabeth Kalmbach Clark assisted migrants, who are forced to wait in Mexico during their cases, with their U.S. asylum applications and told Chicago Public Radio WBEZ the situation is "heartbreaking."

Court says U.S. cannot detain children indefinitely

A judge blocked the Trump administration's attempt to terminate a decades-old legal settlement protecting the basic rights of children in custody, a move which would have allowed the government to jail immigrant children indefinitely in unlicensed detention facilities. Advocates have been mobilizing against this new policy for months and this is a huge victory for the rights of children and families.

America slashes refugee admissions--again

The Trump administration is slashing the number of refugees admitted to the United States to yet another historic low. This is shameful. At this time of greatest need, America slams our doors on the world. We must do better.

NIJC is expanding and hiring!

The need for immigration legal services and advocates is growing, and so are we! Now is a critical time to join the National Immigrant Justice Center team. We're hiring attorneys; development, operations, and data management staff; and more in our offices in Chicago, Indianapolis, and San Diego (yep, we now have an office there -- read below for more info).