As we approach 2020, it is almost time for the next census. Under United States law, a national census is conducted once every 10 years. In a somewhat underreported move that occurred early in the administration, President Trump’s Commerce Department put a new rule into place that adds a citizenship question to the 2020 census.…
As President Trump assumed office, he began following through on his promises to make America a less welcoming place for immigrants. In response, California passed a wide range of laws designed to protect immigrants, including a ‘Sanctuary State’ bill. For many immigrants, California’s reforms provided some much needed legal protection during a very difficult and…
The Trump Administration has repeatedly and consistently attacked immigrants and immigrant communities. Among many other things, the president has falsely accused immigrants of being more likely to commit crimes and he has proposed harsh new rules to restrict access to green cards for any immigrants who use public benefits. The president and his allies have…
In the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections, President Trump increasingly launched a steady barrage of rhetorical and policy-based attacks of immigrants and immigrant communities. This includes sending military officers to the Southern Border and claiming that he will end birthright citizenship through a blatantly unconstitutional executive order. In a November 1st speech, the…
On October 25th, 2018, President Donald Trump sent out a tweet that once again demonstrated his lack of understanding of United States immigration law and how our immigration system functions. The president stated that members of the so-called ‘caravan’ of migrants coming through Central America are trying to enter the U.S. “illegally” and that they…
On October 17th, 2018, the Los Angeles Times reported that United States Border Patrol agents arrested 16,658 “family members” at the U.S.-Mexico border in September. This is the highest number of family-related arrests on record. At the same time this is occurring, President Trump has started to lob more incendiary comments at immigrants. This culminated…
On September 22nd, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a proposed rule change that would limit access to green cards for immigrants who use basic public benefits. According to reporting from National Public Radio (NPR), the rule change would dramatically expand the federal government's authority to deny green cards to immigrants if they…
In October of 2017, the Trump Administration set the refugee ceiling at its lowest level in nearly four decades. At just 45,000 refugees, the Trump Administration’s first ‘cap’ was the lowest set by any Administration since the Refugee Act of 1980 was passed into law and created our current system. On September 17th, 2018,…
The immigration case backlog is growing as the processing time continues to slow down. On September 4th, 2018, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on new data that indicates that California has the largest immigration court backlog in the entire country. According to records collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, the…
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a form of humanitarian-based immigration law relief. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the power to grant TPS to nationals of countries that are deemed to be too unsafe for the United States to send people. In some cases, TPS is granted after major natural disasters;…
