The House Committee on Homeland Security held its first hearing of the 118th Congress on February 28, 2023, titled, “Every State is a Border State: Examining Secretary Mayorkas’ Border Crisis.” Under the leadership of Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) and Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-MS), this hearing discussed contemporary immigration policies at the U.S. Southern Border
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the Biden Administration proposed a new rule that would reduce the number of refugees that are able to seek asylum in the United States. Under this rule, most asylum seekers who cross into the United States between ports of entry or who present themselves at a port of entry without
On Tuesday, December 6, 2022 the National Foster Care Youth & Alumni Policy Council released a priority statement entitled Supporting Immigrant Children and Youth in Foster Care. Council members consulted with experts in immigration and foster care and polled current and youth formerly in foster care for their insight. The Council has forwarded three priorities:
There are a couple of bipartisan immigration negotiations currently happening on Capitol Hill, but with the end of the year quickly approaching, lawmakers and advocates are questioning whether a deal can be reached. Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have outlined a potential immigration proposal that would provide a path to legalization for
On Friday, October 14th, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen of Houston extended his order protecting hundreds of thousands of Dreamers from being deported and blocking new applicants from the program. Last year, Judge Hanen ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, created by President Obama, was unlawful, but allowed the program to
On July 13, 2022, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Representative Karen Bass (D-CA), and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the bicameral Children’s Safe Welcome Act. This bill establishes new standards to ensure that the safety and well-being of migrant children in government custody are prioritized, embedding best practices into every stage of
Of the more than 5,000 children who, court documents say, were separated from their parents under the previous administration's zero-tolerance policy for unauthorized border crossers and those who presented themselves legally at ports of entry, about 180 children have yet to be reunited with their parents, according to VOA News, though the ACLU believes the
On June 21, 2022, the Nonprofit Organization Adoptees for Justice held a Story Circle to bring awareness to the experiences of adoptees living without citizenship. They elevated the voices of two adoptees who live in the United States and two who were deported. Joe, Jang, Daniel, and Emily were all able to share their stories
On Wednesday, May 25th, 2022, youth serving organizations, in partnership with the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth, Congressional Foster Youth Caucus, and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Caucus, held a briefing titled, "Lifting up Lived Expertise: Fixing the System with Their Solutions - A Virtual Congressional Briefing." During this powerful livestream, several young people with
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released a statement on March 7, 2022, that it will consider granting deferred action to minors awaiting green cards through their Special Immigrant Juvenile Status but who can’t obtain a visa because of existing backlogs. Deferred action would protect those immigrants from deportation and allow them to work legally. “This
