Immigrants who have received protection under the Violence Against Women Act may be denied the opportunity to obtain a green card if their abusive spouses refuse to apply on their behalf. Men and women throughout the country who are victims of domestic violence have had their adjustment of status applications put on hold as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reportedly reevaluates its policy.

NIJC client Rodrigo Alvear would be a model citizen. For 30 years he has served the U.S. government, first in the U.S. Army and then as an employee of the U.S. Postal Service. He is active in his church, and dreams of doing missionary work abroad. He is the type of person many Americans would be proud to call their own. But his quest to naturalize has been stymied by government delays. Five years after passing his citizenship exams and interview, he is still waiting for a final decision from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"The unstated goal of these raids is to gain access to constitutionally protected areas in the hope of seizing as many undocumented persons as possible." - Class-action lawsuit in New York on behalf of families whose homes have been raided by ICE

The ImmigrationProf blog has posted a list of the Top 10 immigration stories of 2007.

Yesterday, Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill (H.R.2764) for fiscal year 2008 for most major federal agencies. The president is expected to sign the omnibus bill into law. As far as immigration provisions, the best news on the omnibus is what is not included in it.

A report released this week says that Hispanics in the United States feel their lives are getting harder due to the ongoing debate over immigration reform and the government's stepped-up enforcement measures.

U.S. immigration officials deported a pregnant high school senior in Roswell, New Mexico, after she was pulled from class by a local police officer regarding a traffic ticket issued days before.

A community in Texas is holding a toy drive for children jailed at the T. Don Hutto family detention center. The event offers an opportunity to remember the children who are caught up in the U.S. immigrant detention system.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should upgrade its care and treatment of immigrant detainees with HIV, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The organization charged that the agency has failed to meet its obligations to and respect the rights of its detainees with HIV.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is again bragging about its success at taking dangerous "fugitive aliens" and "criminal aliens" off the streets in 2007. As usual, the agency's language is misleading and serves to inhibit productive dialogue about how to create a fairer, more humane immigration system.

The CNN personality and his hate-filled rhetoric have fueled a lot of the immigration debate this year. Immigrant activists are responding.

Make plans to be in Chicago this spring! The National Immigrant Justice Center is organizing the third annual conference on cutting edge issues involving unaccompanied immigrant children.

When Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued new guidelines earlier this month to address the needs of detained immigrant mothers who are nursing, the agency failed to inform at least one of its contract facilities of the change. As a result, a nursing Brazilian mother was detained in North Carolina for four days before immigration officials released her and informed the jail of the new policy.

The New York Times' Nina Bernstein has done some digging since the house raids on Long Island in August drew criticism from local police officers. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has denied using racial profiling during immigration raids, claiming the operations are carefully planned and executed. The newspaper's account of how the Long Island raids played out tells a different story.

 

As we gather with our families to celebrate the holidays this season, let's remember those families who have been separated due to detention or deportation. Here are 7 things you can do to help an immigrant family in need.

Learn how you can support immigrant communities and defend American ideals of due process and human rights as Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues to step up harsh enforcement measures and raid our homes and workplaces.