In Immigration Court, there is no minimum age which a child is prohibited from representing themselves. Immigration courts do not have the same “right to an attorney” that criminal courts have. The combination of these two factors, exacerbated by the recent separations of parents and children, has resulted in an increasing number of children, of all ages, who have been…
A federal judge in California upheld two of three key state sanctuary laws. California can restrict police cooperation with immigration officers. The state can require regular inspections of immigration detention facilities. The judge ruled that California cannot bar immigration officers from entering the premises of private employers without a warrant. Judge Mendez said at the end of his ruling that…
The Canadian government is investigating reports that U.S Border Patrol has been searching Canadian vessels in its search for illegal immigrants. While media attention has been largely centered around the southern border, an international dilemma is festering in the north. The Trump Administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration is causing political backlash and is harming our relationships with our nearest neighbors.
Federal law requires all children in America to receive public education, regardless of immigration status. Migrant shelters have become schools for the detained children in deportation proceedings. The children stay in the shelters on average two months. The classes place kids of all ages together, leaving the older children reviewing old material.
The outside world knows very little about the deportation process because the United States immigration system hides behind closed doors. Some immigration courts are kept inside secure ICE detention centers. Immigration judges can remove spectators and close the doors to proceedings at their discretion. The Times reporters were removed from immigration court in Texas without any explanation. Detainees have little…
Although the Trump Administration wants asylum seekers to come legally through ports of entry, these families are still facing issues with separation from their children. Despite statements from the Department of Homeland Security saying the separation of families is a “myth,” reports from immigration courts discovered by the Texas Tribune show the myth is very real. Immigration law experts believe…
Texas, along with six other Republican controlled states sued the Trump Administration to end DACA. Trump gave Congress the decision whether to keep the program. Congress did not reach a consensus. Federal judges have held that the program will be maintained but no new applicants are currently being accepted. These states are suing Trump to force him to end the…
The Trump Administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policies have led to the separation of over two thousand children from their parents. Many Republicans have criticized the Trump Administration for being “cruel” and “immoral”. Some of the most notable critics of the Trump Administration’s stance are Melania Trump, Laura Bush, Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney and John McCain. The outrage against these policies…
Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the current High Commissioner of the United Nations Human Rights Council, strongly opposed the Trump Administration’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents in a speech he gave on June 18th. He stated that it is “unconscionable” for the Trump Administration to seek to deter illegal immigration by inflicting abuse onto children. Immigrant rights activists hope…
Attorney General Sessions recently ruled that victims of domestic and gang related violence cannot seek asylum in the United States. He justified this decision by stating that asylum was never intended to be a government program to fix the problems of other countries. Immigrant and civil rights activists disagree with the notion of sending people on American soil back to…
