DHS Watch was created in 2018 to uphold an immigration system that is competently administered, accountable, and adheres to long-held American values on immigration. DHS Watch shines a light on policies and administration that fail to adhere to basic principles of good governance.
It’s Time for Thorough Oversight by Congress The Trump administration ripped almost 3,000 children from their parents without any regard for basic principles of family law and policy. Officials have shown a stunning disregard for the best interests of children, documentation of family units, plans for keeping separated parents...
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It is now clear that the Trump administration deported 463 parents without the children they arrived with. With the administration under court order to reunite all families separated by the government, it is now imperative that these families be found and returned to the United States under well-established parole...
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In spite of ICE policy that officers should “generally avoid enforcement actions in courthouses,” The Charlotte Observer reports that ICE arrested a woman and her 16-year-old son outside a courtroom set aside for domestic violence cases. According to the report, the woman, identified as Maria, had moved into a...
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On Monday, more than 200 sworn statements from detained immigrants – mothers, fathers, children – were filed in federal court describing horrific conditions in immigration detention. Many came seeking asylum only to be thrown into what most described as “dog cages” and “ice boxes” with highly unsanitary conditions where...
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In an article for the New York Times, Caitlin Dickerson describes the real consequences of the Trump administration’s recent decision to strong-arm judges and adjudicators tasked with deciding the fate of thousands of asylum seekers. The intended result: deny virtually all asylum claims by women fleeing horrific abuse, kids...
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Traditionally, USCIS is in charge of granting applications for legal immigration status, while ICE enforces immigration law, including orders related to deportation. These two functions have generally been kept distinct. The idea is that someone with a chance to confirm their legal status should be able to do so...
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USCIS issued a memo on Wednesday that strong-arms adjudicators tasked with deciding the fate of thousands of asylum seekers to deny virtually all cases involving women fleeing horrific abuse, kids and others running from ruthless gangs, and most others claiming fear of persecution, where the persecution is not directly...
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After enormous public and political pressure, President Trump issued an executive order (E.O.) that purportedly put an end to family separation. However, since that E.O. was signed three weeks ago, only a few families separated by the Trump Administration have been reunited, even families with infants and toddlers and...
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Yet Trump administration warns of more family separation and family detention The Trump administration suffered another defeat at the hands of a federal judge, a decision that should pave the way for asylum-seekers and their children to be released into the community, into alternatives to detention projects that have...
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Over the past week, the Trump administration continued its efforts to dismantle immigration and refugee programs that reflect long-held American values. The policy changes, summarized below, include a draft regulation that makes it more difficult for those fleeing violence and persecution to apply for refugee status; an overhaul of...
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