At the Huffington Post this week is the story of Norma, a Texas Dreamer who was brought to the U.S. when she was three years old, who married her high school sweetheart and was ten days away from becoming a U.S. citizen — when she had a breakdown, was... Continue »
Austin, TX –  In a new piece, Roque Planas of HuffPost outlines the journey through anxiety, depression, PTSD–and towards recovery–of Norma Herrera, a formerly undocumented immigrant living in Texas. Growing up with the fear that she or her parents could be deported at any moment profoundly affected Norma’s mental health.  Even after... Continue »
Donald Trump, as part of his white nationalist agenda, wants to kick immigrants already in the country out and keep future immigrants from coming in. As Reuters originally reported this month, he’s not above punishing children and families to do it, by threatening their ability to stay in the... Continue »
The Senate is debating immigration legislation this week, and everything from cutting legal immigration to increasing deportations appears to be on the table. What Senators should be focusing on is passing the Dream Act. Since Donald Trump ended the deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) program last fall, hundreds... Continue »
Since Donald Trump ended DACA last September, hundreds of Dreamers have been losing status every day, and thousands of Dreamers will start losing their ability to work (as well as their protection from deportation) when the program officially ends in March. Among many other things, this may compromise America’s... Continue »
Chicago, IL – In an op-ed for Crain’s Chicago Business, Sara McElmurry, communications strategist and nonresident fellow for immigration at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, makes a compelling case on how the revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has issued a threat to a crucial pipeline of Midwestern workers: home health care aides. The... Continue »
In a column for the New York Times, Paula Span highlights the critical contributions immigrants, including TPS holders, make to the United States elder care and healthcare industries. The piece aptly cites the following statistic to support its claims: One in four of the direct-care workers in the nation’s nursing homes, assisted living... Continue »
As we've been writing about all week, House Immigration Subcommittee Republicans like Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) hit a new low on Wednesday with their "Holiday on ICE" detention hearing, in which they spent some 90 minutes insisting that our nation shouldn't bother providing immigrant detainees with adequate health care. Continue »
As the House Immigration Subcommittee hearing, "Holiday on ICE," gets underway, a press call today highlighted flagrant and repeated violations inside our nation's immigrant detention centers and questioned why House Republicans are making light of an issue so seriously in need of reform. Continue »
Today at 1:30, the U.S. House Immigration Subcommittee will renew its attack on immigrants with a hearing to "examine" the Obama Administration's updated Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS). Continue »