Sep 8, 2016
On an early morning in late January of this year, a young man named Pedro Salmeron was riding in the passenger seat of his father’s truck in Charlotte, NC when ICE agents stopped the truck and detained Pedro. His crime: fleeing gang members in El Salvador that had just...
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Aug 11, 2016
Pending Release of Wildin Acosta a Relief, But Administration’s Approach to Central American Refugees Must Change Wildin Acosta’s pending release from detention, and subsequent reunion with his family, while his asylum case is pending has been a cause for celebration across the state. Wildin is the third of six youth from...
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Despite written directives from DHS, a new analysis shows that undocumented immigrants with no criminal record are still being targeted for detention by federal agents. “Only one quarter met the standards for being ICE’s top priority for deportation, or those with serious crime convictions. Compared with 2014, there was...
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Earlier this year we learned that the Obama administration, in an attempt to deter illegal border crossings, had started to target recently arrived Central American teenagers for deportation. Despite outcry from the community and increasing reports of violence in the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, these cruel...
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There is a refugee emergency in Central America, and, to deal with it effectively, we need to treat it as a refugee emergency. Central American kids and families are fleeing horrific violence, gangs and rape. El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala are among the most murderous countries in the world. Today,...
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Over the holiday weekend, the New York Times published a powerful editorial criticizing the Obama Administration’s approach to the ongoing refugee emergency in Central America. The administration’s emphasis, heavy on deterrence and detention, stands in stark contrast to the Senate Democrats’ humane and practical approach to the refugee emergency (unveiled in late June and praised...
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An immigration judge has ruled that a North Carolina teenager arrested by ICE nearly six months ago can be released from detention — but only if his family can pay up thousands of dollars first. 19-year-old Yefri Sorto was one of the six North Carolina teens arrested by ICE...
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In a searing new TIME op-ed, “Orange Is The New Black” star Diane Guerrero slammed Obama Administration deportation raids targeting Central American women and children fleeing violence. Guerrero’s op-ed comes as immigration advocates eagerly wait the Supreme Court’s decision on DAPA and expanded DACA, which would allow some five...
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The American Federation of Teachers has penned a letter to the Department of Homeland Security urging an end to immigration raids targeting Central American students. “The increased policing and enforcement raids have had a chilling effect on our schools and immigrant communities,” reads the letter from the group, “jeopardizing...
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Advocates Call Approach Morally Wrong, Politically Stupid A front page story in the New York Times highlights growing criticism of the Obama Administration for the slow pace in resettling Syrian refugees in America and for its planned raids against Central American refugees. The Times story, by Julie Hirschfeld Davis and titled, “As U.S....
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