State and Local

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

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May 23, 2017

While campaigning for office, then-candidate Trump threatened to punish so-called sanctuary cities by defunding them. Soon after his inauguration, he released an executive order on interior...

May 16, 2017

The new administration has demonstrated that no one is off limits when it comes to ramping up their deportation policies, and as a result community safety is in jeopardy. Despite the fact that...

March 2, 2017

State by state “sanctuary” policies have received significant attention lately. Hundreds of communities across the nation have passed some version of a sanctuary policy and in doing so have made...

January 3, 2017

Since the election, states and localities have begun to think creatively about how to push back against President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to undermine current enforcement priorities and...

December 12, 2016

With all the focus on what to expect at the national level on immigration under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, it’s easy to overlook the states and localities, which are reacting...

December 6, 2016

A Texas judge issued a final judgment last Friday prohibiting the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) from issuing a childcare license to the nation’s largest family...

September 27, 2016

After six years of challenges, including a trip to the Supreme Court, the legal battle over Arizona’s SB 1070 has come to an end—for now. The law faced a wave of opposition soon after going into...

May 16, 2016

On Friday, a Texas judge extended the temporary restraining order preventing Texas from licensing the Dilley detention center as a childcare facility. Dilley is one of two privately operated...

May 5, 2016

Several notable developments took place in states across the U.S. over the past several months in 2016. In California, several recently passed immigration-related laws–collectively known as the “...

April 12, 2016

Immigration detention is being addressed at the state and local level in a variety of ways. In Indiana, local advocates are opposing a new private detention facility, and in California,...

November 28, 2017

In the face of heightened threats around immigration enforcement, communities are taking action to ensure due process for their undocumented community members. These rapid response efforts are...

November 16, 2017

In a sweeping effort to increase local law enforcement’s role in immigration enforcement, the Trump administration is preparing to increase the number of officers who are authorized to act as...

October 17, 2017

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has a long track record of operating in the dark, with little transparency and accountability.  The most recent examples come from the agency’s failure to...

October 10, 2017

The White House released its Immigration Principles and Policies late Sunday night, providing an outline of the Trump administration’s proposals on immigration. The principles were sent to...

September 28, 2017

Heightened immigration enforcement has in turn heightened fear, anxiety, and confusion throughout the country. Arrests and stops by federal immigration officials at state and local courthouses is...

September 13, 2017

This week House Republicans are set to vote on yet another anti-immigrant bill that attempts to scapegoat immigrants and grant far reaching enforcement powers to the Department of Homeland...

September 1, 2017

The State of Illinois has taken steps to push back on the Trump Administration’s efforts to force local law enforcement into doing the job of federal immigration enforcement officers. Governor...

August 22, 2017

Racial profiling often runs rampant in communities that have mobilized their law enforcement officers to act as immigration officials, with the Hispanic community frequently faring the worst. A...

June 12, 2017

After debate rocked the Texas State Capitol, Governor Greg Abbott signed the controversial Senate Bill 4 (SB4) in May, which purports to ban sanctuary city policies and gives local police the...

May 26, 2017

For the third time in five years the House Judiciary Committee has passed a draconian interior enforcement immigration bill out of committee on a party line vote. Immigration advocates and...

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