Refugee Status

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.

Recent Features

  • FOIA

Investigating USCIS’ Implementation of Humanitarian Parole and Refugee Processing for Afghan Nationals

Records to clarify why Afghans face such significant delays in humanitarian parole and refugee processing are necessary.

All Refugee Status Content

  • Blog

Number of Refugees and Internally Displaced Now at an All-Time High

June 20, 2016

This year, World Refugee Day marks a grim historical milestone: The number of people fleeing their homes to escape war and persecution is now higher than it has ever been since the United Nations...

  • Blog

Cases Show U.S. Policies Failing Central American Refugee Families

June 17, 2016

Last month, the Obama Administration doubled down on their Central American refugee deterrence policy by beginning a new round of raids targeting mothers and young people for deportation back to...

  • Blog

Six Facts You Should Know About Refugees

June 16, 2016

Refugees and asylees are a relatively small share of U.S. immigrants – just eight percent of all immigrants living in the U.S. These are individuals who are fleeing persecution, war, conflict,...

  • Blog

Public Radio Report Mischaracterizes U.S. Asylum Process

May 31, 2016

Media outlets are reporting on the uptick in the number of individuals crossing the southern border into the U.S. This trend is not surprising given the ongoing violence in Central America. The...

  • Blog

Undocumented Children Face These Challenges in Accessing Public Education

April 14, 2016

Unaccompanied children arriving from Central America face many challenges – post-traumatic stress, facing a judge without an attorney, separation from their families, and the fear of being...

  • Blog

Human Rights Commission Holds Hearing on Refugee Children and Families Seeking Protection

April 6, 2016

Earlier this week the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held a thematic hearing on the “Human Rights Situation of Migrant and Refugee Children and Families in the United States.” A broad...

  • Blog

New Studies Show Refugees are Integrating

March 23, 2016

At a time when politicians and others are expressing concern about the U.S.’s refugee resettlement process, two new studies show that refugees want to integrate and are indeed integrating into the...

  • Blog

Judge Who Believes Toddlers Can Represent Themselves, Only Part of the Problem in the Battle over Representation for Kids

March 9, 2016

Over the past week, several media outlets reported that Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (ACIJ) Jack Weil claimed that he could teach immigration law to three- and four-year-old children such...

  • Blog

Breaking Down the Central American Refugee Crisis and the U.S. Response

February 18, 2016

When tens of thousands of women and unaccompanied children from Central America journeyed to the United States seeking asylum in 2014, President Obama’s administration concentrated its efforts and...

  • Blog

Florida House Punishes Sanctuary Cities, Bill Authorizing Military Force Against Refugees Passes Committee

February 5, 2016

The Florida House of Representatives passed a sweeping “anti-sanctuary city” bill this week that would penalize Florida counties who do not aggressively target undocumented immigrants or who fail...

  • Blog

Trump Administration Refugee Admissions Fall Drastically Short of Six-Month Benchmark

March 29, 2018

Six months into fiscal year 2018, the Trump administration has admitted roughly 10,520 refugees, a number so low that it may be impossible to reach the 45,000 target set by the administration last...

  • Blog

The Trump Administration Is Separating Children From Asylum-Seeking Parents at the Border

December 11, 2017

An alarming trend along the U.S.-Mexico border has escalated within the last year: the inhumane practice of separating immigrant children from their parents at the hands of U.S. immigration...

  • Blog

Refugee Admissions Resume but Government Will Still Restrict Some Countries

October 27, 2017

With its current refugee ban formally expiring, this week the Trump administration announced it will resume the U.S. Refugee Admissions program—with one major caveat: refugees from 11 countries...

  • Blog

White House Immigration Principles Are Released as DACA Deal Looms

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...

  • Blog

The White House Has Slashed Refugee Admissions to Record Lows

October 2, 2017

The White House announced late last week that for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, beginning Oct. 1, 2017, the United States will only admit a maximum number of 45,000 refugees. This represents the lowest...

  • Blog

Travel Ban 3.0: What You Need To Know

September 25, 2017

Just as the Trump administration’s 90-day ban on travel from six Muslim-majority countries was set to expire, it announced the third version of its travel ban Sunday evening. This latest version...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Restores a Portion of Trump’s Travel Ban, In Continuous Chess Match

September 11, 2017

In a unanimous decision, the Ninth Circuit upheld a lower court’s decision on Friday in Hawaii v. Trump, allowing extended family members as well as certain refugees to enter the United States. In...

  • Blog

Hawaii Judge Rules That Grandparents and Other Close Relatives Are Excluded from the Travel Ban

July 17, 2017

This story was updated on July 19, 2017. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson ruled last week that “grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and...

  • Blog

Travel Ban Bars Grandparents, Grandchildren from Entering US – The Lawsuits Practically File Themselves

June 29, 2017

The Trump administration is set to begin implementing part of its long-touted travel ban on Thursday, which seeks to ban the entry of nationals of six Muslim-majority countries for at least 90...

  • Blog

Who Will and Won’t Be Impacted by the Travel Ban After the Supreme Court’s Decision

June 26, 2017

The Supreme Court has decided to hear the Travel Ban case when its fall session begins in October 2017. In the meantime, the Court will allow the administration to implement parts of President...

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