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

DHS Secretary Johnson Discusses Border Security, Executive Action, Refugees and PEP

October 30, 2015

On Thursday, Secretary Jeh Johnson of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) addressed the 12th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference, covering a wide-range of topics, from border...

  • Blog

UN Report Highlights Worsening Refugee Crisis in the Americas

October 29, 2015

The Northern Triangle of Central America—comprising El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—is now one of the most dangerous places on the planet. The United Nations estimates that Honduras has the...

  • Blog

Report Highlights Uncertain Futures of Unaccompanied Child Migrants

October 16, 2015

Although their numbers have declined this year, unaccompanied children (UACs) from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico continue to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border by the thousands. Many—...

  • Blog

Refugee Security Process is Already Robust, Senate Hearing Shows

October 2, 2015

The United States plays an important role in protecting thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people fleeing persecution in their home countries. At no point in U.S. history has this role been...

  • Blog

How Should the U.S. Respond to the Syrian Refugee Crisis?

September 10, 2015

As the Syrian refugee crisis mounts, the United States is being pressured both internally and externally to take in more of the nearly 4 million refugees that have been displaced due to ongoing...

  • Blog

New Report Evaluates Scale of the Central American Refugee Influx

September 4, 2015

The Central American refugee influx along the U.S.-Mexico border, which generated so much press attention in 2014, is not going away anytime soon. The conditions which spur Salvadorans,...

  • Blog

Story of Unaccompanied Child Underscores Importance of Legal Representation Needed for All Refugee Children

July 28, 2015

Elvis Garcia is a migration counselor at the Catholic Charities Community Services of New York. He is also a former unaccompanied child who fled from his native Honduras in 2005 when he was 15...

  • Blog

Reports: Detention Doesn’t Deter Migrants and Refugees From Coming to United States

May 8, 2015

In 2009, the Obama Administration ended family detention at the infamous T. Don Hutto jail in Texas and cut the number of immigrants in family detention to less than a hundred. However, after the...

  • Blog

Meet the First Ever Olympic Refugee Team

August 5, 2016

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are approximately 65 million refugees and internally displaced persons worldwide. Among them are world class athletes who...

  • Press Release

Release of Refugee Families is Long-Overdue Step

July 20, 2016

Washington, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council welcome plans announced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the release

  • 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...

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