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U.S. President Joe Biden talks with newly sworn in Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas before signing several executive orders directing immigration actions for his administration in the Oval Office at the White House on February 02, 2021 in Washington, DC. Both wear face masks and Mayorkas stands approximately six feet away from the desk President Biden sits at.

Biden’s Asylum EOs and Where to Go from Here

Biden's asylum executive orders are laudable in many respects, but more work is needed to fix an asylum system that was broken well before Trump took office.
Feb. 4, 2021
An asylum seeker staying at the Juventud 2000 migrant shelter in Tijuana, Baja California State, Mexico, sprays disinfectant on tents on April 3, 2020 as stronger cleaning measures are being implemented to fight the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic.

Father-Son Separation at US Border Illustrates Lasting Harm That Demands Redress

The abuses they faced under the Trump administration's immigration policy echo those revealed in a new Human Rights Watch investigation.
Jan. 6, 2021
Asylum seekers wait for news outside El Chaparral port of entry on the US-Mexico border in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on March 19, 2020. It is raining and some carry umbrellas.

Turned Away: The MS St. Louis and Its Echoes Today

In early June 1939, more than 900 passengers—almost all Jewish—sailed near the Florida coast aboard the MS St. Louis. Fleeing persecution by Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party in…
Jun. 5, 2020
Honduran father Juan and his six-year-old son Anthony walk on their way to attend Sunday Mass on September 9, 2018 in Oakland, California. They fled their country and crossed the U.S. border at a lawful port of entry in Brownsville, Texas seeking asylum. They were soon separated and spent the next 85 days apart in detention. Juan was sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma, while his son was sent to a detention shelter New York. Juan said it took six weeks from the time of separation until he was able to make a phone call to his son.

Assessing the Legal Landscape of Family Separation in the Immigration Context

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen was interviewed this week as part of FORTUNE’s “Most Powerful Women Summit” in Washington. Nielsen, who seemed nonplussed…
Oct. 25, 2019 , and 1 more
Protestors led by a coalition of interfaith religious leaders demonstrate against US immigration policy that separates parents from their children, June 23, 2018 outside the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, California. A sign reads, “Stop caging families,” and many protestors wear shirts reading, “& Vote.”

Fear and Loathing on the Border: A First-Hand Look at the Travesty

Far from the loophole-ridden sieve described by the administration, the asylum system we saw was a Kafka-esque labyrinth designed to punish migrants who dare to exercise their…
Sep. 13, 2019
Honduran father Victor walks with his daughter Katie near Metropolitan Detention Center, shortly after he was released on bond from six months in ICE custody, on October 2, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

Arbitrary Detention of Asylum Seekers Perpetuates the Torture of Family Separation

Abitrary detention of asylum seekers - itself a violation of international human rights law - must be ended in order to resolve the horror of family separation at the border.
Mar. 15, 2019 , and 1 more
Honduran father Juan and his six-year-old son Anthony walk on their way to attend Sunday Mass on September 9, 2018 in Oakland, California. They fled their country, leaving many family members behind, and crossed the U.S. border in April at a lawful port of entry in Brownsville, Texas seeking asylum. They were soon separated and spent the next 85 days apart in detention. Juan was sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma, while his son was sent to a detention shelter New York. They were one of almost 2,600 families separated due to the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy. Juan said it took six weeks from the time of separation until he was able to make a phone call to his son. They were finally reunited in July and are now living in Oakland as their asylum cases are adjudicated.

New Proof Surfaces That Family Separation Was About Deterrence and Punishment

Newly obtained government documents reveal that the underlying intent of the Trump administration’s brutal practice of separating migrant families at the border was, in fact,…
Nov. 27, 2018

The Torture of Forcibly Separating Children from their Parents

A detailed analysis of why the family separation policy amounts to government-sanctioned torture.
Oct. 18, 2018

What Is the Flores Agreement, and What Happens If the Trump Administration Withdraws from It?

If the Trump administration succeeds in ending a decades-old court decision governing the treatment of migrant children, it will be able to detain migrant children indefinitely…
Oct. 18, 2018

Family Separations: Evolved Not Resolved

In a new development, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California has approved a settlement in a set of family separation cases.
Oct. 16, 2018

Just Following Orders: Overdue Oversight and Unanswered Questions on Family Separations

Nearly three months after the Trump administration’s family separation policy began and over one month after a public outcry led to its end, Congress finally held its first hearing…
Aug. 8, 2018

Trump Admin’s Distorted Data Doesn’t Prove Its Cruel Border Policy Deters Migration

The Trump administration's data on border security doesn’t prove the cause and effect of its "zero-tolerance" policy that DHS is touting.
Jul. 12, 2018
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