In the summer of 2017, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement used unaccompanied immigrant children who were trying to reunite with their families to identify and target undocumented immigrants living in the United States. The operation swept up more than 400 people who had stepped forward as…

In October 2018 the Federal Register proposed a change to the current "public charge" rule which, if fully implemented, would punish poor immigrants for participating in public benefits programs by denying them access to visas or lawful permanent residence. The proposed changes were open for public…

In June 2018 former Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a decision known as Matter of A-B-, in which he attempted to limit the ability of survivors of gang and gender violence to obtain asylum. Read NIJC's Matter of A-B- practice advisory page for updates on this decision and subsequent court…

In March 2018, the National Immigrant Justice Center and pro bono partner Kirkland and Ellis LLP filed a class action lawsuit against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on behalf of immigrant teenagers who were transferred on their 18th birthday from Office of Refugee Resettlement custody to…

Salvadoran mother Ms. Q and her three-year-old son J were among thousands of families separated at the southern U.S. border in spring 2018 under the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy of prosecuting any migrant who crossed the border outside of a port of entry, even if they were with…

In December 2018, President Trump shut down  the U.S. government after Congress refused to provide funding for an exorbitantly  expensive, inhumane, and unnecessary wall along the U.S./Mexico border.  For 35 days, the Trump administration held federal workers’ salaries hostage and…

Poor medical care has resulted in multiple deaths in immigration jails around the nation. The National Immigrant Justice Center, Human Rights Watch, American Civil Liberties Union, and Detention Watch Network's report, Code Red, was based on the analysis of independent medical experts and…

Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been illegally imprisoning unaccompanied minors by transferring them to adult immigration jails when they turn 18 years old. This inhumane practice is a violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) which states…

NIJC Executive Director Mary Meg McCarthy made two important appearances on Anderson Copper 360 this summer. Since the very beginning of this administration's cruel "zero-tolerance" policy, NIJC was representing parents separated from their children.  When Olga and Marbel came to the…

After causing chaos by forcibly separating families at the U.S./Mexico border, the Trump administration continued down its path of neglect. Some families were denied asylum while others were deemed ineligible to reunite, and months later many remain in detention. NIJC staff and…