Press Releases

CHICAGO- Attorney General Jeff Sessions today reversed decades of U.S. immigration court precedent by eliminating “administrative closure,” a tool the federal government and immigration attorneys frequently use to relieve overloaded immigration court dockets by removing cases for individuals…

Trump Administration Continues to Grow List of People to be Exiled to Danger Statement of Mary Meg McCarthy, Executive Director, National Immigrant Justice Center CHICAGO (May 4, 2018) – The National Immigrant Justice Center condemns the Trump administration’s announcement that it will terminate…

CHICAGO – The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) filed a friend-of-the-court brief today with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, challenging his recent efforts to unilaterally reevaluate a settled immigration court case, which could have implications for a broad range of asylum seekers…

Reversal Comes Two Weeks After Announcement that Programs Would be Terminated Statement of Mary Meg McCarthy, executive director, National Immigrant Justice Center WASHINGTON, D.C. — Attorney General Jeff Sessions told Congress that the Department of Justice will continue the Legal Orientation…

CHICAGO – Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that the Department of Justice cannot legally withhold law enforcement funding from cities that have refused to enlist their local police in federal immigration enforcement. The court upheld a federal district court’s…

Orders Government to Assess Placement in Least Restrictive Setting and Alternative Forms of Custody Washington, D.C. - The U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia has ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to reassess its custody decisions for two unaccompanied immigrant…

CHICAGO – The U.S. Supreme Court, by a vote of 5-4, has struck down part of the “aggravated felony” definition, one of the most punishing provisions in U.S. immigration law. The Court found a provision, which triggers automatic removal for offenses that by their nature tend to be “crimes of…

Department of Justice Program Defunds Legal Orientation and Help Desk Programs for 53,000 Immigrants Per Year, Violating Congressional Requirements and Undermining Efforts to Reduce Immigration Court Backlogs Statement of Mary Meg McCarthy, Executive Director, National Immigrant Justice Center…

White House Memo Institutionalizes a National Policy of Cruelty On Friday evening the President signed a memo ending a practice he refers to as “catch and release.” The term “catch and release” refers to the practice of allowing refugee men, women, and children who are fleeing persecution from…

As the Trump administration and Attorney General Jeff Sessions continue to escalate their attacks on immigrants and our nation’s justice system, the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) condemns the Department of Justice’s implementation of a quota system that will punish immigration judges for…