Immigration

The latest patently hostile treatment of immigrants to the United States at the U.S.-Mexico border has erupted into a confusing mashup of two distinct issues regarding undocumented immigrants and unaccompanied children. We are going to untangle these two issues and try to bring some clarity to an emotionally-charged situation brewing at the border. The issue…

As an undocumented immigrant, you may think you’re unable to open a bank account for savings and checking. However, this is untrue and, if you can, you should consider keeping your money in the bank. Using a local financial institution has many advantages that can help you with your life in Tennessee and the United…

The Vera Institute of Justice is a nonprofit organization with a mission to improve justice systems that ensure fairness, promote safety and strengthen communities. The U.S. Department of Justice announced on April 10 that it will be halting the Vera Institute’s Legal Orientation Program (LOP) as of April 30th. The LOP program serves more than…

At the end of February, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted raids and arrested more than 150 people in the San Francisco Bay area who were reportedly in violation of federal immigration laws. A story on CBSNews.com reports that about half of the individuals arrested in the raid had past criminal convictions in…

March 5th is fast approaching, and U.S. lawmakers continue to be unable to come up with a legislative solution for the “dreamers,” who are immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Former president Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provided protection for Dreamers, has been rescinded by president Trump.…

The Washington Post reported, in January, that the Board of Immigration Appeals must provide a spouse and mother of four children a new chance to show the deportation would endanger her life. The three-judge panel, based in Ohio, determined that the Board improperly rejected her request to reopen her asylum request even though there were…

On November 20, the Trump administration announced that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Haiti has been withdrawn. The effective date for the termination of TPS for Haitian citizens, which was announced by Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke, is July 2019. This gives Haitians 18 months to transition their lives back to…

In November 2017, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke announced that she has terminated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Nicaragua. The effective date is January 5, 2019 to allow Nicaraguan citizens ample time to transition back to their home country in an orderly way before their TPS status expires. The Secretary was…

When President Trump rescinded the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program in August, it placed the lives of about 800,000 immigrants in limbo. The current administration claims that the Obama-era program, DACA, which has allowed the children of undocumented immigrants permission to attend school, work and contribute to their communities and the U.S. economy,…

In July 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice said that it will withhold federal grant money for law enforcement from cities that refuse to allow federal immigration authorities access to their jails. This was yet another volley in the back-and-forth conflict between President Trump and the sanctuary cities throughout the United States. A sanctuary city…