Q & A About Asylum
The Portland Press Herald just released some frequently asked questions [and their corresponding answers] about asylum and addresses topics such as who is eligible for asylum, the difference between asylum seekers and refugees, and what the asylum process looks like. Click here to see the Q&A.
Syrian Women and Children Need More Protection
Syria - a country at the center of the international community's focus right now. Are the millions of women and children displaced within Syria and refugees without being considered, though? IRC's new report tells the stories of many of the women and children left behind, or even with their families, who feel [...]
New Anti-Trafficking Law in Kenya
The Kenyan Parliament passed a new anti-trafficking law that more fully supports and protects victims of human trafficking, strengthening the prosecution of accused traffickers and paving the way for more convictions. This law promises improvements to the way trafficking is prosecuted in Kenya, which could have broad effects on trafficking [...]
Backlog in Immigration Courts Nationwide
To speed up the process of immigration proceedings, specifically for minors, the Justice Department has passed a new policy assigning more of the current 243 immigration judges to juvenile cases and appointing new judges to help accommodate the 57,000 unaccompanied minors who have made their way across the border in [...]
Groups Taking Class-Action for Immigrant Minors Without Representation
Several groups in the Seattle area are filing a class action lawsuit on behalf of 8 plaintiffs, aged 10-17, and on behalf of the tens of thousands of immigrant minor children who have crossed the southern US border in the past few months, sentenced to hearings without representation. The groups [...]
New York Immigrant Family Unity Project
NY has created yet another public defender program helping immigrant families facing deportation. Civil proceedings like immigration do not guarantee representation like criminal proceedings. For low-income immigrant families who cannot afford an attorney, it is almost impossible for them to fairly represent themselves against trained government lawyers in the more [...]
Shrimp & Trafficking
Did you know that the shrimp you eat may be linked to forced labor? Immigrants from Cambodia and Myanmar, as well as local Thai are made to work on Thai fishing boats 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, under the threat of jail or deportation. Read the New [...]
Other States Following Suit with Sex Trafficking Bills
As news of the reach sex trafficking has in the United States becomes a reality to local law enforcement and courts across this country, states have taken it into their own hands to pass anti-trafficking laws. The following states have most recently passed these laws protecting trafficking victims in their [...]
New Criminal Element Increases Sex Trafficking
San Diego has pinpointed a reason for the recent growth of sex trafficking: gangs. Not only is it a more profitable business than arms dealing, but it is also safer than drug trafficking, as seen in the Urban Institute's latest study. Traveling to different jurisdictions is more difficult for law [...]
Current State of Asylum in US
This article effectively lays out the problems and stages of asylum in the U.S. today: Asylum seekers entering the country increased by almost 6-fold in 4 years. There is a fear that many claims are fraudulent. During the legal process, many unauthorized immigrants are allowed to work legally on de [...]