Category Archives: November 2022

National Immigration Law Center and More Than 330 Organizations Call on Biden Administration to Release Guidance that Enables Workers Involved in Labor Disputes to Apply for Deferred Action

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 21, 2022

CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Madison Allman, 202-384-1279
Emily Morris, 213-457-7458

National Immigration Law Center and More Than 330 Organizations Call on Biden Administration to Release Guidance that Enables Workers Involved in Labor Disputes to Apply for Deferred Action

WASHINGTON — The National Immigration Law Center and over 330 immigrants’, civil, and labor rights organizations sent a letter calling on U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to follow through on the agency’s commitment to clarify the process for workers asserting their workplace rights against abusive employers to access temporary protections, including protection from deportation and work authorization.

More than a year after DHS stated its commitment to protect workers through deferred action in its memo on worksite enforcement, the letter published today by NILC underscores the urgency for DHS to release its guidance. The letter also includes key recommendations for an effective and equitable process, such as recognition of state and local labor agencies’ investigations, and joint filing of deferred action and work authorization requests.

“We have long seen how workers’ vulnerability to deportation impedes their ability to speak out about labor violations and build power on the job, which in turn drives down wages and working conditions and undermines the enforcement of our country’s core labor standards to the detriment of all workers,” the letter said.

“This guidance is urgently needed, as every day that goes by without it, unscrupulous employers exploit workers and cheat the system in order to turn a profit,” the letter continued. “These employers must be held accountable, and workers must see a clear commitment from DHS so that they can indeed be “unafraid to cooperate” with labor agencies. We work directly with many workers who are unwilling to come forward without clear guidance from DHS.”

A PDF of the full letter and signatories can be found here.

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226 Groups Demand Democrats Protect Immigrant Youth in End-of-Year Package

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2022

CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Madison Allman, 202-384-1279
Emily Morris, 213-457-7458

226 Groups Demand Democrats Protect Immigrant Youth in End-of-Year Package

WASHINGTON — Today, as reported by POLITICO, a coalition of 226 organizations, representing many constituencies, urged Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer to prioritize protections for immigrant youth and DACA recipients by including permanent protections and a pathway to citizenship for the millions of immigrant youth in any end-of-year package.

In the following weeks, Congress has the opportunity to protect immigrant youth following the Fifth Circuit Court’s decision finding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy unlawful. DACA has protected more than 830,000 young people from deportation, allowing them to work, study, and contribute fully to American society. With voters, by a 2-to-1 margin, supporting Congress taking immediate action to provide permanent legal status to DACA recipients, the letter makes clear to Speaker Pelosi and Leaders Schumer that the time to act is now.

Excerpts of the letter, led by United We Dream, the Immigration Hub, UnidosUS, the National Immigration Law Center and other partners include:

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer,

The over 225 undersigned state, local, and national immigrant, labor, faith, civil, health, and human rights organizations write to urge you to take action to protect immigrant youth and DACA recipients. Immigrant youth across the country have been calling for permanent protections with a pathway to citizenship for decades. The implementation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in 2012 gave life-changing protection from deportation and the ability to work lawfully to hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth. But it has never been enough.

Early last month, DACA-eligible youth received the decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on the DACA policy and were once again left with uncertainty and a threat to their livelihood and ability to stay in the country they call home. The Fifth Circuit upheld a lower ruling finding the 2012 DACA memo to be unlawful and sent the case back to the lower court to consider the Biden administration’s new DACA regulation. Once again, immigrant youth have been left to anxiously await another court decision that will most likely upend their lives and futures. While this decision allowed for DACA renewals to continue temporarily, over 90,000 DACA-eligible youth continue to have their initial applications stalled. The writing on the wall is clear: DACA is dying. As Speaker of the House and Majority Leader of the Senate, we urge you to prioritize DACA protections in any end-of-year package.

The time to act is now, the potential incoming anti-immigrant majority in the House has been crystal clear in their opposition to providing protections for undocumented immigrants. Immigrant youth cannot continue to wait for Congress to act while the Fifth Circuit and the Supreme Court await the opportunity to terminate the program once and for all. In this time of deep urgency, we need your leadership to ensure Congress passes this long overdue and urgently needed legislation.

The full letter can be read here.

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Following Midterms, Congress Must Prioritize Passing a Pathway to Citizenship for Immigrant Youth

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2022

CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Emily Morris, 213-457-7458
Madison Allman, 202-384-1279

Following Midterms, Congress Must Prioritize Passing a Pathway to Citizenship for Immigrant Youth

WASHINGTON — Victoria Ballesteros, executive vice president of strategic communications and narrative at the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund (IJF), issued the following statement in response to the midterm election results to date:

“Voters once again rejected far-right extremism, reaffirming that the American public overwhelmingly favors leaders who offer real solutions to the issues we face as a nation. This repudiation of Republican extremism offers a crucial window of opportunity for Congress to follow through on the mandate delivered by voters to prioritize passing a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth before the end of the year.

“Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and other young immigrants have for far too long dealt with constant uncertainty about their futures. Hundreds of thousands are at risk of losing protections as politically motivated lawsuits make their way through the courts, and many remain wrongfully locked out of the policy.

“As Congress returns to session this week, hundreds of immigrant youth from around the country are flying into Washington to meet with their Members of Congress to send a clear message: Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support permanent protections for immigrant youth, and Congress must urgently deliver.”

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Haitian Bridge Alliance, National Immigration Law Center, and 287 Organizations Call on Biden Administration to Reject Plans to House Haitian Refugees in Guantánamo Bay

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2022

CONTACT
Taisha Saintil, [email protected]
Emily Morris, [email protected], 213-457-7458

Haitian Bridge Alliance, National Immigration Law Center, and 287 Organizations Call on Biden Administration to Reject Plans to House Haitian Refugees in Guantánamo Bay

WASHINGTON — Haitian Bridge Alliance, the National Immigration Law Center, and over 280 civil and human rights organizations sent a letter calling on President Biden to protect Haitian asylum seekers. The administration must not send Haitians seeking safety back to Haiti, third countries, or detain them in Guantánamo Bay.

The letter, published today by the Haitian Bridge Alliance and NILC, outlines the United States’ pattern of disparate and discriminatory treatment towards Haitian refugees seeking protection and the prior human rights abuses that Haitians previously suffered from while detained at Guantánamo Bay. The letter also details concrete steps the Biden administration can take to protect Haitian asylum seekers, uphold human rights, and follow through on commitments to advance racial equity.

“It is past time for the United States, and the Biden administration, to pursue these rights-respecting actions, and end the pattern of discriminatory and disparate treatment inflicted on Haitians seeking U.S. protection,” the letter states. “During your administration, Haitians have been met with summary push-backs at the hands of the U.S. Coast Guard. People have died and continue to die at sea while seeking protection at U.S. shores. Rather than protecting them, the United States further victimizes these individuals by returning them to danger.”

The letter continues, “Your administration has the power to turn the page on these harmful and discriminatory policies. We urge you to do right by Haitian people seeking protection, whether by land or at sea, to live up to our humanitarian obligations, and build an equitable humanitarian protection system that welcomes those seeking refuge.”

A PDF of the full letter and signatories can be found here.

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