Commentary

FirstGEN 2023 Fellows Reflect on Their Experiences this Summer

Alejandra Caballero Pinedo, Andy Flores, and Kathleen Hoang

Published Aug 15, 2023 The FirstGEN Fellows Program connects first-generation college students with legal organizations, including the National Immigration Law Center, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under...

What to Know About the Biden Administration’s Proposed Restoration of DACA Recipients’ Access to Affordable Care Act Programs

Gabrielle Lessard

Published May 5, 2023 The senseless exclusion of immigrants with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) from Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage is finally ending. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a proposed rule that would...

Biden’s Reported Plans to Detain Haitian Asylum Seekers at Guantanamo Perpetuates History of Anti-Black Racism in U.S. Immigration Policy

Chiraayu Gosrani

Published Feb 1, 2023 Crises around the world—including in Ukraine and Haiti—have sparked increased flows of migrants seeking safety in the United States. While the Biden administration has welcomed Ukrainian refugees with open arms, senior officials are hastily...

Two Years After Deadly Nitrogen Leak at Georgia Poultry Plant, A Big Step Forward to Protect Immigrant Workers Reporting Labor Abuses

Shelly Anand, Michelle Lapointe, and Alessandra Stevens + 1 more

Published Jan 27, 2023 Two years ago, on January 28, 2021, Gainesville, Georgia was the site of a tragic and entirely preventable liquid nitrogen leak at a poultry plant, which killed six workers. In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, traumatized immigrant...

Congress Must Act to Prevent 300K DACA Recipients from Losing Health Care

Ben D’Avanzo

Published Nov 30, 2022 The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has been a critical tool for immigrant youth in providing some level of stability, accessing education, and facilitating the ability to provide for themselves and their family. But...

Texas’ Judge Shopping Undermines Public Interest and the Future of Public Policy

Max Wolson

Published Oct 4, 2022 Driven by ambitions for higher office at any expense, Texas’ governor and attorney general have challenged virtually every action taken by the Biden administration. Texas is particularly committed to stymieing any attempt to make the...

Biden Must Do More for People Still Hurting From the Muslim and African Ban

Haddy Gassama

Published Jul 25, 2022 On his first day in office, President Biden issued an executive order that rescinded the Muslim and African Ban, saying that the former administration’s policies were “contravening our values” and had left “a stain on our national...

What Is Going on With DACA in the Courts?

Jess Hanson

Published Jun 29, 2022 With two back-to-back federal court hearings related to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) policy coming up on July 6 and 7, we can all use a refresher on what’s going on. We’ve got you...

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Understanding of the Power of Language Is a Welcome Addition to the Supreme Court

Lisa Graybill

Published Apr 7, 2022 At the recent hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) asked Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson about her seemingly “conscious choice” to avoid harmful language in her legal writings to acknowledge the inherent...

Why is the Government Defending Racist Laws?

Max Wolson

Published Mar 23, 2022 Initially, the Biden administration took some positive pro-immigrant first steps, such as ordering a review of federal immigration policy to develop “welcoming” policies, directing federal agencies to cease using dehumanizing terms, and...

We Need for Congress to Pass the LIFT the BAR Act

Published Sep 9, 2021 In the coming months, Congress will have the opportunity to rectify a decades-old injustice and take a big step toward achieving racial equity by passing the LIFT the BAR Act (full name: Lifting Immigrant Families through Benefits Access...

Emergency COVID Grants Are Now Available to Immigrant Students

Sarah Kim Pak

Published May 27, 2021 The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently finalized new federal regulations and accompanying frequently-asked-questions (FAQ) guidance that remove the Trump administration’s unfair and unlawful restrictions denying undocumented and other...

Answers to Common Questions about Immigrants’ Access to the COVID-19 Vaccines

Ben D’Avanzo

Published Apr 12, 2021 This article provides answers to common questions regarding immigrant access to COVID-19 vaccines. It addresses information related to documentation requirements, data privacy, eligibility, cost, protected spaces, and rights...