New FOIA Document Undermines Key Assumption in Trump’s Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act

By Laila Khan & Lauren Harper  On March 15, 2025, President Trump issued a proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) against members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). The AEA is a 236-year old wartime authority that allows the President to detain and deport citizens of a foreign nation that is at war […]

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Five State Immigration Bills You Should Know About

By: Jojo Tompkins, State and Local Policy Fellow State legislatures are advancing policies that directly impact immigrant communities — creating new rules, expanding enforcement, and offering critical protections. At the start of the 2025 legislative session, the American Immigration Council shared how states could pass policies to protect their immigrant communities. Now, as the 2025 […]

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Immigrants’ Experiences Differ Wildly Depending on Which State They Live In

The Trump administration’s highly visible immigration enforcement efforts are impacting immigrants across the country – be it through the arrest and detention of immigrants or through the chilling effects these operations have on immigrant communities. While the federal government’s rhetoric and actions are rightfully at the forefront of immigrants’ minds, state government can also play […]

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Invisible Gatekeepers: DHS’ Growing Use of AI in Immigration Decisions

On April 30, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the updated 2024 inventory of unclassified and non-sensitive AI use cases within the department. The public data revealed something powerful: artificial intelligence isn’t just a future possibility in immigration enforcement—it’s already here. In fact, the inventory listed 105 active DHS AI use cases deployed by […]

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Language Access Continues to Be An Important—and Contested—Part of American Life

One month after President Trump declared English as the only official language of the United States, communities across the country celebrated Language Access Month throughout April. The month emphasizes the importance of ensuring that all people—regardless of the language they speak—can access the information, services, and rights they are entitled to. Despite the recent executive […]

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House Reconciliation Bill Would Supercharge Immigrant Detention and Effectively Eliminate Asylum for Most

On April 30, the House Judiciary Committee advanced a budget reconciliation bill which, if signed into law, would represent the single biggest increase in funding to immigration enforcement in the history of the United States. The bill would provide nearly $80 billion for internal immigration enforcement, including $45 billion dollars for Immigration and Customs Enforcement […]

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Trump Administration Abruptly Stopped Processing Some Green Card Applications. A FOIA Request Seeks Answers

By Raul Pinto and Jennifer Coberly On March 25, news reports surfaced that the Trump administration imposed a suspension in the processing of certain green card applications. The news reports stated that a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official confirmed the suspension. The agency said the suspension applied to people who entered the country […]

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The Government Is Mass-Emailing People Telling Them To ‘Leave the United States’ Within 7 Days. It’s A Mess, And It Might Be DOGE’s Fault.

Over the weekend, I got a WhatsApp message from Mr. A. Mr. A and I have been in touch since he was trying to get out of Afghanistan after American troops withdrew in 2021. After finally escaping with his young family and making it to Mexico, he eventually got an appointment using the CBP One […]

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In Kilmar Abrego Garcia Case, Trump Administration Escalates Its War on Due Process

Less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration must “facilitate” the “release from custody in El Salvador” of wrongfully-deported Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Trump administration has doubled down on defiance, with administration lawyers telling a federal court that Mr. Abrego Garcia is detained in the custody of […]

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Protected No More – How States Are Responding to Immigration Enforcement in Sensitive Locations

For almost 15 years, immigrants in the United States were able to seek medical care, attend school, and access other critical services without much worry of encountering immigration enforcement in these locations. This all changed on the first day of the new Trump administration, when the Department of Homeland Security Secretary revoked a policy that […]

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Trump Administration Terminates CHNV Program, Impacting More Than a Half-Million Immigrants

On March 25, the Department of Homeland Security announced in the Federal Register that it was revoking humanitarian parole for hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in the U.S. legally under the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan parole program (CHNV). In early April, parolees started receiving individual letters notifying them that their permission to stay […]

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The Fight for Immigrant Students’ Education: Policies, Barriers, and What’s at Stake

By: Jojo Tomkins, State and Local Fellow, American Immigration Council For generations, the United States has upheld education as the foundation for better opportunities. But the fraught politics of immigration are creating new barriers for immigrant children and families in accessing both K-12 schooling and higher education. These actions place undue burdens on immigrant students […]

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These Men Were Deported to El Salvador With No Due Process. Their Stories Show Why an Investigation Is Necessary

In the weeks before March 15, the Trump administration’s preparations for a major operation kicked into high gear. Venezuelan men attending routine check-ins with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ended up leaving in handcuffs. ICE agents fanned out across communities and began questioning and detaining men with tattoos. By the week of the March 10, […]

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Ahead of Tax Day, Fear of Filing Taxes Rises Among Undocumented Immigrant

Written by Steven Hubbard and Micaela McConnell Tax Day is approaching, but the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts may make many undocumented immigrants hesitant to file taxes. Some worry that providing personal information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could be used against them. Undocumented immigrants pay billions in taxes every year. However, the Trump […]

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Trump Is Trying to Deter Us From Representing Immigrants in Court. It Won’t Work.

On March 22, the Trump administration issued a memo, directing the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to take disciplinary and punitive action against attorneys practicing in our national courts. While the memo is broad, it takes particular aim at immigration lawyers, pro bono attorneys representing asylum seekers in immigration […]

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Recovery and Reform: An Ex-Gang Member’s Story

Congress approved a full-year continuing resolution on March 14 that will fund mass deportation while gutting domestic spending. The economic and humanitarian costs will plunge the most vulnerable communities into turmoil while stripping away essential services for all. Systemic failures will continue to spiral while children, U.S.-citizen or not, will be hit the hardest. Robert […]

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The Missing Due Process for Gang Allegations

When the Trump administration essentially disappeared 238 Venezuelan men (and potentially women) living in the United States to a prison in El Salvador earlier this month, it alleged they were members of a Venezuelan gang. Administration officials declared with certainty that these men belonged to the Tren de Aragua gang, boasting on social media alongside dehumanizing propaganda from Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president. Trump […]

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With Liberty and Justice for All: The Importance of “Know Your Rights” Education

In a country built on the principles of freedom and justice, certain fundamental rights for every individual—regardless of their immigration status—are protected under the U.S. Constitution and civil rights laws. However, recent attacks by politicians and government leaders have sought to distort the meaning of these rights and discredit efforts to provide “Know Your Rights” […]

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Why Trump’s Use of the Alien Enemies Act Matters for America

The Trump administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act on Friday—in a declaration that was initially kept secret, before being posted Saturday—has been held up in court for now, amid an escalating legal battle over the government’s compliance or lack thereof with a judicial order. But the importance of the Alien Enemies Act declaration isn’t […]

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In Victory for Transparency, Court Finds DOGE Must Make Records Available to the Public

Last week, a federal court in the District of Columbia found that the Department of Government Efficiency, known as “DOGE,” is subject to public oversight through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The decision is a victory for government transparency and democracy as a whole, as it requires that records created by DOGE such as […]

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