Author: Aaron Reichlin-Melnick

Department of Homeland Security Blocks H-2B Visas for Filipinos, Dominicans, and Ethiopians

Citing high rates of visa overstays, on January 18 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a new rule mostly barring nationals from the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, and Ethiopia from receiving certain temporary worker visas. The U.S. territory of Guam is likely to be most impacted as it relies on large numbers of Filipino workers. […]

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Trump Administration’s Immigration Proposal Is Dead on Arrival

President Trump went in front of the public on Saturday and claimed he was going to propose a “compromise” to end the ongoing government shutdown. Instead of offering a bipartisan bill that would protect Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients from deportation, the 1300-page bill unveiled Monday night was […]

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As Shutdown Moves Into Fourth Week, Most Immigration Courts Remain Shuttered

With the government shutdown dragging into its fourth week—marking the longest shutdown in U.S. history—most of the nation’s immigration courts remain closed. The Trump administration decries immigration court backlogs and has implemented short cuts that limit and threaten due process to address the backlogs. Yet he has contributed to a shutdown that has led to […]

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No End In Sight as Shutdown Over Trump’s Border Wall Enters Third Week

Roughly 25 percent of the federal government closed on December 22 after President Trump declared his intent to veto any funding bill that didn’t contain five billion dollars for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Thirteen days later, much of the government remains on a shutdown, with Republican Senate leadership currently refusing to move […]

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A Second Child Died in Border Patrol Custody. Why Is the Government Doubling Down on Deterrence?

In early December, seven-year-old Guatemalan Jakelin Caal died within hours after coming into the custody of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Her tragic death brought renewed attention to the systemic problems of medical care in CBP’s “iceboxes,” where not even children are screened for medical problems after being detained. Tragically, a second child, eight-year-old Felipe […]

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