DOS has announced that the agency will comply with the ruling issued on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York which enjoins the Department of State from “enforcing, applying, implementing, or treating as effective” the Department’s rule related to the public charge ground of visa…

A federal judge on Thursday August 6, 2020 ordered coronavirus testing of everyone held at a California immigration detention center, saying authorities had shown “deliberate indifference to the risk of an outbreak.” U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has “lost the right to be trusted” that the agency will take…

Last Friday (July 31, 2020) in a late-afternoon ruling by the U.S. District Court of Oregon,  the Honorable Karin Immergut denied the government’s motion to dismiss the case in Las Americas v Trump . The lawsuit, which was filed in December 2019, alleges that the Administration has failed to establish an impartial immigration court as required…

On August 3, 2020, USCIS published a Final Rule that significantly alters the USCIS fee schedule by adjusting fees by a weighted average increase of 20 percent, adding new fees, establishing multiple fees for nonimmigrant worker petitions, and limiting the number of beneficiaries for certain forms. The rule also removes certain fee exemptions, changes fee…

On July 29, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) enjoined the government from enforcing, applying, implementing, or treating as effective, the USCIS Final Rule on Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds (84 FR 41292, 8/14/19) for any period during which there is a declared national health emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak….

On Tuesday , July 28, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security has decided to immediately make the following changes to DACA: • Reject all initial requests for DACA and associated applications for Employment Authorization Documents (EAD); • Reject new and pending requests for advanced parole absent exceptional circumstances; and, • Limit the period of renewed…

The European Union will keep its external borders shut to travelers from most countries including the U.S. for at least two more weeks. The EU’s travel “white” list who have the green light to visit the bloc  includes Algeria, Australia,  Canada, China, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay. The…

President Trump issued a memorandum today, July 21, 2020, ordering the US Census to exclude undocumented immigrants from the population totals. The position of the Trump administration is in conflict with the U.S. Constitution which requires that that the “ whole number of persons” be counted in each state. The ACLU announced that it will…

The Trump administration has granted ICE’s request to be designated a “security/sensitive” agency when it comes to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).The designation limits the public’s ability to obtain vital information about ICE. The move further shields ICE from public accountability, allowing them to withhold even more information. This is a blow to government…

U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston announced on Tuesday, July 14, 2020 that the ICE policy that would have forced international students to leave the U.S. amid the coronavirus pandemic has been rescinded after an agreement was reached by the federal government and several Massachusetts universities, including Harvard and MIT. Immigration and Customs Enforcement…