Northwest Immigrant Rights Project is deeply concerned about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and stand in solidarity with Afghan people everywhere. We are grateful for the local community partners who are working to support Afghan people who have recently had to flee their country and … [Read more...]
Petition Congressional Parliamentarian for Path to Citizenship Decision
The chance to get a path to citizenship for millions of people— youth, farmworkers, and other essential workers— is very close! A process for citizenship is being debated in Congress at the moment and a key person, called the parliamentarian, will decide if citizenship language will enter the … [Read more...]
Immigration Days of Action, July 17 to 31, 2021
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition and the Welcome With Dignity campaign are hosting Days of Action from July 17-31 to create awareness and end Title 42 and expand asylum protections. The Biden Administration is expected to make a series of announcements on a Trump-era anti-asylum policy known as … [Read more...]
Private prison ban could limit ICE detention in the Pacific Northwest
After years of pressure from activists, the detention of adults and teens by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could be severely curtailed in the Pacific Northwest, thanks to action in the courts and in the Washington Legislature. Last week, the Washington state House … [Read more...]
U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 Bill Summary
On January 20, 2021, newly inaugurated President Biden announced the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, a broad immigration bill he sent to Congress immediately upon taking office. The bill would provide a path to citizenship for the undocumented population, a border management approach that includes a … [Read more...]
THE DEMOCRATS’ LONG WAR ON IMMIGRANTS
AS JOE BIDEN took the oath of office last month, Guatemalan security forces at the Honduran border thwarted thousands of U.S.-bound migrants. While decadeslong American imperialism has facilitated displacement throughout the region, the U.S. is increasingly outsourcing its deadly immigration policy. … [Read more...]
IN LOUISIANA AND Texas, immigrants seeking asylum are facing dire conditions in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers hit by this week’s extreme cold. At the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, advocates say parents and children have been living with … [Read more...]
Left on their own in the PNW, immigrant youth fight ICE together
They may have different backgrounds, but they’re sticking with each other to form a ‘super familia’ and help others like them. Unaccompanied youth such as José, who is originally from El Salvador and now lives in the Pacific Northwest, are often housed in youth detention centers scattered … [Read more...]
WA immigration advocates want to do more than erase the Trump years
While accurate, the headlines do not always acknowledge both the hope and frustration immigration advocates feel with the new administration. To be sure, President Joe Biden has signed a flurry of executive orders that do have an immediate impact on certain aspects of immigration law. But immigrants … [Read more...]
Essential Farmworkers Deserve Pesticide Protections
COVID-19 has pulled back the veil on the strikingly poor workplace conditions of these essential workers, built by decades of insufficient farmworker health and safety policy, poor immigration policy, and limited health care access. As a consequence, at least 86,900 food workers have tested positive … [Read more...]
Border Patrol policies kill hundreds of migrants each year—and they were designed to
Each year, untold numbers of migrants disappear in the borderlands after being pushed into dangerous and remote terrain by Border Patrol, the same agency that is then tasked with responding to migrants’ search and rescue emergencies. A new report released Wednesday found that the federal agency does … [Read more...]
Border agents on horseback surround No More Deaths camp just before Christmas
NOTE: No More Deaths camp is a project of the UU Church of Tuscon and UUSC (https://www.uusc.org/initiatives/no-more-deaths/) Just before Christmas Eve, Border Patrol agents on horseback surrounded No More Death's humanitarian aid station south of Tucson and told volunteers they were pursuing a … [Read more...]
Fair Fight Bond Fund Accepting Applications for Those Detained by Immigration in WA
The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network is thrilled to share that the Fair Fight Bond Fund is open and accepting applications for people who are detained by immigration in the State of Washington and need support with paying bond. To request assistance with paying a bond, a request form must … [Read more...]
Help with Immigrant Relief Applications Needed
Since Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) launched the WA COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund, over 55,000 people have applied and 16,000 applications have been approved! This is thanks to the tireless work of our community and our organizational partners doing vital outreach and application … [Read more...]
Funds Available from Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund
Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund COVID-19 financial relief —by and for immigrants. As immigrants, we’ve made Washington our home. If you’re an immigrant experiencing hard times because of COVID-19, and you aren’t eligible for federal financial relief or unemployment insurance, this fund … [Read more...]
Fair Bond Fund to Help Release Detained Immigrants
As COVID-19 continues to impact our communities, those most at risk are the members of our community who are in detention. Last week, La Resistencia broke the news that dozens of immigrants at the Northwest Detention Center had been exposed to COVID-19 by a GEO guard. Last month, we heard how in … [Read more...]
Kumeyaay band seeks federal injunction to halt construction of border wall
A band of the Kumeyaay Nation whose native land spans both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border filed a federal lawsuit this week against the Trump administration seeking an injunction to stop further construction of the border wall through sacred, ancient burial lands. Human remains have been … [Read more...]
U.S. immigration and citizenship applications will be more costly. Here are the new fees
Come Oct. 2, immigrants and foreign nationals in the United States will have to pay substantially more in fees to apply for many immigration and naturalization benefit requests. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published this week a final rule in the Federal Register that details … [Read more...]
Court Case Against Trump Immigration And Visa Ban Moves Forward
On April 22, 2020, Donald Trump issued a presidential proclamation to “suspend” the entry of nearly all immigrants to the United States. If the entry bans in the presidential proclamation continues, which might be for another four years if Trump is reelected, then virtually no employment-based or … [Read more...]
LETTERS FROM ICE DETAINEES EXPOSE DESPERATE PRISON CONDITIONS AMID CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
In June, women held at Eloy Detention Center, a private immigration prison in Arizona owned and operated by CoreCivic, began to write down what they were going through. The letter writers did so despite the threat of retaliation, because, they said, people had to know what was happening. “You can’t … [Read more...]