Refugee Status

While updating our immigration system has been a slow process, over the last decade, there have been efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation and the DREAM Act. Other reform efforts include executive actions such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA). Learn more about the ways America can upgrade its immigration system.

Recent Features

All Refugee Status Content

June 16, 2016

Refugees and asylees are a relatively small share of U.S. immigrants – just eight percent of all immigrants living in the U.S. These are individuals who are fleeing persecution, war, conflict,...

May 31, 2016

Media outlets are reporting on the uptick in the number of individuals crossing the southern border into the U.S. This trend is not surprising given the ongoing violence in Central America. The...

April 14, 2016

Unaccompanied children arriving from Central America face many challenges – post-traumatic stress, facing a judge without an attorney, separation from their families, and the fear of being...

April 6, 2016

Earlier this week the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held a thematic hearing on the “Human Rights Situation of Migrant and Refugee Children and Families in the United States.” A broad...

March 23, 2016

At a time when politicians and others are expressing concern about the U.S.’s refugee resettlement process, two new studies show that refugees want to integrate and are indeed integrating into the...

March 9, 2016

Over the past week, several media outlets reported that Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (ACIJ) Jack Weil claimed that he could teach immigration law to three- and four-year-old children such...

February 18, 2016

When tens of thousands of women and unaccompanied children from Central America journeyed to the United States seeking asylum in 2014, President Obama’s administration concentrated its efforts and...

February 5, 2016

The Florida House of Representatives passed a sweeping “anti-sanctuary city” bill this week that would penalize Florida counties who do not aggressively target undocumented immigrants or who fail...

February 4, 2016

There are two competing narratives being spun about the Obama Administration’s response to the “surge” of refugees from Central America who are arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, and each of...

January 7, 2016

At one level, it should come as no surprise that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has taken into custody and intends to deport 121 unauthorized immigrants who fled violence in Central...

June 26, 2017

The Supreme Court has decided to hear the Travel Ban case when its fall session begins in October 2017. In the meantime, the Court will allow the administration to implement parts of President...

June 20, 2017

  Each year on June 20, people around the world recognize the plight, resilience, and courage of those who have been forced to flee their homes. This World Refugee Day comes at a time when record...

March 16, 2017

The Trump administration has failed in its attempt to rewrite the executive order banning individuals from targeted Muslim-majority nations in order to pass legal muster. On the eve of the new...

March 13, 2017

In the week following President Trump’s issuance of a second travel ban targeting six Muslim-majority countries, several states and a number of immigrant rights groups immediately returned to...

March 6, 2017

President Trump re-issued his immigration executive order on Monday that halts all refugee admissions for at least 120 days and bans entry into the United States for nationals of six Muslim-...

January 27, 2017
These actions will isolate America and make us all party to blatant and bigoted religious targeting. These actions also ignore the multi-layered processes the government already uses to screen and vet those seeking entry to the U.S., whether as a refugee, on a tourist visa, or another visa permitting entry.
October 21, 2016

In the event that there was any doubt, women and children from Central America’s Northern Triangle—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—are fleeing the same horrific conditions that were driving...

October 17, 2016

The UNHCR estimates that worldwide there were over 65 million refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced people who fled conflict, violence, and human rights violations in 2015. On average...

October 12, 2016

The United States plays an important role in protecting thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people and is one of 33 countries that resettles refugees. Our long-held legal and moral...

September 28, 2016
The statement emphasizes the important role that the United States has played in the past in protecting the world's most vulnerable people and why we need to continue to welcome those fleeing dire situations and not deny them entry.

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