Immigration, Migration, and Refugee History & Rights

How we treat newcomers should reflect the values of fairness and equality that define the United States as a country.

A nation of immigrants: This is a convenient myth developed as a response to the 1960s movements against colonialism, neocolonialism, and white supremacy. The ruling class and its brain trust offered multiculturalism, diversity, and affirmative action in response to demands for decolonization, justice, reparations, social equality, an end of imperialism, and the rewriting of history -- not to be "inclusive" -- but to be accurate. What emerged to replace the liberal melting pot idea and the nationalist triumphal interpretation of the "greatest country on earth and in history," was the "nation of immigrants" story.

The Supreme Court must reverse the judgments of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the District Court for the District of Columbia, and the orders of the District Court for the Eastern District of New York, preventing the Department of Homeland Security from winding down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy.

The fate of Dreamers, those brought to the United States as children, is on uncertain ground as the U.S. Supreme Court reviews the Trump administration’s decision to rescind DACA. However, the momentum of the youth-led immigrant rights movement gives hope that the law will follow.

Up-to-date information & resources for undocumented students

The NPR Student Podcast Challenge received dozens of submissions about immigration. The student podcasters shared their stories of hope, struggle and success.

Latino USA, Reveal, and others highlight the human element in a politicized landscape.

Curated by Will Coley of Aquifer Media Will Coley, curator of this collection of podcasts, is an independent radio producer and social media strategist who’s worked for immigrant and refugee assist…

Every month we pick 3-5 podcast episodes around a theme and then discuss them at Podcast Brunch Club meetings all over the world. This month, the theme is MIGRATION & IMMIGRATION!

Immigration is a hot topic all over the world, and everybody’s got an opinion. There is a fear of Syrian refugees in more countries than I…

Best Immigration Podcasts List featuring immigration law, immigrant experiences, key immigration issues, conversations and in-depth discussions on immigration policy, insights and information on immigration reform and much more

Scott Warren's arrest for providing shelter to two migrants posed a question to his community and the court: Under what circumstances could humanitarian aid be deemed illegal?

As debate about immigration policy rages from small towns to state capitals, from coffee shops to Congress, would-be immigrants are dying in the desert along the US-Mexico border. Beginning in the 1990s, the US government effectively sealed off the most common border crossing routes. This had the unintended effect of forcing desperate people to seek new paths across open desert. At least 4,000 of them died between 1995 and 2009. While some Americans thought the dead had gotten what they deserved, other Americans organized humanitarian aid groups. A Common Humanity examines some of the most active aid organizations in Tucson, Arizona, which has become a hotbed of advocacy on behalf of undocumented immigrants. This is the first book to examine immigrant aid groups from the inside. Author Lane Van Ham spent more than three years observing the groups and many hours in discussions and interviews. He is particularly interested in how immigrant advocates both uphold the legitimacy of the United States and maintain a broader view of its social responsibilities. By advocating for immigrants regardless of their documentation status, he suggests, advocates navigate the conflicting pulls of their own nation-state citizenship and broader obligations to their neighbors in a globalizing world. And although the advocacy organizations are not overtly religious, Van Ham finds that they do employ religious symbolism as part of their public rhetoric, arguing that immigrants are entitled to humane treatment based on universal human values. Beautifully written and immensely engaging, A Common Humanity adds a valuable human dimension to the immigration debate.

NCSL conducts policy research in areas ranging from agriculture and budget and tax issues to education and health care to immigration and transportation. NCSL’s experts are here to answer your questions and give you unbiased, comprehensive information as soon as you need it on issues facing state legislatures. We answer more than 20,000 requests for information a year. The conference's consulting services on policy issues go beyond testifying. NCSL helps draft bills, organize workshops and convene legislative-executive teams. NCSL staff are prepared to visit your state to work with legislators and staff on almost any public policy issue or issue related to the management of a legislature. Contact your state’s liaison to schedule a briefing or to learn more.

With the passage of Arizona Senate Bill 1070 and its signing into law, the state of Arizona ushered in one of the toughest immigration laws in the United States at

On April 23, 2010, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a controversial state immigration bill. The bill, SB1070, restricts employment of unauthorized immigrants, directs police officers to investigate suspected unauthorized immigrants, and penalizes government agencies that do not enforce immigration laws.

What is “Operation Stonegarden”? Operation Stonegarden is a federal grant program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as part of the State Homeland Security Grant Program. Operation Stonegarden provides funding to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to enhance their capabilities to “support … Continued

Asking the U.S. District Court in Arizona to void the decisions to stop border wall construction and the “Remain in Mexico” policy until the federal government complies with its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act.

A handful of Arizona officials have joined 80 House Democrats and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in demanding that the Trump administration “safely and swiftly” release children and adults held in immigration detention centers due to the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. : The group sent a letter to Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Matthew T. Albence following an order from a federal judge on June 26 saying that all children who have been detained for more than 20 days at three facilities should be released. : “We write to you to urge you to safely and swiftly release all parents and children that are detained at the Karnes County Residential Center (“Karnes”), the South Texas Family Residential Center (“Dilley”), and the Berks County Residential Center (“Berks”)—the three Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) facilities that detain family units with their children—by July 17, 2020,” the letter reads. : [jump] : Arizona Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (CD-2) announced her addition to the call for family release in a press release yesterday. : “I have worked with my congressional colleagues to formally address our various concerns with ICE, and we have largely been ignored,” Kirkpatrick said in a statement. “I have been raising these issues and communicating with local leaders, advocacy groups, and through my platforms–separating families, and having people detained in COVID infected facilities is horrendous. The reports from migrant detention facilities are becoming increasingly alarming and we need people to know what is happening. We must demand more accountability and oversight, ICE must commit to family unity, investigate the treatment and facility condition complaints and comply with CDC guidelines, or people will die in these facilities.” : Kirkpatrick is joined by fellow Arizona representatives Ruben Gallego (CD-7), Greg Stanton (CD-9) and Raúl Grijalva (CD-3). : “Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Members of Congress, advocates, attorneys, and doctors have continuously urged ICE to use its authority to release detained families,” the letter reads. “Instead of releasing families, ICE has used the pandemic to implement cruel and inhumane policies toward immigrants. For example, in May, following another order from Judge Gee that required ICE conduct individualized release assessments for children in detention-the agency asked detained parents to sign documents without counsel present, leading those parents to believe they were forced to choose between indefinite detention with their children, and the release of their children alone, without them.” : Read the full text of the letter below: : Dear Acting Secretary Wolf and Acting Director Albence: : We write to you to urge you to safely and swiftly release all parents and children that are detained at the Karnes County Residential Center (“Karnes”), the South Texas Family Residential Center (“Dilley”), and the Berks County Residential Center (“Berks”)—the three Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) facilities that detain family units with their children—by July 17, 2020. : On Friday, June 26, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Judge Dolly Gee of the United States District Court of the Central District of California ordered ICE to release all children who have been detained for more than twenty days at Karnes, Dilley, and Berks by July 17, 2020. Flores v. Barr, 2:85-cv-4544-DMGAGR (C.D. Cal. June 26, 2020). Medical experts have continuously warned that detention increases the risk of transmission of the virus among detained individuals and facility staff. As Judge Gee observed, these facilities are now “on fire” due to ICE’s failure to ensure “the basics,” such as adequate social distancing, masking, and testing, and because of COVID-19 outbreaks in each facility’s surrounding area. Flores, at 3. ICE has confirmed that at least 11 children and adults and one GEO employee who works at Karnes, and at least two ICE officials and three CoreCivic employees who work at Dilley, have tested positive for COVID-19. : Just last week, three Members of Congress visited the ICE family detention center in Dilley and spoke with at least six families who are currently detained. After the visit, the Members of Congress raised concerns about the unsafe conditions they witnessed, and the need to immediately release families amid the pandemic. Despite the heightened precautions taken at the Dilley facility during the visit, the Members of Congress who toured the facility were exposed to an ICE officer who tested positive for COVID-19 mere days after the Congressional visit. : Since the COVID-19 crisis started, Members of Congress, advocates, attorneys, and doctors have continuously urged ICE to use its authority to release detained families. Instead of releasing families, ICE has used the pandemic to implement cruel and inhumane policies toward immigrants. For example, in May, following another order from Judge Gee that required ICE conduct individualized release assessments for children in detention, the agency asked detained parents to sign documents without counsel present, leading those parents to believe they were forced to choose between indefinite detention with their children, and the release of their children alone, without them. : We know the Administration has a history of separating thousands of children from their parents. Family separation should never be this country’s policy. Medical organizations have long stated that the practice creates extraordinary harm to children. Detention of children for any amount of time, even with their parents, causes 2 physical harm and irreparable trauma. We call upon ICE to act with compassion and release families together. These families have relatives and sponsors who are immediately available to provide them with care so that they may shelter-in-place. : The Administration must stop using this public health crisis as a means for implementing unlawful and inhumane immigration policies. In these extraordinary times, human suffering need not be compounded through traumatizing and instilling fear in the hearts of migrant parents. ICE has long had the authority and discretion to swiftly and safely release families together into the U.S. and should act to do so immediately. Once these families are free from detention, together, we urge ICE to commit to a permanent policy of family unity and to seek alternatives to family detention– including release on recognizance or community-driven support - in every case. : Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey spent much of his first term working to repair the damage to the state's reputation caused by a 2010 tough-on-immigrants law known as SB 1070 that his predecessor signed.

News about Arizona Immigration Law (SB 1070), including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

The Dignity Not Detention Act mirrors legislative efforts to take on the rogue agency in states like Maryland and California.

The Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School went to federal court to challenge the Trump administration’s termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

Immigrants facing deportation are less likely to have access to a lawyer in Georgia than in nearly every other state.

Lawmakers have called for a probe following reports from a whistleblower into the treatment of immigrants at an ICE center in Georgia.