News

Last Friday the Justice Department filed a brief that lays out how the Administration would like Judge Andrew Hanen to proceed in the DACA challenge brought by seven states. The brief, which supports the states’ challenge, marks the first time the Administrations has weighed in on the case. The Administration plan could send the matter back to the Supreme Court quickly, according to the Constitution Center.

In an opinion yesterday in the case Matter of A-B, Attorney General Jeff Sessions ruled that “claims by aliens pertaining to domestic violence or gang violence perpetrated by non-governmental actors will not [generally] qualify for asylum…The mere fact that a country may have problems effectively policing certain crimes — such as domestic violence or gang violence — or that certain populations are more likely to be victims of crime, cannot itself establish an asylum claim.”

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) requested in a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and DOL Secretary Alex Acostathat both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) provide a written report, explaining in detail their departments' decision to expand the H-2B program.

A study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Colorado-Boulder found that most communities in Mexico send migrants to specific U.S. destinations, and that communities with stronger ties to Arizona saw decreased emigration and increased return migration. Researchers concluded this was the result of the Legal Arizona Workers Act, which requires all Arizona employers to use E-Verify.