In his first-ever address to the nation from the Oval Office, Pres. Trump called on Congress to end the government shutdown by providing funding for additional fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border and additional resources to help end the ongoing surge of illegal border crossings.
For the fifth consecutive Congress, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) has introduced H.R. 140, the Birthright Citizenship Act, that would prevent children born to illegal-alien parents in the United States from automatically receiving U.S. citizenship. The bill was introduced with 20 original cosponsors.
DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced an agreement on Thursday with Mexico that will keep asylum seekers in Mexico until their cases are heard by an immigration judge. Under the new agreement, migrants who ask for asylum at a port of entry or illegal aliens apprehended by border patrol who ask for asylum will be issued a court date and returned to Mexico. Mexico has agreed to allow any foreign citizen with an a notice to appear in court to stay in Mexico until the date arrives.
Federal District Judge Emmet Sullivan struck down the Trump administration's efforts to bring the 'credible fear' standard more in line with federal asylum law. Earlier this year, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions ruled that asylum seekers could not enter a 'credible fear' claim on the basis of domestic abuse or gang violence when seeking asylum in the United States. Federal law states that asylum seekers must prove that they fear persecution from their government on the basis of race, nationality, religion, ethnicity, or membership in a social group.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced today a 7-week spending bill that, if approved with Congress, would delay the fight over Pres. Trump's border security funding request until February. Congress risks a partial government shutdown if it doesn't pass legislation for nine agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, before the end of Friday.
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker called for increased border security and changes to asylum law in a speech to the local Department of Justice office in Austin, Texas on Tuesday. Whitaker said the United States needs to close up loopholes that allow illegal aliens to falsely claim asylum in the United States, allowing them to stay in the United States for an extended period of time.
Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker called for increased border security and changes to asylum law in a speech to the local Department of Justice office in Austin, Texas on Tuesday. Whitaker said the United States needs to close up loopholes that allow illegal aliens to falsely claim asylum in the United States, allowing them to stay in the United States for an extended period of time.
Immigration judges denied asylum claims at a record rate in FY2018, according to a new report from Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) that tracks immigration court cases. According to the report, judges rejected 65% of claims between Oct. 1, 2017 and Sept. 30, 2018, while 78.6% of asylum claims entered by individuals from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala were denied.
Pres. Trump told Politico that he won't support legislation that includes a DACA amnesty until after the courts make a final ruling on the challenge from the state of Texas. Texas and several other states are challenging the legality of the Obama-era executive amnesty that has granted work permits to 900,000 illegal aliens since 2014. Federal District Judge Andrew Hanen could issue a ruling at any time.
The number of foreign students and graduates participating in the Optional Training Program (OPT) hit an all-time high during the 2017-18 school year with more than 200,000 foreign students and graduates working in the U.S. OPT allows foreign students and graduates to work in the United States for 12 months (up to 36 months for students in STEM fields) to gain on-the-job experience.