ADDITIONAL CHILD TAX CREDIT (ACTC)

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Groups Urge Congress and White House to Protect Taxpaying Immigrant Families. Last week, 36 immigrant, labor, and faith-based advocacy organizations, including NILC, AFL-CIO, SEIU, and National Council La Raza, sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and House Ways and Means Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI), urging them to reject Republican-led efforts to eliminate the ACTC for immigrant families. Here is a statement from NILC executive director Marielena Hincapié. (12/14/11) READ THE STATEMENT››

"SECURE COMMUNITIES"

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U.S. Citizens Illegally Detained by Los Angeles Authorities Due to Secure Communities Program Errors. A coalition of civil rights groups today offered evidence that U.S. citizens have been illegally detained, sometimes for many days, due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement “holds” placed on them after these men and women were erroneously flagged as deportable. The U.S. citizens were detained due to Los Angeles County participation in the Dept. of Homeland Security’s Secure Communities (S-Comm), a fingerprint-sharing, federal detention and deportation program. (12/14/11) READ THE NEWS RELEASE››

ALABAMA ANTI-IMMIGRANT LAW - HB 56

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Federal Court Issues Injunction Against Discriminatory Housing Practice Resulting from HB 56. A federal district court has preliminarily enjoined enforcement of a provision under Alabama's harsh anti-immigrant law that, as applied, required owners of mobile homes in Alabama to prove they had lawful immigration status before they could renew their mobile home tags. (12/13/11) READ THE PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ORDER››   READ THE COURT'S OPINION››

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Information (and hotline) about the Sept. 28, 2011, federal district court decision in Alabama.  Alabama passed its extreme anti-immigrant law, HB 56, on June 2, 2011. Three groups — a coalition of civil rights organizations, the federal government, and churches — filed lawsuits challenging HB 56. On Sept. 28, 2011, a federal district court issued three decisions saying certain parts of the law may be enforced and other parts will be enjoined for now. Here is a 2-pg. flyer with more information:  ENGLISH›› | SPANISH›› (Revised 10/14/11)

PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION

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DHS Clarification on Deportation Policy Follows Reports of Uneven Application of Prosecutorial Discretion in Field Offices Across the Country. The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security has released new guidance to help field officers determine how to pursue pending deportation cases. The department also announced a review of the nearly 300,000 open deportation cases before the nation’s immigration courts in order to ensure the Obama administration’s immigration priorities are uniformly enforced. Here is a statement from Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. (11/17/11) READ THE STATEMENT››

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IMMIGRANT STUDENTS' ACCESS TO EDUCATION

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State Campaigns on Education for Immigrant Students Gain Momentum in 2011 (PDF).  Advocates made significant progress in persuading legislators to improve access to education for all students this year, with campaigns to continue in several states next year. The results of the 2011 sessions, however, have been mixed, with both inclusive and restrictive bills becoming law. Challenges to these new laws, through litigation and pending voter referendums, have begun. (Updated 10/11) READ THE REPORT (PDF)››

SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI) & REFUGEES

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Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for Refugees, Asylees, and Other Humanitarian Immigrants: The Crisis, the Issue, the People Affected, the Need for Action (PDF). Thousands of elderly and disabled refugees are losing their SSI benefits. Many will be left without resources for food and housing. (10/10/11)

ARREST, DETENTION, & REMOVAL

New Report Finds Due Process Abuses in Secretive Deportation Program. Using a little-known government program, the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) has pushed nearly 160,000 immigrants — many with deep ties to the United States — through an expedited deportation process, sometimes without adequately informing them of their right to a day in court, according to a new analysis of thousands of pages of released government documents.
   The report, written by attorneys and law professors at Stanford Law School, NILC, and Western State University College of Law, determined that DHS agents administering the program provided legally inaccurate portrayals of the opportunities to remain in the U.S. in order to boost deportation numbers, even though judges and others involved in the program voiced their concerns about how the program short-circuited individuals’ rights. (9/8/11)  READ THE NEWS RELEASE››  READ THE REPORT››  LEA EL RESUMEN EJECUTIVO››  LISTEN TO A RECORDING OF THE TELEPHONIC PRESS BRIEFING››