Immigration Justice

Washington, DC — Faith communities and religious leaders have been steadfast defenders of the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program and fierce  advocates alongside ‘Dreamers’ and immigrants with undocumented status for over a decade. Through congressional meetings, vigils, rallies, virtual gatherings, and opinion pieces, people of faith have been relentless in calling on Congress ...

Washington, DC – On Wednesday, the Biden Administration and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a regulation to codify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The final DACA rule is intended to more effectively shield DACA in the courts.  While the new rule keeps the status of current DACA recipients intact, it ultimately will ...

Washington, DC – Yesterday, 109 organizations, including multiple Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) members, sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging him to review country conditions and designate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Special Student Relief (SSR) for Mali. Following the lead of African immigrant and Black-led community organizations, the ...

One of the deadliest tragedies involving migrants in the U.S.-Mexico border region occurred this week when over 40 people were found dead in an abandoned truck on the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas. The death toll has now surpassed 50 and includes at least 22 people from Mexico, seven from Guatemala, and two from Honduras.  This ...

Washington D.C. – This June 19 marked the second year that Juneteenth has been celebrated as an official federal holiday in the United States. Juneteenth National Independence Day commemorates the day in 1865 when the news of the end of slavery reached enslaved Black people in the South—over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was ...

Washington, DC – On the eve of President Biden’s State of the Union address, member groups of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition reaffirm their faith-guided values and vision for U.S. immigration to the Biden-Harris administration.  In December 2020, the IIC called for a reformed immigration system and restoration of welcome in a report submitted to the incoming ...

Washington, DC –  Today, nine hundred spiritual leaders and multiple faith-based and immigrant rights groups delivered a letter to the White House urging the Biden administration to immediately halt all efforts to expand immigrant detention. With the one-year anniversary of President Biden’s inauguration approaching, the signatories – including Church World Service, Detention Watch Network, Interfaith ...

Washington, DC – Last night, the Senate parliamentarian rejected the proposed “Plan C” immigration provisions in the Build Back Better Act. Through a process called a “Byrd Bath,” the unelected Senate staff member heard arguments on the budgetary impacts of the bill’s provisions and shared opinions against the inclusion of deportation relief and work permits ...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Yesterday, the Cameroon Advocacy Network (CAN), in collaboration with Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), held a Congressional briefing on the need for a temporary protected status (TPS) designation for Cameroon. The briefing had country conditions experts as well as impacted community members from CAN, Amnesty International, CASA, and the Center for Research, Education and ...

Washington, DC – Today the House passed the Build Back Better Act, which includes deportation protections, work permits, and travel authorization for immigrants who arrived in the United States by January 1, 2011, allowing an estimated 7 million people to receive 5-year work permits that are renewable for another 5 years. These temporary protections, though ...