Press Releases

Washington, DC – The Trump administration’s latest attack on asylum-seekers takes effect today: a one year ban on work permits. Elissa Diaz, Policy Associate at Church World Service and Co-Chair of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, said: Asylum seekers have already fled so much. Abused and persecuted in their native countries, often for years, they come to ...

Washington, DC – For years, the Krome immigration jail in Miami has been serving inedible food to Muslim people held there, including pork-based meals in violation of their religious beliefs. In a letter to various components within the Department of Homeland Security, Muslim Advocates, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and King & Spalding LLP wrote: During the ...

People Continue to Die Because of U.S. Border Militarization Washington, DC – Yesterday, as many of us read The New York Times Magazine feature, “How U.S. Policy Turned the Sonoran Desert into a Graveyard for Migrants,” Edwin Rodrigo was dying.  According to Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, Edwin drowned ...

“It takes a certain kind of callous hypocrisy to profess to stand for law and order while unashamedly breaking it”  Washington, DC – The Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli have been unlawfully serving as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security and Acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), respectively. ...

Washington, DC – Yesterday, the Trump Administration released a memo that undermines the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and continues the attacks on Dreamers and undocumented young people. The memo announces the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s plan to reject new DACA applications; reject new advanced parole requests except in exceptional circumstances; and ...

Washington, DC: Earlier today, Representative Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) joined representatives from over 15 other national faith-based and immigrants’ rights groups to deliver over 300,000 petition signatures demanding ICE release the families in its detention centers without the threat of family separation. The signatures were collected by Amnesty International USA, Families Belong Together, and Moms Rising. Rep. ...

Policy “disrespects immigrants’ hard work and families” Washington, DC – Once again, the Trump administration is attempting to defy the courts and issue an unconstitutional policy that would “erase” undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census, and the country.  Faith Williams, Associate Director of Government Relations & Advocacy at the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) and Interfaith ...

Washington, DC – The Interfaith Immigration Coalition and Families Belong Together rallied outside of ICE headquarters today to deliver over a quarter of a million signatures demanding ICE release all the families in its custody. The demonstrators held 260 paper dolls representing the 260 children in ICE detention facilities. After representatives from ICE refused to ...

Washington, DC – While the Trump administration continues its all-out assault on the legal right to request asylum, lawyers, human rights groups, and faith-based organizations have mounted a formidable defense.  This week alone, over 400 constituents from forty-five states and the District of Columbia are participating in virtual legislative visits with 185 congressional offices, calling on ...

Washington, DC – What do foreign students in the United States on visas, and people fleeing violence and seeking safety on U.S. soil have in common? They are both the subject of Trump administration attacks this week.  The latest is another all-out assault on “asylum,” the legal right enshrined in U.S. and international law to NOT ...