The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has signed agreements with many states that will pose a threat to the Biden administration’s goals. The DHS has signed the Sanctuary for Americans First Enactment Agreement (SAFE) with Arizona, Louisiana, Indiana, and the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina. This SAFE agreement could seriously hamstring the administration’s goals of pausing deportations, prioritizing immigration arrests to immigrants with serious criminal READ MORE READ MORE

Biden’s Sweeping New Immigration Proposals President Joe Biden, sworn into office on Wednesday, will present Congress with a sweeping immigration reform bill. This bill represents a reversal of many of the previous administration’s immigration policies. The most prominent feature of the bill is an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States without legal status. Specifically, the bill READ MORE READ MORE

Owing to the pandemic, federal immigration agencies are facing significant delays in processing various immigration applications. On January 8, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) acknowledged delays in processing as the result of COVID-19 restrictions, increases in filings, and current postal service volume and other factors. USCIS announced that it was experiencing increased wait times in scheduling or rescheduling immigration appointments at the local Application READ MORE READ MORE

On Trump’s last day of office, the White House approved deferred deportation for some Venezuelans. The White House issued a memo yesterday that approved Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Venezuelans. Venezuelans who are eligible for deferral can continue to live and work in the U.S., similar to those included under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. The Memo Condemning Actions of Venezuelan Government The White House memo READ MORE READ MORE

Earlier this month, U.S. immigration authorities provided the first-ever update about the situation at Application Support Centers, when United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced delays in issuing receipt notices for some applications filed at the USCIS lockbox facility. In a sense, the agency’s issues date back almost to the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when in-person services at USCIS offices were canceled from March to June READ MORE READ MORE