The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a nonprofit organization, has sued federal authorities over the alleged use of cellphone location data to track the location of immigrants. The ACLU filed the lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to compel them to release records concerning the purchase of cellphone location data, which likely READ MORE READ MORE

On November 14, 2020, United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of the Eastern District of New York reinstated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which is now accepting new applications. DACA protects eligible immigrant youth who entered the United States as minors and have accrued unlawful presence. DACA provides a two-year period of deferred action from deportation and a work permit. The July 2020 READ MORE READ MORE

On December 3, 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it had filed a lawsuit against Facebook Inc., alleging discrimination against U.S. workers. This lawsuit, construed as a new push against tech companies by the administration, alleged that Facebook reserved positions for skilled workers with temporary work visas. Discrimination Complaint Against Facebook The DOJ alleged in the complaint that Facebook “refused to recruit, consider or hire qualified READ MORE READ MORE

On December 2, 2020, the Senate passed bill S.386, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2020. The Senate reached unanimous consent, and the bill was passed as amended. This Act would lift caps on the number of immigrants who can be approved for permanent residency permits (“green cards”), making significant changes to the employment green card system. Big tech companies applauded this result and hope this READ MORE READ MORE

On November 30, 2020, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Rochester Judge’s decision to the lawsuit that sought to repeal the Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act, which allows immigrants without documents to apply and receive driver’s license. The state of New York, as of December 16, 2020, allowed undocumented immigrants to receive driver’s licenses from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). This Act, nicknamed READ MORE READ MORE