American Immigration Council

Immigrant among first in nation to receive temporary reprieve from deportation

Published on Sat, Nov 03, 2012

IPC statistics were used in this AJC article about Christian Jimenez, one of the first immigrants in the U.S. to receive a reprieve from deportation under Obama's new immigration policy:

Nearly 1 million immigrants across the U.S. are now eligible for deferred action, according to an estimate by the Immigration Policy Center, an arm of the American Immigration Council, an immigrant rights and policy group in Washington. Of those, 24,360 live in Georgia, the eighth-largest total among states.

Published in the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Immigrant Youth Achievement Award

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Advocacy groups weigh in on 287(g) phase out

Published on Thu, Oct 18, 2012

Senior policy analyst Michele Waslin was quoted in this article ICE's 287(g) program:

"Michele Waslin, a senior policy analyst with the American Immigration Council, said the task force piece of the 287(g) agreements pertains to police officers on the street.

Waslin said the council, a non-profit that aims to educate the public about immigration and promote sensible, humane immigration policies, has always “advocated for the end of the 287(g) program.”

Waslin said that Secure Communities would still identify criminal illegal immigrants, but would probably eliminate some of the issues some people have had about 287(g).

Waslin said that there are people who worry about police officers exceeding their authority and the potential for racial profiling, civil rights violations and discrimination under the program.

“That’s where the criticism has come from, the police stopping people and asking to see papers,” she said."

Published in the Inside NOVA

Mass. group registers 4,000 immigrants as voters

Published on Wed, Oct 17, 2012

IPC statistics were used in this Boston Globe article about registering naturalized citizens to vote:

"The Immigration Policy Center says naturalized Americans represent about 12 percent of registered voters in Massachusetts, including their children born in the United States since 1965."

Published in the The Boston Globe

Brown Vetoes Limits on Law Enforcement Cooperation with Immigration Authorities

Published on Mon, Oct 01, 2012

IPC's own Michele Waslin was quoted in yesterday's KQED article about the vetoed California bill that would have limited local law enforcement's ability to work with federal immigration authorities:

“The problem with [Secure Communities] is that the research that’s been done so far has shown that a lot of the people that are being held under these detainers, the people that are being identified by ICE, are not serious criminals, violent criminals,” said Michele Waslin of the Immigration Policy Center, a research and analysis group based in Washington, D.C.

Published in the KQED News

Deferred action information session to be held

Published on Sun, Sep 23, 2012

AIC's Wendy Sefsaf gives insight and advice to those interested in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative in this Central Florida Future article: Read more...

Published in the Central Florida Future

Why a rare bipartisan consensus on immigration totally fell apart

Published on Fri, Sep 21, 2012

Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Immigration Policy Center, helps explain what happened to the STEM visa proposal in this Washington Post article: Read more...

Published in the The Washington Post

American Immigration Council Applauds Ruling Allowing Immigration Judges to Consider Evidence of Hardship

Released on Mon, Sep 17, 2012

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a unanimous ruling that will allow immigration judges to exercise discretion in cases involving lawful permanent residents (LPRs) whose removal would cause extreme hardship to family members in the United States. The ruling marks the fourth opinion from a federal appellate court to reject a contrary decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals. The American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center, which filed an amicus brief in the case and participated in the oral argument, applauds today’s ruling and calls on the Board to overturn its decision in Matter of Koljenovic, 25 I&N Dec. 219 (2010).

The case involved a 1996 amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act that prevents immigration judges from considering evidence of hardship in certain cases involving immigrants who were “admitted” to the United States as LPRs. For many LPRs facing removal, the ability to obtain such a hardship waivers is the only means to avoid separation from U.S. family members. In its amicus brief, the Council argued that the Board ignored the plain language of the statute and improperly conflated applicants who entered the country as LPRs with those who gained LPR status post-entry.

The beneficiary of today’s decision, Zaman Hanif, has resided in the United States for more than 25 years. The Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceedings against him in 2009 based on a criminal conviction that resulted in four months’ incarceration. Hanif sought a waiver of inadmissibility on account of the hardship his removal would create for his immediate family members, including his wife, two elderly parents, and U.S. citizen children.Read more...

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Deportations Are Up, But Is Anyone Applauding?

Published on Thu, Sep 13, 2012

Ben Winograd, an American Immigration Council staff attorney, was quoted in a KPBS article in which he explains government deportation-speak: Read more...

Published in the KPBS San Diego