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The real cost of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies has been highlighted by two recent deaths. Each of these incidents could have been prevented by more compassionate policies and actions on the part of the U.S. government. For many immigrants, however, the only real protection against harsh treatment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and...Read More

Domestic violence is an issue that affects all parts of our society. For undocumented immigrants, however, it can be even more dangerous. A survey of law enforcement agencies across the U.S. indicated that reporting of domestic violence incidents and other crimes has fallen sharply among communities with large numbers of undocumented workers. Police officers attribute...Read More

Citizenship and the right to remain in the U.S. for recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) are at the forefront of discussions in the U.S. House of Representatives. A new petition presented by Representative Carlos Curbelo, a Miami Republican, is intended to provide added impetus to the efforts currently underway to reform the...Read More

The U.S. Diversity Visa Program was instituted under the provisions of the Immigration Act of 1990 and offers 50,000 immigrant visas through a federal lottery to those who might not otherwise be eligible for green-card status in the United States. Recent comments by the Trump administration and President Trump himself, however, have cast serious doubt...Read More

Changes to the way in which Gainesville law enforcement agencies treat those who report crimes in our area could offer added protections to undocumented immigrants. According to Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe, the current city policy requires law enforcement officials to write down the names of all foreign nationals with whom they come into contact. This...Read More

Recent Ruling for DACA Reinstation The recent ruling by Judge John Bates that reinstated Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections has received general acclaim from immigration and human rights activists across the country. Bates issued a ruling on April 24, 2018, that the Trump administration must either present a more persuasive justification for this...Read More

Immigrants facing deportation in the U.S. will soon have one less avenue for legal support during this process. The Executive Office for Immigration Review notified the Vera Institute of Justice that it will soon halt support for the Legal Orientation Program, which offers information and support for immigrants across the U.S. This move may eliminate...Read More

More than 20 undocumented immigrants were taken into custody in a sting run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in central Florida. This represents only a small fraction of the 271 people arrested during the sting in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and across the state of Florida. Fewer than half of these individuals...Read More

Policies put in place by the Trump administration have resulted in a steep reduction in the number of refugees making their way to the state of Florida. With a hard cap in place of 45,000 refugees allowed into the country for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, many Florida cities have seen a decline in these new...Read More

Recent moves by the Trump administration to remove Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from immigrants who came here from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Haiti and Sudan have had a chilling effect on the tourism industry in the Orlando area and throughout the state of Florida. Many of those who came here seeking refuge from intolerable conditions in...Read More