News & Views

Watch it Now | State of Immigration in America: Asylum in Crisis

Since Inauguration Day, the right to claim asylum in the United States has been under attack by the current administration. The federal government has increased the arrest and detention of asylum applicants, including those here in Pennsylvania. Procedures allowing rapid deportation without judicial review have been expanded.

These are just a few of the changes that HIAS Pennsylvania’s Asylum & Removal Defense Program Manager, Christopher Setz-Kelly, Esq., and Executive Director, Cathryn Miller-Wilson, discuss in this video.

The State of Immigration in America is a series of monthly programs with members of HIAS PA’s staff. The programs address the current challenges that immigrants are facing and what you can do to help your immigrant neighbors.

Watch it Now | State of Immigration in America: ICE Raids & Enforcement Tactics

You probably have heard about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raiding workplaces and homes in our community. ICE officers are expected to meet new arrest quotas, sensitive location protections have been eliminated, and ICE has expanded operations targeting businesses suspected of employing immigrants without work authorization.

In this video, HIAS Pennsylvania’s Director of Legal Services, Philippe Weisz, Esq., and Executive Director, Cathryn Miller-Wilson, Esq., discuss how ICE raids and new enforcement tactics are affecting immigrants in our community, and what you can do to support your immigrant neighbors.

Watch it Now | The State of Immigration in America: How Anti-Immigrant Policies Affect Children & Schools

The new administration’s hostile immigration policies have affected immigrants of all ages. These changes have a particular impact on immigrant youth.

In undocumented and mixed-status families, children are experiencing high anxiety and stress, wondering if their parents will be detained or deported. In some instances, immigrant youth have been detained and deported. Additionally, no new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applications are being accepted, there is a backlog of green card applications for children who have experienced abuse and neglect, and Office of Refugee Resettlement funding cuts have left unaccompanied children to navigate the complex immigration system without a lawyer.

Some families are no longer sending their children to school because of the fear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will show up. Stricter immigration enforcement policies have put added pressure on teachers and school staff, who must now learn how to navigate new and sometimes unclear guidelines on how to handle immigration-related concerns and ICE visits at school.

In this video, Stephanie Lubert, Esq., Program Manager of HIAS PA’s Immigrant Youth Advocacy Program, and Cathryn Miller-Wilson, Esq., HIAS PA’s Executive Director, talk about the impact of new immigration policies on immigrant youth and what you can do to support immigrant families in your community.