News & Views

  • Information for Immigrants
  • Press Coverage
  • HIAS PA News
  • Action Alerts
  • Voices
  • Videos

    • Immigration lawsuits are dominating Philly’s federal courthouse as ICE push continues

          By Abraham Gutman and Chris Palmer Published February 23, 2026 Before this summer, detained immigrants filed release… MORE

    Watch it Now | The State of Immigration in America: Citizenship Under Threat

    New immigration policies have created urgent challenges for immigrants. This includes changes to the citizenship process.
     
    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is reviving neighborhood investigations of citizenship applicants, which may include interviews with neighbors, employers, coworkers, and others. This practice has not been done since 1991. USCIS has also changed the “good moral character” standard, which previously disqualified individuals who had committed serious crimes from becoming citizens. Now, an applicant must prove that they have had a positive influence in their community to meet this standard. Additionally, the current administration continues to pursue efforts to end birthright citizenship, despite the initial executive order being blocked by federal courts, and has started a denaturalization campaign.
     
    These are a few of the changes that were addressed during HIAS Pennsylvania’s virtual program, The State of Immigration in America: Citizenship Under Threat. This program was held on Wednesday, September 10, 2025. HIAS PA’s Citizenship and Family Unification Program Manager, Lori Alexander, MSW, and Executive Director, Cathryn Miller-Wilson, Esq., discussed these policies and ways that community members can help local immigrants.
     
    The State of Immigration in America is a series of programs held by HIAS PA which address the current challenges immigrants are facing and ways that you can help your immigrant neighbors.
     

    Stories from the Frontlines: The Details Behind our Government’s Attempt at Child Snatching

    By HIAS PA Executive Director, Cathryn Miller-Wilson Published September 28, 2025 On Labor Day weekend, one of our staff attorneys… MORE

    West Philly LGBTQ+ asylum shelter, a national rarity, is grappling with Trump’s immigration crackdown

            By Emily Neil Published August 4, 2025 Since 2022, Asylum Pride House in West Philadelphia has… MORE

    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.
     
    This program was part of a series hosted by HIAS PA that addresses the current challenges immigrants are facing and ways that you can help your immigrant neighbors.
     

    HIAS Pa. to host Asylum in Crisis info session this Wednesday

    Published July 28, 2025 HIAS Pennsylvania has been hosting a series of monthly programs called The State of Immigration in… MORE

    Amid rain and a climate of fear, advocates gather in LOVE Park to celebrate World Refugee Day

    by Mike Newall Published June 22, 2025 They gathered in a steady rain to share American stories. Stories of escaping… MORE

    Watch it Now | PCNTV Interviews Cathryn Miller-Wilson

     

     

     

     

    PCNTV Discusses Federal Funding Cuts for Immigration Programs with Cathryn Miller-Wilson, Executive Director of HIAS Pennsylvania.

     

    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.
     
    This program was part of a series hosted by HIAS PA that addresses the current challenges immigrants are facing and ways that you can help 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.
     
    This program was part of a series hosted by HIAS PA that addresses the current challenges immigrants are facing and ways that you can help your immigrant neighbors.