Criminalization

Ayanna Pressley. Black woman in a green, blue and tan striped dress as she stands behind a podium and gives a speech.
Shani Saxon  Nov 15, 2019 2:37PM EST

Ayanna Pressley Seeks to Remake Criminal Justice System

The Representative from Massachusetts introduces legislation that calls for a “decarceration-focused” system that is “smaller, safer, less punitive and more humane.”
Latinx person with dark hair and blue lipstick wears black raincoat and holds a white megaphone and sign that reads "Abolish ICE."
Azadeh Shahshahani  Nov 13, 2019 2:17PM EST

Silence Will Not Protect Us: Immigrants Speak Boldly Despite Threats of Violence [Op-Ed]

Project South’s Azadeh Shahshahani on how the state and White supremacists have united to target immigrant activists—and why it won’t work.
Protester in front of the U.S. Supreme Court holds a sign that reads, "Defend DACA."
Shani Saxon  Nov 12, 2019 2:33PM EST

Supreme Court Appears Divided Over Fate of DACA

The Trump administration wants to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects roughly 700,000 young people from deportation. Will SCOTUS let it?
A red and white "vote" sign is in the foreground, with a voter walking to the polls in the distance.
Shani Saxon  Nov 6, 2019 5:32PM EST

Tucson Voters Say 'No' to Becoming Arizona's Only Sanctuary City

Proposition 205 also sought to add restrictions around police questioning residents about their immigration status.
Small children and their mothers stand in front of an officer who has a gun in his holster
Shani Saxon  Nov 4, 2019 5:46PM EST

Judge Blocks Rule Requiring Immigrants to Have Health Insurance to Secure Visas

“The ban would separate families and cut two-thirds of green-card-based immigration.”
Young Latinx girl with dark hair and a pink bow in her hairs hold both hands of the woman next to her.
Shani Saxon  Oct 29, 2019 4:55PM EDT

Feds Give Salvadorans More Time to Exit United States

Ken Cuccinelli of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: “Work permits for Salvadorans will be extended for one year past resolution of litigation for an orderly wind down period.”
Patricia Okoumou. Black woman wearing a green dress that reads, "I really care, why won't u?"
Shani Saxon  Oct 28, 2019 5:36PM EDT

Federal Gov't Took 1,556 More Migrant Children From Parents Than Previously Reported

This reportedly brings the total number of family separations since 2017 close to 5,500.
Three young girls with dark hair sit on a curb holding a sign that reads, "Defund hate, invest in love."
Shani Saxon  Oct 22, 2019 5:34PM EDT

Nation's Largest Pension Fund Divests From Firms That Run ICE Detention Centers

California state workers’ pension fund pulls money out of private prison companies GEO Group and CoreCivic.
Razor wire is strung along the U.S. and Mexico sides of a port of entry in El Paso, Texas, along with a sign that reads "Danger, do not enter."
Shani Saxon  Oct 21, 2019 5:10PM EDT

Trump Administration to Collect DNA Samples from Asylum-Seekers

The information will be added to an FBI database used to track down criminals.
Pramila Jayapal. South Asian American woman wears a pink blazer as she speaks before a crowd and stands behind a podium that has a red and white sign attached that reads: IMPEACH.
 Oct 16, 2019 5:04PM EDT

Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Deb Haaland Introduce Bill to Give Immigrants Access to Health Care

More than 120 organizations endorsed the Health Equity and Access Under the Law for Immigrant Women and Families (HEAL) Act.
Large white and orange Amazon logo beside a building
Shani Saxon  Oct 8, 2019 4:33PM EDT

Activists Urge Lawmakers to End Amazon Ring Partnerships With Police

More than 30 organizations published a joint letter that details how the app threatens civil liberties and puts people of color at disproportionate risk.
White writing on black chalkboard reads "vote"
Shani Saxon  Oct 7, 2019 5:23PM EDT

ACLU Fights to Secure Voting Rights for Formerly Incarcerated in Florida

The civil rights group seeks to remove wealth-based hurdles to voting.
A father at the Southern Border hold his young son in his arms.
Shani Saxon  Oct 4, 2019 4:37PM EDT

U.S. to Forcibly Collect DNA From Detained Immigrants for FBI Database

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants in federal detention facilities and at legal ports of entry will be affected, including children. Advocates fear this type of mass collection will unduly criminalize an already vulnerable group.
Braceros. Older Latinx men wearing workers hats and dark-colored tops.
N. Jamiyla Chisholm  Sep 30, 2019 4:23PM EDT

New Monument Honors Mexican Braceros

The Bracero Monument in Los Angeles pays tribute to the 4.5 million Mexican nationals who crossed the border to help the U.S. mitigate labor shortages caused by World War II.
Black hands poke through orange sleeves, handcuffed around metal bars
DeAnna Hoskins, Andrea C. James, Kumar Rao  Sep 30, 2019 11:40AM EDT

The '94 Crime Bill 25 Years Later: It's Time for a Reckoning [Op-Ed]

Justice advocates say we must address the harm caused by the legislation and create a new vision for safety and freedom.
A group of protestors hold a sign that reads, "U.S. Immigration Policy is a Crime"
Shani Saxon  Sep 30, 2019 10:36AM EDT

Judge Blocks Trump Administration's Expansion of Fast-Track Deportations

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson says the president violated federal law with the policy change.
"Sunnyside." Diverse cast of Asian Americans standing in a courtroom.
N. Jamiyla Chisholm  Sep 27, 2019 1:52PM EDT

Kal Penn's 'Sunnyside' Finds Comedy in Immigration

“It’s really amazing that there are opportunities right now to develop comedy in this authentic space that’s also very inclusive.”
A little girl wearing a purple shirt is held in her mother's arms as the woman speaks to a Border Patrol agent.
Shani Saxon  Sep 25, 2019 4:43PM EDT

Mothers Separated From Children at Border Sue Trump Administration

Five women seek “compensatory damages from the government” for inflicting trauma on their families.
A woman wearing a blue shirt and gray jeans stands in line next to a silver barrier, along with her three small children.
Shani Saxon  Sep 24, 2019 3:37PM EDT

DHS Ends 'Catch And Release' Immigration Policy

Migrant families apprehended at the border will no longer be released into the United States while they wait for their immigration cases to be processed.
A young Black person wearing a gray shirt sits in a classroom chair and holds their head in their hands.
Shani Saxon  Sep 23, 2019 5:41PM EDT

Study Links High-Suspension Schools With Incarceration Later in Life

A working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research adds to the body of research surrounding the school to prison pipeline and its impact on students of color.