Pro Bono Library Items Archive
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Tahirih Statement on Work Permits for U-visa Petitioners
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the implementation of a policy that allows U-visa petitioners within the U.S. who submit complete applications and pass a background check to receive a work permit and protection from deportation almost immediately, rather than waiting years in a backlogged system. The U-visa is available to survivors of gender-based violence and other survivors of serious crimes that occur in the U.S. who assist law enforcement with the investigation or prosecution of those crimes. The new policy gives these survivors much greater access to safety and economic stability.
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Tahirih Files Lawsuit to Demand Information on USCIS’s Last-in, First-out System
On June 9, 2021, the Tahirih Justice Center filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in federal court to compel the government to release records about the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) troubling transition to a “last-in, first-out” system to schedule interviews for affirmative asylum cases.
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Freedom of Information Act Lawsuit on USCIS’ “Last-in, First-out” System
On June 9, 2021, the Tahirih Justice Center filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in federal court to compel the government to release records about the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) troubling transition to a “last-in, first-out” system to schedule interviews for affirmative asylum cases.
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Tahirih Statement on the End of the “Remain in Mexico” Policy
The Department of Homeland Security officially terminated the “Remain in Mexico” policy, also known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, which was implemented over two years ago and forced more than 70,000 individuals to wait in Mexico as their asylum cases are processed. Thousands of individuals and families were harmed under the policy, forcing survivors fleeing gender-based violence to live in dangerous conditions, with limited access to legal counsel and trauma-informed care. The Tahirih Justice Center is a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging “Remain in Mexico.”
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Tahirih and Partner Organizations File Amicus Brief in A.P.A v. U.S. Attorney General
Tahirih and partner organizations filed an amicus brief in the Eleventh Circuit detailing the significant errors the BIA made in holding that a Mexican asylum seeker had not suffered persecution because she is a transgender woman.
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New Report Underscores Impact of Pandemic on Immigrant Communities
A new report from the Tahirih Justice Center sheds light on the increased vulnerabilities that immigrant communities are confronting in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A System Under Stress: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on non-detained cases in Immigration Courts brings together existing literature and interviews with direct service providers and experts in the field to detail how extended closure of immigration courts, policy changes, and communication difficulties have added barriers for non-detained immigrants on a path to obtain legal status.
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Joint Comment in Response to Request for Public Input: Identifying Barriers Across U.S.
Tahirih and other organizations that serve immigrant survivors submitted a comment in response to the request by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for input on barriers to accessing immigration benefits and services.
