National Immigrant Justice Center

08/19/2026

BREAKING: Today, immigrant rights groups filed a lawsuit challenging a new interim rule that strips asylum seekers of their voice in their own proceedings.

For decades, the affirmative asylum process has given people an opportunity to explain their asylum claims and answer questions in a non-adversarial interview with a trained asylum officer. The asylum officer has then decided whether to grant the application or refer it to immigration court, where the applicant must defend against deportation. The new rule allows USCIS to eliminate the interview entirely.

As a result of this rule, many more people will be detained and ordered deported to places they fear persecution and torture without the opportunity to have their evidence considered by a neutral decisionmaker.

NIJC filed this lawsuit with Center for Gender & Refugee Studies and Human Rights First on behalf of plaintiffs Immigration Equality, Oasis Legal Services, The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, and HIAS. Read the full statement and complaint here: https://immigrantjustice.org/press-release/immigrant-rights-groups-sue-to-protect-due-process-for-asylum-seekers/

08/19/2026

The immigration system we have today didn't happen overnight. Many of its harshest policies stem from laws passed 30 years ago in the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA).

Now, 30 years later, it's past time we push forward a better vision for the next 30 years. Learn more HERE: https://www.ilrc.org/community-resources/platform-immigrant-justice-and-building-new-way-forward

08/17/2026

“El tribunal ordenó su expulsión a pesar de que estaban presentes”, explicó Alex McGriff, abogado del National Immigrant Justice Center, en una entrevista con AP.

Algunas personas han recibido ordenes de deportacion estando DENTRO del edificio en donde se encuentra el tribunal de inmigracion de Chicago, buscando ayuda e instrucciones sobre dónde debían presentarse para su audiencia.

Lea más:

HARLINGEN, Texas, EE.UU. (AP) — El gobierno de Donald Trump está abarrotando las salas de los tribunales de inmigración y reduciendo los tiempos de preaviso para las vistas en un esfuerzo por eliminar la demora acumulada durante décadas.

08/17/2026

Some hard news—we have had to put a hold on paying bonds because we have run out of funds. We have spent over $3 million this year ALONE, getting people out of ICE detention. We have been able to do this work thanks to the support of our incredible community, and we need your help again to keep helping people get free.

Bond amounts are rising, detention conditions are worsening, and we don’t want to turn anyone away.

Thanks to a generous donor, we are able to match your donations up to $50,000, doubling the impact of every dollar you give right now.

Help us bring the midwest home.

mibfc.org/donate

08/16/2026

People are experiencing inhumane treatment in immigration detention camps and YOUR tax dollars should not be funding it.

Watch NIJC Associate Director of the Adult Detention Project Jennifer Babaie testify about the legality of horrible conditions and abuse in immigration detention at a hearing led by Senator Dick Durbin.

Watch the full hearing here: https://immigrantjustice.org/blog/nijcs-jennifer-babaie-testifies-at-senate-judiciary-spotlight-forum-on-ice-detention/

08/15/2026

Ana was detained without explanation, endured inhumane conditions, remained jailed after a judge ordered she could seek release on bond, and refused an application for asylum despite the judge saying she could apply. Ana was denied due process and treated inhumanely throughout the detention process.

Ana has now been rightfully released and reunited with her family, but many others are still in her situation.

Read more about Ana and the inhumane detention system in our policy brief HERE: https://immigrantjustice.org/research/costly-inhumane-trumps-mass-deportation-tactics-escalate-continue-to-harm-our-chicago-neighbors/

08/14/2026

Children should not be alone in courtrooms. Unaccompanied children are our neighbors, classmates, and friends. Yet thousands of them are now at risk of losing access to legal representation because the Trump administration ended a contract with the nonprofit network, including NIJC, that has defended them for over two decades.

Over 20,000 children could be left to navigate one of the world's most complex legal systems alone — against trained government attorneys, in a language they may not speak.

Tell Congress to protect ➡️ tinyurl.com/protect-kids

08/13/2026

“The court ordered them removed despite the fact that they were not absent,” said NIJC attorney Alex McGriff in an interview with the AP.

Some people are being issued deportation orders for failing to appear even while they're INSIDE the Chicago immigration court building actively seeking help and instructions about where to go.

Read more:

The Trump administration is packing immigration courtrooms and giving less lead-time on hearings in an effort to clear a decades-long backlog.

08/12/2026

ICE is using YOUR taxpayer dollars to run detention camps that deny people essential, life-saving medical care. At the Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana, people missed a staggering 799 doses of medication. The facility has a "deadly pattern of neglect," as described by Congressman André Carson. This is unacceptable. ICE must be held accountable.

Read Rep. Carson's full response to ICE here: https://carson.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-carson-releases-ice-response-conditions-miami-correctional

08/12/2026

Arrested with no warrant and now denied private phone calls with attorneys and access to medical care.

Ricardo has been detained since September 2025, when he was separated from his family and his two kids. Almost a year later, Ricardo is still pursuing his immigration case in hopes of reuniting with his loved ones, who he is now hundreds of miles away from.

Read more about Ricardo and the costly and inhumane mass deportation tactics HERE: https://immigrantjustice.org/research/costly-inhumane-trumps-mass-deportation-tactics-escalate-continue-to-harm-our-chicago-neighbors/