National Immigrant Justice Center

09/22/2026

Beginning in July, USCIS issued a flurry of asylum interview notices for unaccompanied children with long-pending asylum cases. NIJC's kids team has since been working tirelessly to prepare over 150 children and young adults for their upcoming asylum interviews. Luckily, we have pro bono partners from Chicago's leading law firms supporting NIJC in these efforts.

Earlier this month, attorneys from Jenner & Block participated in an all-day affidavit clinic for 6 NIJC clients from 6 different countries. Over the course of the day, pro bono teams met with these young people and listened to their stories about why they fled their homes and are seeking asylum here in the United States. The NIJC clients and pro bono volunteers then worked together to draft compelling declarations that NIJC will submit as part of each client's asylum filing. We're grateful to Jenner & Block and the many other law firms rising to meet the moment to make sure immigrant children can continue building their lives in the United States.

09/21/2026

If you're a DACA recipient and need to renew, we have good news! NIJC will host another DACA renewal clinic on October 20 from 12–4 p.m. CT in downtown Chicago.

📅 DEADLINE: RSVP by October 12 to save your spot.

Register here: immigrantjustice.org/dacaclinics

09/18/2026

After thousands of people faced violent abuse, warrantless arrests, unlawful detention, and deportation during Operation Midway Blitz, countless youth and families are still trying to rebuild their lives. Block Club Chicago examines the operation's tactics and shares the story of Rigoberto, his partner, and their two children as they try to adjust after he was deported from Illinois last fall.

Read more:

Operation Midway Blitz saw thousands of immigrants arrested and violent clashes between agents and neighbors. From a family separated by deportation to a street vendor recovering from months in ICE custody, many are adjusting to a new normal.

09/17/2026

As this month marks one year since Operation Midway Blitz, many community members are still dealing with the consequences of unlawful deportation tactics.

After being detained following a routine ICE check-in, NIJC client Anabell was taken to a Kentucky detention center, where she found out she was pregnant and continues to suffer severe medical neglect including ongoing bleeding, sickness, weight loss, and other serious health problems without access to proper medical care.

Read more about Anabell and other community members' stories: https://immigrantjustice.org/research/costly-inhumane-trumps-mass-deportation-tactics-escalate-continue-to-harm-our-chicago-neighbors/

09/16/2026

In a disturbing new investigation, The Guardian exposes that ICE does not keep track of how many people had miscarriages while in its custody - even as it has detained a record number of pregnant women.

The Guardian found that ICE has no miscarriage data after October 3, 2025, while reports show women are not receiving basic prenatal and emergency medical care.

NIJC's client Anabell is suffering this medical neglect firsthand. After being detained at a regular ICE check-in in February, she was taken to a detention center in Kentucky, where she learned she was pregnant. A month later, she started bleeding heavily and when ICE took her to a local emergency room more than a day later, she learned she was no longer pregnant. Now, she continues to experience bleeding, vomiting, hair loss, and weight loss without proper medical care.

NIJC, lawmakers, attorneys, and advocates are raising alarms about the treatment of people like Anabell to free them from abusive detention.

Read The Guardian’s investigation and Anabell’s story:

ICE says it has no updated information on the number of miscarriages after 3 October 2025. Lawmakers, advocates and immigration attorneys have raised alarms that pregnant detainees are not receiving basic prenatal care and screenings

09/16/2026

Imagine having to console a 6-year-old girl who asks, “Are you the person who’s going to bring my mom back?” A new article from KFF Health News examines the devastating impact the federal government’s heinous mass deportation agenda is having on children and families.

Read how immigrant and mixed-status families are being affected, and what these policies mean for the children who are living with the consequences:

Children in immigrant families are facing health threats from President Donald Trump’s policies: separation from parents detained or deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, economic and housing instability, withdrawal from health and nutrition programs, and an overarching environment of f...

09/15/2026

WATCH LIVE NOW: Governor Pritzker hosts a press conference on the lasting harm the Trump Administration's Operation Midway Blitz caused families and communities across Chicago and Illinois.

09/13/2026

Jorge is a loving father, son and brother, who has been detained by ICE since December 2024.

Even though an immigration judge ruled that he shouldn't be deported to Venezuela, his country of origin, ICE has chosen to keep him in custody. The horrors of prolonged detention have forced Jorge to make the difficult decision to accept removal to Mexico, a country where he has no ties or support system to help him create a safe life.

NIJC humbly asks you, if you can, to contribute to his family's fundraiser to help him get on his feet and stay safe when he arrives in Mexico: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-jorges-safe-transition-to-mexico-kvdau

09/10/2026

As we mark the one-year anniversary of Operation Midway Blitz this week, our community members are still facing escalating attacks as the Trump administration expands mass detention, even as the financial and human costs grow.

Read NIJC's latest report examining the:
📍geography of mass detention
❌expansion of the current inhumane detention system
🏛️need for continued Congressional oversight
🫂stories of people who've been impacted by detention

Read more here 👇

Six months after the wind-down of the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz terrorized Chicagoland communities, our neighbors continue to languish

09/08/2026

ICYMI: NIJC Associate Director of Policy, Jesse Franzblau, testified before members of Congress about ICE's use of personal and biometric data during Operation Midway Blitz to unlawfully arrest hundreds of people.

We thank Congresswoman Delia Ramirez and Congressman Hank Johnson for convening this hearing to examine how DHS' use of surveillance technology has raised serious concerns about systemic racial profiling, unlawful arrests, and the need for accountability.

Learn what NIJC believes Congress should do next and watch the full hearing on ICE's use of surveillance tech here: https://immigrantjustice.org/blog/nijcs-jesse-franzblau-testifies-at-shadow-hearing-on-the-harmful-tech-behind-ice/

Thank you to Rep. Troy A Carter, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda, Rep. LaMonica McIver, Congresswoman Luz Rivas, and Rep. Melanie Stansbury for their advocacy.

In a Congressional hearing, experts testify about ICE's use of technology to mass detain and deport hundreds of community members.