Children have a right to due process and protection.
Read more → |
|  | | |
|
| Judge halts illegal deportation of Guatemalan children Over the holiday weekend, a judge stopped the Trump administration's brazen attempt to disregard due process and deport hundreds of children to Guatemala against their will. “NIJC represents children threatened with unlawful removals and stands committed to advocate for their rights in a system increasingly manipulated against them," said NIJC Executive Director Mary Meg McCarthy in our official statement. "We are thankful for the federal court’s quick action today to prevent the involuntary deportation of these vulnerable children. ... This latest judicial check on the administration helps ensure that these children are protected and affirms that they should be afforded a full legal process, to which they have a right under U.S. law, to determine whether they have a right to remain in the United States." Read more in our statement and watch NIJC's Lisa Koop share one child's story at a Congressional briefing. |
|
|
| | Community rejects Trump administration’s threat to deploy National Guard in Chicago NIJC commends Governor JB Pritzker for standing strong alongside immigration advocates, allies, and community leaders to condemn the Trump administration's threat to deploy the National Guard against Chicago residents. “Chicago is a city that, for centuries, has welcomed people from all over the United States and the world who come to build secure lives, and we are proud to be part of a city where neighbors and civil society work together to overcome challenges and keep each other safe,” said NIJC Executive Director Mary Meg McCarthy in a statement. “The biggest threat to our city’s public safety right now is the Trump administration’s authoritarian overreach.” Read NIJC’s full response in the statement released by Governor Pritzker’s Office here. |
|
|
| | NIJC sues to end Florida’s Everglades detention camp NIJC filed a lawsuit to stop the nation's first independently state-run immigration jail in the Everglades. It is illegal for state governments to set up their own independent immigration jails but Florida is unlawfully using 287(g) agreements to do so anyway. IN THE NEWS: “It is truly unprecedented for a state to claim authority to operate its own, independent immigration detention system," said NIJC's Mark Fleming. "The lack of accountability and resulting deprivation at this remote and inhumane detention camp in the Florida Everglades is exactly why Congress has made it unlawful and directed only the federal government to have custody over noncitizens as they go through the immigration system.” Read NIJC's press release with partners ACLU, ACLU of Florida and the Community Justice Project here and read KTLA's article covering the lawsuit. |
|
|
| | Detention profit comes at a grave cost As taxpayer funds have been flowing into the pockets of Indiana’s private prison profiteers, people held in detention have faced medical neglect, abuse, and life-threatening conditions. NIJC's lawsuit holds U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the County accountable for this gross injustice. IN THE NEWS: "I wouldn't want to sustain our county based on the mass incarceration of non-citizens ... I wouldn't want my taxes to go towards that," NIJC Senior Litigation Attorney Mark Feldman told The Indianapolis Star when discussing how Clay County, Indiana depends on immigration detention. Read more. |
|
|
| | New resource unpacks how immigration prosecutions fuel mass incarceration The Trump administration has ramped up federal prosecutions for immigration offenses, imprisoning more people for simply entering the United States. or reentering after removal without permission. New proposed legislation could make punishments harsher—including life imprisonment—and exacerbate the harm of the same laws that enabled the family separation crisis. Congress should not give the Trump administration more ammunition for mass incarcerations and ICE abductions. Read our joint policy brief outlining how these prosecutions fuel mass incarceration, overwhelm courts, waste taxpayer money, and more. |
|
|
| | ICE expands detention to historic levels As ICE drains federal resources from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and social service programs to expand detention, its contracts are increasing in cost to further fuel a system that harms, rather than protects, our communities. IN THE NEWS: “Immigration is supposed to be civil, but in its manner, it often turns into something very punitive,” said NIJC's Jesse Franzblau in an interview with NewsNation. “So, the more people who are forced into detention under these programs that the Trump administration is rolling out is even more concerning in regard to people’s health and people’s safety.” Read more here. |
|
|
| | Congress demands answers as ICE arrests more citizens As more people, including U.S. citizens, have been abducted by ICE, a group of Congress members have demanded that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) be investigated for civil rights abuses.
IN THE NEWS: “We are seeing the agency unleashed like never before,” said Jesse Franzblau, associate director of policy of NIJC in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “ICE is just picking up people, whoever is nearby and there is a lot of racial profiling happening.”
NIJC thanks the nearly 50 members of Congress, led by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Alex Padilla, Senator Mark Kelly, Rep. Lou Correa and Congressman Dan Goldman, for this effort to protect democracy and hold the federal government accountable. Read the full article here. |
|
|
| | Volunteer lawyers help 10 people renew DACA Last month, 10 people received help renewing their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status thanks to our pro bono colleagues at Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP (BAL). We are grateful to BAL's attorneys, paralegals, and other legal staff for their time and dedication to NIJC's clients and mission! Send them a note of congratulations on LinkedIn! |
|
|
| | Save your spot: 7th Annual NIJC Community for Immigrant Justice 5K Event Information
Race Day
Saturday, October 11, 2025
11:00 – 2:00 p.m. EDT
In-person in Goshen, IN Virtual Race Week
Saturday, October 11 – Saturday, October 18, 2025
Join us this October for the 7th Annual NIJC Community for Immigrant Justice 5K! For seven years, thousands have run, walked, and cheered us on in support of immigrant rights and to raise vital funds for legal services that keep families together and defend due process. Participate in person in Indiana or virtually from your own neighborhood--we look forward to seeing you there! Sign up by September 18 to get a free race t-shirt with your registration! Register here. |
|
|
| | | Like getting emails like this one? Make sure you update your preferences using the "Manage Your Preferences" link at the bottom of this email so you keep getting the information you want from NIJC! | | | | |
|
|
| | | NATIONAL IMMIGRANT JUSTICE CENTER
111 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 800 | Chicago, Illinois 60604
immigrantjustice.org |
|
|
| |
|
|
