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The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump administration seeks to end bond hearings for immigrants without legal status
The Trump administration is reportedly seeking to bar millions of immigrants who allegedly arrived in the US without legal status from receiving a bond hearing as they try to fight their deportations in court. The new policy would apply during removal proceedings, which can take years, for millions of immigrants who entered the country from Mexico in recent decades, according to a report from the Washington Post, which reviewed documents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). Such immigrants had previously been allowed to request a bond hearing before an immigration judge, but Todd Lyons, Ice's acting director, stated in a memo reviewed by the Post that the homeland security and justice departments had 'revisited [their] legal position on detention and release authorities'. The departments determined that such immigrants 'may not be released from Ice custody', Lyons reportedly wrote in the memo. That new restriction, which is expected to face legal challenges, was issued on 8 July shortly after the Republican-controlled Congress provided Ice $45bn over the next four years to detain immigrants for civil deportation proceedings. 'To be clear, [Ice's] position here is laughable and is being rejected by immigration judges all over the US, and will soon be dismissed by actual federal court judges in habeas proceedings,' Charles Kuck, an immigration attorney and Emory University law professor, wrote on X in a post that alluded to challenges against one's detention. The policy change would mark the latest significant departure for Ice, which during Joe Biden's presidency provided a guide on how immigrants who are detained can post bond. 'Judges see a lot of people every day,' the guide stated. 'You can make your testimony stand out by speaking sincerely. Think about a story that will show the judge how much your family needs you. Explain to the judge why your detention hurts your family very much. 'We hope that this guide provides you with helpful information when preparing for your bond hearing. We wish you the best of luck with your case!' The Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for reducing immigration, defended the new reported policy. 'Detention is absolutely the best way to approach this, if you can do it,' Mark Krikorian, executive director for the Center for Immigration Studies, told the Post. 'It costs a lot of money, obviously. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion 'You're pretty much guaranteed to be able to remove the person, if there's a negative finding, if … [they're] in detention.' The Trump administration had already worked to limit which immigrants can post bond. Previously, people arrested after they had entered the US and placed in regular removal proceedings were eligible for a bond hearing, according to the National Immigration Project, a non-profit whose attorneys have defended immigrants facing deportation. But in May, the federal Board of Immigration Appeals issued a ruling stating that such people were subject to mandatory detention, meaning that Ice could jail them during removal proceedings and not provide them an opportunity to appear before an immigration judge and get a bond set. Ice did not immediately respond to the Guardian's request for comment on the reported new policy.
Time of India
09-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Worrisome': US visa delays hit all-time high, 11.3 million cases pending
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is struggling to keep up with a piling number of immigration cases, reaching an all-time high of 11.3 million pending applications. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Immigration attorneys said the Trump administration's efforts to find fraudulent cases have set back the pace of the process and resulted in 'massive backlogs' across an immigration system that is already grappling with a growing number of cases, as reported by Newsweek. The data from USCIS from January to March indicates that, with backlogs growing in number every quarter, certain immigration categories are going through worsening delays as processing times are stretched. Applicants have to wait for months or even years in the end. Charles Kuck, the founding partner at Kuck Baxter in Atlanta, told Newsweek, 'The Trump administration has told USCIS to slow down processing of cases. Predictably, the system has quickly developed massive backlogs. By the end of 2028, we will pine for the days of a functioning legal immigration system because it will effectively not exist by the end of the Trump term." USCIS is funded solely by fees from immigrants applying for services like green cards and work permits. For years, reports have pointed to problems with this model, including ongoing staffing shortages that cause long delays. Processing times for Form I-90 (Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card) and Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization, with the EAD card issued via Form I-766) have risen compared to the previous quarter. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This increase is partly due to USCIS suspending its Streamlined Case Processing (SCP) program, an automated system that sped up approvals without officer review. The suspension aims to allow for more thorough vetting, though no timeline has been set for reinstating the program. Certain categories, however, have shown signs of improvement with the backlog of Form 1-131 (advance parole application) reduced by almost 60,000 cases this fiscal year, but 260,000 cases are still pending. "It is still early to draw firm conclusions from the data, as processing trends may shift based on staffing, litigation, or new policy guidance. However, outside the boundaries of congressional mandates or statutory requirements, what may appear to be backlogs may be better described as policy choices," Morgan Bailey, a partner at Mayor Brown and former senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek
Newsweek
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
US Immigration Backlog Hits All-Time High
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is grappling with an unprecedented backlog of immigration cases, reaching a record 11.3 million pending applications. USCIS data from January to March shows some immigration categories experiencing worsening delays, with processing times creeping up. As backlogs grow larger each quarter, applicants are left waiting months or even years longer than they expected. Immigration attorneys told Newsweek that the Trump administration's efforts to find fraud in applications is significantly slowing down processing times and creating "massive backlogs" across an already overwhelmed immigration system. "The Trump administration has told USCIS to slow down processing of cases. Predictably, the system has quickly developed massive backlogs. By the end of 2028, we will pine for the days of a functioning legal immigration system because it will effectively not exist by the end of the Trump term," Charles Kuck, the founding partner at Kuck Baxter in Atlanta, told Newsweek. Newsweek contacted USCIS for comment via email on Monday afternoon. Petitioners at a naturalization ceremony for 225 people seeking U.S. citizenship at the National Archives. Petitioners at a naturalization ceremony for 225 people seeking U.S. citizenship at the National Archives. Chris Maddaloni/CQ Roll Call via AP Images Why It Matters The 11.3 million applications backlog marks the highest volume of pending cases ever recorded by the agency. For the first time in over a year, USCIS reported a "frontlog"—cases received but not yet opened or officially entered into the processing system—that stands at more than 34,000. The high number of unprocessed applications raises concerns about delays beginning even before formal review processes commence. What To Know USCIS is funded solely through the fees it charges immigrants applying for various benefits, such as green cards and work authorization, and replacement visa documents. Reports over multiple administrations have laid out the difficulties with this model and the ongoing struggles to fully staff the agency, leading to delays. The latest data showed several form categories with an uptick in processing times, with some applicants waiting several years for their cases to be decided. Forms I-90, the Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, and I-765—the Application for Employment Authorization, with the EAD card issued on Form I-766— have shown increases in processing times compared to the previous quarter. This is partially attributed to the agency's suspension of its Streamlined Case Processing (SCP) program, an automated system that expedited approvals without the need for officer review. The suspension is intended to allow enhanced vetting, though no timeline has been announced for the SCP's reinstatement. Greg Siskind, an immigration attorney at Siskind Susser in Memphis, Tennessee, told Newsweek that attorneys had been expecting longer wait times since the presidential election in November. He said staff were likely to have left without replacements, particularly in the face of Department of Government Efficiency pressures across the federal government. "Then there was an expected increase in the rate of Requests for Evidence, where USCIS demands more documentation before approving a case," Siskind said. "This happened in the first Trump term, and a spike in RFE rates will show up in the processing times, often doubling or tripling the amount of time one can expect in a given case." Some categories saw improvements, however. The backlog of Form I-131, the advance parole application, decreased by almost 60,000 cases this fiscal year. Still, it remains high, with about 260,000 cases pending and a median processing time of 5.8 months—a length considered unacceptably long by immigration advocates. "It is still early to draw firm conclusions from the data, as processing trends may shift based on staffing, litigation, or new policy guidance. However, outside the boundaries of congressional mandates or statutory requirements, what may appear to be backlogs may be better described as policy choices," Morgan Bailey, a partner at Mayer Brown and former senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsweek. Work authorization applications paint a mixed picture. Cases tied to adjustment of status and asylum, known as categories C09 and C08, are facing little to no backlog. However, other types of work permits add up to about 775,000 pending cases. Most notably, the parole-based C11 category alone includes about 531,000 applications, many of which have been reopened for revocation under programs for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela—commonly referred to as the CHNV parole program. Employment-based applications made up a large share of USCIS's workload this quarter, with 1.73 million forms filed in Q2 alone. This category includes key programs such as H-1B visa petitions, employment authorization applications and green card applications for skilled workers. The high numbers highlight how much the U.S. economy continues to depend on foreign talent across a wide range of industries. Notably, Form I-765, the Application for Employment Authorization, saw 698,586 cases processed far faster, especially for asylum-seekers—with a median processing time of 0.7 months. Data published by USCIS for January to March of fiscal year 2025 shows about 2.4 million approvals compared to 261,000 denials, resulting in an overall approval rate of about 90.2 percent. Meanwhile, immigration courts are overwhelmed, with a backlog exceeding 3.7 million cases, according to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Asylum-seekers often wait years for decisions on their cases. The growing backlog means longer waits for family reunification, employment opportunities and humanitarian protections for millions of immigrants. The "frontlog" shows slowdowns even at the earliest stages of the process, compounding delays. What People Are Saying Greg Siskind, an immigration attorney at Siskind Susser, told Newsweek: "The one thing that was giving me hope that we might not see the big increase in processing times we were expecting is the acceleration of USCIS's accepting online filings of cases versus the labor-intensive paper filing process. "USCIS is still moving along with e-filing, and that is making things less bad as far as processing times go. And USCIS's long-term goal is to totally move away from paper filings, so I expect that trend to continue. More worrisome is the expectation by many in the immigration bar that USCIS will increasingly use AI—often poorly designed AI—that will speed up decision-making but in a way that lacks transparency and with serious quality control concerns." Charles Kuck, the founding partner at Kuck Baxter, told Newsweek: "The rapid growth in the USCIS is 100 percent predictable given the Trump administration's approach to immigration. Starting with the staff reductions ordered at the USCIS (which is funded by user fees, not tax dollars). Followed by seeking "volunteers" from USCIS to assist ICE in enforcement efforts. Which then leads to the administration's effort to find fraud in every application, slowing down processing times." Morgan Bailey, a partner at Mayer Brown, told Newsweek: "The Trump administration believes that the primary mission of USCIS is to serve as a screening and vetting agency rather than as a benefits granting agency." What Happens Next USCIS will likely get a funding boost through increased fees and charges for immigration applications, but it remains to be seen whether this will affect processing times.
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
358 international students get SEVIS resorted in a significant settlement with DHS
AI photo In a significant court-aided settlement reached with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration (DHS) all 358 international students, many of whom are Indian, succeeded in having their SEVIS registration resorted retroactively. TOI in its edition of May 3, 2025, had reported on the mass action lawsuit that had been filed by these students pseudonymously. The list of stipulations (requests) set down by these students were accepted by DHS and approved by the district court judge (Northern district of Georgia). The stipulation sought reinstatement of their SEVIS records to 'active' status, retroactive to the date of initial termination, effectively ensuring no gap in their immigration status. This retroactivity means 'as though the termination did not happen'. F-2 dependents (such as spouse or dependent children) of the F-1 visa holder (aka, the international student) will also receive the same terms and conditions of the settlement. A key concern for the international students was the impact of the termination on their Optional Practical Training (OPT), the two-year extended OPT which is available to international students in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) field or the Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorizations. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo The settlement sought that any end dates for these training programs be reset to their original end dates contained in their SEVIS records prior to termination. Crucially, the settlement ensured that unemployed days accumulated by some plaintiffs due to the SEVIS termination would be removed from their records. This was a vital point – to illustrate: there is a limit of 90 days of unemployment during the one year OPT post completion of studies. If this period is exceeded the students F-1 visa status is in peril. Furthermore, the plaintiffs sought assurance that ICE would not re-terminate their SEVIS records based solely on the National Crime and Information Center (NCIC) record that led to the initial termination. As has been reported by TOI earlier, SEVIS records of several students were terminated based on innocuous charges such as traffic or parking violations. The settlement also addressed potential negative impacts on future immigration applications – the settlement ensured that the termination and revocation of SEVIS records will not, by itself, have any negative impact. A group of law firms: Bless Litigation, Joseph and Hall, Kuck Baxter and Siskind Susser under the umbrella IMMPACT Litigation were representing the students. Charles Kuck, immigration attorney told TOI, 'This settlement gives us more than we believe we could have obtained from a federal court judge's order and are grateful to restore our 358 plaintiffs to their proper F-1 status, without interruption. We look forward to moving against Department of State in a separate legation to restore the unlawfully revoked visas to the international students. '
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Should Harvard enter into a deal with the Trump administration?
As Harvard University fights two federal lawsuits against the government, reports of a 'mindbogglingly HISTORIC' deal with the Trump administration drew apprehension from the institution's community and higher education leaders. To Charles Kuck, former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and an immigration lawyer, Harvard is in a strong position in court right now, so backing down isn't likely. 'I hope I'm not wrong, but my experience doing litigation for 36 years against the government is when they know they're going to lose, they settle,' he said. But for Harvard junior Nuriel Vera-DeGraff, there are 'very few positive aspects' of Harvard making a deal with the federal government. Vera-DeGraff fears that if Harvard makes a deal by backing down from defending its academic freedom, it allows the federal government to continue attacking higher education until it gets what it wants. Read more: Judge rules Trump can't invoke national security powers to ban foreign Harvard students The university has so far largely prevailed in court in lawsuits against the Trump administration. A federal judge granted two preliminary injunctions, allowing Harvard University's international students to continue attending school and enter the U.S. to study until the legality of the case is decided. Harvard hasn't officially confirmed whether a deal is in the works. However, Harvard President Alan Garber privately told a group of around 60 international donors that the institution was in talks with the federal government, according to The Harvard Crimson. Garber didn't expand upon the timeline or how the institution might settle with the White House. Instead, he focused on concerns about Harvard's community feeling uncomfortable speaking to one another across ideological boundaries or on controversial topics, the outlet said. A Harvard spokesperson said the institution is continuing to fight in court and pointed to the federal judge siding with the university in the past two preliminary injunctions. 'Harvard will continue to defend its rights — and the rights of its students and scholars," the spokesperson said. Read more: Harvard Kennedy's backup plan for foreign students: Study online, or in Canada The deal follows a months-long battle between the university and the Trump administration. In April, the Trump administration demanded an overhaul of Harvard's leadership structure, admissions and hiring. If the university didn't comply, it risked losing $9 billion in funding, the federal government said. The actions were taken in the name of antisemitism, as the Trump administration claimed Harvard failed to protect Jewish students, particularly in the wake of the war in Gaza. Harvard rejected the administration's demands and set the stage for a historic showdown. The 'stakes are very high' both for higher education and the United States as Harvard considers cutting a deal with the Trump administration, according to Phil Hanlon, former Dartmouth University President. 'I think the Trump administration is likely to use whatever agreement it reaches with Harvard as a template for agreements with other universities, especially elite universities. And it's really important from the university's perspective that whatever agreement is reached, it allows universities to continue to be engines of innovation and prepare students to lead lives of leadership and impact. But I think the stakes are even higher for the nation,' Hanlon said. If he were the president of Harvard, Hanlon said he would be looking for 'red lines' that the institution shouldn't cross — such as telling faculty what they can teach or what research to do. Harvard student Vera-DeGraff said giving in to any of the initial demands from the Trump administration would be 'extremely dangerous.' 'I have a very hard time imagining the Trump administration agreeing to a deal that would be, I guess, 'mindbogglingly historic' in his words — which seems pretty positive from his perspective — that would not, again, compromise academic freedom in some way or free speech in some way," he said. Vera-DeGraff isn't surprised by the prospect of a deal. He said he believes Harvard at least partially sides with the Trump administration, especially when it comes to suppressing pro-Palestine speech on campus, he said. However, the damage of a deal isn't just theoretical, especially to scientists who have had their funding cut at Harvard. The impact on research still remains in limbo even if a deal is to go through, according to John Quakenbush, Professor of computational biology and bioinformatics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 'There is still so much collateral damage and it is unclear how things get restarted now that projects have disrupted,' he said. 'A lot of plates have been broken, some irreparably,' he said. Harvard alumni, through Crimson Courage, whose mission is to stand up for academic freedom, sent an open letter to Harvard administrators on Monday morning calling for the institution to resist caving into the federal government. They believed the university should live up to its motto of 'veritas,' which means 'truth' in Latin. 'We cannot stand for 'veritas' if we refuse to stand up for truth when the moment demands it or if we dilute our values because it is expedient,' said the community of Harvard alumni. The Harvard alumni said that academic freedom 'cannot be negotiated away nor yield to political pressure and coercion.' Read more: 'Devastating': 10 Harvard researchers detail 'essential' work set to be cut by Trump In a separate letter to the Harvard administration, Jewish faculty, through Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff, a group of Boston-area-based Jewish faculty, called on Harvard to protect free expression, academic freedom and resist the 'weaponization' of antisemitism in the negotiation process. The group is made up of 150 Jewish faculty at Harvard and 24 other Boston-area universities. 'Those negotiations are framed by the Trump administration's groundless allegations of institutionalized antisemitism. The accusations have been used to suppress academic freedom and create a climate of fear at Harvard and throughout the US, particularly among Arab and Muslim community members and those who support Palestinian rights,' the faculty wrote in an open letter to Harvard on Monday. Since Harvard's two lawsuits against the Trump administration began, the university has garnered widespread support, calling into question, for some, why Harvard would want to cut a deal with the Trump administration right now. Twelve thousand alumni and other individuals and groups expressed their support through legal documents known as amicus briefs, including two dozen universities, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Council on Education, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression — also known as FIRE — and Columbia Alumni for Academic Freedom. During graduation and alumni day, Harvard President Garber had to wait on stage to give his speeches because he was met with unrelenting applause. At Columbia University's graduation, by contrast, students booed the president. It was in part a response from the university acquiescing to an ultimatum from the federal government — either abide by a list of requirements laid out for them or jeopardize its 'continued financial relationship with the United States government.' Read more: Trump admin threatens Columbia U. accreditation over Jewish student harassment While Columbia agreed to implement a list of policy changes, the university later pledged — after Harvard's decision to push back — not to make any agreement with the federal government that would 'relinquish our independence and autonomy,' according to a message from the university's president. Columbia's efforts to negotiate haven't 'done them any good' as they haven't been any less susceptible to attacks, according to Lynn Pasquerella, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and a former president at Mount Holyoke College. For instance, the U.S. Department of Education threatened Columbia University's accreditation due to its response to campus antisemitism. While that could happen to Harvard as well with a deal, Pasquerella said society 'cannot afford to say we're not going to listen to the other side.' Harvard's president has been mindful of the impact of compromising academic freedom thus far and hopes the institution continues not to capitulate to the federal government's demands, Pasquerella said. To Kuck, the power of the negotiation is more in Harvard's court because of the federal judge siding with Harvard on two preliminary injunctions. A deal would also ultimately bypass mounting expenses for lawyers and associated costs with going to federal court, Kuck said. Regardless of what happens: a deal or continued litigation, Kuck said the fight with Harvard accomplished its purpose — to paint elite institutions as 'outliers in American society.' 'They could fight and look like idiots, or they could negotiate and claim victory, which is what they'll probably do,' he said. 'The MAGA crowd will now move on to the next thing. All they'll remember in this episode, even though Harvard gets what they want, is Trump stood up to Harvard,' Kuck said. Harvard subpoenaed in Ivy League tuition price-fixing investigation Lawsuit: MIT professor harassed Israeli researcher, Jewish student as president stood by Harvard Kennedy's backup plan for foreign students: Study online, or in Canada Why a database of bug genes could be one of Trump's most devastating cuts at Harvard Data breach affecting over 75,000 people at UMass leads to lawsuit Read the original article on MassLive.
