News & Updates
Last month, the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors (AIS) sent a letter signed by 105 organizations to Senate leadership to strengthen protections for immigrant survivors in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) 2021. For over 25 years, VAWA has served as a rare example of how a bipartisan Congress can protect survivors and strengthen their ability…
Read MoreASISTA Senior Policy Counsel Amy Cheung in Ms. More Than A Magazine, A Movement, weighting in the article “Abuse exists across many industries and institutions, and low-income people of color are particularly vulnerable. This is especially true in the context of immigration”. Read here the full article.
Read MoreCruel immigration policies were a hallmark of the Trump presidency. From the “Muslim ban” in his earliest days in office to family separation, the Trump administration made over 1,000 immigration policy changes, creating a largely hostile and unwelcoming reception for refugees and asylum seekers fleeing danger and economic hardship and instilling fear in immigrants residing…
Read MoreOn April 6, 2021, ASISTA hosted a listening session with USCIS representatives regarding recent trends and issues with fee waiver adjudications related to survivor-based protections including VAWA self-petitions, U and T visa relief. The notes from that listening session can be found below. If you continue to face additional problems with fee waiver adjudications, please…
Read MoreIn January 2019, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on behalf of Grassroots Leadership requesting information on fee waiver adjudication policies and procedures for VAWA self-petitions, T visa and U visa Humanitarian programs. Due to a lack of response, Grassroots Leadership, represented by TRLA, was a plaintiff in…
Read MoreASISTA and Sanctuary for Families are excited to share that on March 18, 2021, Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer granted our joint motion to stay the proceedings in our ongoing lawsuit against ICE for 90 days subject to specific interim conditions. ASISTA and Sanctuary for Families are represented by Protect Democracy and the Constitutional Accountability Center…
Read MoreIn the wake of the killing of eight people in Georgia earlier this week, we at ASISTA are heartbroken and determined as ever to fight the toxic combination of white supremacy and misogyny that fuels this violence. Eight lives were tragically and violently taken, of whom seven were women and six were of Asian descent.…
Read MoreSafe Horizon and ASISTA File Lawsuit Against USCIS and DHS, Seeking Information on Policy Change Making it More Difficult for Victims of Serious Crime to Obtain Relief Under the U-Visa Program
Read MoreOn March 10, 2021, Senior District Judge Susan Illston from the U.S. District Court of Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction in the case Centro Legal de La Raza et al v. EOIR et al, challenging the harmful DOJ rule severely limiting sua sponte motions in immigration court proceedings and curtailing the use…
Read MoreU.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 & Its Impact on Survivors: On Thursday, February 18, 2021 theU.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 was introduced in the House by Representative Linda Sánchez and in the Senate by Senator Bob Menendez. ASISTA and our partners with the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors have prepared an overview of the bill with a discussion…
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