Human Rights
Migrants and Advocates Call to Close Detention Centers as COVID-19 Spreads
A new lawsuit argues that an outbreak in detention could overwhelm local health care systems.
As COVID-19 cases begin to permeate the immigration system nationwide, detainees in Texas are calling for better conditions and release. Their pleas became more...Read More
The Future of Fair Housing in Texas
John Henneberger has spent 45 years advocating for Texans’ right to have a safe, affordable place to live.
In 1974, while he was an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin, John Henneberger started volunteering with a community group in Clarksville, a form...Read More
In Migrants Camps Along the Texas-Mexico Border, Close Quarters and Closing Borders Raise Concerns
Advocates and lawyers warn new measures implemented along the southern border in response to COVID-19 are putting vulnerable migrants at higher risk.
COVID-19 is lurking along the Texas-Mexico border. As suspicious illnesses begin to appear in migrant camps, close proximity, unhygienic conditions, and travel ...Read More
COVID-19 Reveals the Urgent Need to House the Homeless
As state and local governments scramble to provide the homeless access to rooms in order to save them (and us) from the coronavirus pandemic, it’s worth keeping one eye on the future.
For weeks, advocates and news outlets have been sounding the alarm: The homeless are profoundly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. The disease is a new and ur...Read More
How Is COVID-19 Impacting the Immigration System?
As immigration courts and detention centers fear the spread of coronavirus, migrants in the camps along the U.S. border say they are more afraid of staying in Mexico than COVID-19.
Ten immigration courts across the country have closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday night, and all hearings for immi...Read More
10 Ways to Help Your Fellow Texans Endure the Coronavirus Pandemic
Give to your local food bank, donate blood, or support an emergency housing fund.
As Texans hunker down, learn to keep our 6 feet of “social distance,” and gradually get used to life in quarantine to reduce the spread of COVID-19, many of...Read More
U.S. Supreme Court Sides with Trump Administration on ‘Remain in Mexico’
Following weeks of back-and-forth in the courts, SCOTUS has reversed the decision of an appeals court and allowed Remain in Mexico to continue.
The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, can continue while legal challenges play...Read More
Following a Protest, ICE Moves Asylum-Seekers For the Second Time in Two Weeks
ICE moved 47 women to Laredo following a protest for better medical care. Last week, more than 100 detainees were sent to Louisiana, where courts are harsher.
More than 100 asylum-seekers were transferred last week from the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, Texas, to Louisiana, where judges deny asylum at muc...Read More
Confusion Reigns in Matamoros Migrant Camp Over ‘Remain in Mexico’
Amid a chaotic back-and-forth caused by a court ruling, asylum-seekers in Matamoros are still waiting.
On a cloudy day in Brownsville, the pops of color just across the Rio Grande are barely visible among dense greenery. But as I cross the bridge to Matamoros, th...Read More
Following a Protest, ICE Transfers Dozens of Asylum Seekers to an Isolated Laredo Facility
Transferring detainees can negatively impact their already tenuous access to counsel.
In retaliation for protesting poor medical treatment, dozens of women detained at the T. Don Hutto Residential Center in Taylor, which houses asylum seekers, we...Read More