On December 4th, a federal judge in New York recently ordered the Trump Administration to restore the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program to the way it existed prior to September 2017. While community members who do not currently have DACA status are now eligible to apply, it is important to note that ongoing legal challenges by the Trump Administration mean that it is possible the program could still be put on hold in the future.
A moment like this is possible
For the first time in our nation’s history, a person of color and daughter of immigrants is set to become the Vice-President of the United States.
Speaking to the crowd in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday night, Kamala Harris proudly acknowledged her roots as the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father. Speaking about her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, Vice-President Elect Harris said “When she came here from India at the age of 19, she maybe didn’t quite imagine this moment. But she believed so deeply in an America where a moment like this is possible.”
Harris went on to say to the children of America watching this historic moment: “Dream with ambition, lead with conviction. And see yourselves in a way that others may not, simply because they’ve never seen it before, but know that we will applaud you every step of the way.”
At KIAC, we see the same dreams in our clients: dreams of making a better life for themselves and their children. We are thrilled to be sharing this exciting time with people around the country, and especially with you, our supporters and friends. Thank you so much for your steadfast support for immigrants and for KIAC. Together, we will keep working toward moments of possibility living in every human heart.
In solidarity,
The KIAC Team
Asylum Denial Rates Continue to Climb
Despite the partial court shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, this year immigration judges managed to decide the second highest number of asylum decisions in the last two decades. The rate of denial continued to climb to a record high of 71.6 percent, up from 54.6 percent during the last year of the Obama Administration in FY 2016. See Figure 1. This is an excerpt of a report by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. You can see the full report here.
The injustice of our current system is obvious in this graph.
America has long been a beacon of hope for those fleeing persecution but the policies of the current administration have dimmed that beacon.
Ignorance and lies will not stand the test of truth and we all must speak that truth. It is up to us to recognize our common humanity with others and to stand up for due process of law and human rights. KIAC will continue to support our immigrant sisters and brothers and vigorously represent them.
