Fear, language barriers hinder immigrant COVID-19 contact-tracing

The crucial job of reaching people who test positive for the coronavirus and those they’ve come in contact with is proving especially difficult in immigrant communities because of language barriers, confusion and fear of the government.

US: Border tunnel found appears to be ‘most sophisticated’

The tunnel intended for smuggling ran from San Luis, Arizona, to a Mexican neighborhood and had a ventilation system, water lines, electrical wiring, a rail system, and extensive reinforcement, federal officials said Thursday.

Undocumented families face immense challenges as virtual school year looms

There unforeseen challenges for those who don’t have the proper paperwork to live in this country and for those whose socioeconomic levels are at the bottom rung. 

Biden says border wall construction will stop if he’s elected president

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said that while he won’t tear down President Trump’s much-touted wall along the United States’ southern border with Mexico, he also won’t continue construction of the barrier if he’s elected president in November.

US to raise naturalization application fees by $500

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a dramatic increase in fees for several immigration and work applications, including naturalization and asylum applications.

Supreme Court denies request to halt construction of the border wall

A number of groups, including the ACLU and Sierra Club, had asked the high court to get involved again after the justices last year cleared the way for the administration to use military funds for construction while the case played out in the courts.

Trump administration won't accept new DACA applications

The Trump administration says it will deny new applications for so-called “Dreamer” immigrants and limit renewals to one year instead of two.

Protesters chain themselves to California governor's house as prison deaths rise

The California Liberation Collective organized the protest that it said included several community organizers who are in the country illegally as well as immigration attorneys whose clients risk becoming infected.

Migrant kids held in US hotels, then expelled

The Trump administration is detaining immigrant children as young as 1 in hotels before deporting them to their home countries.

Trump excluding those in US illegally from reapportionment

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Tuesday that seeks to bar people in the U.S. illegally from being counted in congressional reapportionment, a move that drew immediate criticism and promises of court challenges.

Trump administration rescinds rule barring foreign students from online-only classes

Facing eight federal lawsuits and opposition from hundreds of universities, the Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded a rule that would have required international students to transfer or leave the country if their schools held classes entirely online because of the pandemic.

Foreign students weigh studying in person vs. losing visas

International students worried about a new immigration policy that could potentially cost them their visas say they feel stuck between being unnecessarily exposed during the coronavirus pandemic and being able to finish their studies in America.

Harvard, MIT sue US government over new ICE rule for international students

Harvard University and MIT are suing the Department of Homeland Security over a new ICE rule that makes international students leave the U.S. if they're enrolled at colleges that will be online in the fall because of coronavirus, the schools announced on Wednesday.

Mexican state eyes closing US border as COVID-19 cases rise in Arizona

Reacting to a spike in virus cases reported in Arizona, the top health official in the Mexican state of Sonora is asking Mexico’s federal government to temporarily close the border to non-essential visits from the U.S.

Appeals court: Trump wrongly diverted $2.5B for border wall

A federal appeals court ruled against the Trump administration in its transfer of military money to build sections of the U.S. border wall with Mexico.

Justices rule for Trump administration in deportation case

The justices ruled in the case of man who said he fled persecution as a member of Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority, but failed to persuade immigration officials that he faced harm if he returned to Sri Lanka. The man was arrested soon after he slipped across the U.S. border from Mexico.