For Immediate Release
June 23, 2022
Contacts:
Arianna Rosales, National Immigration Project, arianna@nipnlg.org
Washington, DC - The Ready to Stay Administrative Advocacy Working Group (RTSAAWG) released today a new report to provide the Biden administration feedback on its progress breaking down the barriers to immigration services and benefits erected by the Trump administration.
While the Biden administration has made some progress, RTSAAWG is concerned that there are several categories of services where the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is still failing noncitizens, and by extension the American public.
In the report, RTSAAWG analyzes agency actions in these three categories and issues a rating of "Progress Made," "Work Still To Do," or "No or Insufficient Action Taken." The goal of the report is to acknowledge positive progress made during the first year of the Biden administration and to highlight where actions are still necessary to fulfill the goals of President Biden's executive orders and the stated policy goals of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and USCIS.
Ready to Stay Administrative Advocacy Working Group (RTSAAWG):
"In four years, the Trump administration took unprecedented steps to dismantle immigration adjudication agencies. While we understand that rebuilding the system takes time, many noncitizens simply do not have that time, as they remain separated from family members, in desperate situations when they are unable to work lawfully, or potentially facing removal while awaiting the adjudication of a benefit. We urge the Biden administration to consider and implement the suggestions detailed in this report with the same level of urgency that the Trump administration employed in making its changes across the board at USCIS."
RTSAAWG includes representatives from the National Immigration Project (NIPNLG), the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative (I-ARC), National Immigration Law Center (NILC), Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), and The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA).
###
The National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG) is a national non-profit organization that provides technical assistance and support to community-based immigrant organizations, legal practitioners, and all advocates seeking and working to advance the rights of noncitizens. NIPNLG utilizes impact litigation, advocacy, and public education to pursue its mission. Learn more at nipnlg.org. Follow NIPNLG on social media: National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild on Facebook, @NIPNLG on Twitter and Instagram.