On Wed., Sep. 11, the Arizona Capitol Times published an article describing the recent changes to regulations on T visas for human trafficking survivors, for which ASISTA attorney Rebecca Eissenova was interviewed. “Our organization very much applauds USCIS for doing this because it provides durability and predictability for survivors in the face of any kind of changing political winds, which is important to anybody, but especially important for survivors who have had a lot of instability in their lives,” Eissenova said. Read the full article here
On August 26th, ASISTA Staff Attorney Lia Ocasio spoke with Voz De America about the controversy on the New Parole in Place Program which is meant to provide Immigration Relief for US spouses. Click here to view.
KCBX FM Central Coast Public Radio recently sat down with our Executive Director, Kirsten Rambo, to hear about ASISTA and her recent trip to the White House for the launch of the US’s first-ever National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence. Listen to the interview here .
In this article , ASISTA Executive Director Kirsten Rambo weighs in on women having the right to seek an abortion privately, without surveillance.
ASISTA 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.
Cruel 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 inside the United States. See ASISTA Senior Policy Counsel Cecelia Friedman Levin weighting in, Will Biden Create More Humane Immigration Policies?.
ASISTA’s own Amy Cheung weighing in on the heavy backlog with the U Visa program which Congress created to strengthen the ability of police agencies to investigate and prosecute violent crimes like domestic & sexual assault.
We stand with ASISTA member organization, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, as they advocate for immigrant victims of sexual assault and harassment by guards at an ICE detention facility in El Paso. Laura Flores Bachman, Senior Legal Counsel with ASISTA, was quoted in this article about these heinous acts, “We believe sexual assaults in ICE facilities are crimes that are all too often unchecked given the deep vulnerability and isolation of detained immigrant women. We are hopeful that both local and federal officials will conduct a thorough investigation into these serious allegations and put an end to victims’ unabated suffering in the shadows of ICE detention.” See article here
ASISTA Policy Director Cecelia Friedman Levin weighing in, “We’re calling for a way that when these sorts of policy changes occur, that people are informed [and that] any changes in these processes don’t impact due process”. See article here.