March 15th, 20240The American economy is thriving, and immigration should get some of the credit. That’s the message from experts who highlight the critical role that immigrants are playing in the workforce.
This may seem surprising when immigration is under attack and chaos at the border is a staple of political rhetoric. But immigrants are filling...
May 26th, 20230By Mohamad Moslimani
Arabic has become a much more widely spoken language in the United States in recent decades. The number of people ages 5 and older who speak Arabic at home in the U.S. rose from 215,000 in 1980 to 1.4 million in 2021, making it the nation’s seventh-most common non-English language spoken at home. Arabic speakers...
May 17th, 20220DETROIT — The International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit (IIMD) is offering free citizenship legal services to Metro Detroiters through a grant from the federal government.
The institute is encouraging anyone thinking of applying for citizenship to reach out to it. Immigration legal staff will assist people applying for...
June 2nd, 20210LANSING — Contributions made by the state’s immigrant community were given a nod with a proclamation by Governor Whitmer, declaring June 2021 Immigrant Heritage Month.
The state has joined a nationwide effort to collectively celebrate the history, culture and powerful influence immigrants have in shaping their communities and...
November 3rd, 20200WASHINGTON, D.C. — A U.S. District Judge in Chicago rejected a rule on Monday that was implemented by the Trump administration and aimed at denying Green Cards to immigrants utilizing food stamps and other public benefits.
The rule was rejected by Judge Gary Feinerman.
The Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights, as...
October 12th, 20190YPSILANTI – Attorneys from the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC) have shared information about the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new public charge rule ahead of its implementation this month.
Following the August 14 publishing of new changes to the ground of admissibility of immigrants to the U.S. based on the...
January 27th, 20190WICHITA, Kansas - A federal judge sentenced three white men to 25, 26 and 30 years in prison on Friday for a 2016 plot to bomb a Kansas apartment complex that is home to Somali immigrants and their mosque.
U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren in Wichita, Kansas sentenced Curtis Allen and Gavin Wright to 25 years and Patrick Stein to 30...
December 24th, 20180NEW YORK — On Thursday, a federal appeals court backed the Trump administration in its attempt to deport about 100 Iraqi immigrants who'd been convicted of crimes years ago.
A divided Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel reversed a lower court ruling that had blocked President Trump’s bid to send the immigrants back to Iraq....
July 29th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. — According to documents released on Wednesday, July 25, the Trump administration's decision to end temporary protection for immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua could worsen efforts to combat drug trade and gang violence, the U.S. State Department warned last October.
The senior Democrat on the...
July 28th, 20180TOLEDO — On Thursday, July 19, a Lebanese American couple invested money in a ProMedica initiative which funds research and programs for education, housing, income and food insecurity.
ProMedica Chief Philanthropy Officer Gary Cates announced the $1.5 million donation by Ramy and Faye Eidi during a news conference Thursday at...
June 11th, 20180LANSING — Gov. Snyder has proclaimed June as Immigrant Heritage Month. Michigan celebrates its past, present and future by welcoming those from across the globe who contribute to the state's cultural diversity and economic growth.
"Michigan is a national leader in welcoming New Americans and that is something to be proud of," Snyder...
May 18th, 20180SOUTHFIELD — The Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC), a premier nonprofit human service organization serving Southeast Michigan, hosted a community event on May 9 called “A Community in Crisis: ACC’s Opioid and Heroin Town Hall Meeting” that featured local religious and community leaders, medical professionals and law...
April 6th, 20180NEW YORK — A group of states and cities sued the Trump administration to stop it from asking people filling out 2020 census forms whether they are citizens.
The lawsuit by 17 states, Washington D.C. and six cities challenged what they called last week’s “unconstitutional and arbitrary” decision by the Department of Commerce,...
February 9th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Homeland Security called on authorities in a draft report from late January to continuously vet Sunni Muslims coming into the U.S. who fit an "at-risk" demographic profile.
The report, obtained by Foreign Policy Magazine, reviews 25 terrorist attacks in the United States between October 2001 and...
January 19th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. — Haitians will no longer be eligible for U.S. visas given to low-skilled workers, the Trump administration said on Wednesday, bringing an end to a small-scale effort to employ Haitians in the United States after a catastrophic 2010 earthquake.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the change less than...
January 12th, 20180SAN FRANCISCO — President Trump blasted the federal court system on Wednesday as "broken and unfair" after a judge blocked his administration's move to end a program protecting young immigrants brought to the United States illegally by their parents.
A U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco ruled late on Tuesday that Deferred...
November 10th, 20170WASHINGTON — Most Americans oppose the use of a lottery system for giving immigrants permanent U.S. residence, but a majority support allowing immigrants to obtain green cards through sponsorship by U.S. employers, according to a Reuters/ Ipsos opinion poll.
The poll, released on Thursday, found that only 25 percent of Americans...
November 3rd, 20170By Afaf Humayun and Stephen Martin
DETROIT—“We have no time, there are people counting on us,” said Linda Sarsour in the opening session of the Women’s Convention in Detroit at Cobo Hall on October 27. “People’s literal survival lies in our hands to protect those among us that are the most marginalized.”
Sarsour is a...
October 27th, 20170DEARBORN— On Thursday, October 26, the Arab-American Civil Rights League (ACRL) as well as the governmental and law enforcement community, held a press conference in opposition to the passage of bill HB 5053, which bans all local funding that supports or assists undocumented immigrants.
The bill was introduced in the Michigan...
September 29th, 20170Starting Oct 18, the Department of Homeland Security will begin collecting social media data from naturalized citizens and permanent residents.
Last week, there were additions to the Federal Register which require the collection of “social media handles, aliases, associated identifiable information, and search...
September 29th, 20170HAMTRAMCK— The Hamtramck City Council’s proposed resolution to censure Councilman Ian Perrotta over controversial comments he made about immigrants earlier this month was removed without any explanation.
The council did not vote Tuesday on the resolution introduced by Councilman Anam Miah that called for Perrotta to be “publicly...
September 14th, 20172HAMTRAMCK — A councilmember in one of the most diverse cities in the nation is facing a backlash after he blamed a trash problem on immigrant residents.
"There is an issue with trash in Hamtramck," Councilman Ian Perrotta said in an interview on WWJ AM 950. "I think some of it comes from the fact that some of our immigrant...
July 14th, 20172NORTHVILLE— Born and raised in Dearborn, Michigan, Northville resident Fayrouz Saad is the product of hard working parents who immigrated from Lebanon more than 40 years ago.
"It really starts with my parents," Saad said. "Moving to Michigan for the American Dream. They started a small business in Detroit's Eastern Market. A very...
May 19th, 20170SAN FRANCISCO — Immigrant rights advocates say that despite the cloud of fear hanging over communities in the first 100 days of the Trump administration, there is also a growing and increasingly organized resistance.
"We are seeing an increase in the number of people apprehended for removal," Melissa Chua, immigration director of...
May 19th, 20170NEW YORK — U.S. arrests of suspected illegal immigrants rose by nearly 40 percent in the first 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency, following executive orders that broadened the scope of who could be targeted for immigration violations, according to government data released on Wednesday.
The acting director of Immigration and...
March 20th, 20170DETROIT — It was a full house on a March afternoon at Freedom House Detroit.
Through the window, you can see the historic St. Anne's Catholic Church; beyond, the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Canada seems within reach – a prime location for the Customs and Border patrol vehicles that comb the neighborhood.
In the...
January 26th, 20170
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered construction of a U.S.-Mexican border wall and punishment for cities shielding illegal immigrants while mulling restoring a CIA secret detention program as he launched broad but divisive plans to reshape U.S. immigration and national security policy.
A draft executive order seen...
