Latest Immigration News

Texas, Florida push border laws as governors eye presidency

Mar. 17, 2023 09:33 AM EDT

PHOENIX (AP) — Led by tough-talking Republican governors weighing presidential runs, Texas and Florida are debating especially strict legislation on border security as the GOP tests federal authority over immigration. The moves in the two GOP-controlled statehouses come against a...

Sharp drop in illegal border crossings continues in February

Mar. 15, 2023 18:24 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A sharp drop in illegal border crossings along the Southwest border that started in January after the Biden administration announced stricter immigration measures continued into February, the administration announced Wednesday. The data released by the U.S....

Texas Republicans propose state immigration police force

Mar. 13, 2023 19:36 PM EDT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Texas are proposing legislation that would make it a state felony to cross the border from Mexico illegally and create a new border police force that could deputize private citizens, the latest in the state's continued push to test the limits of the...

Former Trump official launches PAC urging DeSantis to run

Mar. 09, 2023 11:57 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former White House official who helped implement Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies is breaking ranks with the former president and instead encouraging Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to pursue the presidency in 2024. Ken Cuccinelli, a former...

Judge orders halt to fast releases at US border with Mexico

Mar. 08, 2023 19:08 PM EST

MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge Wednesday ordered the Biden administration to end the expedited releases of migrants who enter the United States illegally from Mexico, potentially straining already stretched holding facilities. The order won't take effect for a week to give the...

Minnesota governor signs 'driver's licenses for all' bill

Mar. 07, 2023 17:59 PM EST

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Immigration status will no longer disqualify more than 80,000 people from getting Minnesota drivers licenses under a bill signed by Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday. Supporters of the effort, dubbed “driver’s licenses for all,” say it will improve public safety...

In reversal, Biden weighs detaining migrant families

Mar. 07, 2023 17:17 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is considering detaining migrant families who cross into the U.S. illegally as it prepares to end COVID-19 restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to U.S. officials familiar with the plans. That would be a major reversal after officials in late...

Plunge in border crossings could blunt GOP attack on Biden

Mar. 07, 2023 00:09 AM EST

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A sharp drop in illegal border crossings since December could blunt a Republican point of attack against President Joe Biden as the Democratic leader moves to reshape a broken asylum system that has dogged him and his predecessors. A new poll by The Associated...

Born after 9/11, Homeland Security turns 20 facing new tasks

Mar. 01, 2023 17:15 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal agency born in the aftermath of Sept. 11 when the primary concern was stopping terrorists from entering the U.S. is changing to meet new challenges, said the secretary of homeland security as he marked its 20-year anniversary during a ceremony Wednesday. ...

$1M settlement in lawsuit over federal immigration raid

Feb. 28, 2023 13:28 PM EST

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge has approved a settlement of more than $1 million in a class action lawsuit that challenged a federal immigration raid at an eastern Tennessee meatpacking plant where about 100 people were arrested. The settlement approved by U.S. District...