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Employment Authorization Assistance. In response to Resolution No. 20231214-100, the City developed a policy to assist employees in seeking employment reauthorization or help with adjusting their immigration status, as well as provide resources for employees to naturalize, provide legal support or other resources, and connect employees with community resources to assist in navigating the U.S. immigration system. If you are a City employee and would like information about this new policy, please contact Rocío Villalobos - rocio.villalobos @ austintexas.gov
Naturalization Ceremony at City Hall. The month of November started with the first naturalization ceremony our office has hosted at City Hall. 50 immigrants from dozens of countries were sworn in as U.S. citizens in the presence of their loved ones and got registered to vote after the ceremony by the League of Women Voters of Austin. |
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Support for Citizenship. We hosted our fall citizenship clinic on November 2nd and helped nearly 50 people with their N400 application for naturalization! Thank you to American Gateways, Texas AFL-CIO and the Plumbers & Pipefitters Union for their partnership. Our 2025 clinics will take place on April 12 and September 13. Stay tuned in the coming months for the flyers and dates for the information sessions leading up to the clinics. We will also host another round of civics classes in the spring in both English and Spanish to help applicants prepare for the civics exam. |
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- Texas lawmakers submitted over 1,500 bills as the filing period opened on Tuesday, November 12, setting a new record for the most number of bills filed on the first day.
- Texas' 900,000 DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients are now eligible to sign up for healthcare coverage through the Affordable Care Act. People can enroll through January 15, but a lawsuit and the new Trump administration might once again make healthcare out of reach for this community. Whether or not DACA will be allowed to continue providing some form of relief remains unknown.
- Beginning on November 1, the governor's Executive Order 46 began directing hospitals and acute care provider offices to ask patients about their immigration status. Historically, when orders like this go into effect, people who are not U.S. citizens stop going to the offices that ask about immigration status. It is important to note that even though providers now have to ask about immigration status, patients do not have to answer.
- According to a study by the Center for Migration Studies of New York, there are 4.7 million households of mixed-status in the United States who could be torn apart as a result of the new administration's mass deportation plan. The families include 5.5 million US-born children living with one undocumented parent and 1.8 million US-citizen children living with two undocumented parents.
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U.S. immigration authorities illegally kept more than $300 million in bond payments from tens of thousands of low-income immigrant families and U.S. citizens, according to a lawsuit filed in late October. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement kept the money for so long that $240 million was transferred to a U.S. Treasury account for unclaimed funds, said Motley Rice LLC, one of the firms that filed the lawsuit in federal court for the Eastern District of New York.
- A judge ruled that New York City can't block buses of migrants sent from Texas to New York by Governor Greg Abbott. The judge stated that requiring bus operators to screen passengers based on the possibility that they may need public assistance when they get to their destination would infringe on their fundamental right to travel, and punishing the bus companies for failing to keep poor people out of the city would be improper.
- The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that the practice of 'metering,' in which Border Patrol agents admit a certain number of asylum-seekers per day, is illegal. In a 2-1 decision, the court said that anyone who presents themselves to a Border Patrol agent, even if they have not crossed into the United States, have 'arrived' and should be processed for asylum. It is unclear whether the Department of Justice will appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
- Tom Homan, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), will serve as "border czar" in the Trump administration. This position is likely to play a key role in fulfilling Trump's campaign pledges related to the U.S.-Mexico border and mounting a mass deportation operation.
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On November 7th, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas made a decision to end the Keeping Families Together (aka parole in place) program for undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens. The program went into effect in early August and was temporarily paused following ligation by several Republican-majority states. During that time, USCIS continued to accept applications, schedule and process biometrics appointments, but will now be unable to approve any applications. The program was intended to allow those who were married to U.S. citizens to remain in the country as they obtained a green card.
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Friday, November 15 @ 1:00 PM CST
Narrative Research Lab: Combating Online Xenophobia
Join us to hear from Dr. Brian Hughes of American University’s Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab, Shauna Siggelkow of Define American, and Adriana Rivera of The Florida Immigrant Coalition to hear how their organizations are utilizing cutting edge new research to combat anti-immigrant rhetoric online. They will discuss how the empirically tested method of inoculation against mis and disinformation online has been applied in the field to successfully combat anti-immigrant and white supremacists narratives on social media. The discussion will feature case studies in the application of inoculation theory, including a spotlight on the work of a new coalition based model, supported by Tides, called Immigrants Belong. This community of narrative practice utilizes innovative new media research to build narrative change strategies for digital. The discussion will be hosted and moderated by The Opportunity Agenda. Register here. |
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Monday, November 18 @ 12:00 PM CST
Immigration Landscape Post-Election
Join us for a timely discussion on the post-election political landscape and the future of welcoming newcomers as we look toward 2025. Our speakers will cover recent ballot measures affecting refugee and immigrant communities, explore what it means to foster a welcoming environment, and discuss ways we can stand together to protect the values of refugee resettlement and inclusion. Register here. |
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Wednesday, November 20 @ 6:00 PM CST
Community Voices & Choices: Budget Input Session
VIRTUAL
There is one more FY25-26 Budget Input Session remaining this calendar year! These sessions have been facilitated by the City’s Joint Inclusion Boards and Commissions and they offer an opportunity for community members to weigh in about their needs and priorities. This is an important avenue to influence advocacy priorities for all commissions and to help shape the budget recommendations for the FY26 fiscal year. RSVP for the virtual session here.
For interpretation or accessibility, email equity@austintexas.gov. Please request accommodations and/or language interpretation no later than five days before the meeting you wish to attend. The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Reasonable accommodations and access to effective communication can be provided upon request.
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Monday, December 2 @ 4:00 PM CST
Community Defender Training: What You Can Do Now To Be Prepared
Join the National Immigration Project for a free webinar for community defenders, advocates, and impacted community members to go over the basics of what you can do now to be prepared. We'll go over what we expect in the first days of a Trump administration; a primer on your Fourth Amendment rights; and ways for families to prepare in case of an arrest by ICE. Our two-hour program is meant to address your most burning questions and to remind you of the protections you already have. As policies change, we will continue to provide community defenders with the information and trainings they need to fight back and to keep their people ready to face whatever comes. Register here.
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Wednesday, December 4 @ 6:00 PM CST
Equity Action Team Meeting
Street-Jones Building - 1000 E 11th Street, 4th Floor Conference Room
Join us for our November / December combined EAT meeting! The agenda is still being finalized, but will include immigration updates as we prepare for the coming year. Dinner will be provided, including vegan options. Learn more and register here. |
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No matter who is president, everyone living in the U.S. has certain basic rights under the U.S. Constitution. Undocumented immigrants have these rights, too. It is important that we all assert and protect our basic rights.
If you find you have to deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other law enforcement officers at home, on the street, or anywhere else, remember that you have the rights described in this factsheet from the National Immigration Law Center. The factsheet also provides suggestions for what you should do to assert your rights.
The factsheet is available in English, Spanish, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Korean and Arabic.
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ICYMI: SB1718 - Current Enforcement of Florida's New Immigration Law
It has been over a year since the passage of Florida’s SB 1718, a far-reaching and draconian anti-immigrant law. This panel of speakers provided an update regarding the law’s enforcement and community efforts to combat this law. This is particularly relevant to communities in Texas, given that SB4 contains similar provisions. Learning about community efforts to push back against this legislation in Florida can help provide a roadmap for communities in Texas. Watch the recording here. You can also access SB1718 resources here. |
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ICYMI: Fighting Against Mass Raids Operations - Lessons Across Administrations
Just Futures Law, Mijente and Surveillance Research Lab hosted a webinar to talk about the lessons learned from raids in past administrations, from Operation Cross Check during the Obama administration, to the Trump administration’s most infamous raids. The recordings of the webinar are available on Mijente's YouTube channel in both English and Spanish. |
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Are you an attorney looking for a way to provide pro bono legal support to people working on their immigration cases? Or someone who could volunteer as an interpreter for those attorneys? Consider joining the Immigration Justice Campaign. The American Immigration Council gives volunteer attorneys all the help they need to take on immigration cases—whether or not they’ve ever worked on one before.
Our attorney volunteers come to us from all types of legal backgrounds. Some are fresh out of law school, some practice law unrelated to immigration, and some have decades of experience. Many people choose to volunteer with the Immigration Justice Campaign in part because they are looking to learn how to practice immigration law. Our model was designed to give attorneys from any type of legal background the knowledge, skills, and mentorship they need to effectively represent clients. Learn more and apply here.
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