Denial of Justice: The Biden Administration’s Dedicated Docket in the Boston Immigration Court

In 2021, the Biden administration established fast-tracked removal proceedings, known as the Dedicated Docket, targeting asylum-seeking families who recently arrived in the United States. This report analyzes the impact of the Dedicated Docket on asylum-seeking families in the Boston Immigration Court. The Boston Dedicated Docket is the largest in the country, with over 20,000 asylum…
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HIRCP Urges Reversal of Biden Administration Asylum Ban

The Biden administration’s new rule, which took effect yesterday and has already been challenged in court, will unjustly prevent refugees from accessing protection at the southern border in violation of domestic and international law. The inhumane and unlawful rule will lead to the return of vulnerable refugees, including women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other survivors of…
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Weighing President Biden’s first year: Immigration

Program Director Sabi Ardalan spoke with HLS Today about President Biden’s immigration policies during his first year in office.

Harvard Law School Clinic Sues Immigration Authorities Over Public Records Requests

Program Director Sabi Ardalan and clinical students George Biashvili ’22 and Michael Shang ’22 spoke with the Harvard Crimson about a recent FOIA lawsuit.  Image credit: Nicolas Lampert

Cyberlaw Clinic weighs in on warrantless device searches at the US border

Mason Kortz ’14, of the HLS Cyberlaw Clinic, discusses the amicus brief his clinic submitted on behalf of the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program regarding device searches at the U.S. border.

Refugee Eligibility: Challenging Stereotypes and Reviving the ‘Benefit of the Doubt’

HIRC Director Sabi Ardalan breaks down the many issues with the new proposed rule on asylum.

Federal immigration office reopens: 7,000 residents waiting to take citizenship oath

“‘Our concern is that due to COVID-19 safety restrictions, USCIS will likely only be able to naturalize a handful of individuals at each ceremony,’ said Sameer Ahmed, clinical instructor at the Harvard program. ‘Given that the federal court previously held large-scale oath ceremonies for hundreds of individuals, we believe that the agency’s current effort will be unable to resolve the significant…
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With Oath Ceremonies Backlogged, U.S. Citizenship Benefits Are Out Of Reach For Thousands Of Mass. Residents

“Sameer Ahmed, an attorney and clinical instructor with Harvard’s Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program, estimates nearly 7,000 Massachusetts residents — and more than 100,000 people nationwide — are still waiting to take the citizenship oath.”

HIRC releases report on effect of Executive Orders on refugees; Urges Canada to reconsider Safe Third Country Agreement

The Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic released a report today on the effects of President Trump’s Executive Orders on people seeking asylum protection in the United States under long-standing provisions of U.S. and international law, including refugee law and the Convention Against Torture. In the wake of the Executive Orders, media attention has focused largely on…
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“Protecting Central American Families”: HIRC Featured in Harvard Review of Latin America

All Maribel had wanted was to work in a beauty salon in her home country of Honduras, maybe one day doing well enough to open a salon of her own. Hair and nails, or maybe just nails since manicures are her specialty. Maribel (not her real name; all names in this article have been changed to protect confidentiality) dreamt of using the money to put her five-year-old daughter in a good school, and finally move into a two-bedroom apartment of their own, far from the cramped room they shared in the two-room shack in the slums of Tegucigalpa.