ASC: News & Media

OpEd: 'Public Charge' Rule Could Be Devastating to HIV-Positive Immigrants

By ASC Advocacy Director Amanda Lugg for TheBody.com

Just when you thought it couldn't get much worse for immigrants, it could get much worse for immigrants.

In late 2017, the Trump administration announced its intention to impose harsher rules for determining when immigrants are considered a "public charge" -- a legal determination that can block an individual's path to permanent residency (i.e., obtaining a green card).

Under U.S. immigration law, a person seeking a green card through a family relationship must show that they "are not likely to become a public charge," which under current law is someone who is unable to support themselves and thus likely to depend on government benefits for income. Historically, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has only excluded applicants based on continuous receipt of cash benefits or long-term institutionalization at government expense, so as not to "inhibit access to non-cash benefits that serve important public interests."

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ADVOCACY ALERT: Sessions Closes Major Path for Asylum Seekers

As reported in the New York Times June 11, ASC's Immigrant Community Law Center (ICLC) had an asylum hearing June 14, for our client, Blanca, whose domestic violence and gang based-claim is now in jeopardy because of a decision Attorney General Sessions issued recently, which strips protection from those who need it most -- asylum seekers.

Entrepreneurship + Innovation from Africa and the Diaspora

What a spectacular night spotlighting three trailblazers in entrepreneurism, food, culture, hospitality from the Continent and the Diaspora with brilliant Claude Grunitzky of TRUEAfrica moderating the talk. Big thanks to Claude, the magnificent panelists Chef Pierre Thiam - Yolele Foods, Hawa Hassan - Basbaas, and Shimite Obialo - ANOKO ART, host Toutman Sanders LLP and to all who turned out.

New York Times Speaks With ASC's ICLC About DACA Mail Delays

The New York Times spoke with African Services Committee's Immigrant Community Law Center - ICLC attorney, Mauricio Noroña, about the disastrous effects of DACA renewal mail delays:

Mauricio Noroña, a lawyer at Immigrant Community Law Center in Manhattan called the 1,900 figure, "astounding." He saw the devastating effects the mail delays had on one of his clients, whom he declined to name, saying she was afraid of repercussions from the government.

News and Updates

ADVOCACY ALERT: Sessions Closes Major Path for Asylum Seekers

NPR All Things Considered Speaks with ASC Staff on 2020 Census

NPR All Things Considered stopped by ASC to hear African Services staff opinions on the 2020 census.

"Are people willing to answer that question given the current anti-immigrant sentiment? That I can't tell," says Mulusew Bekele, the Director of Program Operations at African Services Commitee, who is Ethiopian-American.

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