September 23, 2016 Today a group affiliated with the Indigenous People of Biafra brought a peaceful protest to the area outside of the Human Rights Initiative office here in Dallas. Biafra is a region of Nigeria. Their leader, Nnamdi Kanu, is on trial in Nigeria. As reported by Newsweek, “Nigerian security forces arrested Kanu—the leader […]
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On the Wrong Side of History
HRI condemns yesterday’s decision by Governor Greg Abbott that Texas is withdrawing from the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program as of October 1, 2016. This does not mean that Texas will no longer resettle refugees, just that Texas will not administer the program that coordinates their resettlement and the limited but crucial social and support services […]
Read MoreThe Situation of Urban Refugees in Bangkok
We are thankful to have many great interns that come through our doors at Human Rights Initiative. Many of them are inspired by their work here and go on to amazing careers in human rights. Andrew Damron was a gifted intern with us. He is now an attorney working with asylum seekers in Thailand. He […]
Read MoreMeet the Intern – Bahareh
Meet our new intern Bahareh Tabaie. She is a dedicated optimist and an amazing asset to our legal team. She wrote a short bio about herself and here is more about her experience as an asylee, her passions as a human rights advocate, a dedicated intern, and a promising law student. My name is Bahareh […]
Read MoreImmigration & Notario Fraud in Texas
Recently, the Attorney General’s office has shut down a number of “notario” operations in South Texas who have fraudulently been giving legal assistance to immigrants. Notarios are problematic in the United States due to cultural and linguistic barriers. The term “notario publico” literally translates to “notary public,” which in the U.S. only notarizes official documents. Elsewhere […]
Read MoreAsylum Grant Rates Over 50% Nationally but Much Lower in Dallas
Article written by Chris Mansour, Legal Director Recently released statistics show that although more people are being granted asylum nationally, a person is less likely to be granted asylum in Dallas. The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees immigration courts, just released its FY2012 Statistical Year Book. According to the statistics, 56% of […]
Read MoreHolston, Mansour: Don’t lose asylum-seekers in immigration overhaul
HRI’s Executive Director Bill Holston and Legal Director Chris Mansour recently wrote an editorial on asylum in the context of immigration reform for the Austin American-Statesman. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and his colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee have scheduled the Senate’s first immigration reform hearing of 2013. This hearing is an important opportunity for […]
Read MoreHRI Success Story: Client Granted Asylum
An asylum-seeker from Eritrea and a member of her family were granted asylum yesterday by a Dallas Immigrant Court Judge. The woman was accused by the Eritrean government of assisting people escape the country by providing them with travel documents (she worked at a place that printed and packed travel documents). Later, she was accused […]
Read MoreFederal Immigration Court Backlogs Despite Increase in Judges
A recently released report from the Justice Department found that government isn’t effectively handling the caseload in the federal immigration courts, despite a surge in the number of judges working on the cases. From 2006-2010, new immigration cases rose from 308,652 to 325,326. During the same time, the number of immigration cases completed declined from […]
Read MoreNew Report Examines the Status of Refugees & Asylees in the U.S.
The Migration Policy Institute has released a new report on the current status on asylees and refugees in the U.S. The report, entitled, “US in Focus: Refugees and Asylees in the United States,” is authored by Joseph Russell and Jeanne Batalova. The report explores “data on persons admitted to the United States as refugees and […]
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