Immigrant and Refugee Research and Resources Guide
Notice:
The goal of this guide is to provide resources and information for TCC students, staff, and faculty. This guide is informational and does not reflect or provide legal guidance or advice. If you are seeking immigration guidance and/or legal assistance, please explore the resources on the tabs above and reach out to those agencies and organizations directly.
As of January 20, 2025 there are sweeping changes to immigration, migration and deportation policies, and to the practices of Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, U.S. Armed Forces, and local law enforcement within the scope of their duties. At the most current update of this guide, February 12, 2025, there are many questions that remain unanswered about the scope of and the legality of proposed changes. Most links to resources in this guide will lead to updated information, but you should always check when any resource has been last updated before accepting the information that you find there.
Below is a 6-minute video offering strategies about how to search for up-to-date information about immigrant, migrant, and refugee law and status in the United States.
Disclosure: The above transcripts were translated from the original English using ChatGPT.
Immigration / refugees news updates
Immigration / Refugees News Updates
Most of these links direct to agencies or organizations that provide updated news and information. Please make sure that when you are accessing time-sensitive resources, they are updated to reflect the current situation.
- Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)From the US Citizen and Immigration Services website, outlining the "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Final Rule Effective Oct. 31, 2022."
- Executive order revoking and replacing travel and refugee bans (March 6, 2017)From RefugeeRights.com
- Immigration updatesDartmouth College - Office of Immigration and Visa Services
- Latest immigration updatesNorthwest Immigration Rights Project
- Migrants and Refugees - United NationsFor news articles about migrants and refugees, coming from the United Nations website
Immigrant Voices
- Here to Stay: Immigration StoriesHere to Stay, a part of the United We Dream Network (UWDN), was founded in 2008 and "is the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the US."
- America's Voice"The mission of America’s Voice (AV) and America’s Voice Education Fund (AVEF) is to harness the power of American voices and American values to enact policy change that guarantees full labor, civil and political rights for immigrants and their families."
- Immigration History Research Center at U of MinnesotaImmigrant stories and information about the history of immigration.
Helpful Websites
- ImmiImmi helps immigrants in the U.S. understand their legal options. The site also includes immigrant stories. The site is available in English and Spanish.
- Protecting Immigrant Families"The Protecting Immigrant Families, Advancing Our Future campaign is a collaboration between the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and thousands of advocates across the country working to fight back."
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Immigrant RightsFrom the Immigrant Legal Resource Center - find more info about rights for LGBT immigrants
Helpful Articles
Executive Orders and Public Charge
Executive Order Defined and Explained
Executive Order: A declaration by the president or a governor which has the force of law, usually based on existing statutory powers, and requiring no action by the Congress or state legislature. ~ Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
Text source: "Executive Order" by Nolo's Free Dictionary Of Law Terms and Legal Definitions, 2018
- U.S. Presidential Executive Order: Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship20 January 2025
This is the Executive Order that addresses birthright citizenship. - Explainer: Trump Wants to End Birthright Citizenship. That's Easier Said Than DoneAn explanation of the legality of Executive Order: Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship, from National Public Radio
- Essential News about this Executive Order - Judge temporily blocks this EOWhile we will do our best to update news on these EOs we encourage you to search for updated news on your own.
- U.S. Presidential Executive Order: Realigning the United States Refugee Program20 January 2025
This is the Executive Order that addresses suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) as of January 27, 2025, at 12:01 am - Explainer: Summary of President Trump’s Executive Order on the U.S. Refugee ProgramAn explanation of Executive Order: Realigning the United States Refugee Program, from the National Immigration Forum.
- Presidential Executive Order: Protecting the American People Against Invasion20 January 2025
This is the Executive Order that enacts a host of actions, including but not limited to: prohibition of undocumented and asylum seeking people from receiving work permits, government assistance, and expands the role of local law enforcement to that of immigration enforcement. - Explainer: EO Protecting the American People Against InvasionThis is a summary/explanation of the "wide-ranging directive that touches on a number of immigration initiatives, programs, and enforcement actions", from the Economic Policy Institute
More to come
Understanding "Public Charge"
- Clarifying the 2022 Public Charge Final RuleAn infographic from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
- Public Charge Ground of InadmissibilityA Rule by the Homeland Security Department on 09/09/2022
- Public Charge Resources - U.S. Citizenship & Immigration ServicesFind information and a list of FAQs, and read more the 2022 Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility Final Rule
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