Ginette Magana. The White House. Working toward a fairer, more just immigration system.

Greetings! Last month was a busy month at the White House, as we celebrated Immigrant Heritage Month and honored the rich contributions of immigrants and refugees all around the country.
If you missed them, be sure to check out these blogs from White House staff:Chris Chu, Fatima Noor, Jackie Dao Dinneen, and Vikrum Aiyer.
As part of Immigrant Heritage month, the White House held aWorld Refugee Day Champions of Change event to celebrate the contributions of refugee leaders around the country. The event featured National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Ambassador Samantha Power, and Domestic Policy Council Director Cecilia Muñoz.

 

The Administration continues to make strides towards a fairer, more just immigration system. On July 15, recommendations were submitted to the President as a part of his Presidential Memorandum on "Modernizing and Streamlining the U.S. Immigrant Visa System for the 21st Century," a key component of his November executive actions. Recommendations include actions to modernize our system for efficiency and accessibility, streamline our legal immigration system, and strengthen our humanitarian system.
Additionally, USCIS published anotice of proposed rulemaking that would expand an existing process to provide provisional waivers to certain family members of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents seeking to obtain lawful permanent residence and reduce family separation. Currently, the process is only available to relatives of certain U.S. citizens. This notice of proposed rulemaking is one of several executive actions that continues to move forward.
Furthermore, this month USCIS launched its Citizenship Public Education and Awareness Initiative to promote awareness of the rights, responsibilities, and importance of United States citizenship to eligible lawful permanent residents. For more information and to learn how you can get involved,click here.
This campaign aims to provide those seeking citizenship with information on the naturalization process and USCIS educational resources. It is part of a larger effort to demystify the process and provide lawful permanent residents with information to protect themselves against the unauthorized practice of immigration law.
Administration Updates
Modernizing & Streamlining Our Legal Immigration System for the 21st Century (7/16)
As a part of November's Executive Actions, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum to direct the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to lead an interagency effort to develop recommendations, with stakeholders and experts, to modernize the immigration system. Click here for theFact Sheet.
ICE issues new guidance on the care of transgender individuals in custody (6/29)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE), Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) issued further guidance to personnel on how to care for transgender individuals in custodial settings, including appropriate data systems, officer training and tools, and housing care.
America's Youngest Pioneers: Immigrant Children, Youth and Adults-What does the data show? (6/25)
Currently, there are over 4.7 million foreign born individuals enrolled in pre-kindergarten to postsecondary education. Another 20 million students are the children of foreign born parents. This Department of Education webinar focused on a national perspective and current data.
DHS Extends Temporary Protected Status Registration Period for Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone (6/25)
DHS is extending the initial registration deadline for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from May 20, 2015, to Aug. 18, 2015, for eligible nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
Statement by Secretary Jeh C. Johnson on Family Residential Centers (6/24)
[W]e must make substantial changes in our detention practices with respect to families with children. In short, once a family has established eligibility for asylum or other relief under our laws, long-term detention is an inefficient use of our resources and should be discontinued.
DHS Announces Temporary Protected Status Designation for Nepal (6/24)
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson announced his decision to designate Nepal for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months based on the conditions resulting from the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015.
Administration Blogs
Bringing Our Immigration System into the Digital Age (7/16)
In November, President Obama announced a series of Executive Actions to fix the broken immigration system. As a part of these efforts, he charged the key federal agencies responsible for administering our legal immigration system to find recommendations to modernize and streamline the system.
Johan Uvin, Department of Education: Pathways to Citizenship through Career and Technical Education (6/30)
Johan Uvin is the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education. This is his story.
Nina Vaca, CEO of Pinnacle Technical Resources, Writes about Fulfilling the American Dream (6/30)
"E Pluribus Unum": out of many, one. In recognition of that motto, I held a quarter up to the scores of men and women whom I had the honor of addressing at the induction ceremony for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in Dallas, Texas, on June 18.
USCIS Celebrates World Refugee Day and 10th Anniversary of USCIS Refugee Corps (6/19)
World Refugee Day is June 20. This year marks the 10th anniversary of our refugee corps. Working in cooperation with the Department of State, the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program resettled 69,987 in the United States during fiscal year 2014. To watch Director León's video,click here.