Despite America’s diversity, governmental policies and practices continue to target the fundamental rights of our growing immigrant communities. From the expansion of the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the increase in brutal enforcement tactics aimed directly at immigrant communities to blatant abuses in immigration detention centers, immigrant communities are facing new and escalating hostility from those in positions of power.
We serve immigrant communities through various forms of advocacy targeting increased immigration enforcement and immigration detention abuses, and by fighting to protect the rights of immigrants, their children, and their communities.
Key Cases
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Barring ICE Arrests In and Around Courthouses
Standing with Communities
Courts must be open and accessible to everyone, not zones of fear and intimidation. Yet in Cook County, ICE and other federal agents have been conducting widespread arrests and using other aggressive tactics in and around courthouses, which have undermined this fundamental right. The MacArthur Justice Center brought a petition on behalf of legal service and domestic violence organizations, urging the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County to issue an Order barring civil arrests in and around courthouses.
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Emad v. Wong, et al.
Immigrants' Rights
Mohamed Emad is a Palestinian immigrant from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Targeted and falsely labeled a terrorist by the Trump Administration, Mr. Emad was detained in March 2018.
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Pedrote-Salinas v. Johnson
Immigrants' Rights
The MacArthur Justice Center represented Mr. Pedrote-Salinas in a federal civil rights lawsuit targeting the Chicago Police Department's policy and practice of falsely labeling young men of color as gang members and then sharing that information with U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE). He is also a named Plaintiff in a federal class action lawsuit targeting the CPD’s Gang Database.
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Chicagoans for an End to the Gang Database v. City of Chicago
Police Abuse
The MacArthur Justice Center represents the Chicagoans for an End to the Gang Database, a coalition of individuals and community organizations, in a federal class action lawsuit against the City of Chicago and Chicago Police Department (CPD) targeting the widespread use of an inaccurate, racially discriminatory Gang Database.
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Hassoun v. Searls
Immigrants' Rights
We represent Adham Hassoun, a stateless Palestinian man who the government is trying to imprison indefinitely—potentially for the rest of his life—under the USA Patriot Act. This is the first time that the government has invoked a highly controversial provision of the PATRIOT Act that purports to allow the government to hold people in detention...
Key Facts
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51 million
There are 51.9 million foreign-born people in the United States. A new immigrant arrives every 28 seconds. -
59,000
ICE is currently holding more than 59,000 people across the US — a record and unprecedented high. -
$324 billion
Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, the federal government has spent an estimated $324 billion on the agencies that carry out immigration enforcement. -
More than $3 billion
In 2018, the US spent over $3 billion detaining immigrants.