Tag:Asylum
Chicago’s One System Initiative: Merging the Homelessness and Forced Migration Response Services
Since August 2022, Chicago has seen a record influx of new arrivals, with nearly 47,000 individuals seeking asylum in Illinois from the southern U.S. border. In response to this surge of new Chicagoans, the city and state launched the One System Initiative, an ambitious effort to integrate the systems serving Chicagoans experiencing homelessness and new arrivals. By aligning resources and streamlining services, the initiative aims to enhance the city’s overall homeless response system. Such integration must also comply with various federal, state, and local regulations concerning eligibility requirements, funding restrictions, and documentation demands.
Bars and Barriers: DHS Proposed Rule Permits Application of Mandatory Bars During Credible Fear Screenings
On May 13, 2024 the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking which would allow asylum officers (“AOs”) to consider the applicability of certain mandatory bars to asylum and statutory withholding of removal during credible fear screenings. The proposed rule has garnered significant support and opposition from several groups and organizations, but it marks an unprecedented change to the asylum-seeking process that could create additional barriers to relief for asylum seekers.