Dear Friend,  DACA is going to the Supreme Court next week. Our refugee resettlement program is under fire. The public charge rule has temporarily been blocked. There is certainly a lot going on! I have compiled some of the most critical immigration updates for you below that include ways to take action. Let us know how you choose to get involved! Support DACA In September of 2017, the Trump administration terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, no longer allowing new DACA eligible residents to apply for DACA and impacting thousands of families in this country. Immigrant youth challenged the end of DACA, and now the Supreme Court of the United States will be hearing oral arguments on Nov. 12th on the legality of the administration’s decision to end this program. If the Supreme Court supports the administration’s decision to end DACA, thousands of friends, family and community members would lose the right to work and will be vulnerable to deportation. We cannot let this happen regardless of the Supreme Court outcome. Here are some ways to advocate for clean DACA policies:  Find the FAITH4DACA ACTION TOOLKIT here which outlines various ways to get involved now like writing an op-ed, calling your representatives an engaging on social media. Click here to join an action happening in your area on November 12! There are actions listed in some of our JFON locations like Washington state, Texas, and Massachusetts. Sign up here to host a solidarity action through prayer at weekly services, vigils, press conferences, social media, op-eds or calling your congressperson. Listen to the #Faith4DACA Interfaith Immigration Coalition Webinar recording here. Oppose “State & Local Resettlement Veto” Executive Order The United States has a proud, bipartisan tradition of leading the global effort to protect refugees. Refugees not only enrich our society but resettling the most vulnerable among them safeguards our national security. On September 26th, the White House issued an Executive Order (EO 13888) that allows states and localities to ban refugee resettlement which may drastically reduce, if not entirely stop, the resettlement of refugees in your community. To make matters worse, last night the administration also signed a refugee admissions goal of 18,000 refugees for the next year, a glaring number in contrast to the historic average goal of 95,000 refugees. Our friends at Church World Service have created a toolkit to help communities engage in refugee advocacy at the local level. Read it here and let us know how you take action in your town, city or state.   Important Update for Temporary Protected Status Recipients DHS just published a notice in the federal registrar that automatically extends work permits for TPS recipients from  El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan until Jan. 4, 2021.   The validity dates for the affected countries are:   TPS Designation(s) Current Expiration Date New Expiration Date El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan Jan. 2, 2020 Jan. 4, 2021 Honduras Jan. 5, 2020 Jan. 4, 2021 Nepal March 24, 2020 Jan. 4, 2021 TPS holders in these countries have received these extensions due to ongoing injunction issued last fall in the case Ramos v. Nielsen. The case was filed by nine TPS holders – from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan – and five children of TPS holders who were born in the United States. They filed these lawsuits to prevent the administration from ending TPS protections and stand up for themselves and for the hundreds of thousands of others affected across the country. Although this change does not impact the outcome of the Ramos case, forcing people to live their lives federal registrar notice to federal registrar notice is cruel, this is a welcome relief for the 305,000 TPS recipients and their 295,000 U.S. citizen children across the country.   Read Catholic Legal Immigration Network’s full analysis here.   Learn More About the Public Charge Regulation and its Recent Injunction   National Justice for Our Neighbors welcomed a recent decision by three federal courts to block a Trump administration policy that would make it more difficult for low-income immigrants to obtain a green card. This "public charge" regulation has been in the making since last year and was scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 15, intimidating many immigrant families from accessing critical health, housing, and nutrition programs. In fact a new study from Kaiser Family Foundation found that nearly half of community health centers report that immigrant patients declined to enroll themselves in Medicaid in the past year. We know that we must fight fear and misinformation with facts. We encourage you to check out a new resource from Protecting Immigrant Families Campaign entitled “Public Charge Update: What Advocates Need to Know Now." The campaign also hosted an informational call about the current state of play with the public charge regulation and you can access the recording here. As always, I am here to support you in all your advocacy and education efforts. Please feel free to reach out me directly with ideas, questions and concerns. Sincerely, Melissa   Melissa Bowe, JD Program and Advocacy Manager National Justice for Our Neighbors 7630 Little River Turnpike Suite 900 Annandale, VA 22003