Last updated: Thursday, August 14, 2025
This resource provides daily updates from the CWS policy team in your inbox on the latest policy changes; the morning’s headlines on key issues impacting refugees and immigrants; and updated tools to take action. Subscribe now to receive daily updates on the latest developments and ways to support impacted communities.
State of Play |
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The latest: Yesterday, the Trump administration filed an answer to the plaintiffs’ first supplemental complaint in the Pacito v. Trump case challenging the indefinite refugee ban. Back in March, plaintiffs (including CWS, HIAS, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, and several impacted individuals) had filed the complaint laying out the facts of the case and arguing the implementation of the refugee ban and freezing of federal funds violated the Refugee Act of 1980, Separation of Powers, and the Administrative Procedure Act, among other claims. In this formal answer, the administration has gone paragraph by paragraph to lay out which facts it disagrees with ahead of oral arguments that are set in the Ninth Circuit for September 19. While the case proceeds, over 120,000 refugees who had been conditionally approved for resettlement remain stranded, with another approximately 100,000 left in limbo at other stages of the resettlement pipeline. Meanwhile, refugees and others already in the U.S. will soon face significant challenges in accessing essential social services and health care due to the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law last month. Check out our new short resource on the bill’s impacts for community members. ICE detains Afghan SIV high school student in Virginia. Last Friday, ICE detained Arman Momand, a 19-year-old legal permanent resident, from his court appearance where he was convicted of two minor traffic misdemeanors. Arman and his family received Special Immigrant Visas to resettle here after assisting the U.S. government during the war in Afghanistan. As of August 13, the Henrico, Virginia high school student remains detained at an immigration detention center where ICE is attempting to deport him, according to his lawyer. Virginia state officials responded that “[a]ctions like this erode trust in our legal system, discourage families from engaging with our courts, and undermine the safety of our communities.” State Department’s Human Rights Report cuts back on abuses. After a near six-month delay, the State Department delivered its 2024 assessment of human rights practices covering 198 countries and territories to Congress yesterday. The Human Rights Report is significantly shorter than usual, and some human rights violations – including gender-based violence, persecution of LGBTQ+ people, violence against minorities, and sexual violence against children – were limited or removed completely. For example, despite known horrific abuses occurring in its infamous megaprison CECOT (where the Trump administration disappeared hundreds of immigrants to this year), the State Department’s El Salvador report determined that there were “no credible reports of significant human rights abuses” in the country. In comparison, the 2023 version noted “harsh and life-threatening prison conditions,” among many other abuses. On the flip side, the South Africa report asserted claims of abuses against white Afrikaners that support the Trump administration’s prioritization of the group for refugee resettlement to the United States. The Afghanistan report listed numerous serious abuses and official impunity for those responsible – yet despite this assessment, last month the Trump administration terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan. The Human Rights Report follows the State Department’s July layoffs of more than 1,000 employees, many of whom were part of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. One former State official deemed the report “more reflective of a Soviet propaganda release than of a democratic system.” |
Today’s Headlines, Calls to Action and Community Resources |
Stories of Impact |
| Zenayda is a refugee who resettled in Texas who has been trying for years to get her child to safety after many kidnapping attempts. The child’s flight was booked to arrive in February. That flight has now been cancelled, and the child’s case – which is listed as “extremely vulnerable” – is now once again delayed
Doaa is a single mom with three children who have been forcibly displaced and are currently living as refugees in Cairo, Egypt. She was referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program because of her status as a refugee and because she has family already living in New Jersey. She and her children went through the lengthy vetting and screening process and finally had their travel booked to the U.S. – but her flight was among those cancelled by Trump’s indefinite refugee admissions ban. The children are 19, 15, and 13. The case file shows the family as: “Survivors of Violence and Torture.” The Sung family are refugees from Myanmar who were split up as they fled for safe harbor. Part of the family has been resettled in Texas, and they have been waiting for years as the rest of the family goes through the resettlement process. The flight was scheduled for early February, and the family here bought a four-bedroom home just to accommodate them. Their flight was cancelled at the last minute. Find more stories of impact here. |