Author: Mary Giovagnoli

Mary Giovagnoli is an immigration attorney and policy expert who has worked for over 25 years in both the federal government and nonprofit advocacy to improve the immigration system. She is a former executive director of the Refugee Council USA. She served as the DHS deputy assistant secretary for immigration policy from 2015 to 2017.

Women Need the Afghan Adjustment Act

Thousands of Afghan women entered the United States as part of Operation Allies Welcome. Still, they continue to be hampered by the lack of a simple, straightforward and reliable way to obtain permanent legal status and to become citizens.

Congress can change that by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA), which was reintroduced this summer by a bipartisan group of senators and representatives. AAA would allow Afghans paroled into the United States to apply for their green cards, provided they met basic background checks and other eligibility requirements.

Overturning Roe Creates More Barriers for Asylum-Seekers and Immigrants

Hostile state or federal laws that ban or restrict abortion and criminalize pregnancy outcomes could have yet another devastating impact: threatening eligibility for legal immigration status and undermining efforts to create more equitable and humane immigration laws.

The politics of immigration and the politics of choice will continue to collide as extreme lawmakers cynically trade the reproductive health of immigrant and non-citizen women for political gain.

Can the U.S. Meet the Humanitarian Challenges of Its Own Making

Can the U.S. Meet the Humanitarian Challenges of Its Own Making?

With humanitarian crises in Afghanistan, Haiti and at the border, the U.S. must reassess what kind of lasting policy changes would prepare us to protect refugees and other vulnerable people in need around the world.

There must be more measures that allow for temporary and permanent protection within the country, more deliberate and sustained efforts to promote good government and economic opportunity internationally and a commitment to address the regional ebb and flow of migration to the U.S.

Creating a Path to Citizenship Is Within Our Grasp

Creating a Path to Citizenship Is Within Our Grasp

The Senate has just passed a $3.5 trillion budget resolution designed to bring to fruition many of President Biden’s campaign promises to improve the lives of families and children, including a $105 billion allocation of funds to create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

The next steps are fraught with difficulty, but still, this is an incredibly important first step towards offering almost 11 million people—47 percent of whom are women—a chance at legal status and ultimately, citizenship.

Biden Administration Immigration Missteps Harm Refugees and Asylum-Seekers Most

Biden Administration Immigration Missteps Harm Refugees and Asylum-Seekers Most

Currently, 26.3 million refugees are hoping to be resettled. Raising the cap sends a signal the U.S. recognizes the depth of need and encourages other countries to do the same—something President Biden acknowledged back on Day 16.

To refuse to increase the number now, but instead release new targets incrementally, will make it more difficult for refugees, resettlement agencies and communities to plan and prepare for refugee arrivals.