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.

Fired *Again*: HHS Employees Told Their Work Isn’t in the ‘Public Interest’

On Mother’s Day weekend, many probationary employees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) who had been reinstated under court order, received an unwelcome surprise—a new notice of termination, effective immediately, because their employment “does not advance the public interest.”

I received these letters; it is hard to describe what was more galling—to be told that my role as the Ombuds for Unaccompanied Children was not advancing the public interest or to be fired yet again with no justification, review or opportunity to challenge the decision.

Immigrant Kids Trapped in U.S. Custody: The Hidden Crisis Inside the Office of Refugee Resettlement

A new form of family separation has been quietly engineered at the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s Unaccompanied Minors program, the HHS office responsible for the care and custody of immigrant children who enter the U.S. alone. Under President Trump’s border closures, the number of unaccompanied children entering the United States has dropped significantly, and yet, on average, each child is remaining in government custody weeks longer—even when a parent is available to reunite with their child.

Children are being detained for longer periods of time as the government increases the requirements for releasing them to parents or other family members, often with heartbreaking consequences.

U.S. Citizen Children Are the Latest Casualty in Trump’s Immigration War

On Friday, a 2-year-old U.S. citizen was deported with “no meaningful process,” according to a federal judge. She’s one of several U.S. citizen children being torn from their home, sent to foreign countries without due process, and stripped of their rights and protection.

This little girl—and all U.S. citizen children of immigrant parents—deserves to be safe from deportation. She needs to know that the people around her love her and want to do what’s best for her. She needs to grow up in a country that wants her to thrive and succeed. She needs to believe that her family and everyone else will be able to count on the government to protect them from harm, and when necessary, to protect her from the government itself. In this moment, that may seem like a tall order, but only if we stand by while abuses like this happen. 

The government has the power to find and return these families. As a former DHS official, I know that deportation planes can be held, individuals can be taken off the manifest, and that officials can find and return people who have been wrongfully deported. It is not a question of resources, or logistics, or diplomatic niceties, or court orders. It’s a question of returning to the idea that immigration law is not a vehicle for expelling one’s enemies, but a set of laws that replicate the fundamental principles of dignity, justice and a fair day in court.

Cutting the Workforce at HHS Undermines the Social Safety Net. Families and Kids Will Suffer the Most.

The Administration for Children and Families plays a quiet but crucial role in upholding the American social safety net—administering billions in federal funds to programs that support children, families, and vulnerable communities. But devastating cuts to ACF staff and offices threaten to unravel this lifeline, with immediate consequences already surfacing.

Without experienced civil servants to oversee grants, answer questions and approve disbursements, the very programs meant to catch people in crisis are being pushed to the brink. And in the long term, it’s families and kids who will pay the highest price.

Break Things and Leave Them Broken: The Next Stage for Fired Federal Workers

Federal judges ordered the reinstatement of workers terminated based on their probationary status—a blow to the Trump administration. But for many fired feds, this welcome news does not mean a return to work. For me and most of my colleagues in HHS’ Administration for Children and Families, for instance, we will continue to receive our pay and benefits, but we won’t be allowed to work. One might think that this is a pretty good deal—but only if you don’t know federal employees.

Some of my colleagues shared with me their stories of uncertainty, loss and an unfinished mission to serve the public.

—My first colleague, a change management specialist, was nervous about rumored changes to the federal workforce, but buoyed by the encouragement of his mentors who said, “This is your dream. The way you light up, this is the thing we want in federal employees. Roll the dice, go for it.”
—Another, a policy analyst specializing in children’s issues, said she was living out her dream job. When she found out she was fired, she was on bedrest for a high-risk pregnancy. In a cruel twist of fate, it was Valentine’s Day … and also the anniversary of her previous stillbirth.

Fired for the Fun of It: My Experience With Trump’s Mass Termination of Federal Employees

From day one, the Trump administration has launched a strategic campaign to intimidate federal workers and the people they serve. From my perspective working as the ombudsman for unaccompanied children, a senior career position within the HHS, I observed a pattern quickly emerging: The president would issue an executive order, which was then “implemented” through an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) memo directing agencies to carry out the order, followed by daily meetings that mysteriously popped up on our calendars with little rhyme or reason.  

Ultimately, demeaning and demoralizing a workforce to score political points is unpresidential. Civil servants don’t deserve this—and neither does the public.

Biden’s Border Closure Is a Gamble That Won’t Pay Off

At 12 a.m. on June 5, 2024, the southwest border closed to thousands of people desperate to reach the United States. By taking matters into his own hands, President Biden is following the oft-heard mantra of the last decade: Executive action is the last resort when Congress doesn’t take its responsibilities seriously. However, to justify the border suspension, the president had to determine that something about people who didn’t have permission to enter the U.S., as a category of individuals, meant that their admission—even temporarily—would threaten the best interests of this country. 

Until we all stand up for genuine immigration reform that tackles the tough questions of managing migration flows, ensuring sufficient legal immigration pathways, honoring our protection obligations and valuing immigration as a public good, politicians of both parties will take the easy way out; the odds are good that nobody wins.

Compassion, Not Rejection, Will Do Something About the Border

For months now, the words “we must do something about the border” have been thrown about in the United States—as though the border were a leaky roof or broken window that could be quickly repaired and made new again. Listen closely, however, and it becomes apparent that many politicians mean something different altogether. To them, “doing something about the border” means preventing people from accessing border crossings and preventing them from obtaining asylum or other legal means of entry.

The impact on those real people easily gets lost in budget talks and political squabbling. Understanding who is coming to the border can help us make better decisions about what actually needs to be done to create a functioning migration system.

The White House Cannot Back Away From Asylum Protection

With only a few days remaining before the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to adjourn for the winter break, the White House has signaled that it is willing to trade asylum protections and other immigration concessions to secure its foreign aid package. The reaction to this news has unleashed a torrent of criticism from human rights and immigration groups, but this is a moment that requires outcry from the broader public. 

Time and again, important policies and decisions are derailed by a small group of Republican legislators who exercise far more control over the future of our country than should be tolerated. In this case, the stakes are so high that the Biden administration appears to be willing to agree to Trump-era policies for managing the border in exchange for aid to Ukraine, Israel, and other sensitive foreign policy objectives. 

New DOJ Settlement Aims to Reunite Separated Families

Five years after the Trump administration separated nearly 5,000 children and families in an attempt to deter migration, the Department of Justice has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit, Ms. L v. ICE, brought on behalf of those families by the ACLU. What began as a lawsuit representing one mother and one child quickly grew, as initial discovery in the case revealed that the scope of separations was far greater, and started far earlier, than May and June 2018, when the bulk of the separations took place.

“All of the consequences of such a horrific policy came, in part, because we don’t have an immigration system that actually centers the welfare of the child in decision-making.”