Round VI of the Challenge Will Support Local Communities in Welcoming Immigrants WASHINGTON DC & DECATUR, GA, December 15, 2025 — The American Immigration Council (the Council) and Welcoming America, two national nonprofits, are pleased to announce that over 10 local communities have been selected to receive Gateways for Growth Challenge (G4G) awards as part […] The post New Cohort Selected for the Gateways for Growth Challenge  appeared first on American Immigration Council. […]

Washington, D.C., Dec. 12, 2025 — On December 12, a federal court in D.C. ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to follow a long-standing court order that protects immigrant teens from being placed in adult detention centers. The court’s order blocks a new ICE policy to automatically shuttle unaccompanied children into adult detention once […] The post Federal Court Blocks ICE’s Unlawful Detention of Immigrant Teens Turning 18  appeared first on American Immigration Council. […]

Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2025 — A new report from the American Immigration Council warns that the U.S. childcare system (already stretched thin by rising costs, staffing shortages, and high demand) is facing catastrophic disruption under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. The loss of even a fraction of the childcare workforce could leave families with no coverage and no […] The post New Report: Trump’s Mass Deportation Agenda Will Deepen the Childcare Crisis  appeared first on American Immigration Council. […]

Safia is among the 50,500 Afghan refugees admitted to the United States via the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), a program created by Congress to help Afghans who worked for the U.S. government abroad. A college-educated math teacher who is not yet licensed to teach in the United States, Safia applied for a childcare training and licensing class at ECDC – Houston Multicultural Center. “In order to speed up this self-sufficiency goal, it takes everyone in the household working,” said Earlene Leverett, the program’s former manager. Additionally, “Employers are finally realizing the impact that childcare has on the economy. Businesses have jobs, they need employees to fill those jobs, those employees need childcare.” The post Caring for Children from Kabul to Houston  appeared first on American Immigration Council. […]

Since the Trump administration began arresting immigrants off the street, Philadelphia childcare provider Damaris Alvarado-Rodriguez has had to close one classroom and lay off five teachers, all U.S. citizens. Parents in her Hispanic community, many with valid immigration status, “went into hiding,” she said. “There were so many policies at once that they didn’t know how they would be affected.” Damaris’ daycare center provides donated food, infant formula, diapers, clothes, and more. She is worried about the absent children. “We know that most of the children are food-deprived,” she said. “I pray that they’re OK.”  The post Fear and Empty Classrooms: The Human Cost of Immigration Crackdowns appeared first on American Immigration Council. […]