Margy O’Herron

President Trump plans to ramp up efforts to strip some naturalized Americans of their citizenship. But when the government sets arbitrary targets, people who shouldn't be swept up, get swept up. Brennan Center’s @margyoh.bsky.social spoke to the NYTimes: nyti.ms/4p18Ufe

Attacks on legal immigrants will deal a blow to our economy and undermine one of our country's fundamental values — that we are a nation of immigrants.

Immigrants provide a net economic benefit to the country. According to government analysis, between 2005 and 2019, refugees and asylees alone added almost $600 billion in revenue to federal, state and local governments. aspe.hhs.gov/reports/fisc...

The steps will not just disrupt the lives of immigrants; they will hurt the U.S. economy.

Even before the tragedy, the admin said it would review the cases of the 200,000 refugees who came under Biden and stop green card approvals for all refugees. It is now adding to the list, stopping asylum processing, citizenship ceremonies, and reconsidering green card grants.

The government should take a hard look at the vetting in his case to see whether violence could have been prevented, but punishing millions of legal immigrants is an overreaction and reflects the administration’s growing effort to deport LEGAL immigrants.

Based on public reporting about the Afghan suspect's immigration status, he would have been vetted thoroughly three times - when he began helping the CIA, when he applied to come to the U.S. in 2021, and most recently in 2025, when the Trump administration granted him asylum.

Refugees, asylum seekers, and visa holders submit fingerprints and detailed information that is used to check DHS, FBI, and other federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement databases for negative information.

These actions are a disproportionate and cruel response. They also are unnecessary.

Trump’s Entry Bans Aren’t Really About National Security His proclamation uses cherry-picked justifications to block immigrants from Muslim and African countries.

The travel ban does not make us safer – instead, it is calculated to block nationals from Muslim and African countries. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

They also plan to reopen past grants of immigration status, putting millions of lawful immigrants in limbo. This includes green cards already granted to people from the 19 countries in the travel ban and any lawful status for Afghans who came to the United States since 2021.

The administration is shutting down ALL asylum application processing at DHS, halting ALL immigration applications for Afghan nationals, and cancelling citizenship ceremonies.

The actions will have a devastating impact on American employers and families as well as the immigrants and will harm the United States economy.

I'm an immigration policy expert who has worked on these issues for decades. Here is why this approach is a bad idea.

The Trump administration is taking drastic action to shut down legal immigration after the tragic shooting of two national guard soldiers by an Afghan immigrant. Targeting legal immigration — people who have followed the rules — is the wrong strategy. 🧵

Proud to have signed this with many of my former colleagues.

Foreign students and scholars offer new perspectives and experiences to our universities, our students, and ultimately our society. Attacking and shutting our doors to them ultimately makes our nation poorer.

State Challenges to Immigration Enforcement Practices Recent lawsuits in Wisconsin, New York, and California explore questions about the role of state law in federal immigration enforcement.

NEW: I wrote for @statecourtreport.org about the important role *state* law plays in immigration enforcement, and some ongoing litigation in WI, NY, and CA that will shape the relationship between ICE and the states and localities in which it operates. statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

Hiring judges from this add will lead to unfair hearings for many immigrants, years of litigation arguing due process violations, and further loss of DOJ's credibility.

If the government gets away with deporting immigrants based on the orders of partial judges, what will stop the government from punishing Americans in similarly biased systems?

Everyone on U.S. soil has due process rights, and weakening due process for immigrants in immigration court weakens that Constitutional right for everyone.

For immigration courts to be fair tribunals that meet due process requirements, judges must be impartial. DOJ's hiring campaign throws a heavy weight on the side of deportations, skewing the scales of justice.

This rhetoric has no place in our nation of immigrants.

www.npr.org/2025/10/29/n...

DOJ's ad is in line with the Department of Homeland Security's recruitment campaign highlighting white culture with images that harken back to late 1800's and early 1900's campaigns to demonize Italians, Irish, Chinese, and Jewish immigrants.

The ad says the judges will "define America," rhetoric similar to that used by Trump immigration aid Stephen Miller: "America is for Americans and Americans only." www.npr.org/2024/10/28/n...

Instead of hiring more immigration judges, the Department of Justice just posted an ad for "deportation judges." join.justice.gov

It is very difficult for immigrants to "get in line" to come to the United States because the line often has been shut down or is years long. This broken system hurts American families and employers. I was happy to partner with Gabriella Sanchez for an immigration Q&A.

This is correct! Researchers find that a) most people underestimate the administrative burdens of immigration, and b) when informed about these burdens become more supportive of immigration.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Military Lawyers Should Not Serve as Immigration Judges DOJ’s decision to appointment several military lawyers, or JAGs to serve as immigration judges is not only against the law, but a bad idea.

www.justsecurity.org/124574/soldi...