Popular social media icons Whatsapp, Facebook, and others on smartphone screen close up. BELGRADE – JULY 11, 2014 (Shutterstock) By Diana Shiller, Investigator, Division of Marketing Practices, FTC Have you seen a message on WhatsApp or Facebook offering you free help during the pandemic? People have reported seeing messages that seem to be from […]
By Karen Hobbs, Assistant Director, Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC Are you married to someone who owes past-due child support? Was your portion of the economic impact payment (“EIP”) mistakenly applied to pay your spouse’s debt? If so, you’re not alone. In mid-September, the IRS will automatically send “catch-up” payments to eligible spouses […]
By Traci Armani, Consumer Education Specialist, Division of Consumer & Business Education, FTC Maybe someone said you’ve won the lottery, a prize or sweepstakes. Or they claim to be from the government and tell you there’s a problem with your Social Security number. And, to collect your winnings or solve your problem, you have to […]
We have just 50 days until Election Day, and it’s imperative that every eligible voter safely casts their ballot amidst the ongoing pandemic. As the ACLU continues to fight for voting rights nationwide, we also want to help you make your own voting plan now. Here are four easy ways to start putting your voting plan […]
Editorial photo of a lone vehicle and otherwise empty lanes of traffic approaching the crossing of the US/Canadian border into the US, during Covid-19 border shutdown – Blaine, WA/USA-March 20, 2020 (Shutterstock) By Jorge Loweree, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick and Walter Ewing, Ph.D., American Immigration Council The COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus) pandemic, and the federal government’s response, […]
By American Immigration Council This case challenges the government’s policy – the Turnback Policy – of turning away asylum seekers at ports of entry (POEs) across the U.S.-Mexico border since 2016. The plaintiffs in the case are Al Otro Lado, a non-profit legal services organization that serves indigent deportees, migrants, and refugees in Los Angeles […]
By Katy Murdza, Immigration Impact A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume issuing diversity visas on September 5. Each year, the State Department uses a lottery system to select visa recipients from a broad array of countries. In April, President Trump banned diversity visa recipients from entering the country. What is the diversity visa? Congress established the Diversity Visa Program through […]
By Jorge Loweree, Immigration Impact The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to dramatically expand the personal information that it collects in support of immigration petitions and applications. This new rule will increase the total number of people who are required to submit biometric data from 3.9 million currently to 6.07 million—an increase of more than […]
By Melissa Cruz, Immigration Impact Hundreds of thousands of immigrants might be prevented from voting in the 2020 election—even though they are just one step away from becoming new Americans. Years of fiscal mismanagement at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)—coupled with a series of policy changes under the Trump administration—have led to an enormous backlog of citizenship applications […]
Advocacy groups have filed a complaint against a migrant detention centre in the US, alleging medical neglect and a lack of virus safety measures. The complaint condemns the practices and conditions at the private Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia. It is based on the allegations of a whistleblower, a nurse identified as Dawn Wooten. […]