Last week was a huge blow to the safety, well being and rights of immigrants around the country. On April 26th ,DHS officially rolled out the "The Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement Office" (VOICE) , which provides a hotline for people who are a "victim" of crime committed by an immigrant, to call anonymously and sign up for a service which would give them real time updates to that individuals movements within the legal system. This is not only a gross attempt to smear immigrants as "criminals " to spread fear and further a political agenda, but also a violation of privacy that could put immigrants and their families in immediate harm.

Also last week, USCIS announced the appointment of Julie Kirchner, who is the former leader of anti immigrant hate group FAIR, to the position of Ombudsman. She would be responsible for overseeing the filing of things like DACA and whose job it would be to help immigrants applying for legal status whose applications have fallen through the cracks. An Ombudsman's job is to provide unbiased aid, which is impossible considering her ties to FAIR. Her appointment endangers the well being of applicants and also makes getting legal status for immigrants incredibly difficult. An individual with ties to such an extremist hate group should not be in charge of the fate of the very same people she has discriminated against in the past .