In a decision released earlier today, U.S. federal Judge Derrick Watson ruled to issue a temporary restraining order on President Trump’s second "Muslim ban.” The executive order would have banned travel for individuals from six Muslim-majority countries and halted the country's refugee resettlement program.

The U.S. House Budget Committee is expected to vote this week on the American Health Care Act, the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.

The following is a statement from Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition:

“As the sole New York member of the Republican majority on the House Budget Committee, Congressman John Faso should to stand up for all New Yorkers by voting against advancing the American Health Care Act (AHCA) out of committee.

In aftermath of Federal Executive Orders on Immigration, New York’s Immigrant Communities Need Services More Than Ever

Today, legal service providers and advocates came together at Foley Square to urge State and City elected leaders to provide the necessary funding in their respective budgets for immigration legal services.

Today 30+ organizations and dozens of students launched the College Opportunity and Resource Expansion (CORE) campaign to extend college affordability for all New York's students, increase rewards for current recipients, expand income thresholds and create a $50 million zero-interest student loan fund.

Today, Donald Trump signed a “Muslim Ban 2.0” executive order targeting travelers and immigrants from six Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen (Iraq was removed from the original list). The new order, meant to avoid the legal challenges against the original executive order, excludes green-card holders and no longer permanently bars Syrian refugees.

On Monday, New York State Education Commissioner Elia and A.G. Schneiderman released joint guidance reminding districts across the State of their duty to uphold key protections for immigrant students. The guidance underscores that all students – regardless of their immigration status – have the right to attend school in the district where they reside and notes that schools should not ask about status.

Last night, President Trump gave his first major speech to a joint session of Congress. Despite rumors of support for legalization of undocumented immigrants, President Trump continued to scapegoat immigrant communities for America’s economic troubles, defend his discriminatory refugee and “backdoor” Muslim ban, and generalize immigrants as “criminals,” including the creation of a new office called Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE). The President also suggested that he is in favor of replacing the country’s successful, longstanding commitment to a family-based immigration system with an untested new “merit-based” immigration system.

Today, on Valentine’s Day, hundreds of New Yorkers attended a rally planned by the New York Immigration Coalition to stand up for immigrant communities who are under attack by President Trump’s cruel and unjust executive orders, which have caused fear and anxiety about deportations, raids, and new immigration bans.

Following several days of growing national concern about increase ICE enforcement activity, the New York Immigration Coalition received information that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has officially arrested nearly 40 individuals in the greater New York area, as part of a targeted enforcement operation.

On Wednesday night, Senator Jeff Sessions was confirmed as the U.S Attorney General, adding him to President Trump’s cabinet and making him the top law enforcement officer and lawyer of the government. The 52-46 vote was mostly along party lines, with one Democrat joining Republicans in the affirmative vote to confirm the Senator.