Crafting Immigration Policy in America 4
Esto es una continuación del tema Crafting Immigration Policy in America 3.
Este tema fue continuado por Crafting Immigration Policy in America 5.
CharlasPro and Con
Únete a LibraryThing para publicar.
1margd
Prosecutions for illegal entry and for reentry don't seem to follow "due process" and are not necessary for deportation:
ending them is not an embrace of "open borders".
It does eliminate potential for criminal record for refugees who cross outside border stations and then apply for asylum?
The Most Prosecuted Federal Offense in America: A Primer on the Criminalization of Border Crossing
Jessica Zhang, Andrew Patterson | July 25, 2019
...Generally, being present in the United States without proper authorization is a civil, not a criminal, violation. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may place someone in removal proceedings or levy a fine for violating immigration law, but individuals may not be charged with a crime for merely being in the United States without lawful authorization.
However, Title 8 of the federal code criminalizes entering the country without authorization. Section 1325(a), or improper entry, applies to migrants who enter into the United States without proper inspection at a port of entry, avoid examination or inspection, or make false statements while entering or attempting to enter. Violation of § 1325(a) as a first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine, up to six months’ imprisonment, or both. Section 1326, or illegal reentry, applies to migrants who unlawfully reenter; attempt to reenter; or are found in the United States after having been previously removed, excluded, deported or denied admission. This crime is a felony, and those convicted may be punished with up to two years’ imprisonment. The term of imprisonment may be enhanced up to a maximum of 20 years if the individual’s prior removal was based on past crimes.
In 2016, more than half of federal criminal prosecutions were for immigration violations, with the vast majority of those prosecutions brought under §§ 1325 and 1326. In April 2019, 65.6 percent of federal prosecutions filed in U.S. magistrate courts had a lead charge under § 1325, and 28.2 percent had a lead charge under § 1326. The number of prosecutions are still a relatively small proportion of total apprehensions per year by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This was true even under Sessions’s zero-tolerance policy: Even a generous estimate still puts prosecutions at only 32 percent of total apprehensions of adults outside a port of entry. However, the process by which these crimes in particular are prosecuted allows for large numbers of individuals to be processed, charged and convicted.
Prosecutions for improper entry and reentry happen most commonly under a set of policies known as Operation Streamline, which was conceived in 2005 out of CBP’s struggles to respond to changing migration patterns....
...To prosecute many thousands of border crossers, the DHS worked with the federal courts and U.S. attorney’s offices to develop a streamlined system. The (1960s) system, which is still in use today, relies on federal magistrate judges, who are empowered to handle cases involving petty offenses like illegal entry... These judges accept guilty pleas from dozens of people at a time, in some cases up to 90. The many defendants receive a single lawyer between them, who meets with each client for a few minutes at a time. In some jurisdictions, the whole process—from meeting with defense counsel to guilty plea and sentencing—happens within a single day.
...Conclusion
Calls for ending prosecutions for illegal entry and reentry are hardly proposals for “open borders.” People who enter unlawfully are subject to deportation whether or not they are criminally prosecuted, and despite occupying a major portion of federal court dockets, only a small fraction of border crossers are prosecuted, and many of those who are now prosecuted are asylum seekers. It is also true, as a former DHS official in the Obama administration points out, that most of the current administration’s efforts to deter asylum seekers would not be affected by decriminalizing of illegal entry. But the reinvigoration of the debate over criminalizing entry, ongoing now for about 90 years, is a welcome development at a time when illegal entry has become the most prosecuted federal offense in America, raising legitimate concerns about the correct use of judicial and prosecutorial resources as well as U.S. compliance with its international obligations.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/most-prosecuted-federal-offense-america-primer-crimi...
ending them is not an embrace of "open borders".
It does eliminate potential for criminal record for refugees who cross outside border stations and then apply for asylum?
The Most Prosecuted Federal Offense in America: A Primer on the Criminalization of Border Crossing
Jessica Zhang, Andrew Patterson | July 25, 2019
...Generally, being present in the United States without proper authorization is a civil, not a criminal, violation. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may place someone in removal proceedings or levy a fine for violating immigration law, but individuals may not be charged with a crime for merely being in the United States without lawful authorization.
However, Title 8 of the federal code criminalizes entering the country without authorization. Section 1325(a), or improper entry, applies to migrants who enter into the United States without proper inspection at a port of entry, avoid examination or inspection, or make false statements while entering or attempting to enter. Violation of § 1325(a) as a first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine, up to six months’ imprisonment, or both. Section 1326, or illegal reentry, applies to migrants who unlawfully reenter; attempt to reenter; or are found in the United States after having been previously removed, excluded, deported or denied admission. This crime is a felony, and those convicted may be punished with up to two years’ imprisonment. The term of imprisonment may be enhanced up to a maximum of 20 years if the individual’s prior removal was based on past crimes.
In 2016, more than half of federal criminal prosecutions were for immigration violations, with the vast majority of those prosecutions brought under §§ 1325 and 1326. In April 2019, 65.6 percent of federal prosecutions filed in U.S. magistrate courts had a lead charge under § 1325, and 28.2 percent had a lead charge under § 1326. The number of prosecutions are still a relatively small proportion of total apprehensions per year by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This was true even under Sessions’s zero-tolerance policy: Even a generous estimate still puts prosecutions at only 32 percent of total apprehensions of adults outside a port of entry. However, the process by which these crimes in particular are prosecuted allows for large numbers of individuals to be processed, charged and convicted.
Prosecutions for improper entry and reentry happen most commonly under a set of policies known as Operation Streamline, which was conceived in 2005 out of CBP’s struggles to respond to changing migration patterns....
...To prosecute many thousands of border crossers, the DHS worked with the federal courts and U.S. attorney’s offices to develop a streamlined system. The (1960s) system, which is still in use today, relies on federal magistrate judges, who are empowered to handle cases involving petty offenses like illegal entry... These judges accept guilty pleas from dozens of people at a time, in some cases up to 90. The many defendants receive a single lawyer between them, who meets with each client for a few minutes at a time. In some jurisdictions, the whole process—from meeting with defense counsel to guilty plea and sentencing—happens within a single day.
...Conclusion
Calls for ending prosecutions for illegal entry and reentry are hardly proposals for “open borders.” People who enter unlawfully are subject to deportation whether or not they are criminally prosecuted, and despite occupying a major portion of federal court dockets, only a small fraction of border crossers are prosecuted, and many of those who are now prosecuted are asylum seekers. It is also true, as a former DHS official in the Obama administration points out, that most of the current administration’s efforts to deter asylum seekers would not be affected by decriminalizing of illegal entry. But the reinvigoration of the debate over criminalizing entry, ongoing now for about 90 years, is a welcome development at a time when illegal entry has become the most prosecuted federal offense in America, raising legitimate concerns about the correct use of judicial and prosecutorial resources as well as U.S. compliance with its international obligations.
https://www.lawfareblog.com/most-prosecuted-federal-offense-america-primer-crimi...
2John5918
Photo Of Mother Pleading With Mexican Soldier Draws Attention To Migrant Patrol (NPR)
A picture of an armed Mexican National Guard soldier impeding a crying migrant mother and her child from getting to the United States is spreading on social media and making headlines in Mexico...
A picture of an armed Mexican National Guard soldier impeding a crying migrant mother and her child from getting to the United States is spreading on social media and making headlines in Mexico...
3John5918
US soldiers now stationed inside migrant detention camp as ‘prison guards’ (The Independent)
Soldiers are monitoring migrants at a detention centre in Texas, in what one congressman fears comes close to a breach of the Posse Comitatus Act, a cornerstone of US society.
Under the 1878 federal law members of the army are prohibited from acting as a domestic police force.
Active-duty troops are only allowed to help police officers under limited exceptions to the act, including when expressly authorised by law or by the constitution...
Soldiers are monitoring migrants at a detention centre in Texas, in what one congressman fears comes close to a breach of the Posse Comitatus Act, a cornerstone of US society.
Under the 1878 federal law members of the army are prohibited from acting as a domestic police force.
Active-duty troops are only allowed to help police officers under limited exceptions to the act, including when expressly authorised by law or by the constitution...
4John5918
'People are dying': how the climate crisis has sparked an exodus to the US (Guardian)
the Guardian looks at how drought and famine are forcing Guatemalan families to choose between starvation and migration
the Guardian looks at how drought and famine are forcing Guatemalan families to choose between starvation and migration
5John5918
Migrants at the Border Have Lost Their Dignity (Slate)
We can help them find it by treating them as people again, with all the messiness that entails.
We can help them find it by treating them as people again, with all the messiness that entails.
7John5918
The sobering global reality of the immigration crisis (The Week)
Like the current situation on our own southern border, the European migration crisis is a tragedy for which the United States is ultimately to blame. Our disastrous interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and Yemen have turned North Africa and the Middle East into a hellscape. More than 70 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their homes as of 2018 — half of them children — which is more than double the number from 20 years ago. Libya's own internal chaos and its geographic proximity to the ports of Europe have made it the point of departure for asylum seekers throughout the region, who are preyed upon by human smugglers. One in every five migrants who leave its shores die. This is a tragedy of world historic-proportions and probably the most significant development in foreign affairs since the end of the Cold War, if not since 1939.
It is also a crisis for which virtually none of our own leaders have accepted responsibility. The idea that the American foreign policy consensus is largely responsible for the rise of xenophobic nationalist parties throughout Europe seems never to have occurred to the luminaries at the Council on Foreign Relations who wag their fingers at the European far-right. Instead, the imperative to respond to the plight of refugees with moral seriousness has fallen on Angela Merkel, whose humane response to the crisis has reminded us why she is the greatest statesman of our age. She alone has been willing to sacrifice everything — Germany's hard-won post-reunification stability and its vast wealth, her own standing among her colleagues, and ultimately her political career and perhaps even the long-term fortunes of her party — in the name of those immutable values that Christian democracy once offered as a light unto the world amid the ashes of the Second World War...
Trump's increasing attacks on migrants mean more suffering for people of color (Guardian)
Unless halted by a court, Ice will begin expedited removal across the US – and if the past is an indication, they’ll target people of color
Living without water: the crisis pushing people out of El Salvador (Guardian)
Violence and poverty have forced millions of Central Americans to flee their homes, but as the global climate crisis deepens, drought, famine and environmental destruction are playing a growing role in driving the exodus
Like the current situation on our own southern border, the European migration crisis is a tragedy for which the United States is ultimately to blame. Our disastrous interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and Yemen have turned North Africa and the Middle East into a hellscape. More than 70 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced from their homes as of 2018 — half of them children — which is more than double the number from 20 years ago. Libya's own internal chaos and its geographic proximity to the ports of Europe have made it the point of departure for asylum seekers throughout the region, who are preyed upon by human smugglers. One in every five migrants who leave its shores die. This is a tragedy of world historic-proportions and probably the most significant development in foreign affairs since the end of the Cold War, if not since 1939.
It is also a crisis for which virtually none of our own leaders have accepted responsibility. The idea that the American foreign policy consensus is largely responsible for the rise of xenophobic nationalist parties throughout Europe seems never to have occurred to the luminaries at the Council on Foreign Relations who wag their fingers at the European far-right. Instead, the imperative to respond to the plight of refugees with moral seriousness has fallen on Angela Merkel, whose humane response to the crisis has reminded us why she is the greatest statesman of our age. She alone has been willing to sacrifice everything — Germany's hard-won post-reunification stability and its vast wealth, her own standing among her colleagues, and ultimately her political career and perhaps even the long-term fortunes of her party — in the name of those immutable values that Christian democracy once offered as a light unto the world amid the ashes of the Second World War...
Trump's increasing attacks on migrants mean more suffering for people of color (Guardian)
Unless halted by a court, Ice will begin expedited removal across the US – and if the past is an indication, they’ll target people of color
Living without water: the crisis pushing people out of El Salvador (Guardian)
Violence and poverty have forced millions of Central Americans to flee their homes, but as the global climate crisis deepens, drought, famine and environmental destruction are playing a growing role in driving the exodus
8margd
AG Barr ruling puts asylum seekers at deadly risk
Natalie Nanasi — 07/31/19
...Attorney General William Barr singlehandedly upended decades of precedent by declaring that immediate family members no longer constitute a “particular social group” eligible for asylum protection in the United States.
...Being from a particular social group is one of five grounds for asylum in the U.S. (the other four are race, religion, national origin and political opinion)...Courts have long described family as the “quintessential” or “prototypical” particular social group.
...Matter of L-E-A involves the son of a Mexican grocer who refused to allow a criminal cartel to sell drugs in his store. After the cartel attempted to kidnap him, Mr. L-E-A sought asylum in the United States. The BIA concluded that it had “no difficulty identifying the respondent, a son residing in his father’s home, as being a member of the particular social group comprised of his father’s immediate family.” Barr disagreed and overruled the decision.
...Congress has the power to restore critical protections for asylum seekers. The House and Senate should once again take up the Refugee Protection Act, which would create a statutory definition of particular social group that that protects families.
Additionally, both Matter of L-E-A and Matter of A-B were decided after Barr and Sessions removed the cases from the immigration court system through the process of “self-referral.”
A recent ABA investigation found that Trump’s attorneys general have, in just over two years, referred more cases to themselves than all of Obama and Clinton’s attorneys general combined. Congress can end the politicization of justice by using its power to establish an independent immigration court system and restore the rule of law to the U.S. asylum system.
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/455565-ag-barr-ruling-puts-asylum-seekers-...
Natalie Nanasi — 07/31/19
...Attorney General William Barr singlehandedly upended decades of precedent by declaring that immediate family members no longer constitute a “particular social group” eligible for asylum protection in the United States.
...Being from a particular social group is one of five grounds for asylum in the U.S. (the other four are race, religion, national origin and political opinion)...Courts have long described family as the “quintessential” or “prototypical” particular social group.
...Matter of L-E-A involves the son of a Mexican grocer who refused to allow a criminal cartel to sell drugs in his store. After the cartel attempted to kidnap him, Mr. L-E-A sought asylum in the United States. The BIA concluded that it had “no difficulty identifying the respondent, a son residing in his father’s home, as being a member of the particular social group comprised of his father’s immediate family.” Barr disagreed and overruled the decision.
...Congress has the power to restore critical protections for asylum seekers. The House and Senate should once again take up the Refugee Protection Act, which would create a statutory definition of particular social group that that protects families.
Additionally, both Matter of L-E-A and Matter of A-B were decided after Barr and Sessions removed the cases from the immigration court system through the process of “self-referral.”
A recent ABA investigation found that Trump’s attorneys general have, in just over two years, referred more cases to themselves than all of Obama and Clinton’s attorneys general combined. Congress can end the politicization of justice by using its power to establish an independent immigration court system and restore the rule of law to the U.S. asylum system.
https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/455565-ag-barr-ruling-puts-asylum-seekers-...
9John5918
Remain in Mexico: Not a single migrant has been granted asylum, report finds (MSN)
More than five months into the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program, not a single asylum-seeker has been granted refuge in the United States as migrants struggle to find legal representation, according to a new report...
More than five months into the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program, not a single asylum-seeker has been granted refuge in the United States as migrants struggle to find legal representation, according to a new report...
10John5918
Not the USA, but the real human issues are the same wherever people are in danger or distress...
Sicilian fishermen risk prison to rescue migrants: ‘No human would turn away’ (Guardian)
A father and son describe what it’s like to hear desperate cries on the sea at night...
“No seaman would ever return to port without the certainty of having saved those lives,” says Carlo, whose family has sailed the Mediterranean for four generations. “If I had ignored those cries for help, I wouldn’t have had the courage to face the sea again”...
“I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t think I might end up in prison when I saw that dinghy in distress,” says Carlo. “But I knew in my heart that a dirty conscience would have been worse than prison. I would have been haunted until my death, and maybe even beyond, by those desperate cries for help”...
"I wouldn’t leave until the last migrant was safe. This is what we sailors do. If there are people in danger at sea, we save them, without asking where they come from or the colour of their skin”...
“I wonder if even one of our politicians has ever heard desperate cries for help at high sea in the black of night,” Gaspare says. “I wonder what they would have done. No human being – sailor or not – would have turned away”...
Sicilian fishermen risk prison to rescue migrants: ‘No human would turn away’ (Guardian)
A father and son describe what it’s like to hear desperate cries on the sea at night...
“No seaman would ever return to port without the certainty of having saved those lives,” says Carlo, whose family has sailed the Mediterranean for four generations. “If I had ignored those cries for help, I wouldn’t have had the courage to face the sea again”...
“I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t think I might end up in prison when I saw that dinghy in distress,” says Carlo. “But I knew in my heart that a dirty conscience would have been worse than prison. I would have been haunted until my death, and maybe even beyond, by those desperate cries for help”...
"I wouldn’t leave until the last migrant was safe. This is what we sailors do. If there are people in danger at sea, we save them, without asking where they come from or the colour of their skin”...
“I wonder if even one of our politicians has ever heard desperate cries for help at high sea in the black of night,” Gaspare says. “I wonder what they would have done. No human being – sailor or not – would have turned away”...
11John5918
WE GOT CAMERAS INSIDE ONE OF THE BIGGEST ICE DETENTION CENTERS. THIS IS WHAT WE SAW (Vice News)
Officials insist they are not operating a prison — because they see a prison as a place where people are carrying out sentences handed down by a judge — but the trappings of American incarceration are visible everywhere...
Officials insist they are not operating a prison — because they see a prison as a place where people are carrying out sentences handed down by a judge — but the trappings of American incarceration are visible everywhere...
12John5918
Guardian Angel sisters in Mexico risk safety to aid often-traumatized migrants (Global Sisters Report)
For many migrants heading north from Central America, particularly those seeking asylum, the sisters' shelter on the border is a crucial pit stop.
At the Albergue Hermanos en el Camino (Shelter for Brothers on the Road), migrants who are eligible to apply for asylum can stay for months; others stay a few nights, using the shelter's resources to tend to injuries, use the computer lab, make calls, get a haircut and new clothes, and have a few meals.
But to the sisters, the shelter is more than a center for resources or a bed for the night. It's an opportunity to prevent trafficking and identify those who may have experienced it on their route, as migrants are particularly vulnerable to exploitation.
"This space, above all, is a pathway for trafficking victims, but largely for its prevention," said Guardian Angel Sr. Carmela Gibaja Izquierdo, coordinator of Red Ramá, the anti-trafficking network for sisters in Central America. Though Gibaja is based in El Salvador, she works closely with and regularly visits the albergue.
"Here is where we help orient their journey, showing them what to look out for, where to go next, how to take care of themselves," Gibaja said of their anti-trafficking efforts. "Some have already been victimized by trafficking in some way, so we help them recover from the experience." They notify the government if the individual has experienced trafficking, while also offering the shelter's psychological services.
Largely from Honduras, El Salvador or Guatemala, those who live at the center awaiting refugee status share a common backstory: escaping gang violence. Sometimes the threat is targeted intimidation or the recruitment of their children into the gangs...
13Molly3028
Graphic memoir ~
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
(American relocation camp era/GT played the Hikaru Sulus role in the Star Trek series)
Trump era in a nutshell!
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
(American relocation camp era/GT played the Hikaru Sulus role in the Star Trek series)
Trump era in a nutshell!
14LolaWalser
Some poor sod deported by ICE to Iraq on the basis of "disorderly conduct and burglary" just died. Born in Greece to Iraqi parents who brought him to the US as an infant; never been outside the US, spoke only English, diabetic and schizophrenic. Deported without insulin...
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49275907
Will that white fuck who terrorised the Walmart in Missouri today get deported to whatever Whitefuckistan he hails from?
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49275907
Will that white fuck who terrorised the Walmart in Missouri today get deported to whatever Whitefuckistan he hails from?
15margd
>14 LolaWalser: Unfortunately, such deportation also happens to international adoptees, now adults, who weren't grandfathered in the Child Citizenship Act (1990s). The Act was supposed to protect adoptees whose parents failed to file paperwork to finalize their citizenship. In some states, a DUI could result in deportation to a birth country where one had no contacts and didn't speak the language. MN's Adam Crapser's is a recent and particularly egregious case, IMO. Amy Klobuchar has introduced legislation that will hopefully protect these people from deportation. To get R's support, D's didn't grandfather past adoptees into original Act...
Adopted and Undocumented
He Grew Up Thinking He Was American — Until He Was Deported
Daniel A. Medina | August 12 2018
https://theintercept.com/2018/08/12/uscis-undocumented-adoptee-immigration-statu...
Minnesota community reacts to Korean adoptee's deportation
Ted Haller | Updated Nov 24 2016
http://www.fox9.com/news/minnesota-community-reacts-to-korean-adoptees-deportati...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Striking how increasingly few companies are charged for hiring illegal immigrants, a strategy that might reduce incentive for people to come.
Maybe because Trump Org hired illegals until recently?
As workplace raids multiply, Trump administration charges few companies
Renae Merle | August 9, 2019
ICE has announced cases against five companies for immigration violations since 2017...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/08/09/workplace-raids-multiply-trum...
Adopted and Undocumented
He Grew Up Thinking He Was American — Until He Was Deported
Daniel A. Medina | August 12 2018
https://theintercept.com/2018/08/12/uscis-undocumented-adoptee-immigration-statu...
Minnesota community reacts to Korean adoptee's deportation
Ted Haller | Updated Nov 24 2016
http://www.fox9.com/news/minnesota-community-reacts-to-korean-adoptees-deportati...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Striking how increasingly few companies are charged for hiring illegal immigrants, a strategy that might reduce incentive for people to come.
Maybe because Trump Org hired illegals until recently?
As workplace raids multiply, Trump administration charges few companies
Renae Merle | August 9, 2019
ICE has announced cases against five companies for immigration violations since 2017...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/08/09/workplace-raids-multiply-trum...
16margd
So-o, there will be legal immigrants who cannot in the US legally and accept any kind of aid--like healthcare for their kid?
Sounds like NGOs (and states?) will be overwhelmed with hardship cases...
Trump Rule Targets Legal Immigrants Who Rely on Food Stamps and Other Aid
Eileen Sullivan and Michael D. Shear | Aug. 12, 2019
The Trump administration will penalize legal immigrants who rely on public programs, such as food stamps and government-subsidized housing...greatest impact on poor immigrants who are living in the country legally and are receiving public benefits from the government, forcing them to make a choice between accepting financial help and living and working in the country legally. It will probably not affect immigrants who already have green cards.
...The regulation, which is scheduled to go into effect in 60 days...also known as the public charge rule, was published in the Federal Register Monday morning with the following acknowledgment: “While some commenters provided support for the rule, the vast majority of commenters opposed the rule.”
...top priority of Stephen Miller, the architect of President Trump’s immigration agenda,...repeatedly pushed administration officials to finish the rule
...L. Francis Cissna, the former director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, had resisted the rush...forced out of his position earlier this year and replaced by Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II...an immigration hard-liner who shares Mr. Miller’s view that immigrants are a drain on taxpayer dollars.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/12/us/politics/trump-immigration-policy.html
ETA____________________________________________________________
Laurence Tribe tribelaw | 8:27 PM · Aug 12, 2019:
Penalizing lawful immigrants for seeking benefits to which the law entitles them violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th amendment,
which applies to all persons in the U.S., not just citizens.
Sounds like NGOs (and states?) will be overwhelmed with hardship cases...
Trump Rule Targets Legal Immigrants Who Rely on Food Stamps and Other Aid
Eileen Sullivan and Michael D. Shear | Aug. 12, 2019
The Trump administration will penalize legal immigrants who rely on public programs, such as food stamps and government-subsidized housing...greatest impact on poor immigrants who are living in the country legally and are receiving public benefits from the government, forcing them to make a choice between accepting financial help and living and working in the country legally. It will probably not affect immigrants who already have green cards.
...The regulation, which is scheduled to go into effect in 60 days...also known as the public charge rule, was published in the Federal Register Monday morning with the following acknowledgment: “While some commenters provided support for the rule, the vast majority of commenters opposed the rule.”
...top priority of Stephen Miller, the architect of President Trump’s immigration agenda,...repeatedly pushed administration officials to finish the rule
...L. Francis Cissna, the former director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, had resisted the rush...forced out of his position earlier this year and replaced by Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II...an immigration hard-liner who shares Mr. Miller’s view that immigrants are a drain on taxpayer dollars.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/12/us/politics/trump-immigration-policy.html
ETA____________________________________________________________
Laurence Tribe tribelaw | 8:27 PM · Aug 12, 2019:
Penalizing lawful immigrants for seeking benefits to which the law entitles them violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th amendment,
which applies to all persons in the U.S., not just citizens.
172wonderY
"Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge. That plaque was put on the Statue of Liberty at almost the same time as the first public charge was passed -- very interesting timing."
-- acting director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Ken Cuccinelli
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/politics/ken-cuccinelli-statue-of-liberty/index.h...
-- acting director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Ken Cuccinelli
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/politics/ken-cuccinelli-statue-of-liberty/index.h...
18StormRaven
17: I knew Cuccinelli when we were in law school together. He was a loathsome toad then too.
19margd
Trump says undocumented immigrants are an economic burden. They pay billions in taxes.
Alexia Fernández Campbell | Updated Oct 25, 2018
Unauthorized immigrants paid more than $20 billion in income taxes in 2015. They also fund Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
One of the biggest misconceptions about undocumented immigrants is that they don’t pay any taxes...
Two years (after first address to Congress in 2017), Trump is still repeating...lie (that immigration costs US taxpayers “billions of dollars a year.”).,... he once again suggested that unauthorized immigrants are a burden to US taxpayers.
“Working-class Americans are left to pay the price for mass illegal immigration,” Trump said (2018 State of the Union speech), suggesting that undocumented immigrants are using government services and programs they don’t pay for.
That’s not true. Contrary to this persistent myth, undocumented immigrants do in fact pay taxes. Millions of undocumented immigrants file tax returns each year, and they are paying taxes for many benefits they can’t even use.
The best estimates come from research by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning Washington, DC, think tank, which suggests that about half of undocumented workers in the United States file income tax returns.
The most recent IRS data, from 2015, shows that the agency received 4.4 million income tax returns from workers who don’t have Social Security numbers, which includes a large number of undocumented immigrants. That year, they paid $23.6 billion in income taxes. That doesn’t even include workers who paid taxes with fake Social Security numbers on their W-2 forms, which is also common.
These undocumented workers pay taxes for benefits they can’t even use, like Social Security and Medicare. They also aren’t eligible for benefits like the earned income tax credit. But the IRS still expects unauthorized immigrants to file their taxes, and many of them do so.
Filing taxes helps immigrants create a paper trail to show when they entered the country and how long they’ve been contributing tax dollars. Many are hoping it will help them get legal status one day. That has happened in past reform efforts, and one of the first requirements is usually to prove that a person has been paying taxes. That was the case for the undocumented youth granted temporary work permits under President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals deportation relief program.
So despite all the political rhetoric, undocumented immigrants are not a drain or burden on the government...
https://www.vox.com/2018/4/13/17229018/undocumented-immigrants-pay-taxes
Alexia Fernández Campbell | Updated Oct 25, 2018
Unauthorized immigrants paid more than $20 billion in income taxes in 2015. They also fund Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.
One of the biggest misconceptions about undocumented immigrants is that they don’t pay any taxes...
Two years (after first address to Congress in 2017), Trump is still repeating...lie (that immigration costs US taxpayers “billions of dollars a year.”).,... he once again suggested that unauthorized immigrants are a burden to US taxpayers.
“Working-class Americans are left to pay the price for mass illegal immigration,” Trump said (2018 State of the Union speech), suggesting that undocumented immigrants are using government services and programs they don’t pay for.
That’s not true. Contrary to this persistent myth, undocumented immigrants do in fact pay taxes. Millions of undocumented immigrants file tax returns each year, and they are paying taxes for many benefits they can’t even use.
The best estimates come from research by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning Washington, DC, think tank, which suggests that about half of undocumented workers in the United States file income tax returns.
The most recent IRS data, from 2015, shows that the agency received 4.4 million income tax returns from workers who don’t have Social Security numbers, which includes a large number of undocumented immigrants. That year, they paid $23.6 billion in income taxes. That doesn’t even include workers who paid taxes with fake Social Security numbers on their W-2 forms, which is also common.
These undocumented workers pay taxes for benefits they can’t even use, like Social Security and Medicare. They also aren’t eligible for benefits like the earned income tax credit. But the IRS still expects unauthorized immigrants to file their taxes, and many of them do so.
Filing taxes helps immigrants create a paper trail to show when they entered the country and how long they’ve been contributing tax dollars. Many are hoping it will help them get legal status one day. That has happened in past reform efforts, and one of the first requirements is usually to prove that a person has been paying taxes. That was the case for the undocumented youth granted temporary work permits under President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals deportation relief program.
So despite all the political rhetoric, undocumented immigrants are not a drain or burden on the government...
https://www.vox.com/2018/4/13/17229018/undocumented-immigrants-pay-taxes
20margd
Trump administration gets partial win, asylum restrictions may take effect in Texas, New Mexico
Geneva Sands and Jessica Schneider | August 16, 2019
...The 9th Circuit now says the (District Court's nationwide) injunction can only apply to migrants claiming asylum in California and Arizona, states that fall under the Ninth Circuit's jurisdiction. Practically, for now, that means that asylum seekers may continue to seek protection without these restrictions in California and Arizona, but asylum seekers in Texas and New Mexico will be subject to the asylum rule. (!)
...The rule, which was issued from the departments of Justice and Homeland Security in July, would prohibit migrants who have resided in or traveled through a third country from seeking asylum in the US, therefore barring migrants traveling through Mexico from being able to claim asylum and as a result, drastically limit who's eligible for asylum...
...In scaling back on a district court's nationwide injunction, the appellate court said that "other litigants" wishing to challenge the rule could do so in other courts, a move that will allow the issue to percolate in the lower courts before it might arrive at the Supreme Court...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/16/politics/ninth-circuit-trump-asylum-ban-ruling/in...
Geneva Sands and Jessica Schneider | August 16, 2019
...The 9th Circuit now says the (District Court's nationwide) injunction can only apply to migrants claiming asylum in California and Arizona, states that fall under the Ninth Circuit's jurisdiction. Practically, for now, that means that asylum seekers may continue to seek protection without these restrictions in California and Arizona, but asylum seekers in Texas and New Mexico will be subject to the asylum rule. (!)
...The rule, which was issued from the departments of Justice and Homeland Security in July, would prohibit migrants who have resided in or traveled through a third country from seeking asylum in the US, therefore barring migrants traveling through Mexico from being able to claim asylum and as a result, drastically limit who's eligible for asylum...
...In scaling back on a district court's nationwide injunction, the appellate court said that "other litigants" wishing to challenge the rule could do so in other courts, a move that will allow the issue to percolate in the lower courts before it might arrive at the Supreme Court...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/16/politics/ninth-circuit-trump-asylum-ban-ruling/in...
21proximity1
>14 LolaWalser:
_________
Miss Lola ("Will-that-white-fuck-who-terrorised-the-Walmart-in-Missouri-today-get-deported-to-whatever-Whitefuckistan-he-hails-from?") Walser reminds you that Donald Trump is obviously an incorrigible racist. And, of course, she abhors racism and the racists who practice it.
Mmm-hmmm.
_________
Miss Lola ("Will-that-white-fuck-who-terrorised-the-Walmart-in-Missouri-today-get-deported-to-whatever-Whitefuckistan-he-hails-from?") Walser reminds you that Donald Trump is obviously an incorrigible racist. And, of course, she abhors racism and the racists who practice it.
Mmm-hmmm.
156 LolaWalser
Jul 17, 6:50pm
How very interesting.
...Trump ... is not a racist” and that the president had spoken out of “frustration.”
It's how abusers of women are not misogynist, they are just frustrated and lash out when "provoked".
Garbage one and all.
48 LolaWalser
Jul 22, 1:26pm
"There are the Trumpists, people who positively love Trump's misogyny and racism, natural-born fascists, and they are a problem of one kind. But then there are the white male shits and their handmaidens who think of themselves as "the left" but don't really believe women and non-whites are people and can't compute misogynistic and racist attacks as serious problems, even when they see them deployed as the most powerful tool for mobilizing the masses."
6 LolaWalser
Dec 24, 2018, 1:40pm
"Speaking of crap... Michel Houellebecq explains why Donald Trump Is a Good President. Compliments from one rabid misogynist, racist, Islamophobic empty-headed cretin to another."
22RickHarsch
>21 proximity1: Thanks for re-posting some good selections.
23StormRaven
21: I don't think what you posted really supports what you seem to think it supports.
But then again, reading comprehension really isn't your thing.
But then again, reading comprehension really isn't your thing.
24John5918
Caged alone 24 hours a day, denied medicine: lawsuit claims 'torture' in US migrant jails (Guardian)
A lawsuit on behalf of 55,000 detainees describes ‘horrific conditions’ in US facilities
A lawsuit on behalf of 55,000 detainees describes ‘horrific conditions’ in US facilities
25John5918
US moves to abolish child migrant custody limits (BBC)
Migrant families who cross the southern border of the US illegally could be detained indefinitely under a new regulation announced by the Trump administration.
It replaces an agreement that set a limit on how long the government could hold migrant children in custody...
Migrant families who cross the southern border of the US illegally could be detained indefinitely under a new regulation announced by the Trump administration.
It replaces an agreement that set a limit on how long the government could hold migrant children in custody...
26margd
>25 John5918: contd. A glimmer of hope for the kids:
...Under the terms of the 1997 consent decree, the regulation must be approved by the judge in the original case, Judge Dolly M. Gee of United States District Court for the Central District of California. The government will have seven days to file a brief in her court seeking her approval of the regulation.
If she refuses, the administration is expected to appeal her decision in a case that could drag on for months or even years, legal experts said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/us/politics/flores-migrant-family-detention.h...
...Under the terms of the 1997 consent decree, the regulation must be approved by the judge in the original case, Judge Dolly M. Gee of United States District Court for the Central District of California. The government will have seven days to file a brief in her court seeking her approval of the regulation.
If she refuses, the administration is expected to appeal her decision in a case that could drag on for months or even years, legal experts said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/us/politics/flores-migrant-family-detention.h...
27proximity1
... "White privilege is the luxury belief that took me the longest to understand, because I grew up around poor whites. Often members of the upper-class claim that racial disparities stem from inherent advantages held by whites. Yet Asian Americans are more educated, have higher earnings and live longer than whites. Affluent whites are the most enthusiastic about the idea of white privilege, yet they are the least likely to incur any costs for promoting that belief. Rather, they raise their social standing by talking about their privilege." ...
https://nypost.com/2019/08/17/luxury-beliefs-are-the-latest-status-symbol-for-ri...
28John5918
>27 proximity1:
Nobody is pretending that there aren't poor whites, who are clearly at a disadvantage compared to rich people. They are part of the class and socio-economic systems. But they are not suffering from several hundred years of racist discrimination and oppression. It's a lot easier to move out of socio-economic disadvantage (you give Asian-Americans as an example) than to move out of racist disadvantage.
Nobody is pretending that there aren't poor whites, who are clearly at a disadvantage compared to rich people. They are part of the class and socio-economic systems. But they are not suffering from several hundred years of racist discrimination and oppression. It's a lot easier to move out of socio-economic disadvantage (you give Asian-Americans as an example) than to move out of racist disadvantage.
29margd
DOJ Increases Power Of Agency Running Immigration Court System
Richard Gonzales | August 23, 2019
The Trump administration is making changes to the agency that operates the nation's immigration court system, a move immediately denounced by the immigration judges' union as a power grab.
The agency is called the Executive Office for Immigration Review and it is an arm of the Justice Department. Under the interim rule announced Friday, the agency's director will have the power to issue appellate decisions in immigration cases that have not been decided within an allotted timeframe. It also creates a new office of policy within EOIR to implement the administration's immigration policies.
The head of the immigration judges' union accused the administration of trying to strip power away from judges and turn the immigration court system into a law enforcement agency.
...The new rule, first reported by The Associated Press, comes after the administration announced an effort to decertify the immigration judges' union. The judges, 440 in total, are employees of the Justice Department and not part of the independent judiciary. The Trump administration has also imposed quotas on judges in an effort to speed up deportations and reduce the backlog of more than 900,000 cases pending in immigration courts.
...Earlier this week, the EOIR sent the immigration judges a newsletter containing a blog post from VDare, an anti-immigration website, which included an anti-Semitic reference, according to (Judge Ashley Tabaddor, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges). After she protested, Justice Department officials said some information included with the newsletter had been compiled by a third-party contractor and should not have been distributed...
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/23/753912351/doj-increases-power-of-agency-running-i...
Richard Gonzales | August 23, 2019
The Trump administration is making changes to the agency that operates the nation's immigration court system, a move immediately denounced by the immigration judges' union as a power grab.
The agency is called the Executive Office for Immigration Review and it is an arm of the Justice Department. Under the interim rule announced Friday, the agency's director will have the power to issue appellate decisions in immigration cases that have not been decided within an allotted timeframe. It also creates a new office of policy within EOIR to implement the administration's immigration policies.
The head of the immigration judges' union accused the administration of trying to strip power away from judges and turn the immigration court system into a law enforcement agency.
...The new rule, first reported by The Associated Press, comes after the administration announced an effort to decertify the immigration judges' union. The judges, 440 in total, are employees of the Justice Department and not part of the independent judiciary. The Trump administration has also imposed quotas on judges in an effort to speed up deportations and reduce the backlog of more than 900,000 cases pending in immigration courts.
...Earlier this week, the EOIR sent the immigration judges a newsletter containing a blog post from VDare, an anti-immigration website, which included an anti-Semitic reference, according to (Judge Ashley Tabaddor, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges). After she protested, Justice Department officials said some information included with the newsletter had been compiled by a third-party contractor and should not have been distributed...
https://www.npr.org/2019/08/23/753912351/doj-increases-power-of-agency-running-i...
30John5918
This story about the Italian government banning volunteer pilots from searching for people in distress and danger of death in the Mediterranean Sea is not directly connected with US immigration policy, but the following quote from the respected aid agency Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is important universally:
the normalisation of “once-inconceivable” attitudes and situations should be deeply troubling for society. “If someone had told us five years ago that 20,000 people would die in the Mediterranean, or that children crossing the border would be separated from their parents in the US, we’d never have believed it”...
“But now it’s become normalised to an astonishing extent, with hardly any resistance, as if it was something usual.”
He called on society to do more to build a consensus so that migrants are helped and integrated. “It’s unbelievable when you see comments on Twitter or on online newspapers about letting people die in the sea, or sending them back to Libya – which everyone knows is a pit of suffering”...
The idea that governments (and a proportion of right wing public opinion) is opposed to human beings helping other human beings in distress was indeed “once-inconceivable... But now it’s become normalised”.
Italy grounds two planes used to search for migrant boats (Guardian)
the normalisation of “once-inconceivable” attitudes and situations should be deeply troubling for society. “If someone had told us five years ago that 20,000 people would die in the Mediterranean, or that children crossing the border would be separated from their parents in the US, we’d never have believed it”...
“But now it’s become normalised to an astonishing extent, with hardly any resistance, as if it was something usual.”
He called on society to do more to build a consensus so that migrants are helped and integrated. “It’s unbelievable when you see comments on Twitter or on online newspapers about letting people die in the sea, or sending them back to Libya – which everyone knows is a pit of suffering”...
The idea that governments (and a proportion of right wing public opinion) is opposed to human beings helping other human beings in distress was indeed “once-inconceivable... But now it’s become normalised”.
Italy grounds two planes used to search for migrant boats (Guardian)
31margd
I understand need for "know-your-customer" rules, but they can be a pain for expat retirees, for example, who cannot control 401k investments from a foreign address. Sounds like Bank of America is excessively enthusiastic in its request for proof of citizenship. Opening a FL bank account, I as a white woman was given form for foreigners, but only because our talk alluded to my Canadian origins. The request was dropped as soon as we verbally attested to my US citizenship.
______________________________________________
Hispanic Caucus @HispanicCaucus | 6:44 PM · Sep 3, 2019:
This is alarming – Bank of America is freezing accounts of customers and questioning their immigration status. This can be terrifying for families who suddenly cannot access their money to pay their bills, buy groceries, or cover rent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bank of America freezing accounts of customers suspected of not being US citizens
Rob Wile | August 30, 2018
Bank of America has been accused of asking citizenship questions and for proof of residency, then freezing customers’ accounts after failing to properly recognize their current residency status.
...In recent months, Bank of America has been accused of freezing or threatening to freeze customers’ accounts after asking about their legal status in the U.S.. In July, the Washington Post reported that multiple customers had been locked out of their accounts after Bank of America questioned whether the account holders were U.S. citizens or dual citizens.
...Proof of citizenship is not required to open a bank account in the U.S., according to Stephanie Collins, a spokesperson for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the federal agency that supervises branch banking. Banks are merely required to identify and report suspicious transactions and maintain and update customer information, she said. Banks have not received any new instructions to collect more information about customers.
...Spokespersons for Wells Fargo and Citibank both said they may ask about customers’ citizenship to maintain compliance with know-your-customer and anti-money laundering rules. They said no new policies asking for citizenship status have been put in place...
https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article217567300.html
______________________________________________
Hispanic Caucus @HispanicCaucus | 6:44 PM · Sep 3, 2019:
This is alarming – Bank of America is freezing accounts of customers and questioning their immigration status. This can be terrifying for families who suddenly cannot access their money to pay their bills, buy groceries, or cover rent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bank of America freezing accounts of customers suspected of not being US citizens
Rob Wile | August 30, 2018
Bank of America has been accused of asking citizenship questions and for proof of residency, then freezing customers’ accounts after failing to properly recognize their current residency status.
...In recent months, Bank of America has been accused of freezing or threatening to freeze customers’ accounts after asking about their legal status in the U.S.. In July, the Washington Post reported that multiple customers had been locked out of their accounts after Bank of America questioned whether the account holders were U.S. citizens or dual citizens.
...Proof of citizenship is not required to open a bank account in the U.S., according to Stephanie Collins, a spokesperson for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the federal agency that supervises branch banking. Banks are merely required to identify and report suspicious transactions and maintain and update customer information, she said. Banks have not received any new instructions to collect more information about customers.
...Spokespersons for Wells Fargo and Citibank both said they may ask about customers’ citizenship to maintain compliance with know-your-customer and anti-money laundering rules. They said no new policies asking for citizenship status have been put in place...
https://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article217567300.html
32John5918
Pentagon diverts $3.6bn in funds for southern border wall (BBC)
US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper has granted $3.6bn (£3bn) in Pentagon funding to be redirected to help build a US-Mexico border wall.
The money will fund 175 miles (280km) of construction and will force 127 military projects to be put on hold, he told lawmakers...
US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper has granted $3.6bn (£3bn) in Pentagon funding to be redirected to help build a US-Mexico border wall.
The money will fund 175 miles (280km) of construction and will force 127 military projects to be put on hold, he told lawmakers...
33margd
‘People Actively Hate Us’: Inside the Border Patrol’s Morale Crisis
Manny Fernandez, Miriam Jordan, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Caitlin Dickerson | Sept. 15, 2019
...The Border Patrol, whose agents have gone from having one of the most obscure jobs in law enforcement to one of the most hated, is suffering a crisis in both mission and morale. Earlier this year, the disclosure of a private Facebook group where agents posted sexist and callous references to migrants and the politicians who support them reinforced the perception that agents often view the vulnerable people in their care with frustration and contempt.
Interviews with 25 current and former agents in Texas, California and Arizona — some conducted on the condition of anonymity so the agents could speak more candidly — paint a portrait of an agency in a political and operational quagmire. Overwhelmed through the spring and early summer by desperate migrants, many agents have grown defensive, insular and bitter.
The president of the agents’ union said he had received death threats. An agent in South Texas said some colleagues he knew were looking for other federal law enforcement jobs. One agent in El Paso told a retired agent he was so disgusted by scandals in which the Border Patrol has been accused of neglecting or mistreating migrants that he wanted the motto emblazoned on its green-and-white vehicles — “Honor First” — scratched off.
“To have gone from where people didn’t know much about us to where people actively hate us, it’s difficult,” said Chris Harris, who was an agent for 21 years and a Border Patrol union official until he retired in June 2018. “There’s no doubt morale has been poor in the past, and it’s abysmal now. I know a lot of guys just want to leave.”...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/15/us/border-patrol-culture.html
Manny Fernandez, Miriam Jordan, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Caitlin Dickerson | Sept. 15, 2019
...The Border Patrol, whose agents have gone from having one of the most obscure jobs in law enforcement to one of the most hated, is suffering a crisis in both mission and morale. Earlier this year, the disclosure of a private Facebook group where agents posted sexist and callous references to migrants and the politicians who support them reinforced the perception that agents often view the vulnerable people in their care with frustration and contempt.
Interviews with 25 current and former agents in Texas, California and Arizona — some conducted on the condition of anonymity so the agents could speak more candidly — paint a portrait of an agency in a political and operational quagmire. Overwhelmed through the spring and early summer by desperate migrants, many agents have grown defensive, insular and bitter.
The president of the agents’ union said he had received death threats. An agent in South Texas said some colleagues he knew were looking for other federal law enforcement jobs. One agent in El Paso told a retired agent he was so disgusted by scandals in which the Border Patrol has been accused of neglecting or mistreating migrants that he wanted the motto emblazoned on its green-and-white vehicles — “Honor First” — scratched off.
“To have gone from where people didn’t know much about us to where people actively hate us, it’s difficult,” said Chris Harris, who was an agent for 21 years and a Border Patrol union official until he retired in June 2018. “There’s no doubt morale has been poor in the past, and it’s abysmal now. I know a lot of guys just want to leave.”...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/15/us/border-patrol-culture.html
34margd
Rep. Ted Lieu @RepTedLieu | 3:25 PM · Sep 16, 2019:
Joined @RepSwalwell & @HouseJudiciary members in sending a letter to @USGAO
urging an investigation of the improper detention of US citizens by CBP & @ICEgov.
It's unconscionable that our govt would round up citizens, detain them, & then try to deport them. We need answers ASAP.
Image https://twitter.com/RepTedLieu/status/1173679286752108544/photo/1
Joined @RepSwalwell & @HouseJudiciary members in sending a letter to @USGAO
urging an investigation of the improper detention of US citizens by CBP & @ICEgov.
It's unconscionable that our govt would round up citizens, detain them, & then try to deport them. We need answers ASAP.
Image https://twitter.com/RepTedLieu/status/1173679286752108544/photo/1
35margd
Rep. Ted Lieu @RepTedLieu | 3:25 PM · Sep 16, 2019:
Joined @RepSwalwell & @HouseJudiciary members in sending a letter to @USGAO
urging an investigation of the improper detention of US citizens by CBP & @ICEgov.
It's unconscionable that our govt would round up citizens, detain them, & then try to deport them. We need answers ASAP.
Image ( https://twitter.com/RepTedLieu/status/1173679286752108544/photo/1 )
Joined @RepSwalwell & @HouseJudiciary members in sending a letter to @USGAO
urging an investigation of the improper detention of US citizens by CBP & @ICEgov.
It's unconscionable that our govt would round up citizens, detain them, & then try to deport them. We need answers ASAP.
Image ( https://twitter.com/RepTedLieu/status/1173679286752108544/photo/1 )
36margd
Tent courts open as latest hurdle for migrants seeking asylum in the U.S.
Molly Hennessy-Fiske | Sep. 16, 2019
...The Department of Homeland Security erected tent courts last week in two Texas border towns, Brownsville and Laredo, as part of the Department of Homeland Security's expansion of the remain in Mexico program.
The move comes as the administration has sought to decrease the strain on backlogged immigration courts and slow the influx of migrant families at the southern border. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to request for comment.
More than 40,000 migrants have been sent back to Mexico after coming to the border as they await hearings in U.S. courts under the policy.
Officials say they want 200 migrants to appear each day in the tents in Laredo, according to The Associated Press.
...Homeland Security officials notified Congress this summer that they planned to shift $155 million from disaster relief to expand facilities for Remain in Mexico hearings. Unlike other immigration courts, the tents built in Laredo and Brownsville, Texas, this summer are not open to the public.
...Hearings at the Brownsville tent court were scheduled to be conducted this week via video by judges in Harlingen and Port Isabel, Texas — an ICE detention center where observers must apply 24 hours in advance to gain access to the video feed.
...Yael Schacher, an advocate with Refugees International said...with the advent of tent courts, she said, “We’re not going to be able to hear people’s stories in court, and the speeded-up process means many more people won’t have attorneys.”
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-09-16/secretive-tent-courts-late...
Molly Hennessy-Fiske | Sep. 16, 2019
...The Department of Homeland Security erected tent courts last week in two Texas border towns, Brownsville and Laredo, as part of the Department of Homeland Security's expansion of the remain in Mexico program.
The move comes as the administration has sought to decrease the strain on backlogged immigration courts and slow the influx of migrant families at the southern border. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to request for comment.
More than 40,000 migrants have been sent back to Mexico after coming to the border as they await hearings in U.S. courts under the policy.
Officials say they want 200 migrants to appear each day in the tents in Laredo, according to The Associated Press.
...Homeland Security officials notified Congress this summer that they planned to shift $155 million from disaster relief to expand facilities for Remain in Mexico hearings. Unlike other immigration courts, the tents built in Laredo and Brownsville, Texas, this summer are not open to the public.
...Hearings at the Brownsville tent court were scheduled to be conducted this week via video by judges in Harlingen and Port Isabel, Texas — an ICE detention center where observers must apply 24 hours in advance to gain access to the video feed.
...Yael Schacher, an advocate with Refugees International said...with the advent of tent courts, she said, “We’re not going to be able to hear people’s stories in court, and the speeded-up process means many more people won’t have attorneys.”
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-09-16/secretive-tent-courts-late...
37John5918
Lawyers across US to work pro bono for immigrants detained in Mississippi (National Catholic Reporter)
Nearly 100 people detained in Mississippi immigration raids in August will receive pro bono legal representation from lawyers at major law firms across the country.
According to a press release from the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., known as CLINIC, the lawyers will work on bond cases for almost 100 detained immigrants who requested pro bono legal representation.
The lawyers are organized by the Lawyers for Good Government Foundation's Project Corazon — an initiative launched in partnership with more than 40 law firms aimed at reuniting families separated by the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy. CLINIC will work with the lawyers to provide training, mentoring and supervision on the cases...
Nearly 100 people detained in Mississippi immigration raids in August will receive pro bono legal representation from lawyers at major law firms across the country.
According to a press release from the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., known as CLINIC, the lawyers will work on bond cases for almost 100 detained immigrants who requested pro bono legal representation.
The lawyers are organized by the Lawyers for Good Government Foundation's Project Corazon — an initiative launched in partnership with more than 40 law firms aimed at reuniting families separated by the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy. CLINIC will work with the lawyers to provide training, mentoring and supervision on the cases...
38margd
My adopted son's US citizenship was processed at a less busy crossing by a temporarily reassigned officer who needed a "break". He proudly introduced himself as the guy who says "no" and questioned wisdom of conferring US citizenship on our little guy, who might one day not want it. (At least as a kid, and maybe today, my son's birth country promised him "right of return".) We arrived in a celebratory mood--my son distributed stars-and-stripes pencils to share his big day with classmates and teachers--and had to have it officiated by a toad. This happened in Clinton era: must be so much more unpleasant today.
Border Patrol agents now screening migrants for "credible fear" under controversial pilot program
Camilo Montoya-Galvez | September 19, 2019 / 11:36 PM / CBS News
Washington — Fulfilling a request long pushed by President Trump and immigration hardliners in the administration, Border Patrol agents — rather than asylum officers — are now interviewing asylum seekers who express fear about returning to their home countries, immigration authorities confirmed to CBS News.
The move is part of a pilot program, and means that some migrants will not be initially interviewed by highly-trained asylum officers well-versed in U.S. and international refugee law, but by law enforcement agents from the agency that apprehended them. The Trump administration has advocated for this new role for Border Patrol, arguing that its agents would not approve as many "credible fear" interviews.
Attorneys and immigrant advocates have said these law enforcement officers should not be responsible for interviewing migrants seeking a safe haven in the U.S.
"They are fundamentally the wrong people to be conducting them," Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a policy analyst at the American Immigration Council, told CBS News. "This is because the Border Patrol has a mission to apprehend and arrest and to take people into custody, and the job of screening someone for asylum needs to be done by someone from an agency whose job isn't to deport people. It needs to be an independent decision from an agency without an incentive to send people back to their country quickly."...
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-border-patrol-cbp-agents-now-screening-migrant-f...
Border Patrol agents now screening migrants for "credible fear" under controversial pilot program
Camilo Montoya-Galvez | September 19, 2019 / 11:36 PM / CBS News
Washington — Fulfilling a request long pushed by President Trump and immigration hardliners in the administration, Border Patrol agents — rather than asylum officers — are now interviewing asylum seekers who express fear about returning to their home countries, immigration authorities confirmed to CBS News.
The move is part of a pilot program, and means that some migrants will not be initially interviewed by highly-trained asylum officers well-versed in U.S. and international refugee law, but by law enforcement agents from the agency that apprehended them. The Trump administration has advocated for this new role for Border Patrol, arguing that its agents would not approve as many "credible fear" interviews.
Attorneys and immigrant advocates have said these law enforcement officers should not be responsible for interviewing migrants seeking a safe haven in the U.S.
"They are fundamentally the wrong people to be conducting them," Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a policy analyst at the American Immigration Council, told CBS News. "This is because the Border Patrol has a mission to apprehend and arrest and to take people into custody, and the job of screening someone for asylum needs to be done by someone from an agency whose job isn't to deport people. It needs to be an independent decision from an agency without an incentive to send people back to their country quickly."...
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-border-patrol-cbp-agents-now-screening-migrant-f...
39John5918
This report on how one of the poorest countries in the world welcomes vulnerable human beings who have been forced to flee their homes and treats them with dignity might be worth watching as we reflect on how the richest country in the world mistreats them and denies them their human dignity.
The Displaced: The African country that wants refugees (BBC)
The Displaced: The African country that wants refugees (BBC)
40margd
While we weren't looking...
Trump administration sets lowest cap on refugee admissions in four decades. Again.
Doha Madani and Dan De Luce | Sept. 26, 2019
The State Department said it was slashing the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. from 30,000 — already a historic low — to 18,000.
...The administration will only propose resettlements for 18,000 of the 368,000 asylum and refugee applications it expects to field in the upcoming fiscal year, the Department of State said in a press release Thursday. The proposed number is a fraction of the 85,000 cap proposed by former president Barack Obama in 2016...
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-administration-sets-lowest-ca...
Trump administration sets lowest cap on refugee admissions in four decades. Again.
Doha Madani and Dan De Luce | Sept. 26, 2019
The State Department said it was slashing the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. from 30,000 — already a historic low — to 18,000.
...The administration will only propose resettlements for 18,000 of the 368,000 asylum and refugee applications it expects to field in the upcoming fiscal year, the Department of State said in a press release Thursday. The proposed number is a fraction of the 85,000 cap proposed by former president Barack Obama in 2016...
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-administration-sets-lowest-ca...
41margd
One County, 650 Migrant Deaths: An Introduction
Stephanie Leutert | September 27, 2019
...Brooks County is the deadliest county in Texas for migrants trying to enter the United States—and it isn’t even directly along the border. Over the past few years, while American policy focus has lasered in on asylum-seeking Central American families and unaccompanied minors, there is another migration pattern 70 miles north of the border. Here in Brooks County, groups of almost exclusively adult migrants hike remote trails and look to evade the Border Patrol in their bid to enter the United States. Some are caught, and some make it through the county undetected. But at least 650 people have passed away on this Texas ranchland since 2009, only a few hours south of San Antonio and Austin. Each time a body is discovered on a ranch in Brooks County, a death report ends up in ((TX) Brooks County Sheriff Urbino “Benny” Martinez's) office in a white three-ring binder...
...The white binder I saw sitting on the sheriff’s desk held 34 of these files for 2018 (from January through early August). Each file represents a life cut short; each page hints at a story much bigger than just the journey of migration.
...I hadn’t expected to see so many women in the case files—certainly not women who carried lipgloss, beaded bracelets and fanny packs. I hadn’t expected to see so many older crossers in their late 50s and 60s, people who were found with reading glasses and who had children and grandchildren already in the United States. I was not expecting so many people who had died trying to get back to families left in the United States.
I also hadn’t expected to be reading love letters, deportation papers and hospital notes found in pockets; looking at wedding rings on left hands and pictures of smiling partners and children tucked into wallets; or analyzing some of the more curious sentimental items that people carried with them, including a bag of pebbles and seashells, two signed baseballs, and a stuffed animal in the shape of a horse. Yet such details—and so many others—filled every page.
...The pages also provide a glimpse into how these policies have affected the 7,200 residents of Brooks County. One file notes how a ranch owner discovered a body while putting out hay for her animals. Another rancher found a skull after stepping out onto his porch in the early morning with a cup of coffee and noticing his dog chewing on something, while yet another found a human skull out in his fields while looking for a missing calf. These details highlight how the daily lives of Brooks County residents butt up against immigration and border policies designed in rooms far away from their own...
https://www.lawfareblog.com/one-county-650-migrant-deaths-introduction
Stephanie Leutert | September 27, 2019
...Brooks County is the deadliest county in Texas for migrants trying to enter the United States—and it isn’t even directly along the border. Over the past few years, while American policy focus has lasered in on asylum-seeking Central American families and unaccompanied minors, there is another migration pattern 70 miles north of the border. Here in Brooks County, groups of almost exclusively adult migrants hike remote trails and look to evade the Border Patrol in their bid to enter the United States. Some are caught, and some make it through the county undetected. But at least 650 people have passed away on this Texas ranchland since 2009, only a few hours south of San Antonio and Austin. Each time a body is discovered on a ranch in Brooks County, a death report ends up in ((TX) Brooks County Sheriff Urbino “Benny” Martinez's) office in a white three-ring binder...
...The white binder I saw sitting on the sheriff’s desk held 34 of these files for 2018 (from January through early August). Each file represents a life cut short; each page hints at a story much bigger than just the journey of migration.
...I hadn’t expected to see so many women in the case files—certainly not women who carried lipgloss, beaded bracelets and fanny packs. I hadn’t expected to see so many older crossers in their late 50s and 60s, people who were found with reading glasses and who had children and grandchildren already in the United States. I was not expecting so many people who had died trying to get back to families left in the United States.
I also hadn’t expected to be reading love letters, deportation papers and hospital notes found in pockets; looking at wedding rings on left hands and pictures of smiling partners and children tucked into wallets; or analyzing some of the more curious sentimental items that people carried with them, including a bag of pebbles and seashells, two signed baseballs, and a stuffed animal in the shape of a horse. Yet such details—and so many others—filled every page.
...The pages also provide a glimpse into how these policies have affected the 7,200 residents of Brooks County. One file notes how a ranch owner discovered a body while putting out hay for her animals. Another rancher found a skull after stepping out onto his porch in the early morning with a cup of coffee and noticing his dog chewing on something, while yet another found a human skull out in his fields while looking for a missing calf. These details highlight how the daily lives of Brooks County residents butt up against immigration and border policies designed in rooms far away from their own...
https://www.lawfareblog.com/one-county-650-migrant-deaths-introduction
42margd
Hope this rule will be published in Federal Register for public comment:
The Trump Administration Is About to Start Collecting DNA from Detained Migrants
Alison Durkee | October 3, 2019
...The Department of Justice is currently developing the rule, which will be a “DHS-wide effort” that affects migrants in the custody of both Customs and Border Protection and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (including legal asylum-seekers...as well as the U.S. citizens who are sometimes unintentionally put into federal custody)
...DHS has been operating under exemptions to the (DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005, which requires law enforcement agencies to get DNA samples from detainees) put in place by former Secretary Janet Napolitano in 2010, which prevented immigration detainees who weren't facing criminal charges from having their DNA sampled. The migrants' DNA samples will then be entered into the FBI's Combined DNA Index System, a nationwide database used by state and law enforcement authorities to identify criminal suspects. While ICE has currently been testing something similar with a pilot program that uses rapid DNA technology to identify “fraudulent family units,” this program will go much further, giving the government a complete DNA profile of the migrants in its custody.
...likely to be a drain on the federal agency's resources with little ultimate purpose...draft...estimate that CBP officials would spend more than 20,000 additional work hours on the policy in its first year alone, which is then likely to increase in subsequent years.
...(ACLU) potentially...a slippery slope that could lead to situations like discrimination based on genetic propensity for medical conditions. The government's “mass collection” plan “alters the purpose of DNA collection from one of criminal investigation basically to population surveillance...which is basically contrary to our basic notions of a free, trusting, autonomous society.”
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/10/trump-administration-collect-dna-migrant...
The Trump Administration Is About to Start Collecting DNA from Detained Migrants
Alison Durkee | October 3, 2019
...The Department of Justice is currently developing the rule, which will be a “DHS-wide effort” that affects migrants in the custody of both Customs and Border Protection and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (including legal asylum-seekers...as well as the U.S. citizens who are sometimes unintentionally put into federal custody)
...DHS has been operating under exemptions to the (DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005, which requires law enforcement agencies to get DNA samples from detainees) put in place by former Secretary Janet Napolitano in 2010, which prevented immigration detainees who weren't facing criminal charges from having their DNA sampled. The migrants' DNA samples will then be entered into the FBI's Combined DNA Index System, a nationwide database used by state and law enforcement authorities to identify criminal suspects. While ICE has currently been testing something similar with a pilot program that uses rapid DNA technology to identify “fraudulent family units,” this program will go much further, giving the government a complete DNA profile of the migrants in its custody.
...likely to be a drain on the federal agency's resources with little ultimate purpose...draft...estimate that CBP officials would spend more than 20,000 additional work hours on the policy in its first year alone, which is then likely to increase in subsequent years.
...(ACLU) potentially...a slippery slope that could lead to situations like discrimination based on genetic propensity for medical conditions. The government's “mass collection” plan “alters the purpose of DNA collection from one of criminal investigation basically to population surveillance...which is basically contrary to our basic notions of a free, trusting, autonomous society.”
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/10/trump-administration-collect-dna-migrant...
43margd
How it's handled in Canada: if I sponsored my American spouse into Canada, he could immediately apply and be covered by Ontario Health Insurance Program within 90 days, on same basis as any other resident.
Trump Bars Immigrants Who Cannot Pay For Health Care
Richard Gonzales | October 4, 2019
...Beginning Nov. 3, only immigrants covered by approved health insurance or those who can show they can pay for "reasonably foreseeable medical costs" will be allowed entry into the U.S.
The announcement affects immigrants applying for visas from overseas. It doesn't apply to non-citizen children of U.S. citizens. Refugees and asylum-seekers are also exempt.
However, it would apply to the spouses and parents of U.S. citizens and the immediate family members of lawful permanent residents.
The proclamation is the latest effort by the Trump administration to limit the number of low-income immigrants coming to the United States. The administration also plans to make it harder for immigrants to get green cards if they use a wide range of public benefits. That new rule is set to take effect this month, although it is facing legal challenges.
...Doug Rand, who worked on immigration policy in the Barack Obama administration..."Consular officers will deny the parents of U.S. citizens based on a snap judgment about their apparent health. U.S. citizens will be separated from their husbands and wives abroad based on a failure to demonstrate health insurance coverage or a subjective level of wealth."
https://www.npr.org/2019/10/04/767453276/trump-bars-immigrants-who-cannot-pay-fo...
Trump Bars Immigrants Who Cannot Pay For Health Care
Richard Gonzales | October 4, 2019
...Beginning Nov. 3, only immigrants covered by approved health insurance or those who can show they can pay for "reasonably foreseeable medical costs" will be allowed entry into the U.S.
The announcement affects immigrants applying for visas from overseas. It doesn't apply to non-citizen children of U.S. citizens. Refugees and asylum-seekers are also exempt.
However, it would apply to the spouses and parents of U.S. citizens and the immediate family members of lawful permanent residents.
The proclamation is the latest effort by the Trump administration to limit the number of low-income immigrants coming to the United States. The administration also plans to make it harder for immigrants to get green cards if they use a wide range of public benefits. That new rule is set to take effect this month, although it is facing legal challenges.
...Doug Rand, who worked on immigration policy in the Barack Obama administration..."Consular officers will deny the parents of U.S. citizens based on a snap judgment about their apparent health. U.S. citizens will be separated from their husbands and wives abroad based on a failure to demonstrate health insurance coverage or a subjective level of wealth."
https://www.npr.org/2019/10/04/767453276/trump-bars-immigrants-who-cannot-pay-fo...
44margd
Laiken Jordahl @LaikenJordahl | 3:40 PM · Oct 4, 2019:
VIDEO: Saguaros are being bulldozed for the #BorderWall in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Trump's reckless border hysteria is destroying our environment and killing the very species this national monument was designated to protect.
Footage by Kevin Dahl, @NPCA 0:05
https://twitter.com/i/status/1180206058649706497
VIDEO: Saguaros are being bulldozed for the #BorderWall in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Trump's reckless border hysteria is destroying our environment and killing the very species this national monument was designated to protect.
Footage by Kevin Dahl, @NPCA 0:05
https://twitter.com/i/status/1180206058649706497
45John5918
Post-capitalists must understand the role of migration in global capitalism (Open Democracy)
Following a decade of the global financial crisis, the unravelling of neoliberal centrism and the hardening of right-wing immigration politics, the urgency and renewal of socialist politics have brought its core ideas to the centre of mainstream debate in many high-income countries. There is a popular appetite for alternatives to disastrous capitalism. Yet as it stands, post-neoliberal or even post-capitalist visions of society tend to ignore or take for granted the role of over-exploited migrant labour in successive capitalist orders. Without this understanding, socialist transformation will not be possible.
Migrant labour and neoliberalism
The character of the globalised labour market challenges the idea of emancipating workers only on a national level. It is not that all migrants, and migrations, are driven by the market under oppressive conditions. Fundamentally, migration has always been, and will always be, a part of human development. There is no use in casting it as a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ phenomenon in itself: the notion of being ‘pro’ or ‘anti’ migration is a useless hook for popular debate and undermines the dignity of people who have migrated. It makes no more sense than being ‘pro’- or ‘anti’- women or any other group of humans that forms a constant part of society. Migration represents the diversity of humanity and human experience in all its turbulence, complexity and wonder.
What does need recognition, however, is a global regime of labour mobility which overly determines the character of migration as people finds themselves constrained by the destruction of livelihoods at home, narrow and unstable channels of migration, arbitrary and violent border and detention systems, and labour markets that are structured to enable firms’ ‘bottom line’ at any cost to working people. The vast majority of economic migrants have not become so by choice...
Following a decade of the global financial crisis, the unravelling of neoliberal centrism and the hardening of right-wing immigration politics, the urgency and renewal of socialist politics have brought its core ideas to the centre of mainstream debate in many high-income countries. There is a popular appetite for alternatives to disastrous capitalism. Yet as it stands, post-neoliberal or even post-capitalist visions of society tend to ignore or take for granted the role of over-exploited migrant labour in successive capitalist orders. Without this understanding, socialist transformation will not be possible.
Migrant labour and neoliberalism
The character of the globalised labour market challenges the idea of emancipating workers only on a national level. It is not that all migrants, and migrations, are driven by the market under oppressive conditions. Fundamentally, migration has always been, and will always be, a part of human development. There is no use in casting it as a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ phenomenon in itself: the notion of being ‘pro’ or ‘anti’ migration is a useless hook for popular debate and undermines the dignity of people who have migrated. It makes no more sense than being ‘pro’- or ‘anti’- women or any other group of humans that forms a constant part of society. Migration represents the diversity of humanity and human experience in all its turbulence, complexity and wonder.
What does need recognition, however, is a global regime of labour mobility which overly determines the character of migration as people finds themselves constrained by the destruction of livelihoods at home, narrow and unstable channels of migration, arbitrary and violent border and detention systems, and labour markets that are structured to enable firms’ ‘bottom line’ at any cost to working people. The vast majority of economic migrants have not become so by choice...
46John5918
Vatican sculpture dedicated to migrants unveiled (BBC)
Pope Francis has unveiled a monument in St. Peter's Square dedicated to the world's migrants and refugees.
The "Angels Unaware" boat by Canadian artist Timothy P. Schmalz depicts 140 migrants ranging from a Jewish man escaping Nazi Germany to a Syrian refugee fleeing the civil war...
Pope Francis once famously likened the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem to the migrations of millions of refugees fleeing wars....
Pope laments countries that sell weapons but refuse to take in refugees from conflicts (Crux)
Pope Francis on Sunday said that Christians cannot be indifferent and insensitive to the “tragedy” of poverty, “our hearts deadened” before the misery of innocent people.
“We must not fail to weep,” Francis said. “We must not fail to respond.”
Francis, the son of immigrants himself, also lamented that today’s world is increasingly “more elitist and crueler towards the excluded,” because developing countries are drained of their best resources – natural and human – to benefit “a few privileged markets.”
In addition, he said, “wars only affect some regions of the world, yet weapons of war are produced and sold in other regions which are then unwilling to take in the refugees generated by these conflicts. Those who pay the price are always the little ones, the poor, the most vulnerable, who are prevented from sitting at the table and are left with the ‘crumbs’ of the banquet”...
Pope Francis has unveiled a monument in St. Peter's Square dedicated to the world's migrants and refugees.
The "Angels Unaware" boat by Canadian artist Timothy P. Schmalz depicts 140 migrants ranging from a Jewish man escaping Nazi Germany to a Syrian refugee fleeing the civil war...
Pope Francis once famously likened the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem to the migrations of millions of refugees fleeing wars....
Pope laments countries that sell weapons but refuse to take in refugees from conflicts (Crux)
Pope Francis on Sunday said that Christians cannot be indifferent and insensitive to the “tragedy” of poverty, “our hearts deadened” before the misery of innocent people.
“We must not fail to weep,” Francis said. “We must not fail to respond.”
Francis, the son of immigrants himself, also lamented that today’s world is increasingly “more elitist and crueler towards the excluded,” because developing countries are drained of their best resources – natural and human – to benefit “a few privileged markets.”
In addition, he said, “wars only affect some regions of the world, yet weapons of war are produced and sold in other regions which are then unwilling to take in the refugees generated by these conflicts. Those who pay the price are always the little ones, the poor, the most vulnerable, who are prevented from sitting at the table and are left with the ‘crumbs’ of the banquet”...
47John5918
Displaced people: Why are more fleeing home than ever before? (BBC)
More than 35,000 people were forced to flee their homes every day in 2018 - nearly one every two seconds - taking the world's displaced population to a record 71 million.
A total of 26 million people have fled across borders, 41 million are displaced within their home countries and 3.5 million have sought asylum - the highest numbers ever, according to UN refugee agency (UNHCR) figures...
Conflict and violence, persecution and human rights violations are driving more and more men, women and children from their homes...
While much of the focus has been on refugees - that's people forced to flee across borders because of conflict or persecution - the majority of those uprooted across the world actually end up staying in their own countries.
These people, who have left their homes but not their homeland, are referred to as "internally displaced people", or IDPs, rather than refugees...
increasing numbers are also leaving home because of natural disasters, mainly "extreme weather events"...
The smallest group of displaced people is asylum seekers - those who have applied for sanctuary in another country but whose claim has not been granted. There were 3.5 million in 2018 - fewer than one in 10 of those forced to flee...
More than 35,000 people were forced to flee their homes every day in 2018 - nearly one every two seconds - taking the world's displaced population to a record 71 million.
A total of 26 million people have fled across borders, 41 million are displaced within their home countries and 3.5 million have sought asylum - the highest numbers ever, according to UN refugee agency (UNHCR) figures...
Conflict and violence, persecution and human rights violations are driving more and more men, women and children from their homes...
While much of the focus has been on refugees - that's people forced to flee across borders because of conflict or persecution - the majority of those uprooted across the world actually end up staying in their own countries.
These people, who have left their homes but not their homeland, are referred to as "internally displaced people", or IDPs, rather than refugees...
increasing numbers are also leaving home because of natural disasters, mainly "extreme weather events"...
The smallest group of displaced people is asylum seekers - those who have applied for sanctuary in another country but whose claim has not been granted. There were 3.5 million in 2018 - fewer than one in 10 of those forced to flee...
48margd
George Conway @gtconway3d | 10:37 AM · Nov 2, 2019
@realDonaldTrump
—your beautiful wall, which Mexico isn’t paying for,
of which (as of September) you’ve built zero miles except for replacement sections, and
for which you declared a (fake) “national emergency,” is a joke.
Enjoy!
Quote Tweet Josh Jordan @NumbersMuncher · 4h
Friday night: Trump says you can't cut through the wall.
Saturday morning: Washington Post reports that smugglers are absolutely cutting through Trump's wall.
HOW IS THIS REAL LIFE!?
😂
Aaron Rupar @atrupar | 9:33 AM · Nov 2, 2019
"You can cut through steel, but you can't through the concrete, and then you can't through the hardened rebar. We've got it all. And we also need see-through" -- during the wall section of the speech, Trump offers his thoughts on construction materials
Show this thread
0:33 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1190447410016923648
Smugglers are sawing through new sections of Trump’s border wall
Nick Miroff | November 2, 2019
SAN DIEGO — Smuggling gangs in Mexico have repeatedly sawed through new sections of President Trump’s border wall in recent months by using commercially available power tools, opening gaps large enough for people and drug loads to pass through, according to U.S. agents and officials with knowledge of the damage.
The breaches have been made using a popular cordless household tool known as a reciprocating saw that retails at hardware stores for as little as $100. When fitted with specialized blades, the saws can slice through one of the barrier’s steel-and-concrete bollards in a matter of minutes, according to the agents, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the barrier-defeating techniques.
After cutting through the base of a single bollard, smugglers can push the steel out of the way, allowing an adult to fit through the gap. Because the bollards are so tall — and are attached only to a panel at the very top — their length makes them easier to push aside once they have been cut and are left dangling, according to engineers consulted by The Washington Post...
https://washingtonpost.com/national/smugglers-are-sawing-through-new-sections-of...
@realDonaldTrump
—your beautiful wall, which Mexico isn’t paying for,
of which (as of September) you’ve built zero miles except for replacement sections, and
for which you declared a (fake) “national emergency,” is a joke.
Enjoy!
Quote Tweet Josh Jordan @NumbersMuncher · 4h
Friday night: Trump says you can't cut through the wall.
Saturday morning: Washington Post reports that smugglers are absolutely cutting through Trump's wall.
HOW IS THIS REAL LIFE!?
😂
Aaron Rupar @atrupar | 9:33 AM · Nov 2, 2019
"You can cut through steel, but you can't through the concrete, and then you can't through the hardened rebar. We've got it all. And we also need see-through" -- during the wall section of the speech, Trump offers his thoughts on construction materials
Show this thread
0:33 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1190447410016923648
Smugglers are sawing through new sections of Trump’s border wall
Nick Miroff | November 2, 2019
SAN DIEGO — Smuggling gangs in Mexico have repeatedly sawed through new sections of President Trump’s border wall in recent months by using commercially available power tools, opening gaps large enough for people and drug loads to pass through, according to U.S. agents and officials with knowledge of the damage.
The breaches have been made using a popular cordless household tool known as a reciprocating saw that retails at hardware stores for as little as $100. When fitted with specialized blades, the saws can slice through one of the barrier’s steel-and-concrete bollards in a matter of minutes, according to the agents, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the barrier-defeating techniques.
After cutting through the base of a single bollard, smugglers can push the steel out of the way, allowing an adult to fit through the gap. Because the bollards are so tall — and are attached only to a panel at the very top — their length makes them easier to push aside once they have been cut and are left dangling, according to engineers consulted by The Washington Post...
https://washingtonpost.com/national/smugglers-are-sawing-through-new-sections-of...
49margd
Trump's health insurance rule for immigrants put on hold by judge
Associated Press | Nov 1, 2019
..'U.S. District Judge Michael Simon (Portland, Oregon) granted a temporary restraining order that prevents ( rump administration rule requiring immigrants prove they will have health insurance or can pay for medical care before they can get visas. ) from going into effect Sunday. It's not clear when he will rule on the merits of the case.
Seven U.S. citizens and a nonprofit organization filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday contending the rule would block nearly two-thirds of all prospective legal immigrants.
The lawsuit also said the rule would greatly reduce or eliminate the number of immigrants who enter the United States with family sponsored visas.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/02/federal-judge-blocks-tru...
Associated Press | Nov 1, 2019
..'U.S. District Judge Michael Simon (Portland, Oregon) granted a temporary restraining order that prevents ( rump administration rule requiring immigrants prove they will have health insurance or can pay for medical care before they can get visas. ) from going into effect Sunday. It's not clear when he will rule on the merits of the case.
Seven U.S. citizens and a nonprofit organization filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday contending the rule would block nearly two-thirds of all prospective legal immigrants.
The lawsuit also said the rule would greatly reduce or eliminate the number of immigrants who enter the United States with family sponsored visas.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/02/federal-judge-blocks-tru...
50margd
U.S. Must Provide Mental Health Services to Families Separated at Border
Miriam Jordan | Nov. 6, 2019
...Judge John A. Kronstadt of the United States District Court in Los Angeles ordered the federal government to immediately make available mental health screenings and treatment to thousands of families forcibly separated under the policy, which was primarily carried out in 2017 and 2018 — though hundreds of similar separations still occur.
In his ruling, Judge Kronstadt referred to previous federal cases that found that governments can be held liable when with “deliberate indifference” they place people in dangerous situations. In the past, the “state-created danger” doctrine has been applied when a police officer ejected a person from a bar late at night in very cold weather, or when a public employer failed to address toxic mold that caused workers to fall ill.
In this case, the judge said, the Trump administration could be held accountable for the enduring psychological harm brought about by forcibly taking children from their parents at the border with no guarantee of when or how they would be reunited.
...The judge’s preliminary injunction will require the government to arrange mental health screenings along with psychological counseling and other services, perhaps long term. The process could be cumbersome and expensive because thousands of migrants who were affected by the policy are spread across the country and are in various stages of immigration court proceedings. Many already have been deported and would presumably not be eligible for any mental health care.
...Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond, who specializes in federal courts...“pathbreaking...The question is what happens from here and can it be enforced? I assume the government will appeal and get the order stayed because it’s brand new. They’ll say the judge got it wrong.”...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/us/migrants-mental-health-court.html
Miriam Jordan | Nov. 6, 2019
...Judge John A. Kronstadt of the United States District Court in Los Angeles ordered the federal government to immediately make available mental health screenings and treatment to thousands of families forcibly separated under the policy, which was primarily carried out in 2017 and 2018 — though hundreds of similar separations still occur.
In his ruling, Judge Kronstadt referred to previous federal cases that found that governments can be held liable when with “deliberate indifference” they place people in dangerous situations. In the past, the “state-created danger” doctrine has been applied when a police officer ejected a person from a bar late at night in very cold weather, or when a public employer failed to address toxic mold that caused workers to fall ill.
In this case, the judge said, the Trump administration could be held accountable for the enduring psychological harm brought about by forcibly taking children from their parents at the border with no guarantee of when or how they would be reunited.
...The judge’s preliminary injunction will require the government to arrange mental health screenings along with psychological counseling and other services, perhaps long term. The process could be cumbersome and expensive because thousands of migrants who were affected by the policy are spread across the country and are in various stages of immigration court proceedings. Many already have been deported and would presumably not be eligible for any mental health care.
...Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond, who specializes in federal courts...“pathbreaking...The question is what happens from here and can it be enforced? I assume the government will appeal and get the order stayed because it’s brand new. They’ll say the judge got it wrong.”...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/us/migrants-mental-health-court.html
51margd
Yuck!
Report Details How Stephen Miller Shared Theories Favored by White Nationalists
Katie Rogers | Nov. 13, 2019
WASHINGTON — A batch of leaked emails obtained by a civil rights advocacy group (Southern Poverty Law Center) show that Stephen Miller, the White House adviser with a direct hand in shaping President Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, promoted theories popular with white nationalist groups to an editor at a prominent conservative publication before he joined the administration.
...published a summary of some 900 messages that Mr. Miller sent to Breitbart News from March 2015 to June 2016.
...seven pages of the emails included in that summary...supplied by Katie McHugh, a former editor at Breitbart, show that Mr. Miller tried to shape news coverage with material he found on at least one website that espouses white nationalist viewpoints, including fringe theories that people of color are trying to engage in “white genocide.” The law center’s investigation, which the group says it will turn into a series, seeks to illustrate how Mr. Miller brought anti-immigrant beliefs to the White House and turned them into policy...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/us/politics/stephen-miller-white-nationalism....
Report Details How Stephen Miller Shared Theories Favored by White Nationalists
Katie Rogers | Nov. 13, 2019
WASHINGTON — A batch of leaked emails obtained by a civil rights advocacy group (Southern Poverty Law Center) show that Stephen Miller, the White House adviser with a direct hand in shaping President Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, promoted theories popular with white nationalist groups to an editor at a prominent conservative publication before he joined the administration.
...published a summary of some 900 messages that Mr. Miller sent to Breitbart News from March 2015 to June 2016.
...seven pages of the emails included in that summary...supplied by Katie McHugh, a former editor at Breitbart, show that Mr. Miller tried to shape news coverage with material he found on at least one website that espouses white nationalist viewpoints, including fringe theories that people of color are trying to engage in “white genocide.” The law center’s investigation, which the group says it will turn into a series, seeks to illustrate how Mr. Miller brought anti-immigrant beliefs to the White House and turned them into policy...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/us/politics/stephen-miller-white-nationalism....
52margd
Asylum officers rebel against Trump policies they say are immoral and illegal
Molly O’Toole | Nov. 15, 2019
...In a collaboration with the radio program “This American Life,”* The Times interviewed asylum officers to get a front-line perspective on implementing Trump’s policy. In almost every interview they’ve conducted since MPP ("Remain in Mexico") went into effect, half a dozen officers said, the asylum seeker expressed a fear of returning to Mexico — many said they’d been harmed there already. But under the new standards, the officers said, they had to return them anyway.
“What’s my moral culpability in that?” said an asylum officer who’s conducted nearly 100 interviews. She requested anonymity because she feared retaliation. “My signature’s on that paperwork. And that’s something now that I live with.”
The asylum officers objecting to the administration’s immigration policies say they run counter to the laws passed by Congress, as well as their oath to the Constitution and extensive training, which includes how to detect fraud or any potential national security concerns...
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-11-15/asylum-officers-revolt-against...
____________________________________________________________
* A powerful radio documentary, esp Molly O'Toole's Act One:
The Out Crowd (55 minutes)
This American Life | November 15, 2019
Reports from the frontlines of the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" asylum policy. We hear from asylum seekers waiting across the border in Mexico, in a makeshift refugee camp, and from the officers who sent them there to wait in the first place.
Prologue
By Ira Glass
Host Ira Glass visits refugee camps we don’t call refugee camps—right on our country’s doorstep. (14 minutes)
Act One
Goodbye, Stranger
By Molly O’Toole
Los Angeles Times reporter Molly O’Toole talks to U.S. asylum officers—the people who end up sending migrants back to Mexico. And they don’t feel good about it. This story is a collaboration with the Los Angeles Times. Read Molly's story here. (23 minutes)
Act Two
The Long Way Home
By Emily Green
Reporter Emily Green happens to meet a man being sent back to Mexico who tells her he’s afraid of being kidnapped—and then, he gets kidnapped. (18 minutes)
Song:“These Are My People” by Johnny Cash
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/688/the-out-crowd
Molly O’Toole | Nov. 15, 2019
...In a collaboration with the radio program “This American Life,”* The Times interviewed asylum officers to get a front-line perspective on implementing Trump’s policy. In almost every interview they’ve conducted since MPP ("Remain in Mexico") went into effect, half a dozen officers said, the asylum seeker expressed a fear of returning to Mexico — many said they’d been harmed there already. But under the new standards, the officers said, they had to return them anyway.
“What’s my moral culpability in that?” said an asylum officer who’s conducted nearly 100 interviews. She requested anonymity because she feared retaliation. “My signature’s on that paperwork. And that’s something now that I live with.”
The asylum officers objecting to the administration’s immigration policies say they run counter to the laws passed by Congress, as well as their oath to the Constitution and extensive training, which includes how to detect fraud or any potential national security concerns...
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-11-15/asylum-officers-revolt-against...
____________________________________________________________
* A powerful radio documentary, esp Molly O'Toole's Act One:
The Out Crowd (55 minutes)
This American Life | November 15, 2019
Reports from the frontlines of the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" asylum policy. We hear from asylum seekers waiting across the border in Mexico, in a makeshift refugee camp, and from the officers who sent them there to wait in the first place.
Prologue
By Ira Glass
Host Ira Glass visits refugee camps we don’t call refugee camps—right on our country’s doorstep. (14 minutes)
Act One
Goodbye, Stranger
By Molly O’Toole
Los Angeles Times reporter Molly O’Toole talks to U.S. asylum officers—the people who end up sending migrants back to Mexico. And they don’t feel good about it. This story is a collaboration with the Los Angeles Times. Read Molly's story here. (23 minutes)
Act Two
The Long Way Home
By Emily Green
Reporter Emily Green happens to meet a man being sent back to Mexico who tells her he’s afraid of being kidnapped—and then, he gets kidnapped. (18 minutes)
Song:“These Are My People” by Johnny Cash
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/688/the-out-crowd
53margd
Caroline Orr @RVAwonk | 3h 11/27/2019
ICE set up a fake university, recruited hundreds of foreign-born students, made them pay tuition, staffed the school w/ undercover agents, then revealed it was all fake — at which point they revoked the students’ visas & detained about 250 of them.
WHAT?!
ICE arrests 90 more students at fake university in Michigan
Niraj Warikoo | Nov. 27, 2019
...About 90 additional foreign students of a fake university in metro Detroit created by the Department of Homeland Security have been arrested in recent months.
A total of about 250 students have now been arrested since January on immigration violations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of a sting operation by federal agents who enticed foreign-born students, mostly from India, to attend the school that marketed itself as offering graduate programs in technology and computer studies, according to ICE officials.
Many of those arrested have been deported to India while others are contesting their removals. One has been allowed to stay after being granted lawful permanent resident status by an immigration judge.
...The students had arrived legally in the U.S. on student visas, but since the University of Farmington was later revealed to be a creation of federal agents, they lost their immigration status after it was shut down in January. The school was located on Northwestern Highway near 13 Mile Road in Farmington Hills and staffed with undercover agents posing as university officials.
...Emails obtained by the Free Press earlier this year showed how the fake university attracted students to the university, which cost about $12,000 on average in tuition and fees per year.
The U.S. "trapped the vulnerable people who just wanted to maintain (legal immigration) status," Rahul Reddy, a Texas attorney who represented or advised some of the students arrested, told the Free Press this week. "They preyed upon on them."
The fake university is believed to have collected millions of dollars from the unsuspecting students. An email from the university's president, named Ali Milani, told students that graduate programs' tuition is $2,500 per quarter and the average cost is $1,000 per month.
...No one has filed a lawsuit or claim against the U.S. government for collecting the money or for allegedly entrapping the students.
Attorneys for ICE and the Department of Justice maintain that the students should have known it was not a legitimate university because it did not have classes in a physical location. Some CPT programs have classes combined with work programs at companies.
...in some cases, students who transferred out from the University of Farmington after realizing they didn't have classes on-site, were still arrested...
https://freep.com/story/news/loc
ICE set up a fake university, recruited hundreds of foreign-born students, made them pay tuition, staffed the school w/ undercover agents, then revealed it was all fake — at which point they revoked the students’ visas & detained about 250 of them.
WHAT?!
ICE arrests 90 more students at fake university in Michigan
Niraj Warikoo | Nov. 27, 2019
...About 90 additional foreign students of a fake university in metro Detroit created by the Department of Homeland Security have been arrested in recent months.
A total of about 250 students have now been arrested since January on immigration violations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of a sting operation by federal agents who enticed foreign-born students, mostly from India, to attend the school that marketed itself as offering graduate programs in technology and computer studies, according to ICE officials.
Many of those arrested have been deported to India while others are contesting their removals. One has been allowed to stay after being granted lawful permanent resident status by an immigration judge.
...The students had arrived legally in the U.S. on student visas, but since the University of Farmington was later revealed to be a creation of federal agents, they lost their immigration status after it was shut down in January. The school was located on Northwestern Highway near 13 Mile Road in Farmington Hills and staffed with undercover agents posing as university officials.
...Emails obtained by the Free Press earlier this year showed how the fake university attracted students to the university, which cost about $12,000 on average in tuition and fees per year.
The U.S. "trapped the vulnerable people who just wanted to maintain (legal immigration) status," Rahul Reddy, a Texas attorney who represented or advised some of the students arrested, told the Free Press this week. "They preyed upon on them."
The fake university is believed to have collected millions of dollars from the unsuspecting students. An email from the university's president, named Ali Milani, told students that graduate programs' tuition is $2,500 per quarter and the average cost is $1,000 per month.
...No one has filed a lawsuit or claim against the U.S. government for collecting the money or for allegedly entrapping the students.
Attorneys for ICE and the Department of Justice maintain that the students should have known it was not a legitimate university because it did not have classes in a physical location. Some CPT programs have classes combined with work programs at companies.
...in some cases, students who transferred out from the University of Farmington after realizing they didn't have classes on-site, were still arrested...
https://freep.com/story/news/loc
54margd
Pound-foolish--and an argument for local police not to cooperate with ICE:
Witness in Hard Rock Hotel Collapse Is Deported
Adeel Hassan | Nov. 29, 2019
A construction worker who became a witness in a federal workplace safety investigation after he was injured during the collapse of a new Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans was deported by the immigration authorities on Friday, his lawyers said.
The worker, Delmer Joel Ramirez Palma, had to scramble to stay alive while metal and debris rained down and parts of the 18-story structure pancaked around him and killed three of his colleagues on Oct. 12.
Mr. Ramirez Palma had raised concerns about problems with the construction with supervisors multiple times, according to his lawyers. After the building crumbled around him, he gave an on-air account to a Spanish-language news outlet and became a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the developers of the project and their construction firms, accusing them of using substandard materials and inadequate underpinnings to shore up the concrete floors.
On Oct. 14, two days after the collapse, Mr. Ramirez Palma, an immigrant from Honduras who was not authorized to remain in the country, was arrested while on a fishing trip and then detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Sign Up for the Morning Briefing
During his time in immigration detention, federal investigators examining what happened at the site of the $85 million hotel project, just steps from the city’s French Quarter, interviewed him on three occasions...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/29/us/hard-rock-hotel-worker-immigration.html
Witness in Hard Rock Hotel Collapse Is Deported
Adeel Hassan | Nov. 29, 2019
A construction worker who became a witness in a federal workplace safety investigation after he was injured during the collapse of a new Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans was deported by the immigration authorities on Friday, his lawyers said.
The worker, Delmer Joel Ramirez Palma, had to scramble to stay alive while metal and debris rained down and parts of the 18-story structure pancaked around him and killed three of his colleagues on Oct. 12.
Mr. Ramirez Palma had raised concerns about problems with the construction with supervisors multiple times, according to his lawyers. After the building crumbled around him, he gave an on-air account to a Spanish-language news outlet and became a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the developers of the project and their construction firms, accusing them of using substandard materials and inadequate underpinnings to shore up the concrete floors.
On Oct. 14, two days after the collapse, Mr. Ramirez Palma, an immigrant from Honduras who was not authorized to remain in the country, was arrested while on a fishing trip and then detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Sign Up for the Morning Briefing
During his time in immigration detention, federal investigators examining what happened at the site of the $85 million hotel project, just steps from the city’s French Quarter, interviewed him on three occasions...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/29/us/hard-rock-hotel-worker-immigration.html
55John5918
'This is where my everything is': US citizen suddenly faces deportation (Guardian)
A New Yorker who gained US citizenship as a child is suddenly facing deportation, along with several green card-holding members of his family, after apparent targeting by the Trump administration in what the family believes is a clear case of anti-Muslim bias.
None of the individuals have a criminal record, and say the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) only raised questions about the validity of their immigration status after another relative was arrested following a terrorist incident in the city. The government’s actions have alarmed advocates and led to them accusing officials of meting out unfair “collective punishment”...
Since Trump came into office, the number of such denaturalization and citizenship revocation cases filed by DHS has surged...
A New Yorker who gained US citizenship as a child is suddenly facing deportation, along with several green card-holding members of his family, after apparent targeting by the Trump administration in what the family believes is a clear case of anti-Muslim bias.
None of the individuals have a criminal record, and say the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) only raised questions about the validity of their immigration status after another relative was arrested following a terrorist incident in the city. The government’s actions have alarmed advocates and led to them accusing officials of meting out unfair “collective punishment”...
Since Trump came into office, the number of such denaturalization and citizenship revocation cases filed by DHS has surged...
56John5918
'English Only': The movement to limit Spanish speaking in US (BBC)
There are an estimated 41 million Spanish speakers in the US and that number is increasing. Yet there is also a small but vocal movement to restrict the spread of Spanish.
"This is a country where we speak English. It's English. You have to speak English!" Donald Trump often said... However, Mr Trump's demand has no legal basis: the US has no official language...
viral attacks generally do not occur against tourists who speak Dutch, French or Italian, for example. They are usually directed against people who speak Spanish and who, because of their work or simply because of their physical appearance, are classified as immigrants...
There are an estimated 41 million Spanish speakers in the US and that number is increasing. Yet there is also a small but vocal movement to restrict the spread of Spanish.
"This is a country where we speak English. It's English. You have to speak English!" Donald Trump often said... However, Mr Trump's demand has no legal basis: the US has no official language...
viral attacks generally do not occur against tourists who speak Dutch, French or Italian, for example. They are usually directed against people who speak Spanish and who, because of their work or simply because of their physical appearance, are classified as immigrants...
57margd
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
-Martin Niemöller
This is where my everything is': US citizen suddenly faces deportation
Apparent targeting of family whose relative was convicted of terror attack prompts accusations of ‘collective punishment’
Aviva Stahl | 30 Nov 2019
A New Yorker who gained US citizenship as a child is suddenly facing deportation, along with several green card-holding members of his family, after apparent targeting by the Trump administration in what the family believes is a clear case of anti-Muslim bias.
None of the individuals have a criminal record, and say the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) only raised questions about the validity of their immigration status after another relative was arrested following a terrorist incident in the city. The government’s actions have alarmed advocates and led to them accusing officials of meting out unfair “collective punishment”...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/30/trump-immigration-citizenship-gr...
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
-Martin Niemöller
This is where my everything is': US citizen suddenly faces deportation
Apparent targeting of family whose relative was convicted of terror attack prompts accusations of ‘collective punishment’
Aviva Stahl | 30 Nov 2019
A New Yorker who gained US citizenship as a child is suddenly facing deportation, along with several green card-holding members of his family, after apparent targeting by the Trump administration in what the family believes is a clear case of anti-Muslim bias.
None of the individuals have a criminal record, and say the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) only raised questions about the validity of their immigration status after another relative was arrested following a terrorist incident in the city. The government’s actions have alarmed advocates and led to them accusing officials of meting out unfair “collective punishment”...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/30/trump-immigration-citizenship-gr...
58John5918
Video shows final hours of sick teen who died in US Border Patrol custody (Guardian)
Published by ProPublica, the footage casts doubt on agents’ care of Carlos Hernandez Vasquez, who was found dead 20 May
Published by ProPublica, the footage casts doubt on agents’ care of Carlos Hernandez Vasquez, who was found dead 20 May
59John5918
US immigration officials bar doctors from giving flu shots to detained kids (Guardian)
US immigration authorities blocked doctors from giving flu vaccines to detained migrant children this week, a move that physicians say will lead to more deaths behind bars.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) refused to grant a group of doctors access to provide vaccines in San Diego on Monday despite at least three recent flu deaths of children in US immigration custody, aged two, six and 16, and growing concerns about health hazards and unsafe conditions for asylum seekers in detention.
Licensed physicians arrived at the Chula Vista border patrol station in San Ysidro prepared to operate a free flu clinic for the detained migrants, but CBP would not let them inside, claiming it was not “feasible” to provide the medical care...
I got my 'flu vaccine yesterday. Amazing that the US government refuses to allow people to receive the jab.
US immigration authorities blocked doctors from giving flu vaccines to detained migrant children this week, a move that physicians say will lead to more deaths behind bars.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) refused to grant a group of doctors access to provide vaccines in San Diego on Monday despite at least three recent flu deaths of children in US immigration custody, aged two, six and 16, and growing concerns about health hazards and unsafe conditions for asylum seekers in detention.
Licensed physicians arrived at the Chula Vista border patrol station in San Ysidro prepared to operate a free flu clinic for the detained migrants, but CBP would not let them inside, claiming it was not “feasible” to provide the medical care...
I got my 'flu vaccine yesterday. Amazing that the US government refuses to allow people to receive the jab.
60margd
Federal judge issues (nationwde) injunction against diverting military funds for border wall
Lauren Villagran | Dec, 2019
...U.S. District Judge David Briones in El Paso said in a memorandum filed Tuesday that funds appropriated by Congress to the Department of Defense for construction projects can't be diverted to build a border wall.
The injunction blocks the administration from using up to $3.6 billion it planned to reallocate from military construction projects.
However, the judge's order doesn't prohibit the administration from using up to $2.5 billion in Department of Defense funding originally earmarked to support counter-drug activities.
...In October, Briones ruled that Trump's February proclamation of a national emergency at the border violated federal law, as did the administration's decision to divert military funds to pay for construction of a wall...
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/12/10/trump-border-wall-federal-...
Lauren Villagran | Dec, 2019
...U.S. District Judge David Briones in El Paso said in a memorandum filed Tuesday that funds appropriated by Congress to the Department of Defense for construction projects can't be diverted to build a border wall.
The injunction blocks the administration from using up to $3.6 billion it planned to reallocate from military construction projects.
However, the judge's order doesn't prohibit the administration from using up to $2.5 billion in Department of Defense funding originally earmarked to support counter-drug activities.
...In October, Briones ruled that Trump's February proclamation of a national emergency at the border violated federal law, as did the administration's decision to divert military funds to pay for construction of a wall...
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/12/10/trump-border-wall-federal-...
61margd
A Child’s Forehead Partially Removed
Four Deaths
The Wrong Medicine
A Secret Report Exposes Health Care For Jailed Immigrants
BuzzFeed News has obtained a memo in which an ICE whistleblower says two immigrants got preventable surgeries and two were given the wrong drugs. Four died — one after getting “grossly negligent” care.
Hamed Aleaziz | December 12, 2019
Immigrants held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement jails around the US received medical care so bad it resulted in two preventable surgeries, including an 8-year-old boy who had to have part of his forehead removed, and contributed to four deaths, according to an internal complaint from an agency whistleblower.
The allegations appear in an explosive Department of Homeland Security memo*...containing reports of detainees being given incorrect medication, suffering from delays in treating withdrawal symptoms, and one who was allowed to become so mentally unstable he lacerated his own penis and required reparative surgery.
The whistleblower reported that three people had died in ICE lockup after receiving inadequate medical treatment or oversight, and said official reports on a fourth person’s death were “very misleading.” One man died from meningitis following “grossly negligent” care. Another killed himself after saying he would do exactly that months earlier.
The allegations were laid out in a March 20 memorandum signed by Cameron Quinn, DHS’s officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and sent to top ICE leadership. The memo describes the whistleblower as someone within the ICE Health Service Corps, or IHSC, which provides medical care and oversight for detainees in the agency’s custody....
The whistleblower’s allegations were first received by the Homeland Security’s inspector general in April 2018. In July of that year, the inspector general sent the allegations to Quinn’s office, which will investigate the medical care and oversight IHSC provides at a time when President Donald Trump demonizes immigrants, detains them in record numbers, and enacts restrictive policies to keep them out of the US...
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hamedaleaziz/ice-immigrant-surgeries-deaths...
* 10 p. March 20 memorandum signed by Cameron Quinn, DHS’s officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and sent to top ICE leadership https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6575024-ICE-Whistleblower-Report.html
Four Deaths
The Wrong Medicine
A Secret Report Exposes Health Care For Jailed Immigrants
BuzzFeed News has obtained a memo in which an ICE whistleblower says two immigrants got preventable surgeries and two were given the wrong drugs. Four died — one after getting “grossly negligent” care.
Hamed Aleaziz | December 12, 2019
Immigrants held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement jails around the US received medical care so bad it resulted in two preventable surgeries, including an 8-year-old boy who had to have part of his forehead removed, and contributed to four deaths, according to an internal complaint from an agency whistleblower.
The allegations appear in an explosive Department of Homeland Security memo*...containing reports of detainees being given incorrect medication, suffering from delays in treating withdrawal symptoms, and one who was allowed to become so mentally unstable he lacerated his own penis and required reparative surgery.
The whistleblower reported that three people had died in ICE lockup after receiving inadequate medical treatment or oversight, and said official reports on a fourth person’s death were “very misleading.” One man died from meningitis following “grossly negligent” care. Another killed himself after saying he would do exactly that months earlier.
The allegations were laid out in a March 20 memorandum signed by Cameron Quinn, DHS’s officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and sent to top ICE leadership. The memo describes the whistleblower as someone within the ICE Health Service Corps, or IHSC, which provides medical care and oversight for detainees in the agency’s custody....
The whistleblower’s allegations were first received by the Homeland Security’s inspector general in April 2018. In July of that year, the inspector general sent the allegations to Quinn’s office, which will investigate the medical care and oversight IHSC provides at a time when President Donald Trump demonizes immigrants, detains them in record numbers, and enacts restrictive policies to keep them out of the US...
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hamedaleaziz/ice-immigrant-surgeries-deaths...
* 10 p. March 20 memorandum signed by Cameron Quinn, DHS’s officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, and sent to top ICE leadership https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6575024-ICE-Whistleblower-Report.html
62John5918
Woman charged for running over teen 'because she was Mexican' (BBC)
A woman has been charged with attempted murder after telling police in Iowa that she deliberately drove into a girl because she appeared "Mexican". The victim, who is 14, sustained "numerous injuries" in the incident...
"Investigators determined that this incident was an intentional act, not an accident," Clive police said in a Thursday statement announcing the attempted murder charge... Police Chief Michael Venema said he was "shocked" by the suspect's admission. "Franklin told investigators that she ran the girl over because she was, in her words, 'a Mexican'," Chief Venema said. "She went on to make a number of derogatory statements about Latinos to our investigators"...
A woman has been charged with attempted murder after telling police in Iowa that she deliberately drove into a girl because she appeared "Mexican". The victim, who is 14, sustained "numerous injuries" in the incident...
"Investigators determined that this incident was an intentional act, not an accident," Clive police said in a Thursday statement announcing the attempted murder charge... Police Chief Michael Venema said he was "shocked" by the suspect's admission. "Franklin told investigators that she ran the girl over because she was, in her words, 'a Mexican'," Chief Venema said. "She went on to make a number of derogatory statements about Latinos to our investigators"...
63margd
Our tax dollars at work :(
Lawyers say border agents keep writing false addresses on migrant papers, undermining asylum cases
Julia Ainsley | Dec. 19, 2019
Lawyers for migrants are filing a Supreme Court brief saying El Paso border agents are undermining asylum cases by using false addresses on migrant papers.
...Eighteen examples of migrants whose forms note their address as Casa del Migrante, a shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, that they have never visited, are included in an amicus brief the lawyers plan to file to the Supreme Court next week, NBC News has learned. One lawyer told NBC News that he knew of hundreds of migrants who had that address on their papers and that few had ever been to the shelter.
The brief will urge the justices to consider the legality of the Trump administration policy known as "Remain in Mexico," which has left over 60,000 Central Americans in dangerous conditions as they wait in Mexico for what could become years for entrance to the United States...
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/lawyers-say-border-agents-keep-writ...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under secret Stephen Miller plan, ICE to use data on migrant children to expand deportation efforts
Nick Miroff | Dec. 20, 2019
The White House sought this month to embed immigration enforcement agents within the U.S. refugee agency that cares for unaccompanied migrant children, part of a long-standing effort to use information from their parents and relatives to target them for deportation...
Though senior officials at the Department of Health and Human Services rejected the attempt, they agreed to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to collect fingerprints and other biometric information from adults seeking to claim migrant children at government shelters. If those adults are deemed ineligible to take custody of children, ICE could then use their information to target them for arrest and deportation.
The arrangement appears to circumvent laws that restrict the use of the refugee program for deportation enforcement; Congress has made clear that it does not want those who come forward as potential sponsors of minors in U.S. custody to be frightened away by possible deportation. But, in the reasoning of senior Trump administration officials, adults denied custody of children lose their status as “potential sponsors” and are fair game for arrest...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/under-secret-stephen-miller-plan-ice-...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pregnant women seeking asylum in peril after ‘remain in Mexico’ policy: Part 1 (10 min video)
December 17, 2019, 11:38 PM EST
“Nightline” speaks to a desperate mother-to-be who must stay in Mexico until her asylum hearing, due to the new policy. She’s among thousands of migrants forced to live in camps overrun by cartels.
https://news.yahoo.com/pregnant-women-seeking-asylum-peril-043857045.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rachel McGonagill @RachelMcGonagi1 | 8:29 PM · Dec 20, 2019
MPP (Migrant Protection Protocols = "remain in Mexico) UPDATE: You Ain't Seen Nothin Yet Edition
You thought you'd seen cruelty? Insane policy run amok?
Think no one would be cruel and insane enough to separate 3 young Venezuelan children from their mother and send them back to Mexico all alone?
Wrong!
Quote Tweet
Immigrant Defenders @ImmDef | 5:45 PM · Dec 20, 2019
BREAKING: An 8 y/o boy & his twin 4 y/o sisters are facing potential separation from their mother at the #migrantpersecutionprotocols tent court in Laredo. ImmDef is in touch w/ their atty, Jorge Trevino from @TrevinoLawFirm, who represented them via video from San Antonio today.
Immigration Judge Tijerino granted their asylum-seeking mother “withholding of removal” finding that there is a 50% or higher chance she will be persecuted because of her political opinions if sent back to Venezuela. HE THEN DENIED THE CHILDREN’S APPLICATIONS.
This means that these children, 5 days before Xmas, face being sent back to Mexico alone while appeal is decided. Their dad, a US legal permanent resident, is currently racing from San Antonio to Laredo fearful that his small children could be sent back to Mexico by themselves.
The IJ, while issuing the decision, pointed out that b/c of many recent policy changes he thinks these split decisions will be more common. This is yet another new way CBP and @DHSgov has found to separate families at our border. This is not justice. This is cruel and horrific.
The atty just sent a colleague to the POE in Laredo to inquire as to the status of the children and what is going to happen. CBP
said they don’t know what will happen to them and told him to leave. This is not justice. This is what it looks like when the rule of law is failing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lawyers say border agents keep writing false addresses on migrant papers, undermining asylum cases
Julia Ainsley | Dec. 19, 2019
Lawyers for migrants are filing a Supreme Court brief saying El Paso border agents are undermining asylum cases by using false addresses on migrant papers.
...Eighteen examples of migrants whose forms note their address as Casa del Migrante, a shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, that they have never visited, are included in an amicus brief the lawyers plan to file to the Supreme Court next week, NBC News has learned. One lawyer told NBC News that he knew of hundreds of migrants who had that address on their papers and that few had ever been to the shelter.
The brief will urge the justices to consider the legality of the Trump administration policy known as "Remain in Mexico," which has left over 60,000 Central Americans in dangerous conditions as they wait in Mexico for what could become years for entrance to the United States...
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/lawyers-say-border-agents-keep-writ...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under secret Stephen Miller plan, ICE to use data on migrant children to expand deportation efforts
Nick Miroff | Dec. 20, 2019
The White House sought this month to embed immigration enforcement agents within the U.S. refugee agency that cares for unaccompanied migrant children, part of a long-standing effort to use information from their parents and relatives to target them for deportation...
Though senior officials at the Department of Health and Human Services rejected the attempt, they agreed to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to collect fingerprints and other biometric information from adults seeking to claim migrant children at government shelters. If those adults are deemed ineligible to take custody of children, ICE could then use their information to target them for arrest and deportation.
The arrangement appears to circumvent laws that restrict the use of the refugee program for deportation enforcement; Congress has made clear that it does not want those who come forward as potential sponsors of minors in U.S. custody to be frightened away by possible deportation. But, in the reasoning of senior Trump administration officials, adults denied custody of children lose their status as “potential sponsors” and are fair game for arrest...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/under-secret-stephen-miller-plan-ice-...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pregnant women seeking asylum in peril after ‘remain in Mexico’ policy: Part 1 (10 min video)
December 17, 2019, 11:38 PM EST
“Nightline” speaks to a desperate mother-to-be who must stay in Mexico until her asylum hearing, due to the new policy. She’s among thousands of migrants forced to live in camps overrun by cartels.
https://news.yahoo.com/pregnant-women-seeking-asylum-peril-043857045.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rachel McGonagill @RachelMcGonagi1 | 8:29 PM · Dec 20, 2019
MPP (Migrant Protection Protocols = "remain in Mexico) UPDATE: You Ain't Seen Nothin Yet Edition
You thought you'd seen cruelty? Insane policy run amok?
Think no one would be cruel and insane enough to separate 3 young Venezuelan children from their mother and send them back to Mexico all alone?
Wrong!
Quote Tweet
Immigrant Defenders @ImmDef | 5:45 PM · Dec 20, 2019
BREAKING: An 8 y/o boy & his twin 4 y/o sisters are facing potential separation from their mother at the #migrantpersecutionprotocols tent court in Laredo. ImmDef is in touch w/ their atty, Jorge Trevino from @TrevinoLawFirm, who represented them via video from San Antonio today.
Immigration Judge Tijerino granted their asylum-seeking mother “withholding of removal” finding that there is a 50% or higher chance she will be persecuted because of her political opinions if sent back to Venezuela. HE THEN DENIED THE CHILDREN’S APPLICATIONS.
This means that these children, 5 days before Xmas, face being sent back to Mexico alone while appeal is decided. Their dad, a US legal permanent resident, is currently racing from San Antonio to Laredo fearful that his small children could be sent back to Mexico by themselves.
The IJ, while issuing the decision, pointed out that b/c of many recent policy changes he thinks these split decisions will be more common. This is yet another new way CBP and @DHSgov has found to separate families at our border. This is not justice. This is cruel and horrific.
The atty just sent a colleague to the POE in Laredo to inquire as to the status of the children and what is going to happen. CBP
said they don’t know what will happen to them and told him to leave. This is not justice. This is what it looks like when the rule of law is failing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
64John5918
‘It is beyond cruel’: Ice refuses to reunite girl with the only family she has left (Guardian)
For more than nine months, María, 23, has been waiting in an immigration detention center in Arizona hoping to reunite with the six-year-old niece she raised as a daughter. When the two asked for asylum at the border last March because they feared for their lives in Guatemala, border officials detained María in the Eloy detention center and sent the girl to foster care in New York, 2400 miles away...
As the story spread, lawmakers and more than 200 clergy asked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) to grant María parole so she can leave detention and reunite with the girl. A woman in New York volunteered to house them both while María awaits a decision on her appeal for asylum.
But despite that public support, Ice denied María’s application for parole in mid-December.
Parole was once the norm for arriving asylum seekers, but in recent years approvals have become increasingly rare. On a standardized form, Ice officers indicated María failed to prove she was “not a flight risk” or that her “continued detention was not in the public interest”...
For more than nine months, María, 23, has been waiting in an immigration detention center in Arizona hoping to reunite with the six-year-old niece she raised as a daughter. When the two asked for asylum at the border last March because they feared for their lives in Guatemala, border officials detained María in the Eloy detention center and sent the girl to foster care in New York, 2400 miles away...
As the story spread, lawmakers and more than 200 clergy asked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) to grant María parole so she can leave detention and reunite with the girl. A woman in New York volunteered to house them both while María awaits a decision on her appeal for asylum.
But despite that public support, Ice denied María’s application for parole in mid-December.
Parole was once the norm for arriving asylum seekers, but in recent years approvals have become increasingly rare. On a standardized form, Ice officers indicated María failed to prove she was “not a flight risk” or that her “continued detention was not in the public interest”...
65margd
ICE reopening long-closed deportation cases against Dreamers
Bob Ortega | December 21, 2019
...in an escalation of its pursuit of undocumented immigrants, the Trump administration is moving to deport members of the very group that seemed until a few years ago the most protected: DACA recipients.
ICE has begun asking immigration courts to reopen administratively closed deportation cases against DACA recipients who continue to have no criminal record, or only a minor record. Immigration attorneys in Arizona confirmed at least 14 such cases being reopened since October, and CNN also found DACA recipients whose cases recently were reopened in Nevada and Missouri.
And that is just the beginning. ICE confirmed to CNN that all DACA recipients whose deportation cases have been administratively closed can expect to see them reopened. In an email, the agency stated that "re-calendaring of administratively closed cases is occurring nationwide and not isolated to a particular state or region."
Administratively closing a case removes it from the court calendar, in effect putting it on hold indefinitely. Immigration courts are part of the Department of Justice, unlike civil or criminal courts.
The move to reopen deportation cases against Dreamers comes as the US Supreme Court considers whether to let the Trump administration end the program — and during oral arguments in November, at least some justices made it clear that they were accepting the president's assurances that ending DACA would not mean deporting Dreamers.
But immigration attorneys say the cases they are now seeing reopened show how ICE is preparing to deport DACA recipients if the Supreme Court ruling terminates the program (June)...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/21/us/ice-reopening-dreamer-deportation-cases-invs/i...
Bob Ortega | December 21, 2019
...in an escalation of its pursuit of undocumented immigrants, the Trump administration is moving to deport members of the very group that seemed until a few years ago the most protected: DACA recipients.
ICE has begun asking immigration courts to reopen administratively closed deportation cases against DACA recipients who continue to have no criminal record, or only a minor record. Immigration attorneys in Arizona confirmed at least 14 such cases being reopened since October, and CNN also found DACA recipients whose cases recently were reopened in Nevada and Missouri.
And that is just the beginning. ICE confirmed to CNN that all DACA recipients whose deportation cases have been administratively closed can expect to see them reopened. In an email, the agency stated that "re-calendaring of administratively closed cases is occurring nationwide and not isolated to a particular state or region."
Administratively closing a case removes it from the court calendar, in effect putting it on hold indefinitely. Immigration courts are part of the Department of Justice, unlike civil or criminal courts.
The move to reopen deportation cases against Dreamers comes as the US Supreme Court considers whether to let the Trump administration end the program — and during oral arguments in November, at least some justices made it clear that they were accepting the president's assurances that ending DACA would not mean deporting Dreamers.
But immigration attorneys say the cases they are now seeing reopened show how ICE is preparing to deport DACA recipients if the Supreme Court ruling terminates the program (June)...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/21/us/ice-reopening-dreamer-deportation-cases-invs/i...
66John5918
Border walls could have unintended consequences on trade, study finds (Phys Org)
Three decades ago, the world was home to fewer than a dozen border walls. Now, their numbers have swelled to more than 50. In a supposed era of openness and collaboration, why are these structures not only persisting, but proliferating?
According to research co-authored by a University of Chicago political scientist, border walls exist not only as manifestations of anti-globalist sentiment, but as barriers with real economic impact—some of which may be unintended.
"Border walls are a symbol of the backlash against economic integration and globalization," said Assoc. Prof. Paul Poast, who studies international security using rigorous quantitative analysis. "Many argue that such backlash is what led to Brexit and to Donald Trump's election. What our study indicates is that walls also produce material consequences, reducing legal trade as well as illicit activity"...
Three decades ago, the world was home to fewer than a dozen border walls. Now, their numbers have swelled to more than 50. In a supposed era of openness and collaboration, why are these structures not only persisting, but proliferating?
According to research co-authored by a University of Chicago political scientist, border walls exist not only as manifestations of anti-globalist sentiment, but as barriers with real economic impact—some of which may be unintended.
"Border walls are a symbol of the backlash against economic integration and globalization," said Assoc. Prof. Paul Poast, who studies international security using rigorous quantitative analysis. "Many argue that such backlash is what led to Brexit and to Donald Trump's election. What our study indicates is that walls also produce material consequences, reducing legal trade as well as illicit activity"...
67margd
Border stops for people of Iranian descent spark outrage
LAUREN GARDNER, DANIEL LIPPMAN and ANDY BLATCHFORD | 01/05/2020
The reaction to the detentions at a Canadian crossing and a New York airport came after the U.S. killing of an Iranian military commander.
CBP agents
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/05/reports-detaining-iranian-descent-backl...
LAUREN GARDNER, DANIEL LIPPMAN and ANDY BLATCHFORD | 01/05/2020
The reaction to the detentions at a Canadian crossing and a New York airport came after the U.S. killing of an Iranian military commander.
CBP agents
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/05/reports-detaining-iranian-descent-backl...
682wonderY
PBS Frontline interviewed a Border Patrol Agent:
A Border Patrol agent who separated migrant families says it was 'the most horrible thing I've ever done'
Wesley Farris, identified by "Frontline" as a high-ranking officer with El Paso's Border Patrol union, said his fellow agents similarly disliked the orders to separate the families. He said he didn't raise his concerns with the policy up the chain of command, but that he wanted to.
"I had to separate children from their parents … You can't help but see your own kids," he said. "None of us were happy about it. But everyone around me was just doing exactly what we all were told to do this."
Farris said the breaking point for him came when he separated a two-year-old boy from his family. He said he refused to do it again after seeing the child's devastation.
"The world was upside down to that kid. So when the contractor tried to take him away, he reached for me. He climbed up on me again and he was holding onto me. So that one got me a little bit. That was tough," Farris said.
He continued: "I said at that one, 'I'm not doing this anymore. I won't do it.' I went back to my supervisor and I told him, 'Don't assign me to do that anymore.'"
The clip of Farris' comments was published Tuesday as part of the documentary "Targeting El Paso."
A Border Patrol agent who separated migrant families says it was 'the most horrible thing I've ever done'
Wesley Farris, identified by "Frontline" as a high-ranking officer with El Paso's Border Patrol union, said his fellow agents similarly disliked the orders to separate the families. He said he didn't raise his concerns with the policy up the chain of command, but that he wanted to.
"I had to separate children from their parents … You can't help but see your own kids," he said. "None of us were happy about it. But everyone around me was just doing exactly what we all were told to do this."
Farris said the breaking point for him came when he separated a two-year-old boy from his family. He said he refused to do it again after seeing the child's devastation.
"The world was upside down to that kid. So when the contractor tried to take him away, he reached for me. He climbed up on me again and he was holding onto me. So that one got me a little bit. That was tough," Farris said.
He continued: "I said at that one, 'I'm not doing this anymore. I won't do it.' I went back to my supervisor and I told him, 'Don't assign me to do that anymore.'"
The clip of Farris' comments was published Tuesday as part of the documentary "Targeting El Paso."
69margd
Federal appeals court upholds bar on Trump's public charge rule
Daniella Silva | Jan. 8, 2020
...In a short order issued Wednesday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan denied the Trump administration's attempt to lift a nationwide injunction barring the "public charge" rule (a policy that would make it far easier for the government to deny legal status to immigrants whose families use or are deemed likely to use publicly funded programs) from being implemented.
....The Department of Homeland Security previously defined "public charge" as someone who depended on cash assistance or government-funded long-term institutional care. The new rule expands the definition to include additional benefits such as food stamps, non-emergency Medicaid, certain prescription drug subsidies and housing vouchers.
And the rule would now define public charge as any immigrant household that uses — or is deemed likely to use at some point — one public benefit for 12 months during a 36-month period. Receipt of two public benefits in one month counts as two months, the rule noted.
Once labeled a "public charge," immigrants could be denied green cards, visas and other forms of legal immigration status.
...Wednesday's order by the three-judge panel set an expedited schedule for the government's appeal, with the last briefs due Feb. 14. Oral arguments will be scheduled shortly afterward, the court said in the order.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/federal-appeals-court-upholds-bar-trump-s-pu...
_______________________________________________________________________
So Trump can continue taking land for his wall, leaving no money left for military infrastructure should he lose appeals?
Appeals court allows use of $3.6 billion in military funds for border wall
Priscilla Alvarez and Paul LeBlanc | January 9, 2020
(CNN)A federal appeals court allowed the administration to use a certain set of Defense Department funds for the construction of the border wall after a lower court blocked the administration from dipping into them last month.
The ruling marks a victory for President Donald Trump, who has sought to shore up funds for his signature border wall. The money is separate from other funds that the Supreme Court allowed to be used last year.
...In a 2-1 ruling, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of a Texas judge's order (blocking the administration from using a certain set of Defense Department funds for the construction of the border wall) which the administration had appealed. The case is still ongoing.
...Last September, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper authorized diverting $3.6 billion in the construction funds for 11 wall projects on the southern border with Mexico. The Pentagon said at the time that half the money was coming from deferred projects overseas, and the other half was planned for projects in the US.
...The lawsuit, brought by El Paso County, Texas, and Border Network for Human Rights, argued that Trump overstepped his authority when he issued a national emergency declaration to gain access to additional funds for his border wall, despite receiving the $1.375 billion from Congress.
... "a court has already determined that the government can't lawfully use military construction funds to build Trump's border wall...It's unfortunate that the people of El Paso will continue to suffer harm while the government appeals, but we're confident that we'll prevail again in this next stage of litigation," (Kristy Parker, counsel at the nonpartisan nonprofit Protect Democracy) said.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/08/politics/appeals-court-trump-administration-borde...
Daniella Silva | Jan. 8, 2020
...In a short order issued Wednesday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan denied the Trump administration's attempt to lift a nationwide injunction barring the "public charge" rule (a policy that would make it far easier for the government to deny legal status to immigrants whose families use or are deemed likely to use publicly funded programs) from being implemented.
....The Department of Homeland Security previously defined "public charge" as someone who depended on cash assistance or government-funded long-term institutional care. The new rule expands the definition to include additional benefits such as food stamps, non-emergency Medicaid, certain prescription drug subsidies and housing vouchers.
And the rule would now define public charge as any immigrant household that uses — or is deemed likely to use at some point — one public benefit for 12 months during a 36-month period. Receipt of two public benefits in one month counts as two months, the rule noted.
Once labeled a "public charge," immigrants could be denied green cards, visas and other forms of legal immigration status.
...Wednesday's order by the three-judge panel set an expedited schedule for the government's appeal, with the last briefs due Feb. 14. Oral arguments will be scheduled shortly afterward, the court said in the order.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/federal-appeals-court-upholds-bar-trump-s-pu...
_______________________________________________________________________
So Trump can continue taking land for his wall, leaving no money left for military infrastructure should he lose appeals?
Appeals court allows use of $3.6 billion in military funds for border wall
Priscilla Alvarez and Paul LeBlanc | January 9, 2020
(CNN)A federal appeals court allowed the administration to use a certain set of Defense Department funds for the construction of the border wall after a lower court blocked the administration from dipping into them last month.
The ruling marks a victory for President Donald Trump, who has sought to shore up funds for his signature border wall. The money is separate from other funds that the Supreme Court allowed to be used last year.
...In a 2-1 ruling, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of a Texas judge's order (blocking the administration from using a certain set of Defense Department funds for the construction of the border wall) which the administration had appealed. The case is still ongoing.
...Last September, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper authorized diverting $3.6 billion in the construction funds for 11 wall projects on the southern border with Mexico. The Pentagon said at the time that half the money was coming from deferred projects overseas, and the other half was planned for projects in the US.
...The lawsuit, brought by El Paso County, Texas, and Border Network for Human Rights, argued that Trump overstepped his authority when he issued a national emergency declaration to gain access to additional funds for his border wall, despite receiving the $1.375 billion from Congress.
... "a court has already determined that the government can't lawfully use military construction funds to build Trump's border wall...It's unfortunate that the people of El Paso will continue to suffer harm while the government appeals, but we're confident that we'll prevail again in this next stage of litigation," (Kristy Parker, counsel at the nonpartisan nonprofit Protect Democracy) said.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/08/politics/appeals-court-trump-administration-borde...
70John5918
This piece from the Guardian is about the UK, not the USA, but the principle that separating refugee children from their families is "a flagrant breach of international law and... causing irreversible harm to children" applies equally to the USA.
Government urged to reunite child refugees with families
UK ‘deliberately’ separating families in flagrant breach of international law
Government urged to reunite child refugees with families
UK ‘deliberately’ separating families in flagrant breach of international law
71John5918
Texas governor to reject new refugees under Trump order (BBC)
The Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has said the state will not accept new refugees under the US government's resettlement programme. The decision means Texas will become the first state known to do so...
The Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has said the state will not accept new refugees under the US government's resettlement programme. The decision means Texas will become the first state known to do so...
72margd
The U.S. is putting asylum seekers on planes to Guatemala — often without telling them where they’re going
Kevin Sieff | Jan. 13, 2020
GUATEMALA CITY — The chartered U.S. government flights land here every day or two, depositing Honduran and Salvadoran asylum seekers from the U.S. border. Many arrive with the same question: “Where are we?”
For the first time ever, the United States is shipping asylum seekers who arrive at its border to a so-called safe third country to seek refuge there. The Trump administration hopes the program will serve as a model for others in the region.
But during its first weeks, asylum seekers and human rights advocates say, migrants have been put on planes without being told where they were headed, and dumped here without being given basic information about what to do next.
When the migrants land in Guatemala City, they’re given little information about what it means to apply for asylum in one of the hemisphere’s poorest countries. Those who don’t immediately apply are told to leave the country in 72 hours. The form is labeled “Voluntary Return.”...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/the-us-is-putting-asylum-seeke...
Kevin Sieff | Jan. 13, 2020
GUATEMALA CITY — The chartered U.S. government flights land here every day or two, depositing Honduran and Salvadoran asylum seekers from the U.S. border. Many arrive with the same question: “Where are we?”
For the first time ever, the United States is shipping asylum seekers who arrive at its border to a so-called safe third country to seek refuge there. The Trump administration hopes the program will serve as a model for others in the region.
But during its first weeks, asylum seekers and human rights advocates say, migrants have been put on planes without being told where they were headed, and dumped here without being given basic information about what to do next.
When the migrants land in Guatemala City, they’re given little information about what it means to apply for asylum in one of the hemisphere’s poorest countries. Those who don’t immediately apply are told to leave the country in 72 hours. The form is labeled “Voluntary Return.”...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/the-us-is-putting-asylum-seeke...
73John5918
Hundreds of Hondurans set out for US border: ‘Little difference if you die here or there’ (Guardian)
This headline highlights the desperation of these refugees. "We aren’t living here, we’re just surviving... So it doesn’t make much difference if you die there or die here.”
This headline highlights the desperation of these refugees. "We aren’t living here, we’re just surviving... So it doesn’t make much difference if you die there or die here.”
74John5918
African migrants fall foul of US, Mexico policy changes (The New Humanitarian)
75margd
Holly Cooper (UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic) #FreeLiyah @abogadatejana | 9:16 AM · Jan 15, 2020:
Twelve immigration courts accumulated denial rates above 90%.
This included Jena, a small court with two judges,
where 99 percent of 397 asylum applications - and 100 percent of Judge Crooks' 226 cases - were denied.
It also included larger courts: Atlanta denied over 97 percent.
Twelve immigration courts accumulated denial rates above 90%.
This included Jena, a small court with two judges,
where 99 percent of 397 asylum applications - and 100 percent of Judge Crooks' 226 cases - were denied.
It also included larger courts: Atlanta denied over 97 percent.
76John5918
Uganda Most Hospitable for Refugees, Hosts Most Displaced in the Region (ACI Africa)
While "crafting immigration policy in America", the richest country in the world could learn some lessons from one of the poorest countries in the world...
While "crafting immigration policy in America", the richest country in the world could learn some lessons from one of the poorest countries in the world...
77margd
‘Demeaned and Humiliated’: What Happened to These Iranians at U.S. Airports
Caleb Hampton and Caitlin Dickerson | Jan. 25, 2020
Since August, at least 16 Iranian students have been turned away at airports, losing their chances to study at prestigious universities, amid new tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
...The State Department approved them for entry into the United States after a notoriously grueling, monthslong vetting process and issued them visas to come to the United States.
But when the students reached American airports, Customs and Border Protection officers disagreed and sent them home, some with a five-year ban on reapplying to return to the United States.
Most say they were not told why they were deemed “inadmissible” — a broad label that customs officers have wide discretion to apply. What the students do know is that, at a time of rising diplomatic tensions between the United States and Iran, their plans for the future seem to have evaporated...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/25/us/iran-students-deported-border.html
Caleb Hampton and Caitlin Dickerson | Jan. 25, 2020
Since August, at least 16 Iranian students have been turned away at airports, losing their chances to study at prestigious universities, amid new tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
...The State Department approved them for entry into the United States after a notoriously grueling, monthslong vetting process and issued them visas to come to the United States.
But when the students reached American airports, Customs and Border Protection officers disagreed and sent them home, some with a five-year ban on reapplying to return to the United States.
Most say they were not told why they were deemed “inadmissible” — a broad label that customs officers have wide discretion to apply. What the students do know is that, at a time of rising diplomatic tensions between the United States and Iran, their plans for the future seem to have evaporated...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/25/us/iran-students-deported-border.html
78margd
Greg Stohr @GregStohr | 1:26 PM · Jan 27, 2020:
BREAKING: On 5-4 vote, Supreme Court lets Trump administration start enforcing new immigrant wealth test,
designed to screen out green card applicants seen as being at risk of becoming "public charges".
BREAKING: On 5-4 vote, Supreme Court lets Trump administration start enforcing new immigrant wealth test,
designed to screen out green card applicants seen as being at risk of becoming "public charges".
79John5918
British man dies in US immigration detention in Florida (Guardian)
Death of man, 39, initially attributed to hanging
It is time to change the definition of refugee (Al Jazeera)
Climate change is an existential threat to humanity and as such, should be included in legislation on asylum seeking...
Death of man, 39, initially attributed to hanging
It is time to change the definition of refugee (Al Jazeera)
Climate change is an existential threat to humanity and as such, should be included in legislation on asylum seeking...
80margd
>78 margd: contd. Just a stay--not yet a ruling on proposed immigrant wealth test?
(My impression from reading a few cases in both countries: I think Cdn Supreme Court tends to give general directions, which shape government regulations, whereas US courts tend to give explicitly detailed directives, an approach that USSC apparently just confirmed? Cdn opinions are much easier to read, but US are much easier to hold accountable on X point? US approach can result in rickety infrastructure accumulating over the years, though?)
Gorsuch Torches ‘Cosmic’ Injunctions
WSJ Editorial Board | Jan. 27, 2020
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday to grant the Trump Administration’s request to stay a preliminary injunction against its “public charge” rule for immigrants. The order says nothing about the merits of the regulation that requires immigrants to show they won’t become dependent on taxpayer aid. Its real import is the way Justice Neil Gorsuch puts a torch to the proliferation of universal injunctions by the lower courts.
His concurrence, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, is a much-needed rebuke to what he calls “the increasingly common practice of trial courts ordering relief that transcends the cases before them. Whether framed as injunctions of ‘nationwide,’ ‘universal,’ or ‘cosmic’ scope, these orders share the same basic flaw—they direct how the defendant must act toward persons who are not parties to the case.”
...these have become rife in the last three years as judges seek to block Trump policy even at the risk of being overturned on appeal. (Gorsuch) lays out the many legal, and practical, problems with rule-by-injunction. “By their nature, universal injunctions tend to force judges into making rushed, high-stakes, low-information decisions”...
They encourage forum shopping as plaintiffs file suit in several of the 94 federal district courts and 12 appellate courts to stop a policy...
The lower courts will consider the merits of the “public charge” rule, which we have criticized and which the Supreme Court may eventually. Meanwhile, the Court’s broadside against lower-court mayhem is an important judicial moment.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/gorsuch-torches-cosmic-injunctions-11580170918
(My impression from reading a few cases in both countries: I think Cdn Supreme Court tends to give general directions, which shape government regulations, whereas US courts tend to give explicitly detailed directives, an approach that USSC apparently just confirmed? Cdn opinions are much easier to read, but US are much easier to hold accountable on X point? US approach can result in rickety infrastructure accumulating over the years, though?)
Gorsuch Torches ‘Cosmic’ Injunctions
WSJ Editorial Board | Jan. 27, 2020
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday to grant the Trump Administration’s request to stay a preliminary injunction against its “public charge” rule for immigrants. The order says nothing about the merits of the regulation that requires immigrants to show they won’t become dependent on taxpayer aid. Its real import is the way Justice Neil Gorsuch puts a torch to the proliferation of universal injunctions by the lower courts.
His concurrence, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, is a much-needed rebuke to what he calls “the increasingly common practice of trial courts ordering relief that transcends the cases before them. Whether framed as injunctions of ‘nationwide,’ ‘universal,’ or ‘cosmic’ scope, these orders share the same basic flaw—they direct how the defendant must act toward persons who are not parties to the case.”
...these have become rife in the last three years as judges seek to block Trump policy even at the risk of being overturned on appeal. (Gorsuch) lays out the many legal, and practical, problems with rule-by-injunction. “By their nature, universal injunctions tend to force judges into making rushed, high-stakes, low-information decisions”...
They encourage forum shopping as plaintiffs file suit in several of the 94 federal district courts and 12 appellate courts to stop a policy...
The lower courts will consider the merits of the “public charge” rule, which we have criticized and which the Supreme Court may eventually. Meanwhile, the Court’s broadside against lower-court mayhem is an important judicial moment.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/gorsuch-torches-cosmic-injunctions-11580170918
81margd
Opinion | Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda isn’t about rule of law or economics at all
Catherine Rampell | Jan. 30, 2020
...the Supreme Court allowed the administration to begin implementing...rule says government officials can deny green cards or other visas to an immigrant if they suspect that someday — literally “at any time” in the future — the immigrant might use safety-net programs such as food stamps and Medicaid...government bureaucrats enormous discretion...nearly half of the U.S. noncitizen population...rule look(s) an awful lot like a backdoor attempt to slash legal immigration levels without consent from Congress.
...the foreign-born actually use fewer benefits than Americans born here. As a result, immigrants are net contributors to the U.S. economy: They pay more in federal taxes than they receive in services. Their children are also “among the strongest economic and fiscal contributors in the U.S. population, contributing more in taxes than either their parents or the rest of the native-born population,” according to a 2017 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
...Through two other recently proposed rules, the Trump administration is trying to delay or ban asylum applicants from receiving work permits while they wait for their cases to be adjudicated...desperate people fleeing persecution and violence could be prevented from holding down a job for years while their cases wend through the courts.
What’s more, those who already have work permits could have them stripped when applying for renewal if they entered the country between ports of entry — as is the case for most asylum-seeking families.
...if a high-skilled immigrant who initially came here on an employment-based visa gets stuck in the queue for a green card, their spouse can get a job while they wait, but the administration is currently developing a rule that would prohibit the spouse from working.
...skyrocketing visa denial rates for high-skilled immigrants...foreign students studying in the United States (restricted) from staying and working here after graduation.
The Trump administration claims it wants immigrants to come here legally — then closes off every available avenue for legal immigration. It claims it wants immigrants to support themselves — then forbids them from doing so.
Hmm. It’s almost as if Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda isn’t about rule of law or economics at all.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-anti-immigrant-agenda-isnt-about-...
Catherine Rampell | Jan. 30, 2020
...the Supreme Court allowed the administration to begin implementing...rule says government officials can deny green cards or other visas to an immigrant if they suspect that someday — literally “at any time” in the future — the immigrant might use safety-net programs such as food stamps and Medicaid...government bureaucrats enormous discretion...nearly half of the U.S. noncitizen population...rule look(s) an awful lot like a backdoor attempt to slash legal immigration levels without consent from Congress.
...the foreign-born actually use fewer benefits than Americans born here. As a result, immigrants are net contributors to the U.S. economy: They pay more in federal taxes than they receive in services. Their children are also “among the strongest economic and fiscal contributors in the U.S. population, contributing more in taxes than either their parents or the rest of the native-born population,” according to a 2017 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
...Through two other recently proposed rules, the Trump administration is trying to delay or ban asylum applicants from receiving work permits while they wait for their cases to be adjudicated...desperate people fleeing persecution and violence could be prevented from holding down a job for years while their cases wend through the courts.
What’s more, those who already have work permits could have them stripped when applying for renewal if they entered the country between ports of entry — as is the case for most asylum-seeking families.
...if a high-skilled immigrant who initially came here on an employment-based visa gets stuck in the queue for a green card, their spouse can get a job while they wait, but the administration is currently developing a rule that would prohibit the spouse from working.
...skyrocketing visa denial rates for high-skilled immigrants...foreign students studying in the United States (restricted) from staying and working here after graduation.
The Trump administration claims it wants immigrants to come here legally — then closes off every available avenue for legal immigration. It claims it wants immigrants to support themselves — then forbids them from doing so.
Hmm. It’s almost as if Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda isn’t about rule of law or economics at all.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-anti-immigrant-agenda-isnt-about-...
82John5918
The number of Iranian students turned back at US airports is growing. And universities are worried (CNN)
They left Iran with valid visas in hand. But hours after landing in the US, they were forced to turn back on flights they never expected to take.
From Massachusetts to Michigan, reports are on the rise of authorities detaining and deporting Iranian students at US airports...
For the students, it's devastating. For immigrant rights advocates, it's a troubling pattern emerging as tensions run high between the US and Iran. And for American universities hoping to convince the world's top students to study in their classrooms, it's causing concern...
They left Iran with valid visas in hand. But hours after landing in the US, they were forced to turn back on flights they never expected to take.
From Massachusetts to Michigan, reports are on the rise of authorities detaining and deporting Iranian students at US airports...
For the students, it's devastating. For immigrant rights advocates, it's a troubling pattern emerging as tensions run high between the US and Iran. And for American universities hoping to convince the world's top students to study in their classrooms, it's causing concern...
83margd
Trump’s border wall, vulnerable to flash floods, needs large storm gates left open for months
Nick Miroff | January 30, 2020
Debris is caught against closed floodgates on border fencing Jan. 7 in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Lukeville, Ariz. Such floodgates need to be left open during the summer. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)
NACO, Ariz. — President Trump’s border wall probably will require the installation of hundreds of storm gates to prevent flash floods from undermining or knocking it over, gates that must be left open for months every summer during “monsoon season” in the desert, according to U.S. border officials, agents and engineers familiar with the plans.
The open, unmanned gates in remote areas already have allowed for the easy entry of smugglers and migrants into the United States.
At locations along the U.S. southern border where such gates already are in operation, Border Patrol agents must manually raise them every year before the arrival of the summer thunderstorms that convert riverbeds into raging torrents that carry massive amounts of water and debris, including sediment, rocks, tree limbs and vegetation. Trump’s wall, which features 30-foot metal bollards spaced four inches apart, effectively acts as a sewer grate that traps the debris; when clogged, the barriers cannot withstand the power of the runoff...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trumps-border-wall-vulnerable-to-flas...
_______________________________________________________________________
Portion of US border wall in California falls over in high winds and lands on Mexican side
Andy Rose and Paul LeBlanc | January 29, 2020
(CNN)Newly installed panels from the US border wall fell over in high winds Wednesday, landing on trees on the Mexican side of the border.
The area is part of an ongoing construction project to improve existing sections of the wall.
Agent Carlos Pitones of the Customs and Border Protection sector in El Centro, California, told CNN that the sections that gave way had recently been set in a new concrete foundation in Calexico, California. The concrete had not yet cured, according to Pitones, and the wall panels were unable to withstand the windy conditions.
The National Weather Service reports that winds in the area gusted as high as 37 mph Wednesday. Video from CNN affiliate KYMA shows the metal panels leaning against trees adjacent to a Mexicali, Mexico, street as the wind whips up dirt from the construction site on the other side of the border...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trumps-border-wall-vulnerable-to-flas...
________________________________________________________________________
"What I am is a great builder. I build great things and become successful, and everybody talks about them."
- Donald Trump
"I will build a great wall and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and I'll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall".
- Donald Trump
________________________________________________________________________
ETA
Smugglers are sawing through new sections of Trump’s border wall
Nick Miroff | November 2, 2019
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/smugglers-are-sawing-through-new-section...
________________________________________________________________________
ETA
Longest Smuggling Tunnel Is Found at U.S.-Mexico Border
Elian Peltier | Jan. 30, 2020
The shaft ran for four-fifths of a mile between Tijuana and San Diego and was equipped with rails, ventilation, a drainage system and even an elevator...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/world/americas/tunnel-us-mexico-border.html
Nick Miroff | January 30, 2020
Debris is caught against closed floodgates on border fencing Jan. 7 in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Lukeville, Ariz. Such floodgates need to be left open during the summer. (Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)
NACO, Ariz. — President Trump’s border wall probably will require the installation of hundreds of storm gates to prevent flash floods from undermining or knocking it over, gates that must be left open for months every summer during “monsoon season” in the desert, according to U.S. border officials, agents and engineers familiar with the plans.
The open, unmanned gates in remote areas already have allowed for the easy entry of smugglers and migrants into the United States.
At locations along the U.S. southern border where such gates already are in operation, Border Patrol agents must manually raise them every year before the arrival of the summer thunderstorms that convert riverbeds into raging torrents that carry massive amounts of water and debris, including sediment, rocks, tree limbs and vegetation. Trump’s wall, which features 30-foot metal bollards spaced four inches apart, effectively acts as a sewer grate that traps the debris; when clogged, the barriers cannot withstand the power of the runoff...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trumps-border-wall-vulnerable-to-flas...
_______________________________________________________________________
Portion of US border wall in California falls over in high winds and lands on Mexican side
Andy Rose and Paul LeBlanc | January 29, 2020
(CNN)Newly installed panels from the US border wall fell over in high winds Wednesday, landing on trees on the Mexican side of the border.
The area is part of an ongoing construction project to improve existing sections of the wall.
Agent Carlos Pitones of the Customs and Border Protection sector in El Centro, California, told CNN that the sections that gave way had recently been set in a new concrete foundation in Calexico, California. The concrete had not yet cured, according to Pitones, and the wall panels were unable to withstand the windy conditions.
The National Weather Service reports that winds in the area gusted as high as 37 mph Wednesday. Video from CNN affiliate KYMA shows the metal panels leaning against trees adjacent to a Mexicali, Mexico, street as the wind whips up dirt from the construction site on the other side of the border...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trumps-border-wall-vulnerable-to-flas...
________________________________________________________________________
"What I am is a great builder. I build great things and become successful, and everybody talks about them."
- Donald Trump
"I will build a great wall and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and I'll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall".
- Donald Trump
________________________________________________________________________
ETA
Smugglers are sawing through new sections of Trump’s border wall
Nick Miroff | November 2, 2019
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/smugglers-are-sawing-through-new-section...
________________________________________________________________________
ETA
Longest Smuggling Tunnel Is Found at U.S.-Mexico Border
Elian Peltier | Jan. 30, 2020
The shaft ran for four-fifths of a mile between Tijuana and San Diego and was equipped with rails, ventilation, a drainage system and even an elevator...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/world/americas/tunnel-us-mexico-border.html
84John5918
US suspends diversity visas for Sudanese nationals under new travel ban (Middle East Eye)
Sudan and Tanzania will be barred from participating in the diversity visa lottery, while citizens from four other countries won't be allowed to apply for visas to immigrate to the US...
Sudan and Tanzania will be barred from participating in the diversity visa lottery, while citizens from four other countries won't be allowed to apply for visas to immigrate to the US...
85John5918
Coronavirus: China accuses US of causing paanic and 'spreading fear' (BBC)
The Chinese government has accused the US of causing "panic" in its response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak. It follows the US decision to declare a public health emergency and deny entry to foreign nationals who had visited China in the past two weeks...
The Chinese government has accused the US of causing "panic" in its response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak. It follows the US decision to declare a public health emergency and deny entry to foreign nationals who had visited China in the past two weeks...
86John5918
Nigeria Among Countries Caught in US Visa Ban (The Kenyan Wall Street)
Nigeria is among countries caught in the latest US visa ban suspending the issuance of visas that can lead to permanent residency. The new rules take effect on 21 February 2020. The extended immigration ban bars nationals from Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, and Tanzania. The ban bars Nigerians nationals from accessing immigrant visa that grants a path to permanent residency and possibly citizenship...
Trump ‘travel ban’ stirs more controversy (The New Humanitarian)
The president has expanded US entry restrictions to six new countries – all with substantial Muslim populations...
And two pieces published in the Rights in Exile newsletter for February 2020:
Non-refoulement under the Trump administration
DNA collection at the border threatens the prvacy of all Americans
Nigeria is among countries caught in the latest US visa ban suspending the issuance of visas that can lead to permanent residency. The new rules take effect on 21 February 2020. The extended immigration ban bars nationals from Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, and Tanzania. The ban bars Nigerians nationals from accessing immigrant visa that grants a path to permanent residency and possibly citizenship...
Trump ‘travel ban’ stirs more controversy (The New Humanitarian)
The president has expanded US entry restrictions to six new countries – all with substantial Muslim populations...
And two pieces published in the Rights in Exile newsletter for February 2020:
Non-refoulement under the Trump administration
DNA collection at the border threatens the prvacy of all Americans
87John5918
Iranian students with valid visas turned back at US borders (Al Jazeera)
A mad dash to collect documents, two overseas trips, a nerve-racking interview followed by months of anxious waiting. After securing admission to some of the world's most prestigious universities, this is the gruelling and costly process Iranian students go through to obtain a student visa to the United States.
But since August, at least 17 Iranian students have had their dream of studying in the US dashed after landing in US airports, valid visas in hand. They were instead sent home and most were given five-year bans on returning to the US, after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers deemed them "inadmissible", a label immigrant rights advocates say is broad and can be used at the customs officers' discretion.
Immigration lawyers said the trend began last year but has intensified in recent weeks...
A mad dash to collect documents, two overseas trips, a nerve-racking interview followed by months of anxious waiting. After securing admission to some of the world's most prestigious universities, this is the gruelling and costly process Iranian students go through to obtain a student visa to the United States.
But since August, at least 17 Iranian students have had their dream of studying in the US dashed after landing in US airports, valid visas in hand. They were instead sent home and most were given five-year bans on returning to the US, after Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers deemed them "inadmissible", a label immigrant rights advocates say is broad and can be used at the customs officers' discretion.
Immigration lawyers said the trend began last year but has intensified in recent weeks...
88John5918
Parents clash at school meeting on racism in Michigan (BBC)
One parent asked a Mexican parent, "Why didn't you stay in Mexico?"
One parent asked a Mexican parent, "Why didn't you stay in Mexico?"
892wonderY
People Keep Getting Killed in El Salvador After They're Deported From the U.S.
At least 138 people deported from the United States to El Salvador since 2013 have subsequently been murdered, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday.
Over 200,000 people were deported from the United States and Mexico to El Salvador between 2014 and 2018, according to the report. And although the level of violence due to gang activity has resulted in asylum recognition rates as high as 75 percent in other Central American countries, the U.S. granted asylum to just 18 percent of El Salvadorans who applied for it from 2014 to 2018, the report said.
In addition to the 138 confirmed cases of murder, the report also identified over 70 cases in which deportees were “subjected to sexual violence, torture, and other harm,” or who simply went missing when they returned to the country. Human Rights Watch stressed there was no official tally of those killed or injured, however, and said that the actual casualty toll is “likely greater.”
At least 138 people deported from the United States to El Salvador since 2013 have subsequently been murdered, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday.
Over 200,000 people were deported from the United States and Mexico to El Salvador between 2014 and 2018, according to the report. And although the level of violence due to gang activity has resulted in asylum recognition rates as high as 75 percent in other Central American countries, the U.S. granted asylum to just 18 percent of El Salvadorans who applied for it from 2014 to 2018, the report said.
In addition to the 138 confirmed cases of murder, the report also identified over 70 cases in which deportees were “subjected to sexual violence, torture, and other harm,” or who simply went missing when they returned to the country. Human Rights Watch stressed there was no official tally of those killed or injured, however, and said that the actual casualty toll is “likely greater.”
90John5918
Refugee resettlement flattens off (The New Humanitarian)
The United States has slashed the number of permanent places it offers refugees. Other countries aren’t filling the gap...
Trump's latest travel ban is an attack on Africans (CNN)
Last Friday, as the nation prepared to usher in the first day of Black History Month, President Donald Trump used his executive powers to issue a ban on visas for six countries, most of which are located in Africa -- immigrants from Nigeria, Myanmar, Eritrea and Kyrgyzstan will be banned, while citizens of Tanzania and Sudan will be ineligible to apply for the green card lottery... It seems ironic that while entering the month of February -- a month reserved for celebrating the contributions of black Americans to our country -- we are also confronted by an administration that is actively working to block black people traveling from Africa.
While the ban stokes baseless fear of immigrants in America, it is also stirring concern amongst migrant communities within the US and their loved ones around the globe...
Mali musician Ballake Sissoko claims US customs broke instrument (BBC)
Malian musician Ballake Sissoko claims his musical instrument was broken during a US customs check. Sissoko plays the kora, a traditional West African musical instrument similar to a harp. He says when he returned to Paris on 4 February following a US tour, he opened up the instrument's case to find it in pieces. Inside the case, there was a leaflet from US customs claiming they had opened the case for inspection...
"In Mali, the jihadists threaten to destroy musical instruments, cut the tongues out of singers, and silence Mali's great musical heritage. And yet, ironically, it is the USA customs that have in their own way managed to do this"...
The United States has slashed the number of permanent places it offers refugees. Other countries aren’t filling the gap...
Trump's latest travel ban is an attack on Africans (CNN)
Last Friday, as the nation prepared to usher in the first day of Black History Month, President Donald Trump used his executive powers to issue a ban on visas for six countries, most of which are located in Africa -- immigrants from Nigeria, Myanmar, Eritrea and Kyrgyzstan will be banned, while citizens of Tanzania and Sudan will be ineligible to apply for the green card lottery... It seems ironic that while entering the month of February -- a month reserved for celebrating the contributions of black Americans to our country -- we are also confronted by an administration that is actively working to block black people traveling from Africa.
While the ban stokes baseless fear of immigrants in America, it is also stirring concern amongst migrant communities within the US and their loved ones around the globe...
Mali musician Ballake Sissoko claims US customs broke instrument (BBC)
Malian musician Ballake Sissoko claims his musical instrument was broken during a US customs check. Sissoko plays the kora, a traditional West African musical instrument similar to a harp. He says when he returned to Paris on 4 February following a US tour, he opened up the instrument's case to find it in pieces. Inside the case, there was a leaflet from US customs claiming they had opened the case for inspection...
"In Mali, the jihadists threaten to destroy musical instruments, cut the tongues out of singers, and silence Mali's great musical heritage. And yet, ironically, it is the USA customs that have in their own way managed to do this"...
91margd
Exclusive: Customs and Border Protection Gains an Extra Layer of Secrecy
By gaining a “security agency” designation, the border police can further shield themselves from public view.
Ken Klippenstein | February 4, 2020
Under President Trump, US immigration authorities have pushed for extraordinary privileges and increased secrecy from the public.
On Friday, the Trump administration quietly designated the entire Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, which polices US borders, as a “Security Agency,” according to an internal memo obtained by The Nation. This follows repeated attempts by federal immigration authorities to dramatically expand their reach in recent years.
The memo, which was signed by CBP’s Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan and dated January 31, places CBP under the same designation as highly secretive intelligence and law enforcement agencies like the FBI and Secret Service. This grants CBP greater secrecy by exempting certain records from disclosure to the public...
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/cbp-security-agency/
By gaining a “security agency” designation, the border police can further shield themselves from public view.
Ken Klippenstein | February 4, 2020
Under President Trump, US immigration authorities have pushed for extraordinary privileges and increased secrecy from the public.
On Friday, the Trump administration quietly designated the entire Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, which polices US borders, as a “Security Agency,” according to an internal memo obtained by The Nation. This follows repeated attempts by federal immigration authorities to dramatically expand their reach in recent years.
The memo, which was signed by CBP’s Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan and dated January 31, places CBP under the same designation as highly secretive intelligence and law enforcement agencies like the FBI and Secret Service. This grants CBP greater secrecy by exempting certain records from disclosure to the public...
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/cbp-security-agency/
92John5918
ICE officer shoots man in face during US immigration operation (Al Jazeera)
Shooting comes amid an escalating dispute between the Trump administration, New York City over its sanctuary policies.
Shooting comes amid an escalating dispute between the Trump administration, New York City over its sanctuary policies.
93John5918
Trump travel ban extension leaves Africans angry and disappointed (Guardian)
New travel bans imposed by Donald Trump on four African countries have prompted anger, concern, disappointment and resignation on the continent.
The measures significantly restrict visas that could end with permanent residency in the US for Eritreans and Nigerians, and end so-called “diversity” migration visas from Tanzania and Sudan...
New travel bans imposed by Donald Trump on four African countries have prompted anger, concern, disappointment and resignation on the continent.
The measures significantly restrict visas that could end with permanent residency in the US for Eritreans and Nigerians, and end so-called “diversity” migration visas from Tanzania and Sudan...
94John5918
Never Mind “America First” — Trump’s Newly Expanded Immigration Ban Puts Americans Last (Just Security)
Once a country is placed on the blacklist — as Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania just were — the primary victims are not errant foreign governments, but U.S. citizens.
The new immigration ban expansion will prevent nearly all husbands, wives, children, parents, and siblings of U.S. citizens from moving to the United States and obtaining permanent residency (usually called having a “green card”). Green card holders already living here won’t be able to unite with their own husbands, wives, and young children, whose eligibility for permanent residency is otherwise uncontroversial. The other blocked immigration categories are would-be employees of U.S. companies (mostly from Nigeria) and families applying for Diversity Visas (mostly from Sudan).
There is no rational connection between the alleged national security risk and a policy of punishing U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and companies...
Once a country is placed on the blacklist — as Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania just were — the primary victims are not errant foreign governments, but U.S. citizens.
The new immigration ban expansion will prevent nearly all husbands, wives, children, parents, and siblings of U.S. citizens from moving to the United States and obtaining permanent residency (usually called having a “green card”). Green card holders already living here won’t be able to unite with their own husbands, wives, and young children, whose eligibility for permanent residency is otherwise uncontroversial. The other blocked immigration categories are would-be employees of U.S. companies (mostly from Nigeria) and families applying for Diversity Visas (mostly from Sudan).
There is no rational connection between the alleged national security risk and a policy of punishing U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and companies...
95John5918
Native burial sites blown up for US border wall (BBC)
Native American burial sites in Arizona have been blown up by construction crews building the US-Mexico border wall, according to lawmakers and tribal leaders...
"controlled blasting" has begun in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a Unesco recognised natural reserve.
Raul Grijalva, a Democrat congressman, called the destruction "sacrilegious".
The government failed to consult the Tohono O'odham Nation, he said.
Environmental groups also warn of the damage being done to the local underground aquifer, as well as to migrating wildlife...
Native American burial sites in Arizona have been blown up by construction crews building the US-Mexico border wall, according to lawmakers and tribal leaders...
"controlled blasting" has begun in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a Unesco recognised natural reserve.
Raul Grijalva, a Democrat congressman, called the destruction "sacrilegious".
The government failed to consult the Tohono O'odham Nation, he said.
Environmental groups also warn of the damage being done to the local underground aquifer, as well as to migrating wildlife...
96John5918
Michael Bloomberg unveils immigration plan including place-based visas (CNN)
Michael Bloomberg released his plan... to overhaul the nation's immigration system, promising to overturn several Trump administration policies and reform the visa system by allowing place-based visas that will allow regions of the country to address unmet economic and social needs.
In the plan, Bloomberg calls for ending "plans that run counter to American values," including the travel ban that was recently expanded, family separations at the border and building a wall along the US border with Mexico...
Michael Bloomberg released his plan... to overhaul the nation's immigration system, promising to overturn several Trump administration policies and reform the visa system by allowing place-based visas that will allow regions of the country to address unmet economic and social needs.
In the plan, Bloomberg calls for ending "plans that run counter to American values," including the travel ban that was recently expanded, family separations at the border and building a wall along the US border with Mexico...
97John5918
More than two-thirds of migrants fleeing Central American region had family taken or killed (Guardian)
More than two-thirds of the migrants fleeing Central America’s northern triangle countries – Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – experienced the murder, disappearance or kidnapping of a relative before their departure, according to a new study by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The MSF study said 42.5% of interviewees reported the violent death of a relative over the previous two years, while 16.2% had a relative forcibly disappeared and 9.2% had a loved one kidnapped...
More than two-thirds of the migrants fleeing Central America’s northern triangle countries – Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – experienced the murder, disappearance or kidnapping of a relative before their departure, according to a new study by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The MSF study said 42.5% of interviewees reported the violent death of a relative over the previous two years, while 16.2% had a relative forcibly disappeared and 9.2% had a loved one kidnapped...
98Molly3028
Are Trump and the GOPers purposely turning America into a Third
World country so that Mexicans, Central Americans and South
Americans decide they prefer to remain in their own countries
rather than moving up here?
World country so that Mexicans, Central Americans and South
Americans decide they prefer to remain in their own countries
rather than moving up here?
99John5918
US policy puts migrants at risk of kidnapping, extortion: MSF (Al Jazeera)
"Migrants are being perceived by organised crime around Mexico very often as a target for extortion. They're being seen as merchandise in a certain sense... Mexico is clearly not safe for migrants, and 'Remain in Mexico' makes matters only worse, much worse"...
Kidnappings
Under the "Remain in Mexico" policy, officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, the US returns asylum claimants to Mexico while their cases are processed. More than 60,000 predominantly Central American asylum seekers have been returned to Mexico since implementation began just over a year ago.
"What we are currently seeing is that migrants who are being returned to Mexico to await their court dates under this 'Remain in Mexico' programme are being presented to organised crime on a silver platter, really"...
"Migrants are being perceived by organised crime around Mexico very often as a target for extortion. They're being seen as merchandise in a certain sense... Mexico is clearly not safe for migrants, and 'Remain in Mexico' makes matters only worse, much worse"...
Kidnappings
Under the "Remain in Mexico" policy, officially known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, the US returns asylum claimants to Mexico while their cases are processed. More than 60,000 predominantly Central American asylum seekers have been returned to Mexico since implementation began just over a year ago.
"What we are currently seeing is that migrants who are being returned to Mexico to await their court dates under this 'Remain in Mexico' programme are being presented to organised crime on a silver platter, really"...
100margd
House committee votes to rescind Trump travel ban
REBECCA RAINEY | 02/12/2020
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted, 22-10, to terminate President Donald Trump's expanded travel ban and rein in presidential authority to issue such travel restrictions.
Now headed to the House floor, the bill is not expected to clear the Republican-controlled Senate.
The legislation would void all of Trump's executive actions establishing travel restrictions. It would also limit the president's powers under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which says the president can suspend entry of foreigners deemed “detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
Under the bill, presidents would be required in the future to consult with the secretaries of State and Homeland Security before exercising this power. The secretary of State would have to affirm, "based on credible facts," that a barred class of foreigners poses risks to public safety, security, human rights or other factors. Congress would receive updated notifications throughout the duration of the travel restrictions...
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/12/house-committee-votes-to-rescind-trump-...
REBECCA RAINEY | 02/12/2020
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted, 22-10, to terminate President Donald Trump's expanded travel ban and rein in presidential authority to issue such travel restrictions.
Now headed to the House floor, the bill is not expected to clear the Republican-controlled Senate.
The legislation would void all of Trump's executive actions establishing travel restrictions. It would also limit the president's powers under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which says the president can suspend entry of foreigners deemed “detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
Under the bill, presidents would be required in the future to consult with the secretaries of State and Homeland Security before exercising this power. The secretary of State would have to affirm, "based on credible facts," that a barred class of foreigners poses risks to public safety, security, human rights or other factors. Congress would receive updated notifications throughout the duration of the travel restrictions...
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/12/house-committee-votes-to-rescind-trump-...
101margd
Border Patrol Will Deploy Elite Tactical Agents to Sanctuary Cities
Caitlin Dickerson and Zolan Kanno-Youngs | Feb. 14, 2020
The Trump administration is deploying law enforcement tactical units from the southern border as part of a supercharged arrest operation in sanctuary cities across the country, an escalation in the president’s battle against localities that refuse to participate in immigration enforcement.
The specially trained officers are being sent to cities including Chicago and New York to boost the enforcement power of local Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, according to two officials who are familiar with the secret operation. Additional agents are expected to be sent to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, New Orleans, Detroit and Newark, N.J.
...Among the agents being deployed to sanctuary cities are members of the elite tactical unit known as BORTAC, which acts essentially as the SWAT team of the Border Patrol. With additional gear such as stun grenades and enhanced Special Forces-type training, including sniper certification, the officers typically conduct high-risk operations targeting individuals who are known to be violent, many of them with extensive criminal records.
The unit’s work often takes place in the most rugged and swelteringly hot areas of the border. It can involve breaking into stash houses maintained by smuggling operations that are known to be filled with drugs and weapons.
In sanctuary cities, the BORTAC agents will be asked to support interior officers in run-of-the-mill immigration arrests, the officials said. Their presence could spark new fear in immigrant communities that have been on high alert under the stepped-up deportation and detention policies adopted after Mr. Trump took office.
...(ICE) had “made it abundantly clear for years that, in jurisdictions where we are not allowed to assume custody of aliens from jails, our officers would be redirected to make at-large arrests.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/us/Border-Patrol-ICE-Sanctuary-Cities.html
(video clip https://www.facebook.com/100009192064695/videos/2474245319558513/ )
______________________________________________________________________
Jessie Losch ❄️🌊@JessieLosch
This is terrifying and devastating and a calculated move before the census goes live. I don’t know how to process this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2020
Less Than One Month Until U.S. Households Receive 2020 Census Invitations
February 13, 2020
Release Number CB20-CN.11
Invitations to Respond to the 2020 Census Questionnaire to Be Mailed to Households Throughout the Country
February 13, 2020 – Between March 12 and March 20, invitations to participate in the 2020 Census will start arriving in households across the country.
“The Census Bureau is ready for the nation to respond next month,” said Census Bureau Director Dr. Steven Dillingham. “Millions of Americans are applying for 2020 Census jobs, more than 270,000 local and national organizations are engaged, and in less than 30 days the majority of U.S. households will receive an invitation to respond to help ensure that every person in the U.S. is counted.”
“The 2020 Census is on mission, on schedule, and on budget to promote an accurate count,” Dillingham continued. “Response is important because statistics from the census are used in distributing where hundreds of billions in funding for school lunches, hospitals, roads and much more. The invitations will remind respondents to include everyone living in the household, whether they are related or not. This includes young children. Your response will impact communities for the next decade.”
“The Census Bureau has successfully tested its data collection systems, has built backup systems to support resilient operations, and is ready to receive responses from all around the country,” added Dillingham.
This invitation will include instructions on how to respond to the 2020 Census online or by phone. By April 1, most households will have received an invitation delivered either by mail or by a census taker. In areas of the country that are less likely to respond online, a paper questionnaire will be included in the initial mailing to households. Reminder mailings will be sent to households that do not respond, and in the fourth mailing every household that has not yet responded will receive a paper questionnaire.
Once households receive invitations, please respond to the 2020 Census by using the provided Census ID. If a household is unable to enter the Census ID people can still respond, by providing an address. Whether people respond online, by phone or by mail, it is important to respond right away.
Below is a timeline of how and when the Census Bureau will invite households to complete the 2020 Census questionnaire:
March 12-20: Initial invitations to respond online and by phone will be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Areas that are less likely to respond online will receive a paper questionnaire along with the invitation to respond online or over the phone.
March 16-24: Reminder letters will be delivered.
March 26-April 3: Reminder postcards will be delivered to households that have not responded.
April 8-16: Reminder letters and paper questionnaires will bedelivered to remaining households that have not responded.
April 20-27: Final reminder postcards will be delivered to households that have not yet responded before census takers follow up in person.
If a household does not respond to any of the invitations, a census taker will follow up in person sometime between May 13 and July 31. A sample of the 2020 Census paper questionnaire and preview of the online questionnaire is available, along with more information about when most people will receive their invitations in the mail.
The 2020 Census questionnaire is available online and by phone in English and 12 additional languages: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Japanese. These 13 languages cover the language needs of over 99% of all U.S. households. To help ensure a complete count of everyone, the Census Bureau will also provide video language guides, print language guides and language glossaries in 59 non-English languages, including American Sign Language, Braille, and Large Print.
The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years. Census statistics help determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and how billions of dollars in federal funds are allocated to state and local communities for the next 10 years.
For more information about the 2020 Census, visit 2020census.gov.
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/one-month-2020-invitations.h...
Caitlin Dickerson and Zolan Kanno-Youngs | Feb. 14, 2020
The Trump administration is deploying law enforcement tactical units from the southern border as part of a supercharged arrest operation in sanctuary cities across the country, an escalation in the president’s battle against localities that refuse to participate in immigration enforcement.
The specially trained officers are being sent to cities including Chicago and New York to boost the enforcement power of local Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, according to two officials who are familiar with the secret operation. Additional agents are expected to be sent to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, New Orleans, Detroit and Newark, N.J.
...Among the agents being deployed to sanctuary cities are members of the elite tactical unit known as BORTAC, which acts essentially as the SWAT team of the Border Patrol. With additional gear such as stun grenades and enhanced Special Forces-type training, including sniper certification, the officers typically conduct high-risk operations targeting individuals who are known to be violent, many of them with extensive criminal records.
The unit’s work often takes place in the most rugged and swelteringly hot areas of the border. It can involve breaking into stash houses maintained by smuggling operations that are known to be filled with drugs and weapons.
In sanctuary cities, the BORTAC agents will be asked to support interior officers in run-of-the-mill immigration arrests, the officials said. Their presence could spark new fear in immigrant communities that have been on high alert under the stepped-up deportation and detention policies adopted after Mr. Trump took office.
...(ICE) had “made it abundantly clear for years that, in jurisdictions where we are not allowed to assume custody of aliens from jails, our officers would be redirected to make at-large arrests.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/14/us/Border-Patrol-ICE-Sanctuary-Cities.html
(video clip https://www.facebook.com/100009192064695/videos/2474245319558513/ )
______________________________________________________________________
Jessie Losch ❄️🌊@JessieLosch
This is terrifying and devastating and a calculated move before the census goes live. I don’t know how to process this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2020
Less Than One Month Until U.S. Households Receive 2020 Census Invitations
February 13, 2020
Release Number CB20-CN.11
Invitations to Respond to the 2020 Census Questionnaire to Be Mailed to Households Throughout the Country
February 13, 2020 – Between March 12 and March 20, invitations to participate in the 2020 Census will start arriving in households across the country.
“The Census Bureau is ready for the nation to respond next month,” said Census Bureau Director Dr. Steven Dillingham. “Millions of Americans are applying for 2020 Census jobs, more than 270,000 local and national organizations are engaged, and in less than 30 days the majority of U.S. households will receive an invitation to respond to help ensure that every person in the U.S. is counted.”
“The 2020 Census is on mission, on schedule, and on budget to promote an accurate count,” Dillingham continued. “Response is important because statistics from the census are used in distributing where hundreds of billions in funding for school lunches, hospitals, roads and much more. The invitations will remind respondents to include everyone living in the household, whether they are related or not. This includes young children. Your response will impact communities for the next decade.”
“The Census Bureau has successfully tested its data collection systems, has built backup systems to support resilient operations, and is ready to receive responses from all around the country,” added Dillingham.
This invitation will include instructions on how to respond to the 2020 Census online or by phone. By April 1, most households will have received an invitation delivered either by mail or by a census taker. In areas of the country that are less likely to respond online, a paper questionnaire will be included in the initial mailing to households. Reminder mailings will be sent to households that do not respond, and in the fourth mailing every household that has not yet responded will receive a paper questionnaire.
Once households receive invitations, please respond to the 2020 Census by using the provided Census ID. If a household is unable to enter the Census ID people can still respond, by providing an address. Whether people respond online, by phone or by mail, it is important to respond right away.
Below is a timeline of how and when the Census Bureau will invite households to complete the 2020 Census questionnaire:
March 12-20: Initial invitations to respond online and by phone will be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Areas that are less likely to respond online will receive a paper questionnaire along with the invitation to respond online or over the phone.
March 16-24: Reminder letters will be delivered.
March 26-April 3: Reminder postcards will be delivered to households that have not responded.
April 8-16: Reminder letters and paper questionnaires will bedelivered to remaining households that have not responded.
April 20-27: Final reminder postcards will be delivered to households that have not yet responded before census takers follow up in person.
If a household does not respond to any of the invitations, a census taker will follow up in person sometime between May 13 and July 31. A sample of the 2020 Census paper questionnaire and preview of the online questionnaire is available, along with more information about when most people will receive their invitations in the mail.
The 2020 Census questionnaire is available online and by phone in English and 12 additional languages: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Japanese. These 13 languages cover the language needs of over 99% of all U.S. households. To help ensure a complete count of everyone, the Census Bureau will also provide video language guides, print language guides and language glossaries in 59 non-English languages, including American Sign Language, Braille, and Large Print.
The U.S. Constitution mandates a census of the population every 10 years. Census statistics help determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and how billions of dollars in federal funds are allocated to state and local communities for the next 10 years.
For more information about the 2020 Census, visit 2020census.gov.
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/one-month-2020-invitations.h...
102John5918
Another one from the UK, but I wonder whether all people with immigration issues in the USA get access to a decent lawyer?
Judges halted Jamaica deportations in defence of a basic legal principle (Guardian)
The courts defied Boris Johnson because access to a lawyer is not just a politically correct fad...
The right of access to a lawyer is not a politically correct fad imposed on the poor old Home Office by elitist, leftist judges. It is an old and basic protection against the over-mighty state. The founders of the United States included the right to counsel in the sixth amendment to the US constitution in 1791. British courts have recognised the right of defendants to have a lawyer represent them since the middle of the 18th century...
Judges halted Jamaica deportations in defence of a basic legal principle (Guardian)
The courts defied Boris Johnson because access to a lawyer is not just a politically correct fad...
The right of access to a lawyer is not a politically correct fad imposed on the poor old Home Office by elitist, leftist judges. It is an old and basic protection against the over-mighty state. The founders of the United States included the right to counsel in the sixth amendment to the US constitution in 1791. British courts have recognised the right of defendants to have a lawyer represent them since the middle of the 18th century...
103margd
Smugglers helping migrants scale Trump’s border wall ‘using $5 ladders’
Samuel Lovett | February 16, 2020
...US Border Patrol has seen a rise in camouflage “hook-and-ladders” within the far south-west region of Texas since May last year, according to The El Paso Times.
El Paso’s urban stretch of border is said to be littered with the ($5) ladders, which are engineered out of rebar and match the rust brown colours of the wall.
...Border Patrol apprehensions of single adults — those most likely to use the ladder method — have nearly doubled in the El Paso sector.
From October 2019 through January 2020, Border Patrol apprehended 10,030 adults, compared with 5,150 in the same period a year ago.
The ladders appear to be made by hand from two poles of 3/8-inch rebar and four thinner poles, fitted with steps and bent over at the end in a ‘U’ shape to hook on the top of the wall.
The El Paso Times reports smugglers could be sourcing the rebar from a local hardware store in Ciudad Juarez, a Mexican city just south of El Paso, where six metres of the material costs roughly $5.30 (£4)...
https://news.yahoo.com/smugglers-helping-migrants-scale-trump-122108689.html
Samuel Lovett | February 16, 2020
...US Border Patrol has seen a rise in camouflage “hook-and-ladders” within the far south-west region of Texas since May last year, according to The El Paso Times.
El Paso’s urban stretch of border is said to be littered with the ($5) ladders, which are engineered out of rebar and match the rust brown colours of the wall.
...Border Patrol apprehensions of single adults — those most likely to use the ladder method — have nearly doubled in the El Paso sector.
From October 2019 through January 2020, Border Patrol apprehended 10,030 adults, compared with 5,150 in the same period a year ago.
The ladders appear to be made by hand from two poles of 3/8-inch rebar and four thinner poles, fitted with steps and bent over at the end in a ‘U’ shape to hook on the top of the wall.
The El Paso Times reports smugglers could be sourcing the rebar from a local hardware store in Ciudad Juarez, a Mexican city just south of El Paso, where six metres of the material costs roughly $5.30 (£4)...
https://news.yahoo.com/smugglers-helping-migrants-scale-trump-122108689.html
104margd
Katie Waldman and Stephen Miller Wed at Trump Hotel
Feb 16, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/16/fashion/weddings/stephen-miller-wedding-katie...
.
.
.
One of those rare couples to register at a Cage Manufacturer
- Confunctionist @confunctionist · 1h
Omigod Stephen Miller’s getting married? I can hear the vows now...
“Do you promise to always remember to take the lizards out of the freezer so they can thaw before dinner?” ...
“Do you pledge to allow my living doll to sleep with us at least twice a week?
- Cyrus McQueen @CyrusMMcQueen · 1h
I imagine the cake topper looked like this at the #StephenMillerWedding
https://twitter.com/EmmReef/status/1229416667198914560/photo/1
- Deven Nunez Cocaine Cow @EmmReef · 1h
Wow.
If you ever feel bad about your life, remind yourself a live human woman married Stephen Miller.
I promise, you are making much better choices than that.
- Mollie C 🗽 @MollieNews · 41m
There are a lot of relieved Jewish mothers tonight. At least their daughters didn’t marry Stephen Miller.
- Norma @normarivka · 11h
A lot of Gentile mothers as well.
- Yellow Dog Dem @dog_dem · 9h
And a lot of jealous lizards.
- Judy_for_blue_VA @Tipper_St_Clair · 8h
There are a lot of single women happy they aren't as desperate as the woman who married Stephen Miller.
- peggi m @peggi2 · 2h
But was so sweet when the President gifted the Millers a fresh, still beating heart of a Mexican child.
Antonio Martínez, P.E. @Boricua_En_Maui | 11:08 PM · Feb 16, 2020
________________________________________________________
ETA. While I thought gybe about Trump's gift to the newlyweds was gruesomely appropriate, it later dawned on me that it might have roots in blood libel... https://www.adl.org/education/resources/glossary-terms/blood-libel
Feb 16, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/16/fashion/weddings/stephen-miller-wedding-katie...
.
.
.
One of those rare couples to register at a Cage Manufacturer
- Confunctionist @confunctionist · 1h
Omigod Stephen Miller’s getting married? I can hear the vows now...
“Do you promise to always remember to take the lizards out of the freezer so they can thaw before dinner?” ...
“Do you pledge to allow my living doll to sleep with us at least twice a week?
- Cyrus McQueen @CyrusMMcQueen · 1h
I imagine the cake topper looked like this at the #StephenMillerWedding
https://twitter.com/EmmReef/status/1229416667198914560/photo/1
- Deven Nunez Cocaine Cow @EmmReef · 1h
Wow.
If you ever feel bad about your life, remind yourself a live human woman married Stephen Miller.
I promise, you are making much better choices than that.
- Mollie C 🗽 @MollieNews · 41m
There are a lot of relieved Jewish mothers tonight. At least their daughters didn’t marry Stephen Miller.
- Norma @normarivka · 11h
A lot of Gentile mothers as well.
- Yellow Dog Dem @dog_dem · 9h
And a lot of jealous lizards.
- Judy_for_blue_VA @Tipper_St_Clair · 8h
There are a lot of single women happy they aren't as desperate as the woman who married Stephen Miller.
- peggi m @peggi2 · 2h
But was so sweet when the President gifted the Millers a fresh, still beating heart of a Mexican child.
Antonio Martínez, P.E. @Boricua_En_Maui | 11:08 PM · Feb 16, 2020
________________________________________________________
ETA. While I thought gybe about Trump's gift to the newlyweds was gruesomely appropriate, it later dawned on me that it might have roots in blood libel... https://www.adl.org/education/resources/glossary-terms/blood-libel
105margd
American Immigration Council @immcouncil | 5:08 PM · Feb 19, 2020:
VICTORY: We just won our case against CBP
.
A federal court found detention facilities in the Tucson sector violate the Constitution.
The court permanently blocked CBP from holding migrants for over 48 hours without beds, showers, adequate food, water, and medical assessments.
Image ( https://twitter.com/immcouncil/status/1230252719698513920/photo/1 )
Image ( https://twitter.com/immcouncil/status/1230252719698513920/photo/2 )
Image ( https://twitter.com/immcouncil/status/1230252719698513920/photo/3 )
Image ( https://twitter.com/immcouncil/status/1230252719698513920/photo/4 )
VICTORY: We just won our case against CBP
.
A federal court found detention facilities in the Tucson sector violate the Constitution.
The court permanently blocked CBP from holding migrants for over 48 hours without beds, showers, adequate food, water, and medical assessments.
Image ( https://twitter.com/immcouncil/status/1230252719698513920/photo/1 )
Image ( https://twitter.com/immcouncil/status/1230252719698513920/photo/2 )
Image ( https://twitter.com/immcouncil/status/1230252719698513920/photo/3 )
Image ( https://twitter.com/immcouncil/status/1230252719698513920/photo/4 )
106John5918
New US visa rules set off 'panic wave' in immigrant communities (Al Jazeera)
confusion, sorrow and outrage spreading across some immigrant communities after the announcement of a Trump administration policy that is expected to all but shut down family-based immigration from Myanmar, also known as Burma, as well as Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan and Eritrea. The policy also restricts visas from Sudan and Tanzania."There's a panic wave going through the community"...
confusion, sorrow and outrage spreading across some immigrant communities after the announcement of a Trump administration policy that is expected to all but shut down family-based immigration from Myanmar, also known as Burma, as well as Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan and Eritrea. The policy also restricts visas from Sudan and Tanzania."There's a panic wave going through the community"...
107John5918
Supreme court blocks Mexican family's legal bid over teen killed by border agent (Guardian)
The US supreme court has refused to open the door for foreign nationals to pursue civil rights cases in American courts, declining to revive a lawsuit by a slain Mexican teenager’s family against the US border agent who shot him from across the border in Texas...
The US supreme court has refused to open the door for foreign nationals to pursue civil rights cases in American courts, declining to revive a lawsuit by a slain Mexican teenager’s family against the US border agent who shot him from across the border in Texas...
108margd
Court says Trump administration can withhold money from NYC, 7 states in 'sanctuary cities' fight
Priscilla Alvarez | February 26, 2020
...The decision by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that blocked the Justice Department from withholding a key law enforcement grant the department said was available only to cities that complied with specific immigration enforcement measures.
...The city of New York is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, along with New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, Virginia and Rhode Island.
In July 2017, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that applicants for Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants would have to comply with federal immigration enforcement. States pushed back and sued over the move.
Lower courts have blocked the Justice Department from adding new requirements for the policing grants. In April 2018, the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling in favor of the city of Chicago.
But Raggi noted in Wednesday's ruling that the conditions on federal grants put forth by the administration in part help the government enforce national immigration laws and rejected the notion that the conditions "intrude on powers reserved to the States."
The requirements announced in 2017 include allowing federal immigration authorities access to jails and providing the Department of Homeland Security advance notice before local officials release an undocumented immigrant wanted by federal authorities...
...today's ruling...full scope will not be realized until the practices of granting nationwide injunctions and associational injunctions are stopped, as certain cities that are parties to this judgment may nonetheless use rulings from other courts to evade these lawful conditions," (DOJ) spokesman added.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/politics/federal-appeals-court-sanctuary-cities/i...
Priscilla Alvarez | February 26, 2020
...The decision by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that blocked the Justice Department from withholding a key law enforcement grant the department said was available only to cities that complied with specific immigration enforcement measures.
...The city of New York is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, along with New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington, Massachusetts, Virginia and Rhode Island.
In July 2017, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that applicants for Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants would have to comply with federal immigration enforcement. States pushed back and sued over the move.
Lower courts have blocked the Justice Department from adding new requirements for the policing grants. In April 2018, the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling in favor of the city of Chicago.
But Raggi noted in Wednesday's ruling that the conditions on federal grants put forth by the administration in part help the government enforce national immigration laws and rejected the notion that the conditions "intrude on powers reserved to the States."
The requirements announced in 2017 include allowing federal immigration authorities access to jails and providing the Department of Homeland Security advance notice before local officials release an undocumented immigrant wanted by federal authorities...
...today's ruling...full scope will not be realized until the practices of granting nationwide injunctions and associational injunctions are stopped, as certain cities that are parties to this judgment may nonetheless use rulings from other courts to evade these lawful conditions," (DOJ) spokesman added.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/politics/federal-appeals-court-sanctuary-cities/i...
109John5918
Federal court temporarily halts Remain in Mexico policy in blow to Trump (Guardian)
Three-judge panel ruled on two measures central to president’s asylum crackdown
US court reverses Trump's 'Remain in Mexico' policy (BBC)
A US federal court has ruled that the Trump administration must halt its policy of requiring Central American asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico pending US approval...
Three-judge panel ruled on two measures central to president’s asylum crackdown
US court reverses Trump's 'Remain in Mexico' policy (BBC)
A US federal court has ruled that the Trump administration must halt its policy of requiring Central American asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico pending US approval...
110margd
BREAKING: 9th just STAYED the ruling that halted MPP "pending further order of this court."
Briefs due Monday and Tuesday.
...Trump admin asked the 9th for an emergency stay of the MPP ruling pending a "forthcoming" petition before the Supreme Court.
--25,000 migrants are in "remain in Mexico"
--Officials fear a "run on the border"
- Maria Sacchetti @mariasacchetti | 10:15 PM · Feb 28, 2020
________________________________________________
Federal appeals court blocks President Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy but stays its own ruling
Maria Sacchetti, Kevin Sieff and Nick Miroff
Feb. 28, 2020
A federal appeals court in California halted the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” asylum policy on Friday, removing one of the key tools the president has used to curb mass migration across the southern U.S. border.
The ruling was in effect for only a few hours, however, as the judges later granted a Trump administration request for an emergency stay “pending further order of this court.” Justice Department lawyers said in court filings that 25,000 migrants have been waiting in Mexico and argued that they feared the ruling would lead to an influx on the southern border...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trump-remain-in-mexico-halted-federal...
Briefs due Monday and Tuesday.
...Trump admin asked the 9th for an emergency stay of the MPP ruling pending a "forthcoming" petition before the Supreme Court.
--25,000 migrants are in "remain in Mexico"
--Officials fear a "run on the border"
- Maria Sacchetti @mariasacchetti | 10:15 PM · Feb 28, 2020
________________________________________________
Federal appeals court blocks President Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy but stays its own ruling
Maria Sacchetti, Kevin Sieff and Nick Miroff
Feb. 28, 2020
A federal appeals court in California halted the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” asylum policy on Friday, removing one of the key tools the president has used to curb mass migration across the southern U.S. border.
The ruling was in effect for only a few hours, however, as the judges later granted a Trump administration request for an emergency stay “pending further order of this court.” Justice Department lawyers said in court filings that 25,000 migrants have been waiting in Mexico and argued that they feared the ruling would lead to an influx on the southern border...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trump-remain-in-mexico-halted-federal...
111John5918
A few US-related articles from the March 2020 Rights in Exile newsletter.
Assisted Voluntary Return from Mexico: Another opaque asylum restriction with a misleading name
Deported to death: US sent 138 Salvadorans home to be killed
US Senators send letter to US cabinet officials regarding deportations to the Northern Triangle and asylum cooperative agreements
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals blocks US policy of sending asylum seekers back to Mexico, then suspends its own order
US federal judge orders Customs and Border Protection to meet the basic needs of every migrant detained more than 48 hours
The full newsletter is available at https://mailchi.mp/3cc20d09ac46/announcing-the-march-2020-issue-of-the-rights-in...
Assisted Voluntary Return from Mexico: Another opaque asylum restriction with a misleading name
Deported to death: US sent 138 Salvadorans home to be killed
US Senators send letter to US cabinet officials regarding deportations to the Northern Triangle and asylum cooperative agreements
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals blocks US policy of sending asylum seekers back to Mexico, then suspends its own order
US federal judge orders Customs and Border Protection to meet the basic needs of every migrant detained more than 48 hours
The full newsletter is available at https://mailchi.mp/3cc20d09ac46/announcing-the-march-2020-issue-of-the-rights-in...
112margd
Say what you want about Romney, but who else is trying to hold the administration accountable on #EVerify?
I'm hearing the long-awaited WH immigration bill not only doesn't mandate E-Verify, but guts it.
- Mark Krikorian @MarkSKrikorian | 2:41 PM · Mar 5, 2020
Quote Tweet
Senator Mitt Romney @SenatorRomney | · 22h
We must work to continue securing our southern border, while making E-Verify mandatory nationwide.
E-Verify is essential to turn off the magnet that draws people into the country illegally in the first place.
1:24 ( https://twitter.com/MarkSKrikorian/status/1235651618328047616 )
I'm hearing the long-awaited WH immigration bill not only doesn't mandate E-Verify, but guts it.
- Mark Krikorian @MarkSKrikorian | 2:41 PM · Mar 5, 2020
Quote Tweet
Senator Mitt Romney @SenatorRomney | · 22h
We must work to continue securing our southern border, while making E-Verify mandatory nationwide.
E-Verify is essential to turn off the magnet that draws people into the country illegally in the first place.
1:24 ( https://twitter.com/MarkSKrikorian/status/1235651618328047616 )
113John5918
US-Mexico border: Pregnant woman from Guatemala dies after fall from wall (BBC)
A 19-year-old pregnant woman from Guatemala died from injuries suffered after falling from the US-Mexico border wall, US and Guatemalan officials say. Miriam Stephany Girón Luna fell as she tried to climb the steel mesh barrier near El Paso, Texas on Saturday...
Officials say the case indicates a change in how migrants are trying to reach the US amid new restrictions...
A 19-year-old pregnant woman from Guatemala died from injuries suffered after falling from the US-Mexico border wall, US and Guatemalan officials say. Miriam Stephany Girón Luna fell as she tried to climb the steel mesh barrier near El Paso, Texas on Saturday...
Officials say the case indicates a change in how migrants are trying to reach the US amid new restrictions...
114John5918
Why Texas is saying 'no' to all new refugees (BBC)
Texas wants to halt admission of all new refugees, saying the needs of Texans must be prioritised over others. But aid workers in Texas say there is sufficient help for the state's growing homeless population as well as newly arriving refugees...
Texas wants to halt admission of all new refugees, saying the needs of Texans must be prioritised over others. But aid workers in Texas say there is sufficient help for the state's growing homeless population as well as newly arriving refugees...
115margd
Trump admin to begin turning back all undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers at borders: report
Tal Axelrod - 03/18/20
The Trump administration is reportedly planning to turn back all asylum seekers at both the northern and southern borders over concerns regarding the coronavirus outbreak.
...migrants crossing the border between the points of entry would be shuttled back to Mexico if they are crossing the southern border and would not be held for any amount of time in the U.S.
...While President Trump has proposed several hardline immigration policies throughout his tenure, the officials insisted that the new rule was solely crafted to combat the coronavirus.
...There have been 82 confirmed coronavirus cases in Mexico, compared with over 470 in Canada and roughly 5,600 in the U.S....
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/488164-trump-admin-to-begin-turning-...
________________________________________________________________________________
Trump says US, Canada to close border to 'non-essential traffic' amid coronavirus
Brett Samuels - 03/18/20
..."We will be, by mutual consent, temporarily closing our Northern Border with Canada to non-essential traffic. Trade will not be affected. Details to follow!" Trump tweeted...
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/488194-us-to-restrict-border-with-ca...
Tal Axelrod - 03/18/20
The Trump administration is reportedly planning to turn back all asylum seekers at both the northern and southern borders over concerns regarding the coronavirus outbreak.
...migrants crossing the border between the points of entry would be shuttled back to Mexico if they are crossing the southern border and would not be held for any amount of time in the U.S.
...While President Trump has proposed several hardline immigration policies throughout his tenure, the officials insisted that the new rule was solely crafted to combat the coronavirus.
...There have been 82 confirmed coronavirus cases in Mexico, compared with over 470 in Canada and roughly 5,600 in the U.S....
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/488164-trump-admin-to-begin-turning-...
________________________________________________________________________________
Trump says US, Canada to close border to 'non-essential traffic' amid coronavirus
Brett Samuels - 03/18/20
..."We will be, by mutual consent, temporarily closing our Northern Border with Canada to non-essential traffic. Trade will not be affected. Details to follow!" Trump tweeted...
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/488194-us-to-restrict-border-with-ca...
116John5918
Detainees in US immigration jails living in fear as coronavirus spreads (Guardian)
Detainees at immigration detention centers across the American south have alleged heavy-handed crackdowns amid increasing panic and protest over the coronavirus pandemic, according to advocates and recordings of detainees obtained by the Guardian.
A number of detainees have expressed concern they are not being properly cared for in packed detention centers...
Detainees at immigration detention centers across the American south have alleged heavy-handed crackdowns amid increasing panic and protest over the coronavirus pandemic, according to advocates and recordings of detainees obtained by the Guardian.
A number of detainees have expressed concern they are not being properly cared for in packed detention centers...
117John5918
Trump ejecting a person out of US every 96 minutes under new coronavirus rules (Independent)
As Americans adjust to the new normals of social distancing, quarantine and a rising death toll wrought by the coronavirus, it’s business as usual at the border as Donald Trump continues to build his border wall.
The wall isn’t the only thing going up, however; the rate at which migrants are being expelled from the country after crossing illegally is rising as well... migrants entering the US illegally are being expelled at an average of one person every 96 minutes...
Under the new guidelines, US Customs and Border Patrol agents are able to apprehend migrants and process them at the point of interception rather than having to take them to an office and conduct medical exams. Once they’re caught, they are turned away and sent back to Mexico...
As Americans adjust to the new normals of social distancing, quarantine and a rising death toll wrought by the coronavirus, it’s business as usual at the border as Donald Trump continues to build his border wall.
The wall isn’t the only thing going up, however; the rate at which migrants are being expelled from the country after crossing illegally is rising as well... migrants entering the US illegally are being expelled at an average of one person every 96 minutes...
Under the new guidelines, US Customs and Border Patrol agents are able to apprehend migrants and process them at the point of interception rather than having to take them to an office and conduct medical exams. Once they’re caught, they are turned away and sent back to Mexico...
118John5918
The April 2020 issue of International Refugee Rights Initiative's Rights in Exile Newsletter contains the following articles which might be relevant to the USA:
The asylum seekers’ guide to surviving coronavirus
Building walls and deporting people to “safe” countries is not deterrence, it is defense.
The Trump Administration is gagging America’s immigration judges
Civil society groups send letter expressing urgent concern about DHS announced changes to US asylum processing at the border
The US Refugee Act of 1980: A forlorn anniversary
Amid global coronavirus outbreak, what about refugees?
US: The Supreme Court will decide whether asylum seekers receive their day in court
US Supreme Court keeps in place Remain-in-Mexico policy
US 9th Circuit says third-country transit ban will not apply to certain “metered” asylum seekers
Colombia is dealing with a terrifying refugee crisis. Will wealthy nations step up to help?
The asylum seekers’ guide to surviving coronavirus
Building walls and deporting people to “safe” countries is not deterrence, it is defense.
The Trump Administration is gagging America’s immigration judges
Civil society groups send letter expressing urgent concern about DHS announced changes to US asylum processing at the border
The US Refugee Act of 1980: A forlorn anniversary
Amid global coronavirus outbreak, what about refugees?
US: The Supreme Court will decide whether asylum seekers receive their day in court
US Supreme Court keeps in place Remain-in-Mexico policy
US 9th Circuit says third-country transit ban will not apply to certain “metered” asylum seekers
Colombia is dealing with a terrifying refugee crisis. Will wealthy nations step up to help?
119margd
Trump gambles on immigrant workers during coronavirus
ANITA KUMAR | 04/02/2020
The president has angered his base by soliciting temporary foreign workers in an effort to stabilize the economy.
The Trump administration is still soliciting immigrants for specific jobs despite droves of Americans filing for unemployment.
...medical professionals...farm workers, landscapers and crab pickers...
And until facing criticism this week, it had been moving ahead with a 35,000-person increase in the number of seasonal workers in part for expected job openings at resorts and golf courses after the pandemic releases its grip on the economy.
...Trump faces immense pressure to prop up the economy — both during and after the coronavirus outbreak. And he’s adopting an approach the business community has long pushed: Recruit workers for perennially empty jobs, even if they’re not American workers. Business leaders say that even during the coronavirus crisis, foreign workers are critical to companies that might be unable to find enough unemployed Americans willing to take certain jobs, especially if those people can collect more money via jobless benefits...
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/02/trump-immigrant-workers-coronavirus-162...
ANITA KUMAR | 04/02/2020
The president has angered his base by soliciting temporary foreign workers in an effort to stabilize the economy.
The Trump administration is still soliciting immigrants for specific jobs despite droves of Americans filing for unemployment.
...medical professionals...farm workers, landscapers and crab pickers...
And until facing criticism this week, it had been moving ahead with a 35,000-person increase in the number of seasonal workers in part for expected job openings at resorts and golf courses after the pandemic releases its grip on the economy.
...Trump faces immense pressure to prop up the economy — both during and after the coronavirus outbreak. And he’s adopting an approach the business community has long pushed: Recruit workers for perennially empty jobs, even if they’re not American workers. Business leaders say that even during the coronavirus crisis, foreign workers are critical to companies that might be unable to find enough unemployed Americans willing to take certain jobs, especially if those people can collect more money via jobless benefits...
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/02/trump-immigrant-workers-coronavirus-162...
120margd
Judge rebuffs Trump administration over border wall funding
JOSH GERSTEIN | 04/03/2020
The judge has not yet ruled on whether the Trump administration’s spending was illegal, solely that groups may press on with their suits challenging it.
A federal judge who dismissed a House lawsuit over President Donald Trump’s plan to fund his border wall has given the green light to a pair of suits environmental groups brought challenging the same funding scheme.
U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden issued a ruling Thursday rejecting the Trump administration’s efforts to dismiss the suits, holding that some of the individuals and groups — including a Texas Indian tribe — have standing to pursue claims that the funding arrangement defied a provision in last year’s budget bill that sought to limit spending on border wall construction to just a fraction of what Trump sought...
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/03/judge-trump-border-wall-funding-162721
JOSH GERSTEIN | 04/03/2020
The judge has not yet ruled on whether the Trump administration’s spending was illegal, solely that groups may press on with their suits challenging it.
A federal judge who dismissed a House lawsuit over President Donald Trump’s plan to fund his border wall has given the green light to a pair of suits environmental groups brought challenging the same funding scheme.
U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden issued a ruling Thursday rejecting the Trump administration’s efforts to dismiss the suits, holding that some of the individuals and groups — including a Texas Indian tribe — have standing to pursue claims that the funding arrangement defied a provision in last year’s budget bill that sought to limit spending on border wall construction to just a fraction of what Trump sought...
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/03/judge-trump-border-wall-funding-162721
121margd
Nice overview on all that's involved in developing a vaccine:
When will a coronavirus vaccine be ready?
Laura Spinney | Fri 3 Apr 2020
Human trials will begin imminently – but even if they go well and a cure is found, there are many barriers before global immunisation is feasible
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/03/when-will-a-coronavirus-vaccine-be...
_______________________________________________________________
Yay, U Pittsburgh!
COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Shows Promise in First Peer-Reviewed Research
Thursday, April 2, 2020
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists announced a potential vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. When tested in mice, the vaccine, delivered through a fingertip-sized patch, produces antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 at quantities thought to be sufficient for neutralizing the virus.
The paper* appeared April 2 in eBioMedicine, which is published by The Lancet, and is the first study to be published after critique from fellow scientists at outside institutions that describes a candidate vaccine for COVID-19. The researchers were able to act quickly because they had already laid the groundwork during earlier coronavirus epidemics.
https://www.pittwire.pitt.edu/news/covid-19-vaccine-candidate-shows-promise-firs...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Kim et al., Microneedle array delivered recombinant coronavirus vaccines: Immunogenicity and rapidtranslational development, EBioMedicine (2020),https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.102743 https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/ebiom/PIIS2352-3964(20)30118-3.pdf
ABSTRACT
Background:
Coronaviruses pose a serious threat to global health as evidenced by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and COVID-19. SARS Coronavirus (SARS-CoV), MERS Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and the novel coronavirus, previously dubbed 2019-nCoV, and now officially named SARS-CoV-2, are the causative agents of the SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 disease outbreaks, respectively. Safe vaccines that rapidly induce potent and long-lasting virus-specific immune responses against these infectious agents are urgently needed. The corona virus spike (S) protein, a characteristic structural component of the viral envelope, is considered a key target for vaccines for the prevention of coronavirus infection.
Methods:
We first generated codon optimized MERS-S1 subunit vaccines fused with a fold on trimerization domain to mimic the native viral structure. In variant constructs, we engineered immune stimulants (RS09 orfla-gellin, as TLR4 or TLR5 agonists, respectively) into this trimeric design. We comprehensively tested the pre-clinical immunogenicity of MERS-CoV vaccines in mice when delivered subcutaneously by traditional needle injection, or intracutaneously by dissolving microneedle arrays (MNAs) by evaluating virus specific IgG antibodies in the serum of vaccinated mice by ELISA and using virus neutralization assays. Driven by the urgent need for COVID-19 vaccines, we utilized this strategy to rapidly develop MNA SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccines and tested their pre-clinical immunogenicity invivo by exploiting our substantial experience with MNA MERS-CoV vaccines.
Findings:
Here we describe the development of MNA delivered MERS-CoV vaccines and their pre-clinical immunogenicity. Specifically, MNA delivered MERS-S1 sub-unit vaccines elicited strong and long-lasting antigen-specific antibody responses. Building on our ongoing efforts to develop MERS-CoV vaccines, promising immunogenicity of MNA-delivered MERS-CoV vaccines, and our experience with MNA fabrication and delivery,including clinical trials,we rapidly designed and produced clinically-translatable MNA SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccines within 4 weeks of the identification of the SARS-CoV-2 S1 sequence. Most importantly, these MNA delivered SARS-CoV-2 S1 subunit vaccines elicited potent antigen-specific antibody responses that were evident beginning 2 weeks after immunization.Interpretation:MNA delivery of coronaviruses-S1 subunit vaccines is a promising immunization strategy against coronavirus infection. Progressive scientific and technological efforts enable quicker responses to emerging pandemics. Our ongoing efforts to develop MNA-MERS-S1 subunit vaccines enabled us to rapidly design and produce MNA SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccines capable of inducing potent virus-specific antibody responses. Collectively, our results support the clinical development of MNA delivered recombinant proteinsubunit vaccines against SARS, MERS, COVID-19, and other emerging infectious diseases.
When will a coronavirus vaccine be ready?
Laura Spinney | Fri 3 Apr 2020
Human trials will begin imminently – but even if they go well and a cure is found, there are many barriers before global immunisation is feasible
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/03/when-will-a-coronavirus-vaccine-be...
_______________________________________________________________
Yay, U Pittsburgh!
COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Shows Promise in First Peer-Reviewed Research
Thursday, April 2, 2020
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists announced a potential vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. When tested in mice, the vaccine, delivered through a fingertip-sized patch, produces antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 at quantities thought to be sufficient for neutralizing the virus.
The paper* appeared April 2 in eBioMedicine, which is published by The Lancet, and is the first study to be published after critique from fellow scientists at outside institutions that describes a candidate vaccine for COVID-19. The researchers were able to act quickly because they had already laid the groundwork during earlier coronavirus epidemics.
https://www.pittwire.pitt.edu/news/covid-19-vaccine-candidate-shows-promise-firs...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Kim et al., Microneedle array delivered recombinant coronavirus vaccines: Immunogenicity and rapidtranslational development, EBioMedicine (2020),https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.102743 https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/ebiom/PIIS2352-3964(20)30118-3.pdf
ABSTRACT
Background:
Coronaviruses pose a serious threat to global health as evidenced by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and COVID-19. SARS Coronavirus (SARS-CoV), MERS Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and the novel coronavirus, previously dubbed 2019-nCoV, and now officially named SARS-CoV-2, are the causative agents of the SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 disease outbreaks, respectively. Safe vaccines that rapidly induce potent and long-lasting virus-specific immune responses against these infectious agents are urgently needed. The corona virus spike (S) protein, a characteristic structural component of the viral envelope, is considered a key target for vaccines for the prevention of coronavirus infection.
Methods:
We first generated codon optimized MERS-S1 subunit vaccines fused with a fold on trimerization domain to mimic the native viral structure. In variant constructs, we engineered immune stimulants (RS09 orfla-gellin, as TLR4 or TLR5 agonists, respectively) into this trimeric design. We comprehensively tested the pre-clinical immunogenicity of MERS-CoV vaccines in mice when delivered subcutaneously by traditional needle injection, or intracutaneously by dissolving microneedle arrays (MNAs) by evaluating virus specific IgG antibodies in the serum of vaccinated mice by ELISA and using virus neutralization assays. Driven by the urgent need for COVID-19 vaccines, we utilized this strategy to rapidly develop MNA SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccines and tested their pre-clinical immunogenicity invivo by exploiting our substantial experience with MNA MERS-CoV vaccines.
Findings:
Here we describe the development of MNA delivered MERS-CoV vaccines and their pre-clinical immunogenicity. Specifically, MNA delivered MERS-S1 sub-unit vaccines elicited strong and long-lasting antigen-specific antibody responses. Building on our ongoing efforts to develop MERS-CoV vaccines, promising immunogenicity of MNA-delivered MERS-CoV vaccines, and our experience with MNA fabrication and delivery,including clinical trials,we rapidly designed and produced clinically-translatable MNA SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccines within 4 weeks of the identification of the SARS-CoV-2 S1 sequence. Most importantly, these MNA delivered SARS-CoV-2 S1 subunit vaccines elicited potent antigen-specific antibody responses that were evident beginning 2 weeks after immunization.Interpretation:MNA delivery of coronaviruses-S1 subunit vaccines is a promising immunization strategy against coronavirus infection. Progressive scientific and technological efforts enable quicker responses to emerging pandemics. Our ongoing efforts to develop MNA-MERS-S1 subunit vaccines enabled us to rapidly design and produce MNA SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccines capable of inducing potent virus-specific antibody responses. Collectively, our results support the clinical development of MNA delivered recombinant proteinsubunit vaccines against SARS, MERS, COVID-19, and other emerging infectious diseases.
122John5918
>121 margd: Did you post this in the wrong thread? Did you mean to post it in the coronavirus thread?
123John5918
Immigration to US to be suspended amid pandemic, says Trump (BBC)
President Donald Trump has said he will sign an executive order to temporarily suspend all immigration to the US because of the coronavirus.
On Twitter, he cited "the attack from the invisible enemy", as he calls the virus, and the need to protect the jobs of Americans, but did not give details.
It was not clear what programmes might be affected and whether the president would be able to carry out the order.
Critics say the government is using the pandemic to crack down on immigration...
President Donald Trump has said he will sign an executive order to temporarily suspend all immigration to the US because of the coronavirus.
On Twitter, he cited "the attack from the invisible enemy", as he calls the virus, and the need to protect the jobs of Americans, but did not give details.
It was not clear what programmes might be affected and whether the president would be able to carry out the order.
Critics say the government is using the pandemic to crack down on immigration...
124John5918
Reposted in Trump says he'll ban all immigration thread.
125margd
Stephen Miller has long-term vision for Trump’s ‘temporary’ immigration order, according to private call with supporters
Trump's executive order on immigration, explained
Nick Miroff and Josh Dawsey | April 24, 2020
Trump senior policy adviser Stephen Miller told White House supporters in a private call this week that the president’s new executive order curbing immigration will usher in the kind of broader long-term changes to American society he has advocated for years, even though the 60-day measures were publicly characterized as a “pause” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Miller, the chief architect of the president’s immigration agenda and one of his longest-serving and most trusted advisers, spoke to a group of Trump surrogates Thursday in an off-the-record call about the new executive order, which had been signed the night before. Although the White House had seen the move as something that would resonate with Trump’s political base, the administration instead was facing criticism from immigration hard-liners who were disappointed that the order does not apply to temporary foreign workers despite Trump pitching it as helping to protect jobs for Americans.
Miller told the group that subsequent measures were under consideration that would restrict guest worker programs, but the “the most important thing is to turn off the faucet of new immigrant labor,” he said, according to a recording obtained by The Washington Post. Miller indicated that the strategy is part of a long-term vision and not seen only as a stopgap.
“As a numerical proposition, when you suspend the entry of a new immigrant from abroad, you’re also reducing immigration further because the chains of follow-on migration that are disrupted,” said Miller, one of the executive order’s main authors. “So the benefit to American workers compounds with time.”
...The Trump administration has been trying for years to scrap the family-based U.S. immigration model, which Miller and other restrictionists call “chain migration.” Instead, the White House favors a more restrictive system based on job skills and U.S. labor market demands.
Although Trump described his order this week as a temporary “pause,” he also said it is an open-ended move that will remain in place until he decides the U.S. labor market has sufficiently improved once the coronavirus crisis subsides. He said he will reevaluate it after 60 days and might extend the immigration restrictions to help Americans find jobs when states reopen their economies.
...The title of Trump’s order — “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the Covid-19 Outbreak” — makes explicit that the underlying rationale for the president’s restrictions are economic, not epidemiological.
...Miller has been the leading proponent of the argument that immigrants compete for jobs with U.S. workers and depress their wages. The argument is anathema to many economists and pro-business Republicans who argue that immigration fuels long-term U.S. growth and keeps U.S. industries competitive.
The debate remains a significant fault line in the Republican Party, with many GOP members unwilling to support the more hard-line positions Miller backs. Trump’s efforts to overhaul the immigration system have floundered in Congress.
...Miller was involved in crafting and selling the executive order, officials said, working quietly without many others in the administration knowing. Senior White House officials said the memo had not been vetted by lawyers or top officials before the president tweeted that he would be signing it.
...(Order) does not apply to immigrants already living and working in the United States who are seeking permanent residency, nor does it apply to the spouses and children of U.S. citizens, among other exemptions.
But the measure, which took effect Thursday, does block the other immigrant visa categories Trump calls “chain migration,” namely the ability for U.S. citizens to sponsor their parents, adult children and siblings. Last year, the State Department issued about 460,000 immigrant visas, and more than half were in the categories the order halts.
...because the order has no bearing on farmworkers, medical professionals and other “nonimmigrant” visa categories, restrictionist groups panned the move.
On the call, Miller sounded stung by the criticism from the right (blasting the order for excluding temporary work visas) and urged surrogates and supporters to speak up for the president. “All around the country, Americans of every political stripe will rally behind an initiative to make sure that they, their children, their parents, their husbands, wives, sons, uncles, nephews, cousins can be the first to get a job when it opens up, to get her old job back when they rehire or to keep their job if they already have one...Those individuals have a right and an expectation to get their jobs back and not to be replaced by foreign workers. That’s the action the president took, it is historic. It is vital, it is necessary, it is patriotic and it deserves the full-throated support of everybody on this call.”...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/stephen-miller-audio-immigration-coro...
Trump's executive order on immigration, explained
Nick Miroff and Josh Dawsey | April 24, 2020
Trump senior policy adviser Stephen Miller told White House supporters in a private call this week that the president’s new executive order curbing immigration will usher in the kind of broader long-term changes to American society he has advocated for years, even though the 60-day measures were publicly characterized as a “pause” during the coronavirus pandemic.
Miller, the chief architect of the president’s immigration agenda and one of his longest-serving and most trusted advisers, spoke to a group of Trump surrogates Thursday in an off-the-record call about the new executive order, which had been signed the night before. Although the White House had seen the move as something that would resonate with Trump’s political base, the administration instead was facing criticism from immigration hard-liners who were disappointed that the order does not apply to temporary foreign workers despite Trump pitching it as helping to protect jobs for Americans.
Miller told the group that subsequent measures were under consideration that would restrict guest worker programs, but the “the most important thing is to turn off the faucet of new immigrant labor,” he said, according to a recording obtained by The Washington Post. Miller indicated that the strategy is part of a long-term vision and not seen only as a stopgap.
“As a numerical proposition, when you suspend the entry of a new immigrant from abroad, you’re also reducing immigration further because the chains of follow-on migration that are disrupted,” said Miller, one of the executive order’s main authors. “So the benefit to American workers compounds with time.”
...The Trump administration has been trying for years to scrap the family-based U.S. immigration model, which Miller and other restrictionists call “chain migration.” Instead, the White House favors a more restrictive system based on job skills and U.S. labor market demands.
Although Trump described his order this week as a temporary “pause,” he also said it is an open-ended move that will remain in place until he decides the U.S. labor market has sufficiently improved once the coronavirus crisis subsides. He said he will reevaluate it after 60 days and might extend the immigration restrictions to help Americans find jobs when states reopen their economies.
...The title of Trump’s order — “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the Covid-19 Outbreak” — makes explicit that the underlying rationale for the president’s restrictions are economic, not epidemiological.
...Miller has been the leading proponent of the argument that immigrants compete for jobs with U.S. workers and depress their wages. The argument is anathema to many economists and pro-business Republicans who argue that immigration fuels long-term U.S. growth and keeps U.S. industries competitive.
The debate remains a significant fault line in the Republican Party, with many GOP members unwilling to support the more hard-line positions Miller backs. Trump’s efforts to overhaul the immigration system have floundered in Congress.
...Miller was involved in crafting and selling the executive order, officials said, working quietly without many others in the administration knowing. Senior White House officials said the memo had not been vetted by lawyers or top officials before the president tweeted that he would be signing it.
...(Order) does not apply to immigrants already living and working in the United States who are seeking permanent residency, nor does it apply to the spouses and children of U.S. citizens, among other exemptions.
But the measure, which took effect Thursday, does block the other immigrant visa categories Trump calls “chain migration,” namely the ability for U.S. citizens to sponsor their parents, adult children and siblings. Last year, the State Department issued about 460,000 immigrant visas, and more than half were in the categories the order halts.
...because the order has no bearing on farmworkers, medical professionals and other “nonimmigrant” visa categories, restrictionist groups panned the move.
On the call, Miller sounded stung by the criticism from the right (blasting the order for excluding temporary work visas) and urged surrogates and supporters to speak up for the president. “All around the country, Americans of every political stripe will rally behind an initiative to make sure that they, their children, their parents, their husbands, wives, sons, uncles, nephews, cousins can be the first to get a job when it opens up, to get her old job back when they rehire or to keep their job if they already have one...Those individuals have a right and an expectation to get their jobs back and not to be replaced by foreign workers. That’s the action the president took, it is historic. It is vital, it is necessary, it is patriotic and it deserves the full-throated support of everybody on this call.”...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/stephen-miller-audio-immigration-coro...
126John5918
US expelling hundreds of child migrants, citing coronavirus pandemic (Guardian)
The migrants, mostly teenagers from Central America, would normally be allowed to remain in the US to argue their case in court...
The migrants, mostly teenagers from Central America, would normally be allowed to remain in the US to argue their case in court...
127John5918
The June 2020 International Refugee RIghts Initiative's Rights in Exile newsletter contains a number of articles of relevance to the USA:
The Trump Administration offers an indefensible legal defense of its asylum ban
US: Lawsuit over “Remain in Mexico” program secrecy
Indefinite suspension of protections for asylum seekers and unaccompanied children under 19 May 2020 order by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision on PSG in Juan Antonio v. Barr
COVID-19 Is no excuse to abandon basic principles protecting refugees and asylum seekers
Now is not the time for the US to deport Venezuelans
The Trump Administration offers an indefensible legal defense of its asylum ban
US: Lawsuit over “Remain in Mexico” program secrecy
Indefinite suspension of protections for asylum seekers and unaccompanied children under 19 May 2020 order by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision on PSG in Juan Antonio v. Barr
COVID-19 Is no excuse to abandon basic principles protecting refugees and asylum seekers
Now is not the time for the US to deport Venezuelans
1282wonderY
Supreme Court rules Trump cannot end DACA in big win for 'Dreamer' legal immigrants
The decision authored mostly by Chief Justice John Roberts said the government failed to give an adequate justification for ending the federal program. The administration could try again to shut it down by offering a more detailed explanation for its action, but the White House might not want to end such a popular program in the heat of a presidential campaign.
Roberts was joined in the majority by liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.
"We conclude that the acting secretary did violate the Administrative Procedure Act," and that the decision to rescind DACA "must be vacated," Roberts wrote.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh filed opinions that concurred with parts of the majority and with parts of the dissent.
The decision authored mostly by Chief Justice John Roberts said the government failed to give an adequate justification for ending the federal program. The administration could try again to shut it down by offering a more detailed explanation for its action, but the White House might not want to end such a popular program in the heat of a presidential campaign.
Roberts was joined in the majority by liberal Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.
"We conclude that the acting secretary did violate the Administrative Procedure Act," and that the decision to rescind DACA "must be vacated," Roberts wrote.
Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh filed opinions that concurred with parts of the majority and with parts of the dissent.
129proximity1
100 posts (since my previous post) ---100 posts of nothing but idiotic blithering.
Talk amongst yourselves here.
Not a single opposition voice has bothered to intervene during what was close to a year of this crap--which I, like all others who dismiss your fucking nonsense, have completely ignored.
None of this stupid bullshit is worth the trouble of clicking into view. And so I haven't. But it is hilarious that you lot are content to operate in what amounts to an echo-chamber of agreement and mutual approval.
LOL!
130kiparsky
>129 proximity1: It's intriguing that you talk about an echo chamber, but every post you make is addressed to the two or three people here who share your views, essentially coaching them in how to believe more like you.
And when I review you refer to as "blithering", what I see is mostly citations from respectable news organizations about recent developments related to the topic at hand.
Is there any particular reason you participate in a group aimed at discussion when you dismiss any discussion as "fucking nonsense"? Is your hyper-aggressive stance actually the sort of defensive posturing that it seems to be, and if not, why are you acting like someone who's terrified of an argument? Most important, if you're so afraid that your beliefs don't stand up to the simplest scrutiny and discussion, why do you bother to hold them at all?
And when I review you refer to as "blithering", what I see is mostly citations from respectable news organizations about recent developments related to the topic at hand.
Is there any particular reason you participate in a group aimed at discussion when you dismiss any discussion as "fucking nonsense"? Is your hyper-aggressive stance actually the sort of defensive posturing that it seems to be, and if not, why are you acting like someone who's terrified of an argument? Most important, if you're so afraid that your beliefs don't stand up to the simplest scrutiny and discussion, why do you bother to hold them at all?
131margd
The Lapses That Let a Saudi Extremist Shoot Up a U.S. Navy Base
Michael LaForgia and Eric Schmitt | June 21, 2020
...lapses far more extensive than previously known in how international military students are selected, screened and monitored once in the United States....
Saudi security services failed to detect early clues from Lieutenant Alshamrani’s online life that might have disqualified him from joining the military and prevented him from receiving clearance to apply for the American training program.
The American vetting system operated by the State Department and the Pentagon, with access to vast U.S. intelligence and law enforcement data, failed to spot a pattern of troubling social media activity that connected him with extremist ideology.
An insider threat program developed by the Pentagon after the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009 and the Washington Navy Yard in 2013 did not monitor his movements and actions once the lieutenant arrived in the United States — because officials had not extended it to cover military trainees from foreign countries.
Lieutenant Alshamrani was in contact with Al Qaeda beginning two years before coming to the United States for training, and remained so up until the night before the shooting...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/us/politics/saudi-gunman-vetting.html
Michael LaForgia and Eric Schmitt | June 21, 2020
...lapses far more extensive than previously known in how international military students are selected, screened and monitored once in the United States....
Saudi security services failed to detect early clues from Lieutenant Alshamrani’s online life that might have disqualified him from joining the military and prevented him from receiving clearance to apply for the American training program.
The American vetting system operated by the State Department and the Pentagon, with access to vast U.S. intelligence and law enforcement data, failed to spot a pattern of troubling social media activity that connected him with extremist ideology.
An insider threat program developed by the Pentagon after the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009 and the Washington Navy Yard in 2013 did not monitor his movements and actions once the lieutenant arrived in the United States — because officials had not extended it to cover military trainees from foreign countries.
Lieutenant Alshamrani was in contact with Al Qaeda beginning two years before coming to the United States for training, and remained so up until the night before the shooting...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/us/politics/saudi-gunman-vetting.html
132margd
Judge overturns Trump border rule requiring immigrants to first claim asylum in another country
Dennis Romero | July 1, 2020
Under the rule, the U.S. could refuse to consider a request for asylum from anyone who failed to apply for it after leaving home but before reaching the U.S....
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-overturns-trump-border-rule-requiring...
_________________________________________________
Judge Overturns Trump Border Rule Requiring Immigrants to Claim Asylum in Another Country
The Trump administration rule required asylum seekers from Central America to apply for asylum in Mexico
July 1, 2020
...U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the District of Columbia ruled in favor of immigrant nonprofits and asylum seekers who argued that the eligibility of the rule known as the "Third-Country Asylum Rule," which was jointly published by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, wrongly violated the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Kelly agreed that in adopting the policy, the administration did not abide by the federal Administrative Procedure Act, which requires that Americans have enough time and opportunity to weigh in on such rule changes.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/politics/judge-overturns-trump-border-rule-requi...
Dennis Romero | July 1, 2020
Under the rule, the U.S. could refuse to consider a request for asylum from anyone who failed to apply for it after leaving home but before reaching the U.S....
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-overturns-trump-border-rule-requiring...
_________________________________________________
Judge Overturns Trump Border Rule Requiring Immigrants to Claim Asylum in Another Country
The Trump administration rule required asylum seekers from Central America to apply for asylum in Mexico
July 1, 2020
...U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the District of Columbia ruled in favor of immigrant nonprofits and asylum seekers who argued that the eligibility of the rule known as the "Third-Country Asylum Rule," which was jointly published by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, wrongly violated the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Kelly agreed that in adopting the policy, the administration did not abide by the federal Administrative Procedure Act, which requires that Americans have enough time and opportunity to weigh in on such rule changes.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/politics/judge-overturns-trump-border-rule-requi...
133margd
Americans Want More, Not Less, Immigration for First Time
Mohamed Younis | July 1, 2020
Story Highlights
34% would like to see immigration to the U.S. increased
28% would like to see immigration to U.S. decreased
Democrats (50%) most likely to want increase in immigration
https://news.gallup.com/poll/313106/americans-not-less-immigration-first-time.as...
Mohamed Younis | July 1, 2020
Story Highlights
34% would like to see immigration to the U.S. increased
28% would like to see immigration to U.S. decreased
Democrats (50%) most likely to want increase in immigration
https://news.gallup.com/poll/313106/americans-not-less-immigration-first-time.as...
134margd
The Wall Street Journal WSJ · 2h:
Foreign students in the U.S. whose classes are taught completely online
will have to transfer to another school with face-to-face instruction or leave the country
https://on.wsj.com/3f6cvpc
Foreign students in the U.S. whose classes are taught completely online
will have to transfer to another school with face-to-face instruction or leave the country
https://on.wsj.com/3f6cvpc
135margd
How the Trump administration is turning legal immigrants into undocumented ones
Catherine Rampell | July 9, 2020
...Without telling Congress, the administration has scaled back the printing of documents it has already promised to immigrants — including green cards, the wallet-size I.D.’s legal permanent residents must carry everywhere to prove they are in the United States lawfully.
In mid-June, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ contract ended with the company that had been printing these documents. Production was slated to be insourced, but “the agency’s financial situation,” USCIS said Thursday, prompted a hiring freeze that required it to ratchet down printing.
Of the two facilities where these credentials were printed, one, in Corbin, Ky., shut down production three weeks ago. The other facility, in Lee’s Summit, Mo., appears to be operating at reduced capacity.
Some 50,000 green cards and 75,000 other employment authorization documents promised to immigrants haven’t been printed, USCIS said in a statement. The agency said it had planned to escalate printing but that it “cannot speculate on future projections of processing times.” In the event of furloughs — which the agency has threatened if it does not get a $1.2 billion loan from Congress — “all agency operations will be affected.”
Some of the missing green cards are for immigrants newly approved for legal permanent residency. Others are for existing permanent residents who periodically must renew their identity cards, which expire every 10 years but sometimes must be replaced sooner (for example, if lost)...
...USCIS, which is funded almost entirely by fees, is undergoing a budget crisis, largely caused by financial mismanagement by political leadership.
...The administration has taken other steps in recent months that curb immigration. Presidential executive orders have almost entirely ended issuance of green cards and work-based visas for people applying from outside the country; red tape and bureaucracy have slowed the process for those applying from within U.S. borders. For a while, the agency refused to forward files from one office to another. The centers that collect necessary biometric data remain shuttered.
These pipeline delays are likely to dramatically reduce the number of green cards ultimately approved and issued this year.
Under normal circumstances, immigrants who need proof of legal residency but haven’t yet received their green card would have an alternative: get a special passport stamp from USCIS. But amid covid-related changes, applicants must provide evidence of a “critical need,” with little guidance about what that means...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-the-trump-administration-is-turning-...
Catherine Rampell | July 9, 2020
...Without telling Congress, the administration has scaled back the printing of documents it has already promised to immigrants — including green cards, the wallet-size I.D.’s legal permanent residents must carry everywhere to prove they are in the United States lawfully.
In mid-June, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ contract ended with the company that had been printing these documents. Production was slated to be insourced, but “the agency’s financial situation,” USCIS said Thursday, prompted a hiring freeze that required it to ratchet down printing.
Of the two facilities where these credentials were printed, one, in Corbin, Ky., shut down production three weeks ago. The other facility, in Lee’s Summit, Mo., appears to be operating at reduced capacity.
Some 50,000 green cards and 75,000 other employment authorization documents promised to immigrants haven’t been printed, USCIS said in a statement. The agency said it had planned to escalate printing but that it “cannot speculate on future projections of processing times.” In the event of furloughs — which the agency has threatened if it does not get a $1.2 billion loan from Congress — “all agency operations will be affected.”
Some of the missing green cards are for immigrants newly approved for legal permanent residency. Others are for existing permanent residents who periodically must renew their identity cards, which expire every 10 years but sometimes must be replaced sooner (for example, if lost)...
...USCIS, which is funded almost entirely by fees, is undergoing a budget crisis, largely caused by financial mismanagement by political leadership.
...The administration has taken other steps in recent months that curb immigration. Presidential executive orders have almost entirely ended issuance of green cards and work-based visas for people applying from outside the country; red tape and bureaucracy have slowed the process for those applying from within U.S. borders. For a while, the agency refused to forward files from one office to another. The centers that collect necessary biometric data remain shuttered.
These pipeline delays are likely to dramatically reduce the number of green cards ultimately approved and issued this year.
Under normal circumstances, immigrants who need proof of legal residency but haven’t yet received their green card would have an alternative: get a special passport stamp from USCIS. But amid covid-related changes, applicants must provide evidence of a “critical need,” with little guidance about what that means...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-the-trump-administration-is-turning-...
136kiparsky
Came across this clip from a Reagan/Bush debate of 1980.
Apparently the Republicans' fixation with booting the "illegals" in the teeth is a pretty recent thing. Forty years ago, their two top contenders for the presidency both agreed that Mexican (and presumably other Central and South American nationals) should be allowed free access to work and live in the US.
Very rare that I find that we would get much closer to my radical left positions if we just went back to what Reagan proposed back when I was a kid.
Apparently the Republicans' fixation with booting the "illegals" in the teeth is a pretty recent thing. Forty years ago, their two top contenders for the presidency both agreed that Mexican (and presumably other Central and South American nationals) should be allowed free access to work and live in the US.
Very rare that I find that we would get much closer to my radical left positions if we just went back to what Reagan proposed back when I was a kid.
137margd
Federal Appeals Court Overturns Trump Asylum Policy
17 July 2020
...the U.S. appeals court in Washington overturned a policy that made it harder for people fleeing persecution to receive asylum...the U.S. government could not make it a requirement for asylum seekers to demonstrate they are fleeing harmful circumstances that their home country either “condoned” or was completely helpless to prevent.
In cases where people are fleeing persecution from someone other than the government, the U.S. had historically used a less demanding standard, requiring asylum seekers to show that their home country was merely “unwilling or unable” to stop the harm.
...The appeals court decision upheld the ruling of a district judge who had also overturned a second U.S. policy denying asylum to immigrants fleeing domestic or gang violence. The appeals court vacated that aspect of the district judge’s ruling, saying the language of the administration’s policy on domestic and gang violence fell short of creating a systemic ban on granting asylum to people in that situation...
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/trump-asylum-court/2020/07/17/id/977765/
17 July 2020
...the U.S. appeals court in Washington overturned a policy that made it harder for people fleeing persecution to receive asylum...the U.S. government could not make it a requirement for asylum seekers to demonstrate they are fleeing harmful circumstances that their home country either “condoned” or was completely helpless to prevent.
In cases where people are fleeing persecution from someone other than the government, the U.S. had historically used a less demanding standard, requiring asylum seekers to show that their home country was merely “unwilling or unable” to stop the harm.
...The appeals court decision upheld the ruling of a district judge who had also overturned a second U.S. policy denying asylum to immigrants fleeing domestic or gang violence. The appeals court vacated that aspect of the district judge’s ruling, saying the language of the administration’s policy on domestic and gang violence fell short of creating a systemic ban on granting asylum to people in that situation...
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/trump-asylum-court/2020/07/17/id/977765/
138John5918
One of those occasions when the immigration policy worked. Well done USA, and thanks. I know this chap personally.
South Sudan activist flees to US, says Kiir wanted him dead (AP)
A prominent South Sudanese activist has fled to the United States with the help of the U.S. government, which issued emergency visas to him and his family after he said South Sudan’s president ordered him abducted or killed. Peter Biar Ajak arrived in Washington late Thursday after weeks of hiding in Kenya and an anxious departure complicated by coronavirus restrictions.
“The last few weeks have been a bit terrifying. Extremely terrifying”...
But on the other hand...
Revealed: Rod Rosenstein advised there was no age limit on child separations (Guardian)
Rod Rosenstein, the former deputy attorney general, advised US attorneys implementing the 2018 zero-tolerance policy that there could be no blanket ban on prosecuting migrant parents who had children under the age of five, the Guardian has learned.
The comments on a conference call in May 2018 privately shocked some border state prosecutors because, in effect, it meant that no child was too young to be separated from its parents under the policy, which called for all migrants entering the US illegally to face criminal prosecution.
The family separations that followed are seen today by experts as one of the gravest domestic human rights violations to have occurred under the Trump administration...
South Sudan activist flees to US, says Kiir wanted him dead (AP)
A prominent South Sudanese activist has fled to the United States with the help of the U.S. government, which issued emergency visas to him and his family after he said South Sudan’s president ordered him abducted or killed. Peter Biar Ajak arrived in Washington late Thursday after weeks of hiding in Kenya and an anxious departure complicated by coronavirus restrictions.
“The last few weeks have been a bit terrifying. Extremely terrifying”...
But on the other hand...
Revealed: Rod Rosenstein advised there was no age limit on child separations (Guardian)
Rod Rosenstein, the former deputy attorney general, advised US attorneys implementing the 2018 zero-tolerance policy that there could be no blanket ban on prosecuting migrant parents who had children under the age of five, the Guardian has learned.
The comments on a conference call in May 2018 privately shocked some border state prosecutors because, in effect, it meant that no child was too young to be separated from its parents under the policy, which called for all migrants entering the US illegally to face criminal prosecution.
The family separations that followed are seen today by experts as one of the gravest domestic human rights violations to have occurred under the Trump administration...
139John5918
The Catholic Church in Germany has asked partners in Africa to prepare a homily (sermon) for German pastors to preach on the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR), Sunday, 27 September 2020. It is available in English here. Who knows, it might be useful for US Christians to read it - or even to preach it during church services on that day as the Germans will be doing.
140margd
Immigration Nation | Official Trailer | Netflix
•Jul 22, 2020
This documentary series offers a unique and nuanced view of the ongoing struggles in America's broken immigration system.
2:33 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_xVKy58Yuw )
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Horrifying ICE Documentary Trump Doesn’t Want You to See
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL (Netflix)
Marlow Stern | Aug. 03, 2020
In 2017, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in their infinite wisdom, granted a pair of filmmakers unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to their officers and facilities. And for nearly three years, Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz captured the human toll of Trump’s zero tolerance immigration policy, which saw undocumented families ripped apart and placed in ruinous detention centers.
According to Clusiau and Schwarz, ICE—who were contractually allowed to review cuts of the series but to only request edits for privacy violations or factual errors—demanded that the series’ release be held until after the 2020 election, and that the request came from “all the way to the top,” reported The New York Times. Despite governmental pressure, the resulting 6-part docuseries, Immigration Nation, is hitting Netflix on Aug. 3...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-netflixs-immigration-nation-the-horrifying-...
•Jul 22, 2020
This documentary series offers a unique and nuanced view of the ongoing struggles in America's broken immigration system.
2:33 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_xVKy58Yuw )
------------------------------------------------------------------
The Horrifying ICE Documentary Trump Doesn’t Want You to See
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL (Netflix)
Marlow Stern | Aug. 03, 2020
In 2017, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in their infinite wisdom, granted a pair of filmmakers unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to their officers and facilities. And for nearly three years, Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz captured the human toll of Trump’s zero tolerance immigration policy, which saw undocumented families ripped apart and placed in ruinous detention centers.
According to Clusiau and Schwarz, ICE—who were contractually allowed to review cuts of the series but to only request edits for privacy violations or factual errors—demanded that the series’ release be held until after the 2020 election, and that the request came from “all the way to the top,” reported The New York Times. Despite governmental pressure, the resulting 6-part docuseries, Immigration Nation, is hitting Netflix on Aug. 3...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-netflixs-immigration-nation-the-horrifying-...
141margd
Journalists and defense lawyers are concerned. Jeff Bezos et al. should be!
Erin D. Cauchi @EDCauchi | 2:30 PM · Aug 10, 2020:
https://twitter.com/EDCauchi/status/1292891033311891456
In a remarkable disclosure, DHS says CBP has a new system to extract & store tons of personal information from travelers' electronics when they cross U.S. borders: social media, emails, sms, financial transactions, location history and much more
https://dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy-pia-cbp053a-digitalfore... *
Image ( https://twitter.com/EDCauchi/status/1292891033311891456/photo/1 )
---------------------------------------------------------------
*Privacy Impact Assessment for the U.S. Border Patrol Digital Forensics Programs
DHS Reference No. DHS/CBP/PIA-053(a)
July 30, 2020 (10 p)
...Information USBP may extract or later identify and retain from an electronic device may include the following:
•Contacts;
•Call Logs/Details;
•IP Addressesused by the device;
•Calendar Events;
•GPS Locations used by the device;
•Emails;
•Social Media Information;
•Cell Site Information;
•Phone Numbers;
•Videos and Pictures;
•Account Information (User Names and Aliases);
•Text/chat messages;
•Financial Accounts and Transactions;
•Location History;
•Browser bookmarks;
•Notes;
•Network Information;and
•Tasks List.
These files may contain text that includes biographic and other information related to the owner of the device and any contacts...
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy-pia-cbp053a-digital...
Erin D. Cauchi @EDCauchi | 2:30 PM · Aug 10, 2020:
https://twitter.com/EDCauchi/status/1292891033311891456
In a remarkable disclosure, DHS says CBP has a new system to extract & store tons of personal information from travelers' electronics when they cross U.S. borders: social media, emails, sms, financial transactions, location history and much more
https://dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy-pia-cbp053a-digitalfore... *
Image ( https://twitter.com/EDCauchi/status/1292891033311891456/photo/1 )
---------------------------------------------------------------
*Privacy Impact Assessment for the U.S. Border Patrol Digital Forensics Programs
DHS Reference No. DHS/CBP/PIA-053(a)
July 30, 2020 (10 p)
...Information USBP may extract or later identify and retain from an electronic device may include the following:
•Contacts;
•Call Logs/Details;
•IP Addressesused by the device;
•Calendar Events;
•GPS Locations used by the device;
•Emails;
•Social Media Information;
•Cell Site Information;
•Phone Numbers;
•Videos and Pictures;
•Account Information (User Names and Aliases);
•Text/chat messages;
•Financial Accounts and Transactions;
•Location History;
•Browser bookmarks;
•Notes;
•Network Information;and
•Tasks List.
These files may contain text that includes biographic and other information related to the owner of the device and any contacts...
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/privacy-pia-cbp053a-digital...
142John5918
Trump administration using private security firm to detain migrant children in major hotel chains (Independent)
Children as young as 1 being put in hotels under supervision of transportation workers not licensed to provide childcare...
Children as young as 1 being put in hotels under supervision of transportation workers not licensed to provide childcare...
143John5918
How Angela Merkel’s great migrant gamble paid off (Guardian)
Five years ago, as more and more refugees crossed into Europe, Germany’s chancellor proclaimed, ‘We’ll manage this.’ Critics said it was her great mistake – but she has been proved right...
Five years ago, as more and more refugees crossed into Europe, Germany’s chancellor proclaimed, ‘We’ll manage this.’ Critics said it was her great mistake – but she has been proved right...
144John5918
Rights in Exile newsletter September 2020
Items which may be relevant to US immigration policy include:
Follow the bouncing ball: Persecution and the shifting burden of proof in the US
Refugee eligibility: Challenging stereotypes and reviving the “benefit of the doubt”
The US Supreme Court’s attack on habeas corpus in DHS v. Thuraissigiam
Fourteen principles of protection for migrants and displaced people during COVID-19
US Court of Appeals remands CAT case for LGBTIQ individual
US Court of Appeals upholds injunction seeking to bar asylum-seekers at US-Mexico border
US Court of Appeals on adverse credibility finding
US Court of Appeals grants petition for review of BIA decision to remove CAT protection
Are most asylum seekers really not credible?
The US hired me to protect refugees. Now it tells me to abandon them.
Trump's new asylum rules extinguish hope for LGBTQ asylum seekers in the US
Inventing a “migrant invasion” is part of a toxic rhetorical ploy
COVID-19 and the chance to reform US refugee policy
Refugee resettlement is close to collapse in the US. That was Trump’s plan.
Items which may be relevant to US immigration policy include:
Follow the bouncing ball: Persecution and the shifting burden of proof in the US
Refugee eligibility: Challenging stereotypes and reviving the “benefit of the doubt”
The US Supreme Court’s attack on habeas corpus in DHS v. Thuraissigiam
Fourteen principles of protection for migrants and displaced people during COVID-19
US Court of Appeals remands CAT case for LGBTIQ individual
US Court of Appeals upholds injunction seeking to bar asylum-seekers at US-Mexico border
US Court of Appeals on adverse credibility finding
US Court of Appeals grants petition for review of BIA decision to remove CAT protection
Are most asylum seekers really not credible?
The US hired me to protect refugees. Now it tells me to abandon them.
Trump's new asylum rules extinguish hope for LGBTQ asylum seekers in the US
Inventing a “migrant invasion” is part of a toxic rhetorical ploy
COVID-19 and the chance to reform US refugee policy
Refugee resettlement is close to collapse in the US. That was Trump’s plan.
145John5918
Rights groups appalled as Trump cuts US refugee admissions to record low (Guardian)
Donald Trump’s administration has announced plans to let only 15,000 refugees resettle in the United States in the 2021 fiscal year that began on Thursday, setting another record low in the history of the modern refugee program and prompting outrage from civil rights groups...
Donald Trump’s administration has announced plans to let only 15,000 refugees resettle in the United States in the 2021 fiscal year that began on Thursday, setting another record low in the history of the modern refugee program and prompting outrage from civil rights groups...
146John5918
The International Refugee Rights Initiative's Rights in Exile Newsletter for October 2020 is now out. Some articles which are connected to immigration policy in the USA include:
Judge says “Poppycock!” to Trump program that let US border patrol screen asylum applicants
Whistleblowers Say CBP Knowingly Broke The Law As It Turned Back Asylum-Seekers
US Attorney General decision on Matter of A-C-A-A-
Canada could provide a safe haven for refugees suffering US abuses
US-led wars have displaced 37 million people. America should accept responsibility
Trump’s policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs
Judge says “Poppycock!” to Trump program that let US border patrol screen asylum applicants
Whistleblowers Say CBP Knowingly Broke The Law As It Turned Back Asylum-Seekers
US Attorney General decision on Matter of A-C-A-A-
Canada could provide a safe haven for refugees suffering US abuses
US-led wars have displaced 37 million people. America should accept responsibility
Trump’s policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs
147margd
‘We Need to Take Away Children,’ No Matter How Young, Justice Dept. Officials Said
Michael D. Shear, Katie Benner and Michael S. Schmidt | Oct. 6, 2020
...The Justice Department’s top officials were “a driving force” behind the policy that spurred the separation of thousands of families, many of them fleeing violence in Central America and seeking asylum in the United States, before Mr. Trump abandoned it amid global outrage, according to a draft report of the results of the investigation by Michael E. Horowitz, the department’s inspector general.
...The draft report also documented other revelations that had not previously been known:
Government prosecutors reacted with alarm at the separation of children from their parents during a secret 2017 pilot program along the Mexican border in Texas. “We have now heard of us taking breastfeeding defendant moms away from their infants,” one government prosecutor wrote to his superiors. “I did not believe this until I looked at the duty log.”
Border Patrol officers missed serious felony cases because they were stretched too thin by the zero-tolerance policy requiring them to detain and prosecute all of the misdemeanor illegal entry cases. One Texas prosecutor warned top Justice Department officials in 2018 that “sex offenders were released” as a result.
Senior Justice Department officials viewed the welfare of the children as the responsibility of other agencies and their duty as tracking the parents. “I just don’t see that as a D.O.J. equity,” Mr. Rosenstein told the inspector general.
The failure to inform the U.S. Marshals Service before announcing the zero-tolerance policy led to serious overcrowding and budget overruns. The marshals were forced to cut back on serving warrants in other cases, saying that “when you take away manpower, you can’t make a safe arrest.”
...Over all, Mr. Horowitz concluded in the draft, Mr. Sessions and other senior department officials “were aware that full implementation of the zero-tolerance policy would result in criminal referrals by D.H.S. of adults who enter the country illegally with children and that the prosecution of these family-unit adults would result in children being separated from families.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/us/politics/family-separation-border-immigrat...
Michael D. Shear, Katie Benner and Michael S. Schmidt | Oct. 6, 2020
...The Justice Department’s top officials were “a driving force” behind the policy that spurred the separation of thousands of families, many of them fleeing violence in Central America and seeking asylum in the United States, before Mr. Trump abandoned it amid global outrage, according to a draft report of the results of the investigation by Michael E. Horowitz, the department’s inspector general.
...The draft report also documented other revelations that had not previously been known:
Government prosecutors reacted with alarm at the separation of children from their parents during a secret 2017 pilot program along the Mexican border in Texas. “We have now heard of us taking breastfeeding defendant moms away from their infants,” one government prosecutor wrote to his superiors. “I did not believe this until I looked at the duty log.”
Border Patrol officers missed serious felony cases because they were stretched too thin by the zero-tolerance policy requiring them to detain and prosecute all of the misdemeanor illegal entry cases. One Texas prosecutor warned top Justice Department officials in 2018 that “sex offenders were released” as a result.
Senior Justice Department officials viewed the welfare of the children as the responsibility of other agencies and their duty as tracking the parents. “I just don’t see that as a D.O.J. equity,” Mr. Rosenstein told the inspector general.
The failure to inform the U.S. Marshals Service before announcing the zero-tolerance policy led to serious overcrowding and budget overruns. The marshals were forced to cut back on serving warrants in other cases, saying that “when you take away manpower, you can’t make a safe arrest.”
...Over all, Mr. Horowitz concluded in the draft, Mr. Sessions and other senior department officials “were aware that full implementation of the zero-tolerance policy would result in criminal referrals by D.H.S. of adults who enter the country illegally with children and that the prosecution of these family-unit adults would result in children being separated from families.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/us/politics/family-separation-border-immigrat...
148margd
Trump administration unveils new H-1B visa restrictions
New rules will make it harder to hire high-skilled foreign workers favored by tech companies, health care and academia
Tanvi Misra | October 6, 2020 at 6:07pm
The Trump administration on Tuesday announced new rules on the H-1B visa program that will make it more difficult for highly skilled foreign workers who have at least a college degree to work for U.S. companies.
During a press call Tuesday, top officials at the Homeland Security and Labor departments said the new rules would modify the current wage requirements of the program and restrict what types of occupations would be eligible for such visas, as well as put in place stricter enforcement. In an accompanying press release, officials billed these changes as an important first step in a larger coordination between the two departments to “protect American workers.”
...The Labor Department rule, unveiled in the Federal Register, would go into effect when it is published Thursday. In general terms, it would require U.S. employers to pay H-1B recruits higher wages so they have little incentive to lay off or displace American workers and replace them with cheaper foreign labor.”
...Changes under the DHS rule would be geared toward closing “loopholes” in the current regulations that allow companies — often called “shadow employers” or “body shops” — to mass recruit foreign workers and then contract them out to other businesses. The rule would also narrow the definition of “specialty occupations” eligible for H-1B visas and create a process for more worksite enforcement...The DHS rule would go into effect 60 days after it publishes Thursday in the Federal Register.
...The H-1B program allows 65,000 visas to be distributed each year to eligible foreign workers. It is most often associated with the tech sector, and enjoys wide support in Silicon Valley, but is also used to employ workers in academic, health care and business roles. In recent years, the number of applications for H-1Bs have far exceeded the annual cap, prompting the use of a lottery system to select which applications would be processed to fill the available spots.
The program has long elicited complaints from organizations and lawmakers from both parties. Critics often note examples in which large companies have replaced U.S. employees with H-1B workers, and how outsourcing companies, particularly Indian information technology firms, game the H-1B program to the detriment of U.S. small businesses and startups. Progressives have also pointed out that the program allows for the exploitation of foreign workers, who are dependent on their employer for their legal status in the United States.
Immigration restriction advocates and some labor groups have long pushed for the changes...
...Business leaders have argued that the H-1B visa program helps them recruit global talent and that restrictions would make that effort more difficult. Immigration experts have also noted that the visa is often used as a steppingstone by noncitizens who don’t have immediate relatives to immigrate legally to the United States, since they lack other viable pathways.
...immigration advocates expressed concerns that the changes announced were based on inflated and misleading estimates about the displacement of American workers through the program. Others suggested that the changes fit within the Trump administration’s broader agenda to restrict legal immigration to the United States.
Theresa Cardinal Brown, immigration and cross-border policy director at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said...“Lawsuits are inevitable, both on the scope of the rule but also in issuing it as an IFR interim final rule,” meaning they would be enacted immediately...
https://www.rollcall.com/2020/10/06/trump-administration-unveils-new-h-1b-visa-r...
New rules will make it harder to hire high-skilled foreign workers favored by tech companies, health care and academia
Tanvi Misra | October 6, 2020 at 6:07pm
The Trump administration on Tuesday announced new rules on the H-1B visa program that will make it more difficult for highly skilled foreign workers who have at least a college degree to work for U.S. companies.
During a press call Tuesday, top officials at the Homeland Security and Labor departments said the new rules would modify the current wage requirements of the program and restrict what types of occupations would be eligible for such visas, as well as put in place stricter enforcement. In an accompanying press release, officials billed these changes as an important first step in a larger coordination between the two departments to “protect American workers.”
...The Labor Department rule, unveiled in the Federal Register, would go into effect when it is published Thursday. In general terms, it would require U.S. employers to pay H-1B recruits higher wages so they have little incentive to lay off or displace American workers and replace them with cheaper foreign labor.”
...Changes under the DHS rule would be geared toward closing “loopholes” in the current regulations that allow companies — often called “shadow employers” or “body shops” — to mass recruit foreign workers and then contract them out to other businesses. The rule would also narrow the definition of “specialty occupations” eligible for H-1B visas and create a process for more worksite enforcement...The DHS rule would go into effect 60 days after it publishes Thursday in the Federal Register.
...The H-1B program allows 65,000 visas to be distributed each year to eligible foreign workers. It is most often associated with the tech sector, and enjoys wide support in Silicon Valley, but is also used to employ workers in academic, health care and business roles. In recent years, the number of applications for H-1Bs have far exceeded the annual cap, prompting the use of a lottery system to select which applications would be processed to fill the available spots.
The program has long elicited complaints from organizations and lawmakers from both parties. Critics often note examples in which large companies have replaced U.S. employees with H-1B workers, and how outsourcing companies, particularly Indian information technology firms, game the H-1B program to the detriment of U.S. small businesses and startups. Progressives have also pointed out that the program allows for the exploitation of foreign workers, who are dependent on their employer for their legal status in the United States.
Immigration restriction advocates and some labor groups have long pushed for the changes...
...Business leaders have argued that the H-1B visa program helps them recruit global talent and that restrictions would make that effort more difficult. Immigration experts have also noted that the visa is often used as a steppingstone by noncitizens who don’t have immediate relatives to immigrate legally to the United States, since they lack other viable pathways.
...immigration advocates expressed concerns that the changes announced were based on inflated and misleading estimates about the displacement of American workers through the program. Others suggested that the changes fit within the Trump administration’s broader agenda to restrict legal immigration to the United States.
Theresa Cardinal Brown, immigration and cross-border policy director at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said...“Lawsuits are inevitable, both on the scope of the rule but also in issuing it as an IFR interim final rule,” meaning they would be enacted immediately...
https://www.rollcall.com/2020/10/06/trump-administration-unveils-new-h-1b-visa-r...
149margd
I don't know this woman's immigration status, but farmers must be hard-pressed to find workers this quick!
(I worked in a couple of factories one summer. Came away with huge respect for fellow workers' speed, dexterity, and work ethic--and for unions. Fewer missing digits in union shop... Better pay, too.)
FYI she earns $1.86 per 60 bundles of radishes, and she paid more state and federal taxes than the president did.
#WeFeedYou
0:33 ( https://twitter.com/UFWupdates/status/1316958370121789440 )
From United Farm Workers
- United Farm Workers @UFWupdates12:25 AM · Oct 16, 2020
(I worked in a couple of factories one summer. Came away with huge respect for fellow workers' speed, dexterity, and work ethic--and for unions. Fewer missing digits in union shop... Better pay, too.)
FYI she earns $1.86 per 60 bundles of radishes, and she paid more state and federal taxes than the president did.
#WeFeedYou
0:33 ( https://twitter.com/UFWupdates/status/1316958370121789440 )
From United Farm Workers
- United Farm Workers @UFWupdates12:25 AM · Oct 16, 2020
150margd
Trump’s Overhaul of Immigration Is Worse Than You Think
This administration has attacked every aspect of the immigration system — and it won’t be easy to undo.
The Editorial Board | Oct. 10, 2020
...A report* this summer from the Migration Policy Institute outlined over 400 actions on immigration that had been enacted by a sprawling array of federal departments in the Trump era.
The effects are clear. Between 2016 and 2019, annual net immigration into the United States fell by almost half, to about 600,000 people per year — a level not seen since the 1980s — according to an analysis** by William H. Frey of the Brookings Institution...
The 2016-19 drop “is clearly a result of Trump’s restrictive immigration measures,” Mr. Frey told the editorial board, “including immigrant bans from selected countries, greater limits on refugees, and generating fear among other potential immigrant groups over this administration’s unwelcoming policies.”...
...If Democrats were to take control of Congress and the White House next year, it would be fairly simple to undo some of the damage Mr. Trump has done to the nation’s immigration system... Dreamers ... travel ban...refugees... ICE could be directed to once again concentrate on deporting criminals. Resources could be shifted to smarter border security measures that don’t rely on a physical wall.
...After undoing the cruelest and most pointless of the president’s changes to the immigration system, a new administration would need to make difficult decisions about controlling the border, assessing the role that skills and family ties should play in admitting immigrants, enforcing employment laws for unauthorized immigrants and creating a pathway to citizenship for millions of those workers and their families...
With a pandemic and an economic crisis to address, immigration may not seem like a priority. Yet if it is not addressed, the immigration system Mr. Trump has erected may be in operation for years to come.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/10/opinion/sunday/trump-immigration-child-separa...
---------------------------------------------------------------
* Sarah Pierce and Jessica Bolter. 2020. Dismantling and Reconstructing the U.S. Immigration System: A Catalog of Changes under the Trump Presidency. Migration Policy Institute (July 2020) https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/us-immigration-system-changes-trump-pre...
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
A. What Has Changed?
B. Driving Reform through Layered Changes
C. Pushback and the Search for Alternatives
D. Cataloging a Period of Intense Change
2 Pandemic Response
A. Travel Bans and Visa Processing
B. Border Security and Asylum Processing at the U.S.-Mexico Border
C. Interior Enforcement
D. The Immigration Court System
E. Immigration Benefits
3 Immigration Enforcement
A. Border Security
B. Interior Enforcement
4 U.S. Department of Justice
A. Instructions to Immigration Judges
B. Attorney General Referral and Review
5 Humanitarian Flows
A. Refugees
B. Asylum Seekers
C. Unaccompanied Children
D. Temporary Protected Status Recipients
E. Victims of Trafficking and Other Crimes
6 U.S. Department of State
7 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Department of Labor
A. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
B. Immigrant Visas
C. Nonimmigrant Visas
D. Parole
8 Other Actions
9 Conclusion
-----------------------------------------------------------
** William H. Frey. 2020. The 2010s may have seen the slowest population growth in U.S. history, census data show
A 2020 census preview of population and congressional reapportionment. Brookings Institution (January 2, 2020)
https://www.brookings.edu/research/population-change-and-the-projected-change-in...
This administration has attacked every aspect of the immigration system — and it won’t be easy to undo.
The Editorial Board | Oct. 10, 2020
...A report* this summer from the Migration Policy Institute outlined over 400 actions on immigration that had been enacted by a sprawling array of federal departments in the Trump era.
The effects are clear. Between 2016 and 2019, annual net immigration into the United States fell by almost half, to about 600,000 people per year — a level not seen since the 1980s — according to an analysis** by William H. Frey of the Brookings Institution...
The 2016-19 drop “is clearly a result of Trump’s restrictive immigration measures,” Mr. Frey told the editorial board, “including immigrant bans from selected countries, greater limits on refugees, and generating fear among other potential immigrant groups over this administration’s unwelcoming policies.”...
...If Democrats were to take control of Congress and the White House next year, it would be fairly simple to undo some of the damage Mr. Trump has done to the nation’s immigration system... Dreamers ... travel ban...refugees... ICE could be directed to once again concentrate on deporting criminals. Resources could be shifted to smarter border security measures that don’t rely on a physical wall.
...After undoing the cruelest and most pointless of the president’s changes to the immigration system, a new administration would need to make difficult decisions about controlling the border, assessing the role that skills and family ties should play in admitting immigrants, enforcing employment laws for unauthorized immigrants and creating a pathway to citizenship for millions of those workers and their families...
With a pandemic and an economic crisis to address, immigration may not seem like a priority. Yet if it is not addressed, the immigration system Mr. Trump has erected may be in operation for years to come.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/10/opinion/sunday/trump-immigration-child-separa...
---------------------------------------------------------------
* Sarah Pierce and Jessica Bolter. 2020. Dismantling and Reconstructing the U.S. Immigration System: A Catalog of Changes under the Trump Presidency. Migration Policy Institute (July 2020) https://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/us-immigration-system-changes-trump-pre...
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
A. What Has Changed?
B. Driving Reform through Layered Changes
C. Pushback and the Search for Alternatives
D. Cataloging a Period of Intense Change
2 Pandemic Response
A. Travel Bans and Visa Processing
B. Border Security and Asylum Processing at the U.S.-Mexico Border
C. Interior Enforcement
D. The Immigration Court System
E. Immigration Benefits
3 Immigration Enforcement
A. Border Security
B. Interior Enforcement
4 U.S. Department of Justice
A. Instructions to Immigration Judges
B. Attorney General Referral and Review
5 Humanitarian Flows
A. Refugees
B. Asylum Seekers
C. Unaccompanied Children
D. Temporary Protected Status Recipients
E. Victims of Trafficking and Other Crimes
6 U.S. Department of State
7 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. Department of Labor
A. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
B. Immigrant Visas
C. Nonimmigrant Visas
D. Parole
8 Other Actions
9 Conclusion
-----------------------------------------------------------
** William H. Frey. 2020. The 2010s may have seen the slowest population growth in U.S. history, census data show
A 2020 census preview of population and congressional reapportionment. Brookings Institution (January 2, 2020)
https://www.brookings.edu/research/population-change-and-the-projected-change-in...
151John5918
Parents of 545 children still not found three years after Trump separation policy (Guardian)
Lawyers struggling to find parents deported to Central America, says ACLU, after US government removed 1,030 children in 2018...
Lawyers struggling to find parents deported to Central America, says ACLU, after US government removed 1,030 children in 2018...
152John5918
The World Needs a New Refugee Convention (Foreign Policy)
For 30 years, right-wing parties and nativist leaders have whittled away refugees’ rights. In the wake of a global pandemic, seeking asylum will be nearly impossible unless the international community revises and modernizes its approach to people fleeing war...
For 30 years, right-wing parties and nativist leaders have whittled away refugees’ rights. In the wake of a global pandemic, seeking asylum will be nearly impossible unless the international community revises and modernizes its approach to people fleeing war...
153John5918
A bit of good news from the USA's northern neighbour...
Canadians increasingly open to welcoming immigrants and refugees – study (Guardian)
Canadians positive even as millions remain out of work and country faces grim economic projections due to pandemic...
Canadians increasingly open to welcoming immigrants and refugees – study (Guardian)
Canadians positive even as millions remain out of work and country faces grim economic projections due to pandemic...
154John5918
A musical comment on an earlier era of immigration into the USA, sung by Tommy Maken and the Clancy Brothers.
We Want No Irish Here
We Want No Irish Here
155margd
Dante's Inferno recognized nine circles of hell: Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery. Stephen Miller, Jeff Sessions, and Donald Trump have earned places in the latter--with much of US Border Control, ICE, and their civilian "fans".
U.S. Expels Migrant Children From Other Countries to Mexico
Caitlin Dickerson | Oct. 30, 2020
...The expulsions, laid out in a sharply critical internal email from a senior Border Patrol official, have taken place under an aggressive border closure policy the Trump administration has said is necessary to prevent the coronavirus from spreading into the United States. But they conflict with the terms upon which the Mexican government agreed to help implement the order, which were that only Mexican children and others who had adult supervision could be pushed back into Mexico after attempting to cross the border.
The expulsions put children from countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador at risk by sending them with no accompanying adult into a country where they have no family connections. Most appear to have been put, at least at first, into the care of Mexican child welfare authorities, who oversee shelters operated by religious organizations and other private groups.
...more than 200 over the past eight months...
...an email from the U.S. Border Patrol’s assistant chief, Eduardo Sanchez,...“Recently, we have identified several suspected instances where Single Minors (SM) from countries other than Mexico have been expelled via ports of entry rather than referred to ICE Air Operations for expulsion flights”...
Referring to the federal public health statute upon which the administration’s border closure policy rests, he continued, “Please note that if not corrected, these actions will place Title 42 operations in significant jeopardy and must be ceased immediately. To reiterate, under no circumstances should a SM from a country other than Mexico be knowingly expelled to Mexico.”
...border agents have now been directed to exempt most children under the age of 10 from the expulsion policy and transfer them to shelters in the United States that are overseen by the U.S. Health and Human Services agency...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/us/migrant-children-expulsions-mexico.html
----------------------------------------------------------
2:20 ( https://twitter.com/donwinslow/status/1320123193118519296 )
U.S. Expels Migrant Children From Other Countries to Mexico
Caitlin Dickerson | Oct. 30, 2020
...The expulsions, laid out in a sharply critical internal email from a senior Border Patrol official, have taken place under an aggressive border closure policy the Trump administration has said is necessary to prevent the coronavirus from spreading into the United States. But they conflict with the terms upon which the Mexican government agreed to help implement the order, which were that only Mexican children and others who had adult supervision could be pushed back into Mexico after attempting to cross the border.
The expulsions put children from countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador at risk by sending them with no accompanying adult into a country where they have no family connections. Most appear to have been put, at least at first, into the care of Mexican child welfare authorities, who oversee shelters operated by religious organizations and other private groups.
...more than 200 over the past eight months...
...an email from the U.S. Border Patrol’s assistant chief, Eduardo Sanchez,...“Recently, we have identified several suspected instances where Single Minors (SM) from countries other than Mexico have been expelled via ports of entry rather than referred to ICE Air Operations for expulsion flights”...
Referring to the federal public health statute upon which the administration’s border closure policy rests, he continued, “Please note that if not corrected, these actions will place Title 42 operations in significant jeopardy and must be ceased immediately. To reiterate, under no circumstances should a SM from a country other than Mexico be knowingly expelled to Mexico.”
...border agents have now been directed to exempt most children under the age of 10 from the expulsion policy and transfer them to shelters in the United States that are overseen by the U.S. Health and Human Services agency...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/us/migrant-children-expulsions-mexico.html
----------------------------------------------------------
2:20 ( https://twitter.com/donwinslow/status/1320123193118519296 )
157John5918
US accused of using Covid as excuse to deny children their right to asylum (Guardian)
US authorities have radically accelerated the expulsion of unaccompanied children to Guatemala, but advocates accuse the Trump administration of using the Covid-19 pandemic as a pretext to rob vulnerable youngsters of asylum protections enshrined in US and international law. Since tighter migration controls were announced in March, the US has deported more than 1,400 unaccompanied minors to Guatemala...
158margd
U.S. judge blocks expulsions of unaccompanied children under Trump's pandemic-related border rules
Ted Hesson, Mica Rosenberg | November 18, 2020
A U.S. district court judge on Wednesday blocked expulsions of unaccompanied children caught crossing into the United States, a setback for the outgoing Trump administration, which said the policy was aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in the District of Columbia ruled that the minors were likely to suffer irreparable harm because they could be subject to sexual abuse and other violence, as well as face the possibility of torture and death if summarily returned to their home countries...
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1N2I424I
Ted Hesson, Mica Rosenberg | November 18, 2020
A U.S. district court judge on Wednesday blocked expulsions of unaccompanied children caught crossing into the United States, a setback for the outgoing Trump administration, which said the policy was aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in the District of Columbia ruled that the minors were likely to suffer irreparable harm because they could be subject to sexual abuse and other violence, as well as face the possibility of torture and death if summarily returned to their home countries...
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1N2I424I
159John5918
The time has come for a reckoning on US immigrant abuse (Al Jazeera)
A letter to the UN by four congresswomen renews hope that abuse of detained immigrants in the US will finally be addressed...
160John5918
New Trump rule could require up to $15,000 bond for travel to US (Al Jazeera)
The outgoing administration of US President Donald Trump issued a new temporary rule that could require tourist and business travellers from two dozen countries – most in Africa – to pay a bond of as much as $15,000 to visit the United States...
But in earlier comments, Biden has said that “on day one” he would revoke Trump’s travel restrictions – often known as the “Muslim Ban” – which affects nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, as well as citizens from Venezuela, North Korea, Nigeria, Sudan and Myanmar...
Este tema fue continuado por Crafting Immigration Policy in America 5.
