Immigration News Updates: 01/04/2022

President Biden has taken his appeal to remove the Migrant Protection Protocols, better known as the Remain in Mexico policy, to the US Supreme Court. Biden initially removed the Trump-era policy during the beginning of his tenure, but was forced to reinstate it after losing an appeal in late 2021. Although the Biden administration has made changes to the policy to try and make the policy more humanitarian, such as vaccines and increased access to legal advice, the policy has been heavily criticized for exposing refugees to high levels of violence and exploitation in the Mexican camps they are forced to wait in. Biden's stance has also been called into question by immigration advocates; as the appeal is taken to the Supreme Court, the administration plans to extend the policy to more cities along the border. As of the beginning of January, 200 migrants have already been returned to Mexico to await their hearings, and 36 have appeared in immigration court. It is currently unknown whether the Supreme Court will decide to hear the appeal.
Source: The Hill; Roll Call; Axios
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/587684-biden-asks-supreme-court-to-hear-case-on-remain-in?rl=1
https://www.rollcall.com/2021/12/30/high-court-asked-to-review-remain-in-mexico-termination/
https://www.rollcall.com/2022/01/03/court-hearings-begin-for-revived-remain-in-mexico-policy/
https://www.axios.com/immigration-remain-in-mexico-expands-court-hearings-begin-4cf054d8-55de-4828-acea-a28a4d4a8c78.html


Other News:
--The city of Houston, Texas, was found to have the highest rate of denial in asylum cases brought before judges, with 89% of petitions ending in denial.
--Immigrants from all over the world now living in the US have been helping resettlement efforts for Afghan refugees, including a Bosnian community in Iowa and a medical center staffed by immigrants in California.
--The Biden administration has lifted temporary travel restrictions that had been placed on Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe due to the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus.
--The US Department of State has increased the prices for a US passport by $20, resulting in a new fee of $165 for an initial adult passport, $130 for an adult passport renewal, and $135 for a children's passport.
--Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has reopened negotiations concerning his vote on President Biden's Build Back Better bill, after announcing his plans not to support the bill at the end of last year.

Immigration News Updates: 10/26/2021

1.7 million immigrants were reportedly arrested at the border between the United States and Mexico during the fiscal year of 2021, the highest number of arrests on record; the previous record was set in the year 2000 with 1.6 million immigrants. The vast majority of those arrested in the past year were single adults, around 1.1 million of the total, which is a large increase from the number of single adults in the last few years. The number of unaccompanied minors also rose from those in the previous years. Many of those arrested were expelled from the country under the effects of Title 42, a Trump-era policy allowing border agents to automatically deport any migrant who had passed through a country with COVID-19 infections on their way to the US.
Source: The Hill
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/578127-record-17-million-migrants-arrested-at-border-in-past-year?rl=1


The backlog of citizenship applications for eligible immigrants being processed by USCIS rose by 85% between the years of 2015 and 2020. According to reports, over 900,000 immigrants are currently waiting for their naturalization applications to be decided. Other applications, such as work permits and DACA, are also being affected by the delays; over 100,000 immigrants are in line for DACA applications between first-time applicants and renewals. Even with the removal of case quotas for immigration judges, a Trump-era policy that forced judges to process at least 700 cases every year and which judges cited as not allowing them to spend the appropriate amount of time on deciding individual cases, there is little likelihood that the backlog will see any improvement in the near future.
Source: Arizona Mirror; CNN
https://www.azmirror.com/2021/10/19/citizenship-applications-backlog-doubles-from-2015-to-2020/
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/20/politics/immigration-judges-quotas/index.html


A new program is set to be released by the Biden administration that would allow Afghan refugees to settle into the United States with sponsorship by private groups. These sponsorship groups would be comprised of at least five individuals, and would be responsible, for at least 90 days, for helping the refugees with their life in the US; this would include financial support, housing, translation, education for children, job searches, medical assistance, and access to government programs. Potential sponsors would have to undergo training and background checks, as well as show their plans to support the refugees, but officials believe that the program would allow groups such as college clubs and human rights organizations to directly provide aid. Officials are also hopeful that the program could be expanded in the near future to include non-Afghan refugees.
Source: CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-administration-private-groups-sponsor-afghan-evacuees/#app


More than 160 allegations of abuse were levied against the Department of Homeland Security, specifically the agencies of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, between 2016 and 2020, according to findings by the humanitarian group Human Rights Watch. The alleged abuses include reports of sexual assault, physical beatings -- one man was struck so hard he suffered from swelling of the brain -- verbal taunts and insults, and threats of increased sexual and physical violence. In addition, there were numerous recorded violations of the immigrants' right to due process. Many of these state that agents forced those in detention to sign documents they did not understand, or wrote something completely contradictory to what the immigrants told the agents. There is currently no word on how these allegations are being handled by Homeland Security, although a representative of the agency stated that DHS "does not tolerate any form of abuse or misconduct”.
Source: Aljazeera; The Hill
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/21/internal-docs-detail-alleged-abuses-by-us-immigration-agents-hrw
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/department-of-homeland-security/577803-federal-officers-detail-abuse?rl=1

Immigration News Updates: 10/19/2021

Democrats in the Senate are looking at an alternate option should their sweeping domestic policy bill not make it through Congress. The so-called "Plan C" would utilize parole, a status for illegal immigrants that would temporarily grant them legal protection from deportation and allow them to work safely within the United States. The parole status, which would be available to those living in the country since 2011, would last for five years, after which it would be renewable for another five years. Although the parole status would protect around 11 million immigrants, it does not provide a route to permanent residency and eventually citizenship. Immigration advocates, while open to the Plan C parole option, are still pushing for Democrats to pursue stronger legislation that would enable those 11 million immigrants to file for permanent residence within the US.
Source: Bloomberg Government; US News
https://about.bgov.com/news/immigrant-protections-short-of-path-to-citizenship-gain-traction/
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2021-10-13/dems-consider-new-immigration-plan-for-domestic-policy-bill


Part of the congressional policy bill that Democratic legislators hope to push through would deal with the problem of unused Visas assigned to countries with smaller populations of immigrants seeking residence in the United States. The provision would take any green cards not used by the population of a particular country, and reassign them to countries that have already reached their annual quota of Visas, like India and China. This would help to alleviate the massive backlog of immigrants waiting for green cards, some of whom have been waiting for decades. Democrats argue that allowing the Visas to be used by those waiting will give a bump to the economy, rather than letting the Visas, which are already approved, go to waste. The reassignment of unused Visas would be retroactive; estimates show that around 5 million immigrants would be affected by the policy change. Another proposal in the bill would allow some prospective immigrants to bypass annual Visa quotas by paying large additional fees.
Source: Roll Call
https://www.rollcall.com/2021/10/13/green-card-recapture-effort-faces-uncertain-senate-future/


Alejandro Mayorkas, Security Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, has issued a memorandum that will help to protect undocumented workers within the United States. The letter from Mayorkas instructs the agencies of US Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services to, in the next two months, develop plans to protect witnesses and victims of workplace exploitation, labor trafficking, and other crimes from retaliation by employers or targeting by officials for deportation. The memo also stops raids by ICE on workplaces, shifting the focus of the agencies from individual workers to those companies that would take advantage of them.
Source: Time
https://time.com/6106554/biden-immigration-ice-workplace-raids/


The Biden administration plans to reinstate a Trump-era border policy after losing a legal battle in regards to its removal. The Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the "Remain in Mexico Policy", forces those seeking asylum within the United States to stay in Mexico until their appointed court hearings with US Immigration. The Biden administration had originally removed the policy but was sued by Texas and Missouri over the removal, and has lost subsequent court battles regarding the policy, although the administration plans to continue fighting to have the right to remove it. In the policy's reinstatement, officials claim that migrants affected by the policy will have hearing dates within six months of their application, and plans to use 10 facilities within the Texas cities of Laredo and Brownsville to hold the hearings. Opponents of the policy cite the hundreds of violent crimes committed against migrants waiting in border camps for their hearings, including sexual assaults and kidnappings, in their urging for the courts to side with the Biden administration.
Source: CNN; NBC News
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/15/politics/biden-us-mexico-border/index.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/biden-admin-plans-restart-trump-s-remain-mexico-policy-border-n1281580


A number of men from African countries have filed a complaint against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, claiming that they were tortured with a device known as The WRAP before their deportation back to their home countries. The WRAP, the device in question, was created with the intent of safely restraining someone in a sitting position or a slight lean backwards. One of the men in the complaint states that The WRAP was used in a method not intended in its design, and that he was held for hours with his body bent forwards in a sharp angle, restricting his ability to breathe, despite his telling officials of his asthma. Another man was struck with rubber bullets and put into the device after he was informed that he would be deported back to his home country of Cameroon. The men, before being put into The WRAP, were already restrained by chains connecting their waists and limbs. The complaint not only accuses officials of torture due to their treatment of these men but, because only men from African nations were targeted, the officials are accused of racism as well.
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/immigration/story/2021-10-13/ice-torture-asylum-seeker-deportation

Immigration News Updates: 10/12/2021

Officials from both the United States and Mexico met last Friday to discuss immigration reform and border security between the two nations. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has stated that he has many goals he wants to achieve with the US Government, most importantly investment in poor countries in Central America to help address the root causes of migration. An anonymous source within the US added that they also wish to slow down human trafficking cases, which target the most vulnerable members of society. Other topics reportedly included border cities, extraditions from the US to Mexico, and the flow of firearms and drugs between the two countries.
Source: Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/mexico-and-us-prepare-for-security-talks/2021/10/07/325b6e8a-2787-11ec-8739-5cb6aba30a30_story.html

Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has signed a law into the state that will prosecute those who attempt to blackmail or extort undocumented immigrants by revealing their legal status. The law is meant to protect vulnerable immigrant populations from threats of deportation used to manipulate or exploit them. Similar laws already exist in the states of California, Colorado, Maryland, and Virginia.
Source: Spectrum News
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/ny-state-of-politics/2021/10/11/new-law-criminalizes-threats-to-undocumented-immigrants

Immigration advocates are pushing the Biden administration to uphold promises made during the 2020 campaign year to increase the amount of Visas given, and are becoming increasingly frustrated that Visa numbers are instead dropping sharply. Over 200,000 Visas will expire by the end of the fiscal year, and advocates state that the lack of action by Congress is extremely irresponsible, especially considering that these Visas were already approved and simply need to be granted to applicants. Republican lawmakers are pushing to keep a Trump-era focus on employment-based Visas over those intended to reunite families. Republicans also seem focused on those currently outside the US seeking entry, while Democrats argue that federal efforts should be on helping those undocumented immigrants already settled into the US.
Source: The Hill
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/576021-advocates-frustrated-by-shrinking-legal-migration-under-biden?rl=1

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas is appealing a decision by the Biden administration to deny FEMA assistance in dealing with the issue of increased numbers of migrants at the border between the US and Mexico. Governor Abbott has been heavily criticized for his state's treatment of refugees, specifically the Haitian refugee camp that formed under a bridge in Texas last month; images have shown huge lines of vehicles forming a 'steel wall' to keep out migrants, and border agents on horseback running down refugees. Abbott claims that the financial assistance from the federal government is necessary to deal with the 'border crisis', and that Texas is "doing Biden's job for him".
Source: The Hill
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/575830-abbott-appeals-denial-of-federal-emergency-declaration-at-the-border?rl=1

Immigration News Updates: 10/05/2021

Haitian refugees in Texas have been deported back to Haiti in huge amounts, despite most of the refugees living in South America for the last several years. Haiti has been in a state of turmoil for nearly a decade, and just this year saw the assassination of its president and a devastating hurricane. The refugees being returned to Haiti are seeking to leave again as soon as possible, even though many have nothing to their names. Humanitarian organizations, including UNICEF and the United Nations, have called for the immediate deportations to stop and that the needs of the refugees be considered, as many may have small children, or may be victims of gender-based violence or human trafficking. Of the migrants not deported to Haiti, many remain in Mexico to seek entry into the United States.
Source: The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/haitians-border-deportations/2021/10/01/bfa38852-222a-11ec-8fd4-57a5d9bf4b47_story.html


President Biden's administration is on track to settle the lowest number of refugees in the history of the program, lower even than the Trump administration. This is due to a number of factors, including the COVID-10 pandemic, a lack of bipartisan unity to support President Biden's infrastructure plans, and missteps by the administration in its handling of promises made during the 2020 campaign year.
Source: The Hill
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/574961-biden-on-track-to-beat-trumps-record-for-fewest-resettled-refugees

A lower court has decreed that the use of Title 42 by border officials may continue, despite calls that the law violates the immigration process. Title 42, put into place by the Trump administration at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, states that migrants can be immediately deported if they traveled through a country with any COVID-19 infections, even if the migrants themselves do not have the virus. The continued use of the law has brought the Biden administration under scrutiny, with many claiming that the law violates promises by President Biden to make immigration into the United States easier during his tenure. Harold Koh, a top official with the State Department, resigned his posting in protest of the law, calling its use "inhumane".
Source: Tuscon Sentinel
http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/100121_title_42_appeal/border-officials-can-continue-expel-migrant-families-under-covid-restrictions-court-rules/


A group of immigration activists confronted Democratic Senator from Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema, in a public restroom at Arizona State University, where the Senator lectures. The activists urged Sinema to support President Biden's infrastructure bill, which includes provisions for increased immigration support. Sinema claims that the activists violated her expectation of privacy, while the activists claim that Sinema has ignored efforts by the group to meet with her. "We got you elected", one of the activists says in the video of the encounter, posted to the group's Twitter account. "We can get you out of office if you don't support what you promised us."
Source: The Hill
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/575133-immigration-activists-follow-sinema-into-bathroom-in-phoenix