Immigration in the News 3/1/2021
Bye bye 10014, "Kids in Cages" becomes "Immigrant Processing Centers", political wrangling on Biden's immigration plan
Commentary
Well the 10014 travel restriction is no more, so those with pending family-based immigrant visas and diversity visas can now begin applying for visas again, but the real question is when will the Department of State get their house in order so this effort can begin in earnest? Some good debate on Twitter this week on what it might take to get this back log handled:
The Biden admin is getting raked over the coals this week over their announcement that they will reopen Trump-era “Immigrant Processing Centers” that were mostly moth-balled due to a COVID19 related drop in illegal crossings. For those who pay attention to such distinctions the "Unaccompanied Minor” issue and the family separation issue are actually two distinct problems, but they were conflated due to ignorance or perhaps a less charitable interpretation is that they were conflated to score political points against Trump. Now Biden is feeling the blowback as he mounts a mostly ineffective PR effort to explain the difference.
It has gone mostly unreported but the State Department is having major issues scoring vaccines for their staff overseas. It may be tempting to snigger at the problems of these pampered diplomats, but this failure should concern everyone since it will inevitably delay the return to normal operations for the overseas consular apparatus, making the 10014 revocation largely academic rather than practical.
There are also some comments below regarding specific stories of interest or recommendations. Going forward if there are any stories you would like to see featured here please reach out via email at immiwonk@gmail.com or shoot us a DM on Twitter at @immiwonk. Thanks for reading!
Big Topics this Week:
U.S. Citizenship Act 2021
10014 Proclamation rescinded
Immigrant Processing Centers
Undocumented Immigrants
Department of Homeland Security/Department of State
Refugee and Asylum Policy
'Minari' Follows A Family's Immigration With Humor, Humanity And Hope
The travails of immigrant life take a quietly beguiling form in Minari, a semi-autobiographical film by Lee Isaac Chung that brims with humor, humanity and hope. Showing us characters new to American screens, the story centers on a South Korean family named Yi who hope to make a go of farming in rural Arkansas during the Reagan years. Minari takes its title from the name of a spicy Asian plant that's known for its hardiness and ability to grow seemingly anywhere. The question is, will the same prove true of the Yi family?
Just wanted to do a quick plug for “Minari”, which is getting lots of good buzz after Sundance. I have been a fan of Korean movies and filmmakers for many years and I was very happy that “Parasite” was recognized last year. Movies are so important for helping to bridge cross-cultural gaps and making those from different backgrounds relatable. I’m also a big fan of Steven Yeun so I have my fingers crossed this helps him break out of the “Walking Dead” role and we see more of him in other films.
Finding my way to tech entrepreneurship: An immigrant’s perspective
For the first time I was able to tie my work directly to impact, and it gave me great joy seeing people all around the world using products I had a hand in developing. At this time since leaving my home country, I could call my parents back in Nigeria, and they would pick up my call on a Nokia smartphone I helped develop. That was the life-altering mission I came here for.
Additionally, through my employment at Nokia, I became eligible for permanent residency in the U.S., a process which took a few years to complete, after which I became a U.S. citizen. I felt accomplished, and with frequent trips to Europe with my global team at Nokia, life was really good!
US Citizenship Act 2021
Immigration advocates and experts across the political spectrum do not expect the comprehensive immigration bill backed by President Joe Biden to pass in Congress as is — but the areas where their priorities align highlight opportunities for bipartisan compromise.
Democrats on Feb. 18 introduced the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which would establish an eight-year path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants, broaden legal immigration avenues, and reduce visa backlogs, among other provisions.
Even upon introduction, the bill’s sponsors acknowledged the possibility of an alternative piece-by-piece approach to passing immigration reform.
Comment: Reforms for Dreamers, agricultural workers, and employment based immigration for anyone who doesn’t feel like reading the whole article.
Stephen Miller tangles with Florida GOP freshman at House immigration meeting
The confrontation came during the end of Miller’s presentation before the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus within the House GOP. Miller, the architect of Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, such as the separation of migrant families at the border, addressed the group alongside another former Trump administration immigration official.
Sources say the Floridian Salazar pushed for immigration policies that would broaden the GOP tent while challenging Miller on how Republicans can attract Latino voters given the ultraconservative policies he is advocating.
A few members chose not to attend the RSC event specifically because Miller was the guest, one source told POLITICO.
Comment: The GOP has to figure this out. CPAC this week has not been encouraging in the regard. Good to see Salazar pointing out what is obvious.
The nation’s elected bodies have been slow to reflect changing demographics, and not just in Congress. Of the 7,383 seats in state legislatures, immigrants hold only 258, or 3.5%, according to a 2020 study by the organization. Nine states — Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota — have not one immigrant legislator, the study said.
With Biden easing immigration enforcement, Ernst denounces the plan
Earlier this year, Ernst reintroduced her bill, called Sarah’s Law—named after Sarah Root—which requires federal law enforcement to detain illegal immigrants criminally charged with killing or seriously injuring another person. In just his first week in office, President Biden reversed the Trump Administration’s executive order that included parts of Sarah’s Law.
A Plan B for Immigration Reform
Instead of trying to get the 60 votes needed to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill, Ms. Praeli says, Democrats should seek to use budget reconciliation — a procedure that allows certain spending measures and programs to pass the Senate by a simple majority — to legalize “as many people as possible,” including essential workers, Dreamers, farmworkers and those immigrants who have been granted temporary protected status by the government.
Immigration Policymaker On Biden's Reform Plans
CARDINAL BROWN: You know, on the policy, honestly, I think that there's still consensus. And I think the important point that I would make just sort of following what Chuck said is that the moderates - the moderates of both parties, the ones who are sitting in vulnerable positions in the next election - are going to be the ones who are the key to getting this done. You know, you can hold every - if you - even if you hold every Democrat together in the Senate, you still need the vice president. And if you want to get any Republican votes, you're going to have to look at those moderate voters.
More and more confirmation that the future of immigration reform will be in the form of piecemeal bills. For those who are expecting landmark legislation you need to calibrate your expectations accordingly. Lobbyists and advocates should begin focusing on the senators and congresspeople who may be amenable to their specific issues rather than immigration reform in general.
Revoking 10014
A Proclamation on Revoking Proclamation 10014
To the contrary, it harms the United States, including by preventing certain family members of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents from joining their families here. It also harms industries in the United States that utilize talent from around the world. And it harms individuals who were selected to receive the opportunity to apply for, and those who have likewise received, immigrant visas through the Fiscal Year 2020 Diversity Visa Lottery. Proclamation 10014 has prevented these individuals from entering the United States, resulting, in some cases, in the delay and possible forfeiture of their opportunity to receive Fiscal Year 2020 diversity visas and to realize their dreams in the United States.
Biden lifts Trump-era ban blocking legal immigration to US
Immigration lawyers said they were surprised Biden did not immediately lift the freeze like he did with Trump’s travel ban imposed against people from mostly Muslim-majority countries. As a result, some immigrants blocked by the travel ban found they still could not come to the United States because of the freeze.
Biden’s actions come only days after thousands of visa lottery winners at risk of having their visas expire won a court order that put their visas on hold by the judge in the case. Now they will be allowed to use their visas to enter the country.
Surprisingly not a lot of coverage specifically on this action. I’m not a journalist but there must be something about these travel restrictions that makes them difficult to write news about. The “Muslim Ban” suffered the same fate a few months after it went into effect and did not garner much coverage for the remainder of the Trump administration. Something to do with a lack of sources to interview?
Immigrant Processing Centers
Biden, facing backlash over reopening shelter for migrant children, is left with few options
In an email to Yahoo News on Feb. 2, however, an HHS spokesperson confirmed that the Carrizo Springs influx facility would likely begin accepting kids ages 13 to 17 in the weeks ahead. The facility would be prepared to accommodate 700 children in “hard-sided structures,” with additional soft-sided capacity, aka tents, available if necessary. At the time, HHS reported that approximately 5,200 unaccompanied children were in its care. As of this week, that number had increased to roughly 7,100.
US to allow migrants from Mexico as critics slam ‘kids in cages’
Referencing the Texas facility, Fox News’ Peter Doocy said “it’s the same facility that was open for a month in the Trump administration” that Democrats decried.
Doocy recalled comments Biden made in 2019. “Biden said, ‘Under Trump, there have been horrifying scenes at the border of kids being kept in cages.’ And [Vice President] Kamala Harris said, basically, babies in cages is a human rights abuse being committed by the United States government. So how is this any different than that?”
Biden’s controversial decision to reopen temporary shelters for migrant children, explained
Those facilities, which are overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), are distinct from the “cages” in US Customs and Border Protection holding facilities that generated widespread outrage under the Trump administration. In those holding facilities, children slept with nothing but mylar blankets to keep them warm at night on concrete floors. Some immigrant advocates argue the ORR facilities are also unsuitable, but they are set up to administer care to children, complete with schooling and recreational amenities.
White House denies ‘kids in cages’ hypocrisy charge as detention centers reopen
The Biden White House is being accused of hypocrisy for reopening border facilities to house migrant teenagers — including one that both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris savaged then-President Donald Trump about on the campaign trail and before.
Biden blasted Trump repeatedly for separating families and failing to reunite them, decrying during an October debate that migrant children were “ripped from their [parents’] arms and separated.”
This was always going to be a problem and it is something that was very frustrating to watch as the plight of these children was wielded as a political tool to beat Trump over the head with. Of course his policies were terrible, but the alternatives are not at all pleasant and as long as the discussion was purely political there was not any appetite to confront that fact. Dealing with this issue takes leadership and vision, which seem to be in short supply these days.
Undocumented Immigrants
Biden: Undocumented immigrants should get vaccine without ICE targeting them
Biden make the remark during an interview with Univision during his visit to a vaccination site in Texas.
“I want to make sure they are able to get vaccinated and so they’re protected from COVID without the ICE or anyone interfering,” Biden said. “They should… not be arrested for showing for being able to get a vaccination.”
Lawyers have found the parents of 105 separated migrant children in past month
The steering committee of pro-bono lawyers and advocates working on reunification said it had yet to find the parents of 506 children, down from 611 on Jan. 14, the last time it reported data to a federal judge overseeing the process.
The lawyers said the parents of about 322 of the 506 children are believed to have been deported, making it more difficult to find them. The lawyers are not required by the judge to say how many of the parents and children have been reunited.
Local smuggling incidents part of larger increase in immigration during Biden administration
Contreras reports that south Texas smuggling cases have been on a drastic rise in recent months. Since October, Border Patrol’s Laredo sector has seen a 160 percent increased in smuggling attempts when compared to last year's numbers.
San Antonio acts as a huge gateway for smugglers carrying hundreds of migrants in close quarters, originally from countries including Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, from border cities to larger Texas cities like Dallas and Houston. Undocumented immigrant arrests are also up in Laredo by 140 percent.
Tyson Foods launches program to offer team members, families free immigration legal services
“AID has been providing pro bono legal services to immigrant and refugee children for years. Tyson’s immense generosity will expand our free legal services to include refuge and immigrant hourly team members in Green Forest and Berryville,” said Stephen Coger, lead attorney and executive director at Arkansas Immigrant Defense. "This means that hundreds of our immigrant neighbors, people who are truly the backbone of our economy and food supply, will be getting free legal help: Karen refugees, Marshall Islanders, Latinx immigrants, and more. This is extra important in an area that is truly a desert when it comes to immigration legal services."
Nothing too earth-shattering this week, aside from the progress they are making reuniting the separated children with their parents. Those are not going to be happy stories for the most part as most of those children’s parents have been deported. As reasonable as it may seem there will not be any kind of amnesty or repatriation to the U.S. for the parents.
DHS and DOS
Opinion: Alejandro Mayorkas: How my DHS will combat domestic extremism
Americans have witnessed the costs of allowing politics to pervade intelligence. Since Inauguration Day, DHS has increased the development, production, and sharing of intelligence and other information central to countering domestic violent extremism. We have done so in partnership with state, local, tribal and territorial officials; law enforcement; the private sector; and international allies. The operational integration and sharing of timely, objective intelligence can save lives.
@StateDept’s Vaccination Efforts For Overseas Posts Under Fire, a Test for @SecBlinken
It is our understanding that State ordered enough vaccine, but HHS is refusing to turn over the entire allotment. Purportedly, the current administration also made a choice not to prioritize government workers (no matter where they serve, etc.) over average Americans in the vaccination. We asked if this is an actual policy on vaccine distribution but got no response.
We also wanted to know if Secretary Blinken is pushing the Biden Administration and HHS to release the remaining supply for DOS so State employees overseas get vaccinated and do not have to beg for those vaccines from their host countries.
Comment: This is the big story this week. In particular the shocking information that U.S. Embassies are asking for unapproved vaccines from Russia.
ICE investigators used a private utility database covering millions to pursue immigration violations
ICE’s use of the private database is another example of how government agencies have exploited commercial sources to access information they are not authorized to compile on their own. It also highlights how real-world surveillance efforts are being fueled by information people may never have expected would land in the hands of law enforcement.
The database, CLEAR, includes more than 400 million names, addresses and service records from more than 80 utility companies covering all the staples of modern life, including water, gas and electricity, and phone, Internet and cable TV.
Arizona Man Charged For Immigration Scheme Targeting Chinese Nationals
According to allegations in the indictment, Thayer operated U.S. Adult Adoption Services Inc. (USAAS) in 2015-2016, a business that promised its clients U.S. citizenship in exchange for money. Thayer fraudulently represented to clients, who were mostly Chinese nationals, that they would be adopted (as adults) by United State citizens. This would supposedly allow the clients to obtain new birth certificates and, subsequently, obtain United States citizenship for themselves. Thayer charged each client an upfront payment between $5,000 and $20,000 for USAAS’s services. Thayer allegedly received more than $1,018,337.83 in total payments from clients.
USCIS Extends Premium Processing To E-3 Petitions
Starting February 24, 2021, USCIS is extending premium processing service to E-3 petitions
E-3 premium processing is available to Australian nationals working in the U.S. in a specialty occupation
E-3 petitioners may use premium processing to request a change or extension of status
E-3 applicants may still apply from outside the U.S. through the Department of State
Premium Processing service guarantees 15 calendar day processing
Refugee and Asylum Policy
‘Like a lottery’: Joy, despair, uncertainty in migrant tent camp as Biden policy evolves
Life is punctuated by sudden joy and sharp despair for about 800 migrants at the Matamoros camp. Many of them arrived under Trump’s Migrant Protection Protocols program, known as Remain in Mexico, that forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for the outcomes of their U.S. immigration cases. Even as Biden dismantles that policy — an estimated 25,000 asylum seekers with active cases are now eligible to enter the U.S. — hardships remain for others left in limbo.
Immigration correspondent discuss latest update on migrants crossing from refugee camps
MPP migrants will continue to cross daily in the Rio Grande Valley. All of the migrants must test negative for coronavirus before they will be admitted into the United States, DHS said.
The tests are being done by UNHCR’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) “to ensure the protection of public health while the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is ensuring the humane treatment of children and their families.”
Only migrants with active immigration cases and who have not already been denied or expelled will be considered for admittance into the United States, DHS said.
Migrant Families to Arrive in the Bay Area Under Biden's New Refugee Policy
"We realized that they were calls from families at the border that we had been working with over the last, nearly two years,” said Hernandez Arriaga, the executive director of ALAS. “They found out today that they were crossing into the United States to ask for asylum."
A.L.A.S., a Latino community advocacy organization in Half Moon Bay, collected items to help support the families when they arrive.
Thursday, 27 people came into the U.S., the first to be allowed entry as part of a pledge by President Biden to wind down. A program by his predecessor to have migrants wait in Mexico while their applications to come into the U.S. are processed.
But 19 republican members of Congress wrote a letter to the Biden administration voicing concerns migrants could pose COVID-19 risks.