Today in Immigration

Climate change is a major factor behind increased migration at U.S. southern border, experts say
Hannah Miao, CNBC
Hurricanes Eta and Iota struck Central America last November, bringing torrential rain, flash floods, landslides and crop damage across Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. An estimated 7.3 million people in the region were affected by the twin hurricanes as of December, according to the United Nations. The impact of the hurricanes is one of many reasons migrants from Central America are making the dangerous journey to the U.S. southern border to seek refuge — and just one example of climate-exacerbated drivers of displacement and migration.

Progressive backlash on refugee cap puts Biden on notice
Maeve Reston, CNN
Joe Biden's swift reversals on raising the nation's refugee cap over the past 48 hours marked a rare moment of uncertainty for the new President within a carefully choreographed first 100 days -- one that underscored the power of progressives to force Biden to change course, even as they face legislative setbacks in a deeply divided Washington. Biden sought to calm the uprising within his party during brief remarks to reporters Saturday after playing golf in Delaware. The firestorm followed Friday's news that Biden would sign an emergency determination keeping the current cap on refugees entering the United States at 15,000 this fiscal year, a level set by the Trump administration that is far below historical norms and the 62,500 the Biden administration had proposed earlier this year.

Family Fostering Migrant Children Share Experience
Michel Martin, NPR
Nearly 19,000 children and teenagers crossed the U.S.-Mexico border last month without a parent. That's the most unaccompanied minors to cross the border in more than a decade. Researchers say that's because of a number of issues in Latin America, including violent crime, corruption and climate change that's disrupted livelihoods. But whatever the cause or causes, federal agencies have been scrambling to find appropriate housing for children and teens. Nonprofit and faith groups like the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service have been part of that system of care for some time now. They find families to house and care for children before they can be connected with relatives in the U.S. Christopher and Bridget are one such couple.

George W. Bush wants "more respectful" tone on immigration
Axios
Former President George W. Bush (R) told "CBS Sunday Morning" that he wants the nation's immigration debate to be "more respectful about the immigrant." Why it matters: The Republican party has veered sharply to the right on the issue of immigration. Former President Trump built his campaign on the promise of building a new U.S.-Mexico border wall and issued strict policies for returning families and unaccompanied children.

Blinken defends Biden's refugee cap, Afghanistan withdrawal in exclusive interview
Conor Finnegan, ABC News
In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the Biden administration amid a barrage of criticism from Democratic lawmakers and refugee advocates for maintaining a Trump-era limit on refugee admissions for now. While President Joe Biden pledged to admit 125,000 refugees in the new fiscal year next fall, Blinken wouldn't commit to a number, telling ABC's "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz, "Look, the president's been clear about where he wants to go, but we have to be, you know, focused on what we're able to do when we're able to do it."

EXCLUSIVE: Colored wristbands help cartels track migrants, payments for smuggling them, lawmaker confirms
Sandra Sanchez, Border Report
Mexican drug cartels issue colorful wristbands to identify migrants who have paid them for passage across the Rio Grande, how many times they have tried to cross, and who is eligible to cross again if they’ve been sent back, a South Texas lawmaker’s office confirmed to Border Report on Thursday. “In the RGV area, the Gulf Cartel controls the alien smuggling groups. The various alien smuggling groups issue bracelets to each alien being smuggled into the U.S.,” the office of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat who represents this area, told Border Report. “Bracelets are different colors because aliens get three chances to cross successfully for one price. First time crossers get red bracelets. If unsuccessful, they get another color. Aliens receive purple bracelets when it’s their last chance to cross,” Cuellar’s office said in an email to Border Report. “The wording represents who has paid and who still owes money for the smuggling.”