Today in Immigration

Climate change creates migrants. Biden considers protections
Julie Watson, AP News
No nation offers asylum or other legal protections to people displaced specifically because of climate change. President Joe Biden’s administration is studying the idea, and climate migration is expected to be discussed at his first climate summit, held virtually Thursday and Friday. The day the summit starts, Democratic Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts plans to reintroduce legislation to address the lack of protections for those who don’t fit the narrow definition of “refugees” under international law. It failed in 2019. “We have a greater chance now than ever before to get this done,” Markey said in a statement to The Associated Press, citing Biden’s climate diplomacy and greater awareness of the problem.

Five major immigration promises Biden has yet to keep  
Julia Ainsley, NBC News
The Biden administration's recent reversal of its plans to raise the refugee cap sparked outrage not only among immigration advocates but from Democrats who accused the president of breaking his promise. Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois said in response to the news on Twitter Friday, "Say it ain't so, President Joe. This is unacceptable." Raising the refugee cap is one of at least five promises on immigration made by candidate and President-elect Biden that have not yet been fulfilled as the end of his first 100 days approaches. Reunite separated migrant families: In the final presidential debate, Biden was asked what he would do to reunite 545 children with their parents after they were separated by the Trump administration in 2017 and 2018. Biden pledged to build a task force to reunite them. While the task force has formed and has pledged to bring back deported parents to reunite with their children, not one of the deported parents has so far been brought back, according to lawyers representing the families.

New Report Documents Nearly 500 Cases of Violence Against Asylum-Seekers Expelled by Biden
Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept 
Pressure is mounting on the Biden administration to end its use of a Trump-era law that stifles asylum access at the southern border, as new evidence points to human rights abuses and violence against individuals and families seeking refuge across the U.S.-Mexico divide. A joint human rights report published Tuesday, based on more than 110 in-person interviews and an electronic survey of more than 1,200 asylum-seekers in the Mexican state of Baja California, documented at least 492 cases of attacks or kidnappings targeting asylum-seekers expelled under a disputed public health law, known as Title 42, since President Joe Biden’s January inauguration.

N.J. undocumented workers rally for citizenship as hunger strike hits 2 weeks
Sophie Nieto-Munoz, NJ.com
A nationwide torch-passing event arrived Tuesday in Jersey City, where more than 50 undocumented immigrants marched and chanted while urging Congress and President Joe Biden to pass major immigration reform within his first 100 days. The “March to Victory: Rally Across America” marches began on the West Coast, and will end in Washington D.C. on May 1, Biden’s 100th day in office. Bilingual songs and chants resounded in J. Owen Grundy Park at Exchange Place, catching the attention of onlookers with the Statue of Liberty in the backdrop. “Having citizenship would mean having more opportunities in this country. I’m the mother of two daughters and I want to give them the best possible life. My husband wants to open a store and contribute to this country, and I dream of giving my daughters a place to call home,” said Cristina, an Elizabeth resident who came to America for the first time for what she believed was a family vacation at age 17.

With Nearly Half of U.S. Farmworkers Undocumented, Ending Illegal Immigration Could Devastate Economy
Megan Roos and Alex J. Rouhandeh, Newsweek
As heated conversations about U.S. immigration focus on migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, a quiet scenario plays out on farms across the country—thousands of undocumented workers tending and picking the crops put food on American tables and fill cargo ships that supply the world. America's reliance on migrant agricultural workers is a secret hiding in plain sight. In New York's Hudson Valley, a historic apple farm utilizes a legal process for hiring migrant workers—the H-2A Temporary Agricultural Workers program. It enables Minard's Family Farm to legally hire migrants on a seasonal basis, and includes protections for both migrant and domestic workers that can result in fines if violations occur.

Lawmakers to push for more visas for Afghan allies as U.S. prepares withdrawal
Austin Landis, Spectrum News
A bipartisan pair of lawmakers is preparing legislation that would allocate more visas for Afghan allies who worked with the U.S. military in the country, setting up for a push to protect interpreters and others who aided the United States in Afghanistan as American soldiers prepare to leave. The legislation, a reintroduction of the Afghan Allies Protection Act, would seek to provide 4,000 additional visas to the Special Immigrant Visa program, which was founded as a pathway to safety for Afghan interpreters who are often targeted — and sometimes killed — because they worked with the U.S. But it’s unclear how the administration will chip away at the current backlog of Afghan applicants in a program that’s been plagued with slow processing and years-long delays.