Migration News

Faith-based agencies invite volunteers, donations as they care for children at border
Emily McFarlan Miller and Jack Jenkins, Religions News Service
With an average 500 unaccompanied children arriving at the United States-Mexico border every day, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, calls the current situation at the border an “emergency.” The current rate, Vignarajah pointed out, puts the U.S. on track to receive more than 100,000 unaccompanied children this year — higher than the record set in 2019, when 70,000 children arrived seeking to immigrate.

What to Know About What's Happening to Unaccompanied Minors at the Border
Jasmine Aguilera, Time
Heavy politicization of the U.S.-Mexico border has followed as thousands of unaccompanied migrant children have presented themselves to government officials at the border, making it more challenging to distinguish between fact and political narrative. For the Biden Administration, the increase in the numbers of people arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly the influx of children showing up alone, has created a logistical, political and ethical challenge. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had directed FEMA to aid with processing and transferring minors who are arriving alone in the hopes of uniting with relatives and loved ones already in the United States. Meanwhile most migrants who are single adults or traveling in family units are being “expelled” under Title 42, a rule put in place during the Trump Administration that allows the government to immediately turn away migrants who show up at the border, even if they wish to make an asylum claim, because of the risks posed by COVID-19.

Congresswomen pull endorsements after candidate's Chinese immigrant remarks
Dennis Romero, NBC News
Two Republican congresswomen from California pulled their support of GOP House candidate Sery Kim of Texas after she said this week that she didn't want Chinese immigrants to come to the U.S. and blamed them for the spread of coronavirus. The pair, Reps. Young Kim and Michelle Steel, said in a joint statement Friday, "We cannot in good conscience continue to support her candidacy." "As the first Korean American Republican women to serve in Congress, we want to empower and lift up fellow members of the AAPI community who want to serve their communities," they said.

Immigrant families are leaving D.C.’s public schools. Will they return?
Perry Stein, The Washington Post
During a pandemic that has hit immigrant communities disproportionately hard, the number of students enrolled in D.C. public schools whose first language is not English has dropped more than any other student group. Some families leave the city, others the country. A parent of three, Teresa Garcia said she knows four immigrant families with children in public schools in her Northwest Washington neighborhood who returned to Mexico and El Salvador during the pandemic because they felt they had no job prospects and little support here.

A Path to Citizenship Is on the Horizon for Undocumented Farmworkers
Nadra Nittle, Civil Eats
Three bills could now put undocumented food and farm workers, and other unauthorized immigrants, on the path to citizenship or legal residency—and each bill faces political challenges. The U.S. Citizenship Act, first proposed by President Joe Biden and introduced to Congress in February, would create an avenue for 11 million undocumented immigrants to become citizens and expedite the process for farmworkers, while also advancing labor protections.

Deportations and Arrests of Immigrants in the U.S. Illegally Fall Sharply Under Biden
Michelle Hackman, The Wall Street Journal
Federal immigration authorities have made sharply fewer arrests and deportations of immigrants in the country illegally since President Biden took office, as the new administration reorients enforcement within the U.S. to focus on those with a serious criminal record. Mr. Biden made a 100-day deportation moratorium one of his key campaign promises, meant to demonstrate his commitment to overhauling U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency charged with immigrant arrests, detention and deportations.

Tampa Bay clinics tackle language, residency barriers to coronavirus vaccine
Natalie Weber, Tampa Bay Times
While the state is allowing all residents 16 and older to get vaccinated starting Monday, some Floridians still face obstacles. Low-income and migrant residents can lack transportation and face language barriers. Florida’s residency requirement has raised concerns about vaccine access for migrant workers, the undocumented and those experiencing homelessness. Immigration advocates recently called for an end to the requirement, saying it excludes undocumented immigrants, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Convention center migrant shelter nearing capacity
City News Service
The San Diego Convention Center shelter for unaccompanied migrants was expected to reach its 1,450 capacity within days as another group of minors arrived Sunday, federal officials said. There were 1,177 girls housed at the shelter and about 200 more were arriving Sunday, bringing the total number to about 1,377 children, according to Carol Fiertz of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is overseeing operations at the facility.

Refugee numbers drop in Buffalo – and Biden isn't boosting them
Jerry Zremski, The Buffalo News
Amid dramatic Trump administration cutbacks in refugee resettlement as well as the Covid-19 pandemic, only 153 refugees resettled in Buffalo in 2020, federal figures show. That contrasts with an average of 906 annually over the previous 18 years. Officials at local refugee resettlement agencies had expected refugee resettlement to accelerate after Biden, in early February, vowed to bolster resettlement numbers to 62,500 nationally by Sept. 30. But Biden has not yet signed the paperwork needed to resume refugee resettlement – meaning hundreds of people, including some bound for Buffalo, saw their plans to move to America postponed last month.