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February 12, 2021
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Migration News: February 12, 2021
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Migration News
Priscilla Alvarez, CNN
The Biden administration will begin processing migrants forced to stay in Mexico under a Trump-era policy into the United States on February 19, according to administration officials. It's the first move toward addressing the thousands of non-Mexican migrants subject to a controversial policy under the Trump administration that required them to remain in Mexico -- often in dangerous conditions -- until their immigration court dates in the United States.
Michelle Hackman, The Wall Street Journal
Business groups and immigrant advocates say they are worried that a ban imposed last year on most forms of legal immigration in response to the Covid-19 pandemic could stick even as President Biden undoes many of his predecessor’s other immigration policies. The ban, which former President Donald Trump put in place in April and expanded in June, was intended to block the entry of foreigners who might take open jobs while U.S. unemployment was soaring. It covers workers in a range of industries—from tech and consulting to landscaping and seasonal resorts—along with most family members of U.S. citizens looking to immigrate.
Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News
A Latino Democratic lawmaker from Arizona has drafted legislation that would end federal contracts with private companies and remove federal prisoners and immigrant detainees from the facilities within two years. Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona plans to reintroduce the Justice is Not For Sale Act on Thursday. It would bar the Justice Department from contracting with private entities to provide or operate prisons and immigration detention facilities, as well as move its prisoners and detainees out of those facilities.
The Associated Press/Fox 21 News
Two Democratic lawmakers in Colorado said Thursday they will introduce a bill to establish guidelines on how the state can share personal information with federal agencies after emails showed workers at the Division of Motor Vehicles provided data to immigration authorities. The proposal by state Sen. Julie Gonzales and Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez came after an immigrant rights group obtained emails through an open records request that they say shows improper communication between DMV employees and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Arelis R. Hernández, The Washington Post
Biden’s suspension of the “remain in Mexico” program — officially known as Migrant Protection Protocols — has left a policy void that is fueling frustration among asylum seekers who say they have tried to follow the rules and navigate ever-changing policies in hopes the United States would consider their petitions for protection. But the sudden surge of migrants crossing the border illegally to take advantage of the opportunity to stay in the United States has left those who have spent months waiting in Mexican border camps feeling disrespected and betrayed.
Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News
As part of its overhaul of U.S. refugee policy, the Biden administration is planning to offer humanitarian refuge to more children fleeing violence around the world, according to a government report obtained by CBS News. The report, prepared by the State Department to notify the House and Senate Judiciary Committees of President Biden's proposal to increase admissions of refugees, committed the U.S. to resettling more unaccompanied refugee minors going forward. Arrivals of these refugee children, who don't have parents or legal guardians who can care for them, decreased sharply during the Trump administration — and were effectively halted this fiscal year.
Heather Caygle, Sarah Ferris and Laura Barrón-López, POLITICO
President Joe Biden’s expansive immigration bill will finally land on Capitol Hill next week. But supporters hoping for sweeping change now that Democrats control all of Washington are in for an early disappointment. Facing a rapidly approaching April deadline to act, Democrats are instead coalescing around a targeted effort to pass popular immigration bills that already have bipartisan backing, including legislation to provide a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented group known as Dreamers and immigrants from war-torn areas.
Alana Wise, NPR
The Biden administration said it will begin phasing in a new asylum process on Feb. 19 to deal with a backlog of migrants seeking asylum on the southern U.S. border, many of whom have been waiting in squalid camps in a state of limbo for court dates because of the Migrant Protection Protocols program. Under pressure to make good on campaign promises on immigration, and facing the prospect that a new wave of migrants seeking to escape desperate situations could flood the border, the Biden team said it plans to start allowing in a trickle of asylum-seekers — about 300 people per day — from among an estimated 25,000 people with "active cases" in the now-defunct MPP program.
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