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February 19, 2021
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Migration News
Maria Sacchetti, The Washington Post
Democratic lawmakers formally introduced President Biden’s immigration bill Thursday, saying it is imperative to pass legislation that would repudiate the Trump administration’s rhetoric and allow 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States to apply for citizenship. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the son of Cuban immigrants and the bill’s sponsor in the Senate, encouraged Democrats to take a “big, bold” approach to immigration after years of failed attempts.
SESO Labor is providing a way for migrant farmworkers to get legally protected work status in the US
Jonathan Shieber, Tech Crunch
As the Biden administration works to bring legislation to Congress to address the endemic problem of immigration reform in America, on the other side of the nation a small California startup called SESO Labor has raised $4.5 million to ensure that farms can have access to legal migrant labor. SESO’s founder Mike Guirguis raised the round over the summer from investors including Founders Fund and NFX. Pete Flint, a founder of Trulia, joined the company’s board. The company has 12 farms it’s working with and is negotiating contracts with another 46. The company’s other co-founder, Jordan Taylor, was the first product hire at Farmer’s Business Network and previously of Dropbox.
Priscilla Alvarez and Maria Santana, CNN
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to release some migrant families in detention to accommodate the arrival of migrants arrested at the US-Mexico border, according to two Homeland Security officials. Over recent weeks, there has been a growing number of migrants apprehended at the US southern border, though the majority continue to be turned away under a public health order put in place under former President Donald Trump. That order allows border officials to swiftly expel migrants, including those seeking asylum, to Mexico or their home country.
Barbara Sprunt and Claudia Grisales, NPR
Congressional Democrats unveiled a sweeping the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, an immigration bill that includes setting up a path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. The measure is backed by President Biden and closely aligns with the plan he proposed on his first day in office. His administration and congressional Democrats are under pressure from immigration advocates to act quickly to move the bill, but it's unclear how quickly they will pursue passage.
Nicole Acevedo, NBC News
An immigrant rights advocate and mom of three who has sought sanctuary in a Columbus, Ohio, church for more than three years will be able to go home without the threat of immediate deportation, her lawyer said Thursday after a meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Edith Espinal, 43, had been living at the Columbus Mennonite Church since October 2017 to avoid being deported to Mexico after unsuccessfully applying for asylum, citing rising violence in her home state of Michoacán. She eventually was ordered to leave the country. She has lived in Columbus for more than two decades.
Julia Ainsley and Merritt Enright, NBC News
A Nicaraguan woman with stage 3 breast cancer; a deaf Central American man who could not understand how to navigate the immigration system; a Cuban man who had not seen his newborn son. All were denied entry to the United States by the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy.
Now, under the Biden administration, Customs and Border Protection has granted parole, allowing entry to the United States for these and other immigrants with extreme circumstances as they await their asylum hearings.
Max Rivlin-Nadler, KPBS
Just over two years after the first asylum-seeker was sent back to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as “Remain in Mexico,” the program is now beginning to unwind under the Biden administration. The first asylum-seekers in the program will be processed at the San Ysidro port of entry on Friday, to continue their asylum claims from inside the United States. Last month, the Biden administration ended new admissions for the program.
Further Reading
The San Diego Union-Tribune
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Voices of America
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