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February 25, 2021
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Migration News
Biden Administration Revokes Trump Visa Ban Saying It ‘Harms The United States’
Chantal Da Silva, Forbes
President Joe Biden has revoked a visa ban introduced under President Donald Trump, asserting that it not only hurts would-be visa beneficiaries, but also “harms the United States” itself. Under the controversial ban, Presidential Proclamation 10014 (PP 10014), tens of thousands of would-be visa holders perceived as posing a “risk to the US labor market” during the country’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic have been blocked from entering America.
Biden’s controversial decision to reopen temporary shelters for migrant children, explained
Nicole Narea, Vox
The Biden administration is reopening temporary facilities to hold an increasing number of migrant children arriving on the US southern border, reviving concerns about their welfare after immigration agents forcibly separated families and kept children in prison-like conditions under former President Donald Trump. The Biden administration is still expelling all children who arrive with their parents on the border under pandemic-related restrictions enacted by Trump. But it is taking children who arrive unaccompanied into custody, straining the capacity of permanent shelters that have been forced to halve their bed space amid the pandemic.
Nassim Benchaabane, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
After more than three years of living in a Maplewood church to avoid immediate deportation, Alex Garcia returned home Wednesday without fear of being separated anytime soon from his family and friends. Garcia, a Honduran immigrant and father of five, walked out of Christ Church United Church of Christ to sunshine and applause from more than 100 supporters celebrating a milestone in his long fight to remain in the United States, which he first entered illegally in 2000.
Asylum seekers rush to register for US border processing
MarÍa Verza, The Washington Post/AP News
In the first five days since the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden began to process the thousands of asylum seekers waiting in Mexico, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees registered 12,000 people. That’s nearly half the 25,000 active cases the U.S. government has cited. Migrants who have waited in Mexico and elsewhere to get hearings on their U.S. asylum requests are dealing now with a mix of hope and frustration, along with overloaded websites and telephone lines that never stop ringing.
Sandra Sanchez, KGBT-TV
Starting Thursday, a small group of asylum-seekers who have been living at a refugee camp in Matamoros, Mexico, will be allowed to cross into the United States via Brownsville, Texas, a spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security told Border Report on Wednesday afternoon. And if all goes well, hundreds more could be brought across in the days following, volunteers told Border Report. The migrants will cross on Thursday over the Gateway International Bridge, which is just blocks from where over 1,000 asylum-seekers have been living in an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande, the spokesperson said.
Violent Conflict in Myanmar Reverberates in Chicago’s Refugee Community
Paris Schutz, WTTW News
Rohingya have been rendered stateless, with nearly 1 million forced out of their home country and into refugee camps around the world. Now, Chicago’s Rohingya residents are on edge again. Myanmar’s democratically elected President Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested and thrown in jail by the country’s military on Feb. 1, and the military has seized control of the country.
Asylum seekers desperate for help set up camp outside Tijuana port of entry
Kate Morrissey, The San Diego Union-Tribune
The Tijuana plaza just outside of the San Ysidro Port of Entry has once again become a hub for asylum seekers looking for a chance at requesting refuge in the United States. As of Wednesday morning, there were more than 50 tents pitched in the Chaparral Plaza, where the western pedestrian crossing of the port of entry connects with San Diego’s southern neighbor. The western part of the port of entry has been closed during the pandemic, and the once-bustling plaza where asylum seekers gathered every morning amidst commuting workers and tourists became mostly deserted until last week.
Further Reading
Migrant worker segregation doesn’t work: COVID-19 lessons from Southeast Asia
The Conversation
Stephen Miller tangles with Florida GOP freshman at House immigration meeting
Politico
300 Evangelicals from 40 States to Petition Lawmakers for Smart, Bipartisan Immigration Reform
Evangelical Immigration Table