Migration News 

LIRS Statement on the Storming and Occupation of the Capitol
LIRS 

Donald Trump administration touts completion of 450 miles of border wall
Lauren Villagran, El Paso Times 
It was the promise that helped elect President Trump in 2016, a campaign rally chant that became reality. At the close of the administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has erected 450 miles of barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. "The border wall system proves its worth every day with every mile," CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan said in a call on Tuesday. "There is no question it keeps CBP personnel safer and keeps migrants safer."

New delay in census process probably ends Trump’s plan to exclude undocumented immigrants from apportionment
Brittany Renee Mayes and Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post 
President Trump is unlikely to be able to implement his plan to exclude undocumented immigrants from being counted for a decade’s worth of congressional apportionment because the Census Bureau has projected it won’t be able to get state population totals to him before he leaves office. Trump’s historically unprecedented plan, announced in July, probably would have given House Republicans a political advantage. It sparked a flurry of lawsuits, and three federal courts ruled that it was illegal. The Supreme Court said last month that it was too early to rule on it. The administration had been pushing the bureau to deliver state population counts and a tally of undocumented immigrants to the president by late December or early January. But in a court hearing Monday and a legal filing on Tuesday, Justice Department lawyers said recently discovered anomalies in the data mean the counts won’t be ready until after Feb. 9.

Supreme Court Appears Ready To Move On From Trump Suits
Jimmy Hoover, Law360
The U.S. Supreme Court may turn away several major cases as moot after President-elect Joe Biden takes office later this month, moving on from the past four years of constant litigation involving President Donald Trump and his policies.

Arizona border deaths hit 10-year high after record heat
Anita Snow, AP
A project that maps the bodies of border-crossers recovered from Arizona’s inhospitable deserts, valleys and mountains said it documented 227 deaths in 2020, the highest in a decade after the hottest, driest summer in state history.

Mexican president offers to vaccinate unlawful migrants in U.S.
David Alira Garcia, Reuters 
Mexico’s president said on Wednesday he was ready to provide coronavirus vaccines to undocumented migrants in the United States, after the governor of the U.S. state of Nebraska said they would likely not get vaccinated due to immigration status.

Trump administration locks down border wall contracts, complicating Biden's pledge to stop construction
Priscilla Alvarez, CNN 
The Trump administration is continuing to award border wall contracts in the waning days of Donald Trump's presidency, including in areas where private land hasn't yet been acquired, an unusual move that will complicate President-elect Joe Biden's pledge to halt construction. Asked by CNN Tuesday whether there are plans to continue to finalize contracts, even in areas where the real estate is not owned by the federal government, acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan responded "yes."

Immigration advocates urge state not to inject status into vaccination program
Andrew Ozaki, KETV 
Immigration advocates and some health care providers are taking issue over recent comments by Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts on how undocumented workers and vaccinations. Ricketts said during his Monday briefing that only food processing plant workers in the country legally would be able to get the COVID-19 vaccination when it comes their priority group's turn.

Worth a Read/Watch

In Paris, a gamble on shared housing between refugees and French citizens has paid off
InfoMigrants

Our Democracy
Medium

'It's crazy': Local refugee weighs in on violence at U.S. Capitol
WHAM

“She decided to seek asylum in the United States…”
PBS American Portraits Series 

Progressives are getting ready to push Biden on immigration reform
Vox

Fear Of Deportation Prompts Undocumented Immigrants To Resist COVID-19 Vaccine
GBH