Migration News

Undocumented immigrants qualify for rent relief, but Wisconsin sends mixed signals
Wisconsin Watch, madison365.com
Some regional nonprofits administering Gov. Tony Evers’ $322 million emergency rental assistance program may be unintentionally discouraging non-U.S. citizens from applying — even though immigration status holds no bearing on eligibility for the federally financed program. At least eight of the 14 organizations administering the Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance (WERA) program ask applicants to share their Social Security numbers through pre-screening forms, a Wisconsin Watch review has found. In some cases, applicants are asked to submit the Social Security numbers of every member of their household.

Advocates call for Florida to open COVID-19 vaccination to undocumented immigrants
Greg Fox, WESH Orlando
Without proof of residency, they are not eligible to be vaccinated. Florida, like roughly half of the United States, requires proof of residency, even though some others permit out-of-state workers or migrant workers to be inoculated. The Farmworkers Association of Florida has been pushing to have Gov. Ron DeSantis remove the residency requirement. "It's just really difficult for them to prove that they are here and they are part of the local Florida workforce," Neza Xiuhtecutli with the Farmworker Association Of Florida said.

Family reunites as U.S. scrambles to find emergency housing for migrant children
Lilia Luciano, CBS News
There's no let up in the waves of immigrants trying to get into the U.S. at the southern border. Many are children. One group of more than 40 minors was taken into custody Sunday. One shelter in San Diego is filling up fast. The San Diego Convention Center is housing 500 migrant girls between the ages of 13 and 17 who crossed the border alone. Another 250 are expected to arrive later Monday night where they will stay until they can be reunited with family or a sponsor, or are taken to other long-term shelters.

No ruling in case deciding fate of DACA immigration program
Miami Herald/Associated Press
A federal judge did not immediately rule Tuesday on a closely watched case over the fate of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which confers limited protections on hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought into the U.S. as children. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen set an early April deadline for lawyers on both sides to provide more information. Texas heads a coalition of Republican-led states that want Hanen to invalidate the DACA program, instituted in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama. Defending the program is the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the state of New Jersey.

Dems, GOP Move To Give Doctors, Nurses 40K Unused Visas
Alyssa Aquino, Law 360
U.S. senators on both sides of the aisle introduced legislation that would recapture 40,000 unused immigrant visas for doctors and nurses, a move they say would provide a temporary stopgap to the United States' shortage of health care professionals. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would provide permanent status for 25,000 foreign nurses, 15,000 foreign doctors and their family members as a means to shore up the nation's COVID-19 health response, according to a Friday statement from the six senators pushing the legislation. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Senate majority whip and one of the bill's sponsors, explained that one-sixth of U.S. health care workers come from abroad.

Minnesota meatpacking plants have discovered a secret to vaccinating undocumented workers: Don’t ask for IDs and personal information.
Joey Peters, Sahan Journal
A large chunk of that workforce are immigrants, many of them undocumented. For such a plan to work, government officials, health providers, and employers would have to carefully plan around existing barriers between vaccine access and immigration status, as well as vaccine hesitancy among some. The efforts since then appear to be proving successful. Of the state’s existing 45,000 food-processing workers, roughly 25,000 received a vaccine within the past two weeks, according to Edwin Torres, a vaccine outreach director with the Minnesota Department of Health. 

Further Reading

One Man’s Quest to Crack the Modern Anti-Immigration Movement—by Unsealing Its Architect’s Papers
Mother Jones

Nepal becomes first country in Asia Pacific to vaccinate refugees against COVID-19
UNHCR

Investigative commentary: Signs show border panic is overblown, politically motivated
Arizona Daily Star

Cruelty at the border is not the same as strength or an effective immigration strategy
Peter Boogaard, USA Today

5 immediate migration management steps for Kamala Harris
The Hill