Migration News 

Supreme Court dismisses case related to Trump era 'public charge' rule 

Ariane de Vogue and Priscilla Alvarez, CNN 

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a case concerning a controversial Trump-era rule that makes it more difficult for immigrants to obtain legal status if they use certain public benefits, such as Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers, in response to a Justice Department request. The new filing is the latest example of the Biden administration switching positions from the Trump era. Under former President Donald Trump, immigration enforcement was a cornerstone of his agenda. 

Biden will allow Venezuelans who fled the Maduro regime to live and work in the US 

Nicole Narea, Vox 

The US will offer temporary legal protection to an estimated 320,000 Venezuelans who came to the US after fleeing the brutal dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro, fulfilling one of President Joe Biden’s campaign promises. A senior Biden administration official said Monday that Venezuelans currently residing in the US will be able to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which is typically conferred on citizens of countries suffering from natural disasters, armed conflict, or other extraordinary circumstances. For an 18-month period, it will allow Venezuelans who pass security and background checks to continue to live in the US free of fear of deportation, and to obtain work permits. Those who arrive after March 8, however, will not be eligible. 

Biden Faces Challenge From Surge of Migrants at the Border 

Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Michael D. Shear, The New York Times 

Thousands of migrant children are backed up in United States detention facilities along the border with Mexico, part of a surge of immigration from Central Americans fleeing poverty and violence that could overwhelm President Biden’s attempt to create a more humane approach to those seeking entry into the country. The number of migrant children in custody along the border has tripled in the past two weeks to more than 3,250, according to federal immigration agency documents obtained by The New York Times, and many of them are being held in jail-like facilities for longer than the three days allowed by law. 

Record number of unaccompanied migrant children held in facilities meant for adults 

Geoff Bennett, Julia Ainsley and Jacob Soboroff, NBC News 

A record number of unaccompanied migrant children are in Border Patrol custody and shelter beds are scarce, raising fears of a new humanitarian crisis at the southern border. More than 3,200 unaccompanied migrant children are being housed in Customs and Border Protection holding facilities, two sources confirmed. The New York Times, citing internal CBP documents, first reported that the number of detained children had "tripled in the last two weeks." Nearly half of the children — 1,400 — have been held beyond the three-day legal limit. The CBP holding cells, sometimes known as "hieleras," or iceboxes, are not designed for children. They are typically small concrete rooms with concrete or metal benches and no beds. 

Gov. Abbott to visit South Texas border on Tuesday amid migrant ‘crisis’ 

Sandra Sanchez, Wane.com 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday is scheduled to visit a South Texas border town and meet with leaders regarding the growing numbers of undocumented migrants streaming into the region, his office said late Monday. Abbott plans to hold a news conference in the town of Mission on Tuesday “to discuss the state’s border security efforts amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis,” his office said. He will receive an aerial tour of the border region and be briefed in South Texas by representatives of the U.S. Border Patrol, Texas National Guard, and Texas Department of Public Safety, which along with Abbott launched Operation Lone Star on Saturday to focus on smuggling at the southern border of Texas. 

Coronavirus prompts feds to transfer hundreds of migrant families to El Paso and Laredo from crowded facilities in Valley 

Alfredo Corchado and Dianne Solis, The Dallas Morning News 

Hundreds of migrant families are being flown from South Texas to this region by the Department of Homeland Security to help ease pandemic-related overcrowding at facilities in the Rio Grande Valley as the flow of people crossing the border increases. County officials and migrant advocates in El Paso said Monday that it is expected that as many as two flights daily, each carrying up to 135 migrants, will arrive as the Biden administration begins to play a sort of musical chairs to properly house and care for immigrants and asylum seekers. 

Record 3,200 migrant children stuck in Border Patrol custody, with nearly half held past legal limit 

Camilo Montoya-Galvez and Adam Verdugo, CBS News 

More than 3,200 migrant children were stuck in Border Patrol facilities on Monday, with nearly half held beyond a three-day legal limit, as the Biden administration struggles to respond to the sharp increase in the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. According to government documents obtained by CBS News, nearly 1,400 unaccompanied minors had been held in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) holding facilities for more than three days as of Monday, despite the agency's legal obligation to transfer these children to shelters operated by the U.S. refugee agency within 72 hours of taking them into custody. 

How USCIS Is Speeding Up Immigration Processing And What More Can Be Done 

Andy J. Semotiuk, Forbes 

Why is my immigration case taking so long? That is a question often asked by would-be immigrants to the United States. Emphasizing the point, one headline said over 200,000 Indians could die of old age while awaiting their green cards. According to the New York Times, some 380,000 immigrants are currently backlogged and waiting to immigrate. There is no doubt waiting for your turn in immigration lines can be frustrating. But there are steps being taken to improve the processing of immigration cases, and there are some good suggestions for how even more can be done. 

U.S. gives hope to previously denied asylum-seekers in camp 

The Columbian/Associated Press 

In a camp at the U.S.-Mexico border, some asylum seekers were told by officials that the U.S. government may reopen their cases and they would eventually be able to enter the U.S. to wait out the asylum process. The new opening for people previously denied came as Mexican authorities worked to close the improvised camp along the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Brownsville, Texas, that has housed thousands of asylum seekers over the more than two years it existed. 

Further Reading 

Special Report: How Trump administration left indelible mark on U.S. immigration courts 

Reuters 

UO prof sees WWII refugee camp as forerunner to U.S. camps 

AroundtheO 

‘Empower A Refugee’ Shares The Stories Of Refugee Women In Clarkston And Their Work With Peace of Thread 

WABE 

Another Border Crisis: The Neglected Education of Unaccompanied Immigrant Children 

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