Migration News

U.S. Shows Progress in Moving Migrant Children From Border Jails
Eileen Sullivan and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, The New York Times
The Biden administration is starting to see some success in its efforts to shelter thousands of children and teenagers at the southwestern border, with a fraction of the number of children still held in the jails run by the Border Patrol than there were a month ago. The government on Friday reported a more than 80 percent drop over the past month in the number of migrant children in Border Patrol custody, down to 790 on Thursday, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, said on Friday in an interview. A month ago, 5,767 migrant children were in Border Patrol custody.

Local police are helping Border Patrol catch migrants at the border. That’s bad policy, experts say.
Rick Jervis, USA Today
On a recent afternoon, a myriad of law enforcement agents – local, state and federal – patrolled the levees and backroads near the U.S.-Mexico border where migrants cross to seek asylum in the United States. To what degree local and state police along the border engage with migrants and assist in immigration enforcement – under U.S. law, a federal responsibility – has been an ongoing legal debate. It's one that is ramping up as more migrants arrive and as police officers along the border are increasingly stopping groups of migrants or intercepting smugglers speeding north.

Blinken Defends Biden’s Border Policy, Says U.S. Will Continue To Accept Migrant Kids
Nick Visser, HuffPost
Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the Biden administration’s efforts to reform immigration policy amid an increase in undocumented migrants at the border with Mexico in an interview with “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday. President Joe Biden has been in office for just over 100 days, during which the number of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border has skyrocketed. In March alone, 170,000 people were taken into custody by U.S. officials, the most in nearly two decades. Republicans blame Biden’s efforts to undo ex-President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration policy, saying reforms have encouraged people to flee their Central America and South America homes for the U.S. But those characterizations largely ignore ongoing crises in countries fueling the exodus, experts say.

Biden to start reunifying migrant families separated by Trump-era border policy
Mimi Dwyer and Ted Hesson, Reuters
The United States this week will reunite four migrant families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border during the Trump administration, U.S. officials said, a small step toward fulfilling a campaign promise by President Joe Biden. The families will be allowed to enter the United States through an emergency process known as "humanitarian parole," Michelle Brane, who heads a Biden-created task force that aims to reunite separated families, told a call with reporters on Sunday. "In these cases that we're talking about this week, the children are in the United States and the parents are coming to join them," Brane said.

After Trump-era cutbacks and a pandemic, immigrant advocacy groups prepare to meet a rising need
Marissa J. Lang, The Washington Post
Even before the pandemic hit immigrant relief organizations — forcing them to cut hours, freeze volunteer programs, move online and scrap for funding as donations dried up — groups that serve newly arrived immigrants were struggling to keep some programs afloat. Four years of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, depressed refugee admission rates and anxiety among immigrant communities meant fewer people were coming forward to claim unaccompanied minors. It also meant fewer refugees and asylum seekers were being admitted into the United States, and fewer foster families and volunteers were needed.

At least three dead, dozens hurt when suspected smuggling boat crashes, breaks apart off Point Loma
David Hernandez and Karen Kucher, The San Diego Tribune
At least three people were killed and more than two dozen were injured Sunday when an overloaded boat crashed into a reef and broke apart in rough water off Point Loma in what authorities said was a human smuggling attempt. “Every indication from our perspective is that this was a smuggling vessel used to smuggle migrants into the United States illegally,” said Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Jeffery Stephenson. Lifeguard Chief James Gartland said the maritime crash was likely “one of the bigger vessel accidents” the region has seen.

Biden Officials Are Considering A Process To Allow Some “Vulnerable” Immigrants To Avoid Trump-Era Border Restrictions
Hamed Aleaziz, BuzzFeed News
The Biden administration is considering a process that would allow some immigrants to receive humanitarian exceptions to enter the US despite a controversial Trump-era border policy that has led to many asylum-seekers at the southern border being turned away, according to documents obtained by BuzzFeed News. The plan, which has not been finalized, would create a system to potentially grow what’s already been happening on the southern border: immigrants receiving exceptions to the turn-back policy. The plan comes amid a chorus of criticism levied toward President Joe Biden for continuing a policy that has led to tens of thousands of immigrants being expelled at the southern border, including those who fled their home countries and are seeking protection.

Further Reading

In Vermont, a new model emerges to improve migrant farmworker housing
Energy News Network

Washington COVID-19 Immigrant Relief Fund opens for new applications
The Islands' Sounder