Migration News

Lawmakers call to defund immigration cooperation program
Suzanne Monyak, Roll Call
More than two dozen Democrats called on House appropriation leaders to slash funding for a divisive government program that facilitates collaboration between local law enforcement officials and federal immigration authorities. Led by Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., the lawmakers warned that continued funding of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement program, known as the 287(g) program, will undermine trust in law enforcement within immigrant communities, discouraging undocumented immigrants from calling the police for help or reporting crimes. “A degradation in community trust permits more crime to occur and endangers law enforcement officials,” they wrote in the April 30 letter, first obtained by CQ Roll Call.

Some immigrants, hard hit by economic fallout, lose homes
Claudia Torrens, Associated Press/ABC News
Sotero Cirilo sleeps in a small blue tent under a train track bridge in Elmhurst, Queens. The 55-year-old immigrant from Mexico used to make $800 per week at two Manhattan restaurants, which closed when the COVID-19 pandemic started. A few months later, he couldn’t afford the rent of his Bronx room, and afterward, of another room in Queens he moved into. “I never thought I would end up like this, like I am today,” he said in Spanish, his eyes filling up with tears. Cirilo, who mainly speaks an indigenous language called Tlapanec, is part of an increasing number of unauthorized immigrants who are falling through the cracks due to the coronavirus pandemic, some advocates and nonprofits say. They worked in hard-hit industries — such as restaurants, hospitality or construction — and lack of income has impacted their ability to afford food and rent, pushing some out of their homes.

Mexico cracks down on migrants and asylum-seekers at its southern border 
Sandra Cuffe, The Intercept
NELSON LEANED A flattened smart TV box against a tree, adjusting it to provide shade for his wife, who was lying down on the sidewalk to rest. It was pushing 100 degrees, hot even for Tapachula, a city in southern Mexico 11 miles from the closest official border crossing with Guatemala. The couple had been living in the streets since arriving in late January, but they were homeless before leaving Honduras too. Nelson and his wife, Maura, are from Puerto Cortés, a Caribbean port city in northwestern Honduras. Along with other migrants and asylum-seekers interviewed for this story, they requested that only their first names be used to avoid risks to their security or immigration status. Nelson and Maura owned their modest home in Honduras, but it was near the edge of a large lagoon. When hurricanes Eta and Iota swept through Central America in November, the swollen Chamelecón River fed the lagoon faster than it could empty into the sea, flooding their neighborhood.

Exclusive: Canada Taken to Court Over COVID Policy That Pushes Asylum-Seekers to U.S.
Anna Mehler Paperny, Reuters/U.S. News
Canada's pandemic-era policy of turning back asylum-seekers trying to enter between official border crossings is unlawful and violates their rights, a legal action filed on Tuesday alleges. The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers filed the legal action in federal court claiming the policy is unlawful because it fails to consider the situation of asylum-seekers and whether they have reasonable alternatives available. The policy also denies asylum-seekers their right to a hearing, according to a copy of the legal action seen by Reuters.

‘Encouraging news’: Immigrant families being reunited
Alexandra Limon, WDVM 25
President Joe Biden vowed his administration would reunite immigrant families who were separated by the Trump administration. Now, the Department of Homeland Security said it’s taking the final steps for the first reunions under Biden to take place. On CBS Monday morning, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said the government is working with the ACLU to find some of the families. “President Biden said we must reunite these families,” Mayorkas said. “He directed the creation of a task force of multiple department and agencies.” California Sen. Alex Padilla said it is “encouraging news, yet again an example of what a difference a president makes.”

Tijuana official scoffs at steady wave of migrant expulsions and deportations from California
Salvador Rivera, WIAT - CBS42
An average of 200 Mexican nationals are being expelled or deported per day through the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, according to a Tijuana migrant agency. “They come here with a lot of needs because these people aren’t from here and are coming from the United States, including some who had been there for many years,” said José Luis Pérez Canchola, who is the immigrant liaison for the city of Tijuana. “They should have a program to return these folks back immediately to their origins, but they just send them into our city through Otay border crossing without any support whatsoever.”

Immigrant Workers on Strike for Higher Wages at Catsimatidis’ Oil Company
Amir Khafagy, Documented
For five years, Dennis Spence has worked as a terminal operator for United Metro Energy Corp. (UMEC). An immigrant from the small Caribbean island of St. Vincent, Spence has three daughters and thought himself fortunate to have a job that paid $27.50 an hour. However, the work was inherently dangerous. Every night, he was required to climb up and down several large oil and chemical tanks to gauge their capacity. One small slip could be fatal. Throughout his five years at the company, discontent was brewing among his coworkers. Among the reasons, the fact that Spence and some colleagues were underpaid compared to the prevailing wage of the area, which is the basic hourly rate of wages and benefits paid to a number of similarly employed workers.  

Further Reading

Vt. lawmakers look at expanding health care to undocumented kids, pregnant women
WCAX

Pandemic cited in push for immigration-related bills
WWLP.com

Asylum seekers dropped off in towns that have few resources get help from nonprofits
ABC15 Arizona