[This is a bi-weekly publication produced by Senior Policy Associate Cheasty Anderson. New issues will be posted here on this blog or you can subscribe to have them delivered directly to your inbox.]
Dear Partners and Friends,
Before starting, I just want to welcome the new members of this list. Thank you so much for wanting to stay up to date on what’s happening. Here’s the latest roundup of immigration-related news, and our bi-weekly action opportunity. Please let me know as things cross your desk that you think might be of value for our next newsletter, and as always, feel free to forward to folks who might want to join our list.
Lead Stories:
Justice Department discloses 1,500 more children separated from their parents
The ACLU received the federal government’s final tally of children separated since 2017, which includes 1,500 more children than expected. Last April, a judge ordered the administration to disclose the names of all children separated since 2017. The first count — 2,700 children separated — included about 100 children under the age of 5. Among this new group of children separated, there are 308 children aged 5 or younger. The ACLU worries that many parents of these children have already been deported. For more information, read the story.
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a report detailing trauma caused by U.S. immigration policy
On October 24, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a report focused on the impact of U.S. migrant detention and family-separation policies. The report finds that the impact of separating and detaining families is “widespread, long-term, and perhaps irreversible physical, mental and emotional childhood trauma.” The report also describes the inhumane conditions of detention facilities and concludes that the Trump administration’s policies have created an “unnecessary human and civil rights crisis at the southern border.”
Action Items:
1. If you are in Texas, I have a local action opportunity. A group of law students at the University of Texas, along with area immigration attorneys and community members, have organized an action on November 19 to pack San Antonio immigration courts. The group is organizing in solidarity of vulnerable asylum-seekers who have been forced to wait in Mexico as part of the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP). Sign up here: bit.ly/StopMPP
When: Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Where: San Antonio Immigration Court either 800 Dolorosa Suite 300, San Antonio, TX or 106 S. St. Mary’s St., Suite 600
What: Pack the Courts at 8:30am
Press conference and Solidarity March at 11 am
2. This week I don’t have a specific nation-wide action item, but I encourage everyone to call your senators and representatives to urge them to: 1) end MPP, and 2) pressure DHS to locate and identify separated families.
Other Recent News of Interest:
- Children of Poor Immigrants Rise, Regardless of Where They Came From
- Private Prison Firms Form Advocacy Group “The Day 1 Alliance”
- Trump Administration Tests New Rapid Asylum Review and Deportation Process
- Homestead Detention Center to Close
- Groups Sue to Block Trump Administration Healthcare Requirement for Visas
- Report Shows Violence Migrants Face Under MPP – read this twitter thread for a summary
- Conditions Deteriorating at Migrant Camp on the Rio Grande
Public Charge Resources:
The PIF campaign has great new resources to help people stay informed on public charge. You can find them at https://protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/know-your-rights/
Thanks so much for reading and staying informed.