[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.]
Image via CBS News documentary, “The Faces of Family Separation”
Dear Partners and Friends,
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:
Supreme Court Allows Trump’s ‘Public Charge’ Rule to Proceed
“The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with plans to deny green cards to immigrants who are thought to be likely to make even occasional and minor use of public benefits like Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers.” Read more here. The New York Times
Press Release: Children’s Defense Fund-Texas on the Supreme Court Ruling on the “Public Charge” Rule
“Children’s Defense Fund-Texas is deeply disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision to let the “public charge” rule go into effect while the rule is still being challenged in court…’we must all double down our efforts to ensure that families know that it is safe to keep children enrolled in food and nutrition programs.’” Read our press release here.
Action Items:
1. Send a Postcard to Congress Opposing ICE’s Harmful Detention Contracts
Right now, ICE is working to extend contracts for three Texas detention centers that will prolong detention in the state for the next 10 years. Detention Watch Network member Grassroots Leadership is doing everything they can to make sure we don’t see a continuation of these facilities, but they need your help. Fill out this form and Grassroots Leadership will send a postcard on your behalf to your representatives and members of key committees with the power to intervene.
2. Join the Witness at the Border Rally to Restore Asylum
“Together, we will bear witness of conscience to the humanitarian crisis that the “Remain in Mexico” policy has created in Matamoros, Mexico. We will protest at the rigged “tent courts” in Brownsville. We will see with our own eyes the cruelty of current policies, the travesty of justice being done in our names — and demand a return to cherished American rights to asylum.” Sign up here if you plan to attend.
- Location: Xeriscape Park, Brownsville, Texas 78520
- Date: February 14th, 2020
- Time: 2:00-5:00pm
3. Watch the CBS News Documentary “The Faces of Family Separation”
In “The Faces of Family Separation,” CBS News correspondent Manuel Bojorquez shows us the impact the family separation policy has had on four migrant families. Watch the documentary here.
Public Charge Resources:
The PIF campaign has great new resources (with LOTS of language translations) to help people stay informed on public charge. You can find them at: protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/know-your-rights
Other Recent News of Interest:
Asylum seekers forced to wait in Mexico get video access to attorneys in U.S.
Trump planning to divert additional $7.2 billion in Pentagon funds for border wall
- President Trump is preparing to divert an additional $7.2?billion in Pentagon funding for border wall construction this year, five times what Congress authorized him to spend on the project in the 2020 budget, according to internal planning figures obtained by The Washington Post. The Washington Post
During Border Visit, Joaquin Castro And Other Lawmakers Push For Families To Be Allowed Into U.S.
- Seventeen Democratic members of Congress arrived on the U.S. side of the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas on Friday morning. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus organized the delegation and invited other members of Congress to attend. Texas Public Radio
Stephen Miller Echoes White Nationalists In Leaked Anti-DACA Emails
- A growing chorus is calling for the ouster of Trump’s senior adviser. Huffington Post
Despite Findings Of ‘Negligent’ Care, ICE To Expand Troubled Calif. Detention Center
- When a government expert in mental health visited one of the largest immigration detention centers in the U.S. in 2017, she knew the conditions that detainees there sometimes face. NPR
Judge Halts Trump Policy That Allows States to Bar Refugees
- President Trump’s order allowing state and local officials to veto refugee resettlement in their communities is likely “unlawful,” the judge said. The New York Times
Immigrant Kids Were Restrained to Chairs With Bags Over Their Heads at a Juvenile Hall in Virginia
- The purpose of their detention, a group of district attorneys argues, should be “protect them from harm, not to punish them.” Mother Jones
The Trump Administration Just Opened a New Immigrant Prison in Rural Michigan
- From his office at the Cristo Rey Church in Lansing, Mich., Oscar Castañeda runs a campaign against a new federal immigrant prison, part of President Donald Trump’s escalation of immigration enforcement. Truthout
ICE Quietly Lowers (Already Low) Standards at Some Immigrant Detention Facilities
- The changes—which affect 18 facilities in Texas—include giving guards more leeway to put migrants in solitary confinement, as well as no longer requiring outdoor recreation areas. The Texas Observer
Trump Moves to Block Visas for Pregnant Women on ‘Birth Tourism’
- The Trump administration grants visa officers more power to block pregnant women from visiting the United States if applicants are believed to be traveling to give birth. The New York Times
9 Parents Separated From Families Return to Children in US
- As his long-lost son walked toward him in an airport terminal, a sobbing David Xol stretched out his arms, fell to one knee and embraced the boy for about three minutes, crying into his shoulder. The New York Times
Thanks so much for reading and staying informed.