[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,
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:
U.S. Supreme Court Decides that Trump’s “Remain In Mexico” Policy Can Continue
“The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that the controversial Trump administration “Remain in Mexico” asylum policy can stay in effect while legal challenges play out. It’s a devastating loss for immigrant rights groups who say asylum seekers sent back to Mexico are living in dangerous conditions. Read more here. CNN
More Kids Are Making The Dangerous Trip Across Texas-Mexico Border
“In a refugee camp just across the Texas-Mexico border, more and more parents are sending their children across the international bridge, alone, to get them away from squalid, dangerous conditions.” Listen to the story or read the transcript here. NPR
Trump’s Immigration Policy Could Cause A Coronavirus Disaster In Migrant Border Camps
Trump’s policies have left thousands of migrants vulnerable at the border. Now they’re bracing for the spread of coronavirus. Read more here. Vox
Action Items:
1. Out of the Darkness: Bring Your Light to the Border
Join Witness at the Border at Xeriscape Park across from the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, TX to protest against the “Remain in Mexico” policy.
Date: March 14th, 2020
Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm
2. Public Charge 101 Webinar
Join Protecting Immigrant Families for their live Public Charge 101 webinar. Experts from NILC and CLASP will describe the new public charge regulations in the U.S. and abroad and explain what you need to know if you work with immigrant families. Register for the webinar here.
Date: March 17th, 2020
Time: 12:00pm
Public Charge Resources:
The PIF campaign has great new resources to help people stay informed on public charge. They’ve recently been updated to include multiple translations in languages Arabic, Burmese, Chinese, French, Haitian, Hindi, Hmong, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Amharic.
You can find them at: protectingimmigrantfamilies.org/know-your-rights
Other Recent News of Interest:
U.S. To Begin Taking DNA Samples From Immigrants Who Enter The Country Illegally
- The DNA material will be sent directly to the FBI to store in its Combined DNA Index System, known as CODIS, an administration official said. NBC News
22-year-old Guatemalan Asylum-seeker Dies In Ice Custody; 8th Death Since October
- “A 22-year-old asylum-seeker from Guatemala detained by U.S. immigration authorities died at a Texas hospital Sunday, becoming the eighth immigrant to die in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in fiscal year 2020. Maria Celéste Ochoa Yoc de Ramírez, whose death was first reported by BuzzFeed News, had been hospitalized since February 18.” CBS News
Trump Officials Are Finalizing Plans For Sending Asylum-Seekers To El Salvador
- “Top Trump administration officials held a secret meeting in Miami with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele on Friday to finalize a plan to send over 2,000 asylum-seekers, including those from Mexico, to the Central American country.” BuzzFeed News
Immigration Officers Say Asylum Deal With Guatemala Is Unlawful
- “A union representing federal asylum officers said on Friday that a Trump administration policy that diverts migrants at the southwestern border to Guatemala unlawfully sends a vulnerable population to a country ‘in which their lives and freedom are directly threatened.’” The New York Times
- “The Pentagon is sending a crisis response force of roughly 160 troops to the southern border ahead of a Supreme Court decision that officials fear could prompt a new migration crisis.” POLITICO
As Supreme Court Mulls Dreamers, Kushner Revives Immigration Plan
- Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, is trying to revive a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration system, anticipating that a looming Supreme Court ruling on DACA could give the issue new life. The New York Times
Trump Administration Announces Additional 35,000 Seasonal Worker Visas
- “The Trump administration is making an additional 35,000 temporary worker visas available this year. The visa, formally known as H-2B, allows employers to bring foreign workers to the United States for temporary non-agricultural jobs, such as landscaping, hospitality and other industries.” CNN
Trump’s Budget Proposal Requests “Wildly Large” Ice Funding
- “The White House is asking for a boost to this year’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) budget, a proposal that includes 60,000 detention beds — 6,000 more than last year’s budget proposal and around 15,000 more than ICE actually received.” Axios
Family Separation Is Torture, According to Physicians for Human Rights
- According to a new report by Physicians for Human Rights, the Trump administration’s treatment of asylum seekers “constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.” The Nation
Thanks so much for reading and staying informed.