🇺🇸🗽⚖️DAN RATHER: FIGHT THE ANTI-DEMOCRACY, ANTI-INDIVIDUAL-RIGHTS FAR RIGHT MINORITY 🏴‍☠️  — BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE:  “To all who feel bereft of hope, I offer the lessons of social movements of the past. Perseverance is power. Organizing inspires optimism. Resilience breeds results.”

 

Dan Rather
Dan Rather
American Journalist
PHOTO: Creative Courtside

FROM “STEADY” FOR July 1, 2022:

A HARD RIGHT TURN

By Dan Rather and Elliott Kirschner

As the United States Supreme Court wrapped up its spring term today, its marbled halls risked representing the setup to an ironic joke — albeit one not funny but rather cruel, dangerous, and foreboding.

The building is supposed to symbolize stability, fairness, and temperance. Instead, it has become headquarters for a majority group of highly partisan, reactionary players who make clear that they are uninhibited by history, precedent, or the will of the majority of the American people.

Their black robes are meant to convey modesty, humility, and wisdom. Yet this collection of politicians demonstrates the direct opposite.

This Supreme Court term will be remembered as the moment a cynical and anti-democratic movement, decades in the making, reached its zenith, empowered by bad faith and opportunism. Now the cabal lords its power over a broken political system from a perch of increased influence and lack of accountability.

This is power politics by unelected actors, appointed largely by men who lost the popular vote for president. Its path was paved by Mitch McConnell’s Machiavellian exploitation of the deaths of two justices. He was a master of shamelessness with a single purpose — to accomplish via judicial appointment what he could never have achieved through democratic means.

The damage he and his hard-right radicals have wrought touches all aspects of society, from abortion rights to commonsense gun control to the environment to what I believe is an overlooked evisceration of the separation of church and state. What we have are the ruins of what many took for granted as our constitutional rights. And nothing suggests these justices are anywhere near sated.

We have now firmly left behind the realm of the theoretical. This is real, and it will get only more so. For years there were those who warned that Roe wasn’t safe, and neither was anything else, that these justices were licking their chops to devour a modern America and spit out a distorted version of the past. Too many of these prophets were dismissed as hysterical, their fears histrionic and overblown. Surely, they were lectured, precedent matters. Certainly there would have to be some legal basis to rewrite America’s social contract and decades of settled rights.

Wrong.

All of you who spoke up, who tried to get others to pay attention, you deserve an apology.

There can be no hiding from it now. All of this is out in the open. The justices aren’t even trying to obscure what they are doing and where they intend to go. But in their transparent power plays, there are still faint glimmers of hope.

I hear from people who in the past had rarely talked about the court. Now, they are suddenly enraged. Many are focused on how, just today, the justices accepted a case for next year that could allow state legislatures to take a torch to fair elections. How many people in the past got so riled up about an upcoming court docket?

The Supreme Court relies on its reputation, and these days, its reputation for humility, fairness, and wisdom is in tatters. Its rulings increasingly seem to be far outside where most Americans are. Wait until they tackle contraception and the privacy of one’s bedroom.

To all who feel bereft of hope, I offer the lessons of social movements of the past. Perseverance is power. Organizing inspires optimism. Resilience breeds results.

In order to solve a problem, you first have to see it, name it, contend with its truth. That is the stage many are in now. But many others have already been there for a long time. This is a movement that already has leadership. Now it has momentum born from a desire to ensure that America goes forward, toward progress, and true to the Constitution and the will of its people.

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*********************

The righty Supremes: “an ironic joke — albeit one not funny but rather cruel, dangerous, and foreboding.”

🇺🇸Due Process Forever! Take Back Our America From The Far Right Minority That Seeks To Suppress Human Rights & Individual Rights!

PWS

07-01-22

☠️⚰️ THEIR VOICES DROWNED OUT BY THE NOISE OF WAR, COVID, SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS, & INFLATION, MILLIONS FACE STARVATION!

Tracy Wilkinson
Tracy Wilkinson
Foreign Correspondent
LA Times
PHOT: LATimes.com

http://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=20ee182f-524e-4e7d-8158-51345f6fd59e

Tracy Wilkinson reports in the LA Times:

By Tracy Wilkinson

WASHINGTON — The scenes witnessed by journalists and humanitarian workers in recent months have been striking: In Sudan, swollen-bellied babies are looking for anything to eat. In Yemen, where warring parties have blocked humanitarian aid, hollow-eyed children and their mothers languish on the brink of death from starvation. In Ukraine, the elderly are collecting rancid rain runoff for drinking water.

Malnourishment and hunger were big problems even before Russia invaded Ukraine in February and cut off Europe’s breadbasket from its markets, sparking a flurry of dire warnings about the world’s food supplies. Dozens of countries across the globe are already suffering from devastating food shortages, so much so that the number of people facing starvation more than doubled in just the last two years, to 345 million, according to United Nations figures.

The causes are myriad: drought and flooding, and the interruption of supply chains triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in China. An estimated 20 wars or conflicts — the latest in Ukraine — have also seriously disrupted access to food and water.

“The current food security challenge that we’re facing [is] due to these three Cs: climate, COVID and conflict,” said Ramin Toloui, assistant secretary of State for economic affairs, one of several Biden administration officials tasked to food-security issues.

The bleak situation drew the attention of powerful diplomats Friday when U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and the foreign ministers of six other of the world’s largest economies met in Germany to map out plans for easing global food shortages. Few observers expect real solutions to emerge but hope the summit will highlight the crisis and boost funding for anti-hunger efforts.

The Biden administration has committed about $8.5 billion to emergency food assistance and related programs, focusing initially on the Horn of Africa, Yemen, Lebanon and Haiti, Blinken said.

“We hear all these numbers; we’ve all cited numbers of this growing food insecurity,” Blinken said in Berlin. “But what we know is this: We know that those numbers are people, real people, real lives, real livelihoods, mothers, fathers, children. … As human beings, all of us have to be seized with this.”

The U.N.’s World Food Program calculates that eight of the 10 largest food crises worldwide are being primarily driven by conflict — in Yemen, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Such wars force people from their homes into long desperate treks for safety. They devastate farms and wreak havoc on food distribution systems.

In Latin America, food scarcity is also driving tens of thousands of people to abandon parched or hurricane-leveled farms and migrate to the United States.

These were the disasters already in motion when Russia invaded Ukraine. Now, the U.N. says the Russian blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports could lead 40 million more people to go hungry.

. . . .

Caitlin Welsh, a veteran expert in global food security who heads that program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said hunger and famine have consequences for both health and politics.

Hungry people can be angry people, and the rising price of food or fuel have led to coups throughout history. The health effects of going hungry can be far-reaching and insidious, Welsh said.

“The sudden elevation in prices [of foodstuffs like bread] can make people shift from more nutritious food to items of lower nutrition,” she said. And for pregnant women and young children, that can cause lifelong disabilities, Welsh said.

***************************

Read Tracy’s complete article at the link.

War is bad, particularly when those who needlessly start them for their own amusement, ego, and nationalistic jingoism escape accountability. See, e.g., V. Putin.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-27-22

⚖️THE GIBSON REPORT — 06-13-22 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, Managing Attorney, NIJC — Biden Administration’s Increase In Haitian Deportations Undermines “Los Angeles Declaration” From The Git Go — “Do As I Say, Not As I Do,” Still Administration’s “Message” On Immigration, Racial Justice, Human Rights!

Elizabeth Gibson
Elizabeth Gibson
Managing Attorney
National Immigrant Justice Center
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”

pastedGraphic.png

 

Weekly Briefing

 

This briefing is designed as a quick-reference aggregation of developments in immigration law, practice, and policy that you can scan for anything you missed over the last week. The contents of the news, links, and events do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Immigrant Justice Center. If you have items that you would like considered for inclusion, please email them to egibson@heartlandalliance.org.

 

CONTENTS (jump to section)

  • ◦NEWS
  • ◦LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
  • ◦RESOURCES
  • ◦EVENTS

 

NEWS

 

Some immigrants can be detained at least six months without bond hearing, Supreme Court rules

CNN: The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the federal government can continue to detain certain immigrants in removal proceedings without giving them a bond hearing after six months, in case where the Biden administration has prevailed over the immigration activists who opposed the government in the case.

 

Federal judge in Texas throws out Biden administration immigration enforcement guidelines

CNN: A federal judge in Texas vacated guidelines set by the Biden administration over who is to be prioritized for immigration enforcement, according to a Friday ruling.

 

The Supreme Court gives lawsuit immunity to Border Patrol agents who violate the Constitution

Vox: Justice Clarence Thomas’s majority opinion in Egbert v. Boule, moreover, has implications that stretch far beyond the border. Egbert guts a seminal Supreme Court precedent, Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents (1971), which established that federal law enforcement officers who violate the Constitution may be individually sued — and potentially be required to compensate their victims for their illegal actions.

 

Biden and Latin American Leaders Announce Migration Deal

NYT: The agreement, called the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, commits the United States to taking 20,000 refugees from Latin America during the next two years, a threefold increase, according to White House officials. Mr. Biden also pledged to increase the number of seasonal worker visas from Central America and Haiti by 11,500.

 

U.S. Accelerated Expulsions of Haitian Migrants in May

NYT: The Biden administration expelled nearly 4,000 Haitians on 36 deportation flights in May — a significant increase over the previous three months — after renegotiating agreements with the island nation, which has been crippled by gang violence and an expanding humanitarian crisis.

 

ICE searched LexisNexis Database over 1 million times in just seven months

Intercept_: Immigration and Customs Enforcement searched a massive database of personal information provided by LexisNexis over 1.2 million times in just a seven-month period in 2021, according to documents reviewed by The Intercept. Critics say the staggering search volume confirms fears that the data broker is enabling the mass surveillance and deportation of immigrants.

 

Lawyers for migrants say U.S. officials slowed family reunifications

WaPo: Weeks into the Trump administration’s family-separation policy, immigration officials fired off emails saying something was awry. The children were being reunited too quickly with their parents, an official wrote on a Friday night in late May 2018.

 

ICE limits migrants’ legal rights, raising deportation risk, ACLU report says

USA Today: Immigrants detained in civil cases face “monumental barriers in finding and communicating with attorneys,” which renders their right to legal representation “essentially meaningless,” according to the report released Thursday.

 

ICE To Consider Military Service In Deportation Decisions

Law360: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will take into account whether noncitizens have served in the U.S. military when making decisions about whether to try to deport them, the agency announced Tuesday.

 

Big Tech calls for Biden administration to let foreign workers’ adult kids stay in the US

CNN: Without intervention, as many as 200,000 children in the United States risk “aging out” of their parents’ immigration status and face having to enter the immigration system as adults themselves, the companies wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

 

Mexico issues nearly 7,000 temporary documents and transit visas to migrants

NPR: In its statement, the Mexican migration agency did not specify what kind of documents were issued but most of the migrants showed papers that gave them a period of one month or more to leave the country or begin regularization procedures in Mexico. Most want to use the documents to reach the U.S. border.

 

Venezuelans big presence in caravan after visa requirement

AP: Before that change, Venezuelans had flown to Mexico City or Cancun as tourists and then made their way comfortably to the border. Many made it from home to the U.S. border in as little as four days.

 

U.S. loosens restrictions on Cuba travel, remittances amid summit blowback

Reuters: The United States on Wednesday moved to lift some Trump-era restrictions on remittances and travel to Cuba even as it fended off criticism for blocking the Communist-run island and long-time foe from attending a regional summit this week.

 

LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES

 

Justices Deny Right To Bond Hearing For Migrants

Law360: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that immigrants do not have a right to bond hearings when the government can show they are a flight risk, and that district courts lack the authority to order the government to provide such hearings on a class-wide basis.

 

Justices Refuse To Broaden Border Agents’ Personal Liability

Law360: Border agents can’t be sued in federal court for damages over alleged constitutional violations, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, citing concerns that broadening the legal liability of agents could negatively impact national security.

 

Fake SSN Card Is Grounds For Deportation, 9th Circ. Says

Law360: The Ninth Circuit denied a Honduran man’s bid to stay in the U.S., finding that his conviction in California for possessing a forged social security card with a counterfeit government seal is grounds for deportation as a crime involving moral turpitude.

 

CA9 On Particularly Serious Crime: Mendoza-Garcia V. Garland

LexisNexis[The BIA] applied a “presumption” that Petitioner’s conviction was a particularly serious crime and required him to “rebut” this presumption…The BIA committed an error of law, and abused its discretion, in failing to apply the correct legal standards in assessing whether Petitioner’s offense was a “particularly serious crime.”

 

IJ Distinguishes Jaco, Grants Asylum (PSG = Honduran Women)

LexisNexis: The particular social group of “Honduran women” was not at issue in Jaco, however, and the Fifth Circuit’s comment related to this group was incidental to the disposition of the case. Therefore, the Fifth Circuit’s comment regarding “Honduran women” as a particular social group is dicta and is not binding on this Court’s decision.

 

Texas Judge Axes Biden’s ICE Enforcement Policy Nationwide

Law360: A Texas federal judge on Friday threw out the Biden administration’s policy for prioritizing immigration enforcement, saying the guidance ran counter to a legal requirement to detain certain categories of immigrants.

 

Biden’s ICE Curbs Can’t Moot Immigrant Activists’ Speech Suit

Law360: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement couldn’t shake off claims that it targeted its critics for removal, as a Washington federal judge ruled on Thursday that the Biden administration’s curbs on immigration enforcement operations didn’t moot the retaliation suit.

 

Immigrants’ Negligence Claim Axed In $6M Suit Against Gov’t

Law360: A Washington federal judge tossed a negligence claim against the federal government from a father and son seeking $6 million after being forcibly separated at the southern border, saying the pair did not allege the government owed a duty of care.

 

Indiana Challenges Biden’s Immigrant Parole-Granting Policy

Law360: The Biden administration is facing yet another lawsuit over its immigration policies at the Southern border, this time from the state of Indiana, alleging that the administration is unlawfully granting parole to migrants and burdening state taxpayers as a result.

 

Asylum-Seekers Accuse USCIS Of Preventing Work Eligibility

Law360: A group of asylum-seekers have hit U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services with a proposed class action, saying its policies and practices unlawfully prevent them and other asylum applicants from obtaining work authorization pending decisions on their asylum claims.

 

4th Circ. Revives Immigration Judges’ Free Speech Suit

Law360: The Fourth Circuit has revived a challenge by federal immigration judges to a Trump-era policy barring them from speaking up about the immigration courts, after a labor official formally dissolved their union.

 

DC Circ. Urged To Nix Order Busting Immigration Judge Union

Law360: The National Association of Immigration Judges asked the D.C. Circuit in a petition late Wednesday to overturn the Federal Labor Relations Authority’s 2020 decision that immigration judges cannot unionize, arguing that the FLRA’s order violated its members’ due process rights and protected liberty interest in joining a labor union.

 

DHS Notice of Designation of Cameroon for TPS

AILA: DHS notice of the designation of Cameroon for TPS for 18 months, effective 6/7/22 through 12/7/23. (87 FR 34706, 6/7/22)

 

USCIS Issues Policy Alert on SIJ Classification and Adjustment of Status

AILA: USCIS updated policy guidance to incorporate changes from the Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) Final Rule, including updated citations, new definitions, and clarifications. The updates apply to SIJ petitions and AOS applications filed or pending on or after 4/7/22.

 

CBP Announces Spanish Option for I-94 Features in the CBP One Mobile App

AILA: CBP announced that users of the CPB One mobile application will be able to select a Spanish-language version of the features that allow them to file applications for or receive electronic versions of I-94s. More information about Form I-94 is available.

 

CDC Lifts Requirement that International Air Travelers Have Negative COVID Test

AILA: The CDC issued an order rescinding a 17-month-old requirement that people arriving in the country by air test negative for COVID-19, effective at 12:01 am (ET) on Sunday, June 11, 2022, saying it is “not currently necessary.”

 

USCIS to Issue Corrected Form I-765 Receipt Notices

AILA: From May 4, 2022, to June 2, 2022, USCIS issued certain I-765 receipt notices with incorrect information. Corrected notices with language confirming the 540-day automatic extension should reach affected applicants by the third week of June.

 

DOS Announces Expansion of Immigrant Visa Processing in Havana to Include All Immediate Relative Categories

AILA: DOS announced that the U.S. Embassy Havana will schedule all immediate relative immigrant visa appointments to include spouses and children under 21 of U.S. citizens (IR/CR-1 and IR/CR-2), with interviews beginning in July 2022. More information in notice.

 

ICE to Consider Military Service When Determining Civil Immigration Enforcement

AILA: ICE announced a policy directive to consider U.S. military service when making discretionary determinations with regard to civil immigration enforcement actions against noncitizens.

 

State Dept. Looks For Refugee Resettlement Project Ideas

Law360: The U.S. State Department said it is seeking project ideas from nonprofits and other institutions on how to strengthen its refugee resettlement program in areas such as housing, community engagement and program participation.

 

RESOURCES

 

GENERAL RESOURCES

 

EVENTS

 

NIJC EVENTS

 

 

GENERAL EVENTS

 

Note: CLINIC has cancelled and will be rescheduling two previously listed COIL courses.

 

 

To sign up for additional NIJC newsletters, visit:  https://immigrantjustice.org/subscribe.

 

You now can change your email settings or search the archives using the Google Group. If you are receiving this briefing from a third party, you can visit the Google Group and request to be added.

 

Elizabeth Gibson (Pronouns: she/her/ella)

Managing Attorney for Capacity Building and Mentorship

National Immigrant Justice Center

A HEARTLAND ALLIANCE Program

224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60604
T: (312) 660-1688| F: (312) 660-1688| E: egibson@heartlandalliance.org

www.immigrantjustice.org | Facebook | Twitter

*****************************

As I said, there are good reasons to be skeptical that the “Los Angeles Declaration” is anything other than meaningless rhetoric meant to deflect attention from the Biden Administration’s actual dismal performance on human rights, racial justice, and immigration.  https://immigrationcourtside.com/2022/06/12/%f0%9f%8c%8ethe-americas-the-l-a-declaration-on-migration-protection-blueprint-for-action-or-more-empty-rhetoric/

It would be hard to imagine an action more out of line with the “LAD” than ramping up deportations of Black migrants to the dangerous, chaotic, failed state of Haiti. As the article from the NYT highlighted by Elizabeth above says:

The situation in Haiti has worsened over the past year. The International Organization for Migration, the largest nongovernmental aid group there, said that there were more than 200 kidnappings in May. Poverty is everywhere, and nearly half the country does not have adequate access to affordable and healthy food, according to the United Nations.

. . . .

In September, the Biden administration gave the organization $13.1 million intended to help Haitians getting off expulsion flights, providing cash and other assistance to help them to reintegrate. Many had been living in other countries in South America for years before making the journey to the United States.

The situation in Haiti has worsened over the past year. The International Organization for Migration, the largest nongovernmental aid group there, said that there were more than 200 kidnappings in May. Poverty is everywhere, and nearly half the country does not have adequate access to affordable and healthy food, according to the United Nations.

. . . .

The systemic issues that drive migration out of Haiti are expected to come up during the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles this week. Haiti’s interim prime minister, Ariel Henry, is in attendance.

President Biden ran for office promising to bring compassion to U.S. immigration policies, particularly those involving asylum. But rolling out new policies amid a sharp increase in migration and during a pandemic has proved difficult. Some Trump-era policies remain in place.

So, why is the Administration squandering  money, resources, and, incredibly, the goodwill of folks who actually voted for Biden/Harris to “ramp up” deportations and exclusions of migrants of color, many of them asylum applicants subject to a biased and unfair system, when we could actually use their skills in our economy, as this quote from an article by Dany Bahar at Brookings points out:

At the same time, 2021 resulted in the highest number of migrants entering or attempting to enter through the southern border to the United States. There is no reason to think this won’t continue in 2022. These migrants, mostly from the Northern Triangle countries (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador), are desperate to join the U.S. labor force, as they flee poor economic conditions—particularly after the economic slowdown caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic—as well as violence and instability in general. In response to this flow, the Biden-Harris administration has focused on significantly

increasing investment toward Central America, including Mexico, while at the same time telling immigrants in Guatemala “

do not come.”

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Dany Bahar

Nonresident Senior Fellow – Global Economy and Development

Twitter dany_bahar

The irony is clear; if there was any time in the modern history of the United States to promote a flexibilization of its migration policies, it is now. It is the most efficient and easiest way to offer a smart solution to the unprecedented tightness in U.S. labor markets. It is a no-brainer for several reasons.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2022/02/24/president-biden-tear-down-those-walls-and-let-immigrants-take-jobs-in-high-demand/

It might be a “no brainer,” as Dany says, but it appears to be “above the pay grade” of Biden’s inept immigration policy team. They seem to be mostly “Stephen Miller fellow travelers.” Why? 

I suppose the only “silver lining” is that I can always count on inept policy officials in the Biden Administration to prove my points about what a horrible job they are doing for immigrants, for racial justice, for Due Process of law, for America, and for humanity!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-14-22

📚BOOKS:  “Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success” By Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan — Reviewed By Michael Luca @ WashPost!

Ran Abramitzky Professor of Economics and the Senior Associate Dean of the Social Sciences at Stanford University
PHOTO: Stanford.edu
Leah Pratt Boustan
Professor Leah Pratt Boustan
Economist
Princeton University
PHOTO: Princeton Website
Michael Luca
Michael Luca
Lee J. Styslinger III Associate Professor of Business Administration Harvard Business School
PHOTO: has.edu

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/06/10/what-research-really-says-about-american-immigration/

. . . .

The reality is that immigration debates are often driven more by feelings than facts. And there is often disagreement about basic facts — such as how immigration has evolved over time, how successful immigrants become once they enter the United States and how they affect the communities they enter. The problem is, in part, a lack of accessible empirical evidence on the topic.

Enter “Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success,” a book by economic historians Ran Abramitzky and Leah Boustan that seeks to set the record straight, using an economics tool kit and a treasure trove of data. Their mission is twofold. First, to offer a data-driven account of the history of American immigration. Second, to provide guidance into what research suggests about the design of immigration policy.

The book reflects an ongoing renaissance in the field of economic history fueled by technological advances — an increase in digitized records, new techniques to analyze them and the launch of platforms such as Ancestry — that are breathing new life into a range of long-standing questions about immigration. Abramitzky and Boustan are masters of this craft, and they creatively leverage the evolving data landscape to deepen our understanding of the past and present.

In contrast with the rags-to-riches mythology, a more systematic look at the data shows that low-income immigrants do not tend to catch up to nonimmigrant income levels in their lifetimes. Instead, financially successful immigrants tend to come from more privileged backgrounds. To name a few: the authors point out that the father of Tesla chief executive Elon Musk “co-owned an emerald mine.” EBay founder Pierre Omidyar’s “father is a surgeon who worked at Johns Hopkins University,” and his “mother has a PhD in linguistics.” Google co-founder Sergey Brin’s “father is a professor of mathematics,” and his “mother is a NASA scientist.” Looking at how many companies have been led by high-skilled immigrants, I wonder how much more innovation we are missing out on by not further opening our doors to the world’s talent. Yet these are hardly tales of huddled masses.

The case that lower-income and lower-education immigrants also meet with success rests on assessing not only the fates of immigrants themselves but also those of their children and their children’s children. As it turns out, Abramitzky and Boustan write, “children of poor immigrants from nearly every country in the world make it to the middle of the income distribution.” Immigrants from mainland China, Hong Kong and India do especially well.

The book debunks myths that immigrants dramatically increase crime and displace U.S.-born workers. Much of this work focuses on natural experiments in which sudden shocks to immigration levels have allowed for a better understanding of cause and effect. For instance, the authors point to the 1980 Mariel boatlift, which brought an influx of Cuban immigrants to the United States, especially to Miami, virtually overnight. The surge of low-income immigrants did not lead to large spikes in unemployment for U.S.-born workers. Low-skill immigrants have a history of taking jobs that would otherwise be unfilled or filled by machines. As companies around America were rushing to automate operations, the influx of Cuban immigrants to the Miami area slowed this process, and jobs went to people rather than to machines. Compared with the rest of the country, businesses in high-immigration areas have access to more workers and hence less incentive to invest in further automation.

This has implications for today’s immigration debates: The United States is expected to face a dramatic labor market shortage as baby boomers retire and lower birthrates over time result in fewer young people to replace them. Increased immigration is one approach to avoiding the crunch. Notably, the other way to avert this crisis is through further automation, enabled by rapid advances in artificial intelligence. Immigration policy will help shape the extent to which the economy relies on people vs. machines in the decades to come.

Immigration is, of course, about more than economic activity. Part of its beauty is the cultural richness and diversity that it brings. A multicultural society is greater than the sum of its parts. Miami is exciting not because of assimilation but because of the culture that its diverse population has created. It’s a city where you can find croquettes and Cuban coffees as easily as pizza and burgers. There is a rich history of immigrants bringing new cuisines, which are then adopted and adapted throughout the United States, a journey that can be seen in the evolution of Italian American food.

Drawing on the research, Abramitzky and Boustan weigh in on a number of hot-button policy issues: For instance, should the United States focus on encouraging high-education immigration? They conclude that “policies designed to deter less-educated immigrants from entering the United States are misguided.” Discussing the border wall, they argue that “no one wins from the border fencing policies.” And on the 1.5 million undocumented immigrants who arrived as children, they make a full-throated argument in favor of “providing work permits and a path to citizenship,” noting that “the barriers that undocumented children face are stumbling blocks of our own making.” On this last point, it is hard to disagree. Our treatment of undocumented children is a stain on our nation.

In the end, the authors offer an optimistic message: “Immigration contributes to a flourishing American society.” In a rapidly evolving world, Abramitzky and Boustan urge us to take “the long view, acknowledging that upward mobility takes time, and is sometimes measured at the pace of generations, rather than years.”

. . . .

Michael Luca is the Lee J. Styslinger III associate professor of business administration at Harvard Business School and a co-author of “The Power of Experiments: Decision Making in a Data-Driven World.”

****************************

Read the complete review at the link. It contains Luca’s own family immigration story.

The research highlighted by this book clearly refutes the many negative myths about migrants upon which the Trump GOP’s “campaign of hate and misinformation” is based.

But, unfortunately, I wouldn’t expect truth about immigration — no matter how compelling and well-documented — to change many minds on the far right. As Luca says: “The reality is that immigration debates are often driven more by feelings than facts.” Sadly, hate, fear, racism, resentment, and intolerance are “powerful feelings.” 

It’s going to take a combination of political power, courage and talent to exercise it boldly, education, and better values from the upcoming generations of younger Americans to overcome White Nationalism and its pernicious effects. I have to hope that there is time for the “long view” and our “better angels” to win the future.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-13-22

🏉🧀PACKERLAND & BEYOND: Diversity Comes To North Central Wisconsin!

 

Duke Behnke

Jeff Bollier

Appleton Post-Crescent

https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/2022/06/07/northeast-wisconsin-more-accepting-diversity-but-work-needed/9715435002/

Dr. Yolo Diaz could feel the room take ownership of the Familias Sanas (Healthy Families) initiative.

Diaz and YWCA Greater Green Bay sought to develop a program entirely in Spanish to improve the Hispanic community’s access to health care. They invited residents to the YWCA to brainstorm. Diaz identified areas she wanted to cover: nutrition, physical activity, mental health, disease prevention and environmental health.

It didn’t take long for attendees to add to the list: spiritual health, drug and alcohol abuse and sex education. Their participation was a key step in making the program less of a lecture and more about sharing and empowerment.

Familias Sanas is an example of how community organizations in northeast Wisconsin have recognized the region’s growing racial and ethnic diversity and are consciously working to ensure historically marginalized communities feel welcome and safe and have equal access to everything from education and employment to health care and housing.

Those efforts are showing signs of success.

In a 2021 Brown County LIFE (Leading Indicators for Excellence) Study, 56% of the survey respondents held a positive view of the growing diversity of cultures, compared with 12% who held a negative view.

Five years earlier, the scale of perception was far different. The 2016 Brown County LIFE Study showed only 33% of the respondents had a positive view of diversity and that 30% had a negative view.

In another metric, a 2021 well-being survey conducted by Imagine Fox Cities found 51% of the Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) respondents described themselves as thriving, up from 45% in 2019.

Conversely, 46% of the BIPOC respondents described themselves as struggling, down from 53% in 2019.

E-Ben Grisby, co-chair of Celebrate Diversity Fox Cities, has noticed gains in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in recent years, even amid the polarization of politics in the state and nation.

“I think there are a lot of improvements that have been made in the Fox Cities in terms of being a much more welcoming environment when it comes to our business climate, when it comes to a sense of community,” Grisby said.

“I feel like we’re getting a voice,” Austin said. “I never thought I’d be able to talk about being Black in Green Bay. Now we’re a community.”

Black, Asian, Hispanic, Indigenous and multiracial people accounted for three-fourths of the population growth in Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago counties between 2010 and 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data.

Nonwhite youth make up about 60% of the students in the Green Bay Area Public School District and 35% of the students in the Appleton Area School District, according to 2021-22 data reported by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

The growth of northeast Wisconsin’s minority populations sometimes catches long-time residents by surprise, Grisby said.

. . . .

How to become an ally of marginalized populations

Brown has some straight-forward advice to advance the understanding and appreciation of the different customs, lifestyles and perspectives that make up the fabric of northeast Wisconsin.

“Take the initiative to educate yourself about the various cultures and identities that exist within our community,” he said. “Learn from your co-workers, learn from your neighbors, learn from the youth and understand that each person contributes to the success of our community. Be present and immerse yourself in cultures and opportunities that are different than the ones that are immediately to your left and right.”

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Grisby said being an ally for marginalized people doesn’t mean one has to wear a Superman cape and vow to avenge a wrong. It can be as simple as giving someone the time of day or being a sounding board for their ideas.

Bomstad said the region needs to hear from and engage with more people who support diversity.

“If you believe in an inclusive, welcoming community, that is where we really need people to step up, quite frankly,” Bomstad said.

Wello put its approach into action when it received a federal grant to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates in minority populations.

. . . .

**********************

Read the complete article at the link.

I have noticed during our many jaunts to Wisconsin to visit family that there are many more vibrant ethnic restaurants in the Green Bay/Appleton area than there were when I was in college at Lawrence University in Appleton in the late 1960s. 

Our daughter, Anna, also an LU graduate (‘05), was inspired by children of Hmong backgrounds that she met while practice teaching in Appleton to qualify to teach English Language Learners in Wisconsin (Menasha & Walworth).

She now teaches English in the Beloit Public Schools which has a very diverse student body. She and her husband Daniel have hosted foster children of different ethnic backgrounds, one of whom is now their adopted son, our grandson. So, diversity has had a very direct impact on our family.

Cathy and I also noticed when attending our grandson Nathaniel’s band concert at St. Bernard’s Elementary in Green Bay the diversity among the student body, the music teachers, and the audience. Everyone working together, contributing, and enjoying the moment.

El Sarape East in Green Bay is one of our family favorites. We order/go there at least once most times we are in the Bay Area! They have done a great job of combining “Packer culture” with an Hispanic flavor!

Obviously, diversity is contributing to Wisconsin in many other ways beyond the restaurant industry. Wisconsin has always had a strong immigrant history along with a vibrant Native American heritage!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-11-22

JULIA EDWARDS AINSLEY @ NBC NEWS REPORTS ON ADMINISTRATION’S “SECRET” PLAN TO RELOCATE ASYLUM SEEKERS!

Julia Edwards Ainsley
Julia Edwards Ainsley
NBC News Correspondent

Here’s Julia’s video report from NBC Nightly News:

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/biden-administration-plans-to-bus-migrants-to-shelters-deeper-in-the-u-s-141815877904

*******************

OBSERVATION: The Biden Administration has been in office for 17 months. During that time the could have established a realistic, robust refugee program, working with UNHCR and NGOs, to screen and process those waiting in Mexico.

Those who qualified would be admitted in legal status, with permanent work authorization, on their way to green cards and eventual citizenship. No CBP, no Asylum Office Backlogs, no backlogged Immigration Courts, no arbitrary, capricious, wildly inconsistent decisions from EOIR and the 5th Circuit, no expensive and inhumane detention, no ankle bracelets. Those legally admitted would also be eligible immediately for refugee resettlement assistance! America is something like 11 million workers “short” — the answer is staring us in the face! See, e.g., https://www.newsweek.com/us-hits-cap-temporary-work-visas-employers-seek-11-million-workers-1713948

Instead, we get secrecy, fumbling, bumbling, and more “
”gimmicks” guaranteed to stir up litigation and controversy without solving problems, facing reality, and harnessing the great power of human migration.

Also, why on earth would the Administration relocate migrants to Texas — a move guaranteed to generate more racist posturing and pushback from Abbott? Why not work with states, localities, NGOs, religious, and legal aid groups in many localities prepared to welcome immigrants and where their skills could be used in the job market?

It’s also worth noting that the so-called “record numbers” at the border often count the same person over and over — a phenomenon aggravated by arbitrary use of Title 42 to return many individuals without proper legal screening. 

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-09-22

🗽NDPA CAREER OPPORTUNITY: Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC) Seeks Executive Director!

 

https://www.tassc.org/careers

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

FULL-TIME; REPORTS TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

TASSC seeks a visionary team leader to serve as its new Executive Director.  TASSC is the only organization founded by and for torture survivors.  We seek someone who has experience with this community, professional skills in non-profit management and direct service delivery, a trauma informed approach to working with clients and advocacy experience.

Responsible to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director operates with a growing annual budget (now at 1.2 million) to oversee personnel, projects and other operations of the organization.  The ED bears ultimate responsibility for the smooth functioning of the organization and the effective implementation of TASSC’s policy and goals including those related to programs, fundraising, public relations and networking.

TASSC seeks an executive director with qualities that reflect:

  • A commitment to the mission of TASSC;
  • Communication skills that enthusiastically embrace working with multicultural and multinational staff, survivors, donors and board members;
  • Examples of leadership through a process of consensus building;
  • Ability to understand and promote human rights of survivors of torture;
  • Commitment to working in coalition with others to prevent torture and support survivors.

Specific responsibilities include:

LEADERSHIP

  • Consults with the board to set overall TASSC strategic direction and  policies and to identify short and long term opportunities;
  • Facilitates the setting of TASSC’s annual objectives, develops and implements work plans to address priorities, and reports progress regularly to the Board of Directors;
  • Advocates for the prevention of torture and for reparations and human rights of those who have survived torture;
  • Motivates employees and the ability of the organization to attract and retain talent.

 

MANAGEMENT

  • Establishes goals and priorities with staff and ensures effective implementation;
  • Evaluates needs of survivors and how TASSC programs meet them, using results of evaluation to build strategic direction and improvement;
  • Provides outstanding management and supports staff development and motivation;
  • Ensures prudent financial management and practice within the organization, ensuring that expenditures do not exceed the overall financial resources;
  • Communicates necessary financial information to the Board and others on a timely and regular basis;
  • Collaborates with the board to develop short and long term policies that support the organization and the staff;
  • Works with Board members to produce and implement a short- and long-term fundraising plan to secure resources necessary to achieve organizational goals.

 

ADVOCACY & COMMUNITY BUILDING

  • Represent TASSC and its mission to outside audiences and advocates and promotes the organization and its core mission;
  • Promote well being of survivors, staff and community through trauma informed approach:
  • Actively manage membership recruitment and relations, ensuring communication with survivors during and after their time with TASSC;
  • Build relationships with key agency personnel and advocates to provide various services to torture survivors (i.e. social, mental health, legal, etc.)
  • Formulate action campaign strategies, including alerts to members and supporters;
  • Build and nurture relationships with key members of Congress, NGOs and media contacts to promote TASSC’s mission;
  • Maintain a working knowledge of related issues to torture, legislation, impunity, services, etc.

 

FUNDRAISING

  • Lead and implement strategies to meet fundraising goals;
  • In coordination with grant writers, oversee all grant projects and proposals;
  • Ensure timely direct mail appeal mailings;
  • Cultivation and stewardship of major donors and potential donors;
  • Maintain relationship with grant making bodies

 

BOARD RELATIONS

  • Work in partnership with the board to ensure operations comport with TASSC values and strategic direction
  • Keep the Board fully informed on the organization and all important factors influencing it;
  • Work with the Board Chair on focusing Board meetings on topics of highest priority that need Board attention and involvement;
  • Provide Board members with appropriate information on the budget and other matters needed to support informed decision making and effective governance;
  • Work closely with the board chair to guide and motivate board members;
  • Serve as an advocate before the Board to present staff needs and concerns and to work with the board to meet staff needs;
  • Assist in the selection and evaluation of Board members;
  • Provide updates on programs and finances prior to each board meeting;
  • Advise the Board, and formulates policies and planning recommendations to the Board;
  • Engage Board members collectively and individually, in understanding and making sense of the organization’s environment, challenges, and potential.

 

PUBLIC RELATIONS

  • Serve as the primary spokesperson and public face for TASSC;
  • Establish and maintain positive relationships with individuals and groups that affect the success of the organization;
  • Serve, with the Board and other Executive staff, as liaison to foundation, government, corporate, and individual donors;
  • Prepare press releases, op-ed pieces, and the like;
  • Work with Internal Operations staff to ensure consistency in publications, mailings, and website.

 

QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 3-5 years progressive leadership experience in administration fundraising and management, preferably in a regional or national non-profit organization—previous experience as an Executive Director is a plus. Strong candidates will have a proven record of the following qualities:

  • Personal commitment to the mission and goals of TASSC and an ability to inspire this in others;
  • Experience as a, or with, torture survivor(s) is strongly preferred;
  • Combination of education and experience in non-profit management;
  • 5 years minimum of progressively responsible positions in complex organizations;
  • Evidence of the ability to balance creative thinking, strategic planning, and tactical execution;
  • Commitment to trauma informed approaches that promote well being of survivors, staff and community
  • Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with senior management teams, Board members, staff, donors, prospective donors, and other key stakeholders;
  • Strong financial and budgetary knowledge and skills;
  • Development and fundraising knowledge and/or experience;
  • Experience planning for, leading, or participating in a fundraising campaign is preferable;
  • Exceptional communication skills, including listening, writing, and public speaking skills, with the ability to deliver compelling presentations to internal and external audiences;
  • Ability to anticipate opportunities and to act quickly and resourcefully to take advantage of them;
  • Ability to prioritize and manage time effectively;
  • Collaborative management style working with staff and volunteers;
  • Knowledge of grass roots and direct action organizing;
  • Good judgment and integrity necessary to serve as an internal role model and brand ambassador.

 

Potential Start Date:  July 2022

 

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Essential functions are typically performed in an office setting. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

Disclaimer:  This job description is only a summary of the typical functions of the job.  It is not an exhaustive or comprehensive list of all possible job responsibilities, tasks and duties.  The responsibilities, tasks, and duties of the jobholder may differ from those outlined in the job description and that other duties, as assigned, may be part of the job. TASSC International may add, change, or remove essential and other duties at any time.

 

HOW TO APPLY

Submit statement of interest and statement of personal qualifications, résumé, and 2 letters of recommendation to info@tassc.org. In the subject line of the email application please post the following:  LAST NAME FIRST NAME ED APPLICATION.  For example:  DOE JANE ED APPLICATION

 

TASSC International is an equal opportunity employer; people of color and individuals from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. TASSC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic background, religion, political orientation, genetic information, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, or disability.

*****************

Many thanks to Deb Sanders for bringing this to my attention!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-05-22

☹️👎🏽GOP’S ANTI-IMMIGRANT RANT THREATENS NATIONAL SECURITY!

 

Josh Rogin writes in the WashPost:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/02/republican-immigration-preventing-hong-kong-visas-brain-drain/

. . . .

“It’s a debate between those who think our openness as a democratic society is an advantage in the struggle with autocracies or a disadvantage,” Malinowski told me. “One of the central lessons of the Cold War was that it is an advantage. I just hope we choose the same strategy that won the Cold War.”

One thing that has changed since the Cold War is that now these skilled workers who are fleeing Russia and Hong Kong have more options. Some reports say 50,000 to 70,000 Russian tech workers fled to places such as Turkey, Georgia and the Baltic countries in the first weeks of the war in Ukraine. Hong Kong business leaders are decamping for Singapore. Canada has already expanded immigration for Hong Kongers with advanced degrees, and thousands are taking advantage.

The whole world is competing for the talents of those who are fleeing from Hong Kong and Putin’s Russia. Republicans’ excessive fear of immigration should not waste a strategic opportunity for the United States to strengthen itself and weaken its rivals at the same time. Congress should work to ensure that China’s and Russia’s losses are America’s gains.

************************

Read Josh’s full op-ed at the link.

As the GOP threatens democracy, suppresses individual liberties, stymies innovation, and spreads White Nationalist fear mongering about immigrants, both documented and undocumented, they make the U.S. sound more and more like the country that “lost” the Cold War.

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-04-22

THE GIBSON REPORT — 05-31-22 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, Managing Attorney, NIJC — More Restrictionist Myths Exposed, Graduating Dreamers, U.S. Employers Left “Twisting in the Wind”🤮 & Other Developments In The World Of Human Rights!

Elizabeth Gibson
Elizabeth Gibson
Managing Attorney
National Immigrant Justice Center
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”

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Weekly Briefing

 

This briefing is designed as a quick-reference aggregation of developments in immigration law, practice, and policy that you can scan for anything you missed over the last week. The contents of the news, links, and events do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Immigrant Justice Center. If you have items that you would like considered for inclusion, please email them to egibson@heartlandalliance.org.

 

CONTENTS (jump to section)

  • NEWS
  • LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
  • RESOURCES
  • EVENTS

 

NEWS

 

Around 100,000 ‘Dreamers’ to graduate without shot at work permits

Hill: DACA was put in place as a temporary stopgap in 2012, giving the right to work and study, and deferral from potential deportation, to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as minors before 2007… Only a quarter of 2022 undocumented graduates would be eligible for DACA, making it the first graduating class since the policy’s been in place to have a majority of post-DACA undocumented graduates.

 

Senate Votes Down Resolution To Ax Biden Asylum Rule

Law360: The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted down a resolution under the Congressional Review Act that could have overturned President Joe Biden’s policy vesting asylum officers with greater power over asylum. See also Biden prepares asylum overhaul at border, but court challenges loom.

 

ICE Agents Probably Won’t Arrest People Affected by the Texas Shooting

Vice: Federal officials declared Uvalde to be a “protected area” and said immigration agents would avoid enforcement “to the fullest extent possible.”

 

Legislators call for investigation into Boston asylum office over low rate of approvals

WGBH: In a letter sent Thursday to the Office of the Inspector General, the delegation wrote they’re concerned over a report that only 15.5% of asylum applicants reviewed by the Boston asylum office between 2015 to 2020 were approved, which is roughly half of the national average of 28%. This is the second-lowest in the nation after the New York asylum office.

 

Immigrant Bail Bond Industry Is ‘Wild West,’ State Lawmakers Say

The City: With only days left in the legislative session, Albany lawmakers are pushing to put regulations for a largely unregulated immigration bail bond industry, notorious for literally shackling clients with crippling debt and bulky ankle monitors.

 

Detention Ombudsman Reports 52% Of Complaints Were About Living Conditions

AIC: While the data is a small sample size, it paints a clear picture of why detention is so harmful, counter-productive, and arbitrary. For example, 52% were complaints about quality of life/living conditions. The next top complaints were about medical issues. The third category were about abuse & assault (legal access issues came in fourth).

 

Amazon Urged To End Support For DHS Biometric Program

Law360: A coalition of immigration and technology advocacy groups urged Amazon on Tuesday not to provide web hosting services for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s biometric information database, citing concerns about the project’s implications for civil liberties and privacy rights.

 

Illegal Immigration Is Down, Changing the Face of California Farms

NYT: The new demographic reality has sent farmers scrambling to bring in more highly paid foreign workers on temporary guest-worker visas, experiment with automation wherever they can and even replace crops with less labor-intensive alternatives. See also A human-trafficking case exposed farmworker abuses. The government is promising change.

 

Immigration, Upward Mobility, and the U.S. Economy

Harvard Business Review: Ran Abramitzky, a professor at Stanford University, and Leah Boustan, a professor at Princeton, looked at decades of data to understand the real impact that immigrants and their descendants have on America today. Their findings dispel several modern-day myths and suggest that not just political but also corporate leaders need to push for more rational rhetoric and policies.

 

A wave of Afghan teens arrived suddenly — and changed everything at a Chicago high school

WBEZ: These challenges are not isolated to the walls of Sullivan. With a record 100 million people displaced around the world, including 3 million Afghans, and the war in Ukraine adding to that tally every day, the Rogers Park school stands as an example of the kinds of challenges and transformations unfolding in schools and communities across the globe.

 

LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES

 

What To Expect As 5th Circ. Prepares To Hear DACA Clash

Law360: The Fifth Circuit is poised to consider the legality of a deportation relief program for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. As oral arguments come up, Law360 takes a look at what’s happened thus far and what could happen in and outside the courts.

 

Child Endangerment Plea Sinks 3rd Circ. Deportation Fight

Law360: A Third Circuit panel ruled 2-1 in a precedential decision Thursday that a Dominican man convicted of endangering the welfare of a child could be deported because that crime qualifies as child abuse.

 

Unpub. BIA on nexus, PSG

Courtside: Judge Ellen Liebowitz’s compact, cogent, powerful opinion is a terrific “mini-primer” on how PSG and “one central reason” nexus cases properly should be decided.

 

Roe v. Mayorkas on Afghan Parole

ACLU: Nine months after the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, USCIS’s abandonment of the humanitarian parole process of Afghans has left the plaintiffs stranded and in danger. After months of waiting, they have received either denials or no responses to their applications. One plaintiff applied for six family members, but tragically lost three of them while awaiting decisions on their applications for humanitarian parole.

 

Feds Ask Court To Nix Deadlines For Allies’ Green Card Apps

Law360: The Biden administration asked a D.C. federal court on Tuesday to undo an order to speedily process green card applications for thousands of Afghan and Iraqi translators, saying the plan is no longer feasible due to chaos abroad and bureaucratic dysfunction at home.

 

Mexico’s Supreme Court Declares Immigration Checkpoints Unconstitutional

AIC: The case before Mexico’s Supreme Court involved three indigenous Mexican citizens. Immigration officials detained the three siblings due to their appearance and limited proficiency in Spanish. They were held for eight days where the 18-year-old brother was tortured until he signed a document indicating he was from Guatemala, even though he could not read Spanish.

 

USCIS To Adjust Its Interpretation Of Three And 10-Year Bars Of Inadmissibility

Chugh: As a result of a lawsuit, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) intends to no longer force certain adjustment of status applicants to leave the United States during their period of inadmissibility. Additionally, USCIS will not reject adjustment of status applications if an applicant was in the United States during the period of inadmissibility without a waiver. The new policy interpretation is still being finalized by the Department of Homeland Security and new USCIS guidance is expected soon.

 

Amazon Urged To End Support For DHS Biometric Program

Law360: A coalition of immigration and technology advocacy groups urged Amazon on Tuesday not to provide web hosting services for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s biometric information database, citing concerns about the project’s implications for civil liberties and privacy rights.

 

Immigration Help Available to Those Affected by Special Situations, Including the Shooting in Uvalde, Texas

USCIS: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reminds the public that we offer immigration services that may help people affected by unforeseen circumstances, including the shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

 

USCIS Announces Availability of New EAD Automatic Extension Calculator

AILA: Following the USCIS temporary final rule increasing the automatic extension period for EADs, USCIS created the EAD Automatic Extension Calculator to assist employers and employees with determining the EAD expiration date for eligible employees.

 

DHS Notice Regarding New Assessment of Customer Experience and Service Delivery Subcommittee

AILA: DHS notice stating that the Secretary directed the Homeland Security Advisory Council to establish a subcommittee which will provide findings and recommendations on how DHS can improve its customer experience and service delivery.

 

U.S. Residents Sue USCIS and NARA for Delays in U.S. Citizenship Applications

AIC: Thirteen people waiting to become U.S. citizens filed a lawsuit challenging U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ unreasonable delays and failure to process U.S. naturalization applications filed in 2020.

 

CBP “Manifesting Fear of Expulsion Under Title 42” Documents (May 21, 2022)

LexisNexis: Here are links to two May 21, 2022 CBP Title 42 guidance documents stemming from the Huisha Huisha v. Mayorkas (27 F.4th 718, CADC 2022) litigation.  They went into effect at 12:01 a.m. (EDT) on May 23, 2022.

 

RESOURCES

 

NIJC RESOURCES

 

GENERAL RESOURCES

 

 

 

EVENTS

 

NIJC EVENTS

 

 

GENERAL EVENTS

 

 

To sign up for additional NIJC newsletters, visit:  https://immigrantjustice.org/subscribe.

 

You now can change your email settings or search the archives using the Google Group. If you are receiving this briefing from a third party, you can visit the Google Group and request to be added.

 

Elizabeth Gibson (Pronouns: she/her/ella)

Managing Attorney for Capacity Building and Mentorship

National Immigrant Justice Center

A HEARTLAND ALLIANCE Program

224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60604
T: (312) 660-1688| F: (312) 660-1688| E: egibson@heartlandalliance.org

www.immigrantjustice.org | Facebook | Twitter

*********************

Leah Pratt Boustan
Professor Leah Pratt Boustan
Economist
Princeton University
PHOTO: Princeton Website

LEAH BOUSTAN: I think that we’re seeing some of the same anti-immigrant rhetoric today than we’ve seen in the past US history. So we were interested in comparing immigrants that are coming to the U.S. today from all around the world to what we think of as the Ellis Island generation a century ago that faced a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment at the time. But now when we look back with hindsight on that generation, we have a very different view, a nostalgic view that sees those immigrants as contributing to society, building the economy. So we wanted to know are the immigrants that the U.S. is welcoming today on the same path and on the same trajectory as the past?

Honestly, what we find here really surprised both of us because we’ve heard all of the worries and concerns that people all across the aisle, I think, are expressing about immigrants today. That they come from poor countries. That it takes them a while to move up the ladder. So we were really surprised to see this really commonality between the Ellis Island generation and immigrants today. We end up seeing in the data that immigrants from Europe 100 years ago, and immigrants from Asia and Latin America today look like they’re on such a similar trajectory. Despite so many differences between the past and present, we see really a common immigrant story.

Check out the article from Harvard Business Review highlighted by Elizabeth above!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-02-22

 

 

 

⚖️🗽HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST ON EVERYTHING THAT’S WRONG ABOUT TITLE 42🏴‍☠️! — Also, Positions With HRF Available: Fight The Scofflaws, Nativists, Deniers, Fear-Mongers, & Enablers Who Made Title 42 & Other Degrading White Nationalist Policies Possible, & Those Who “Continue To Defend The Indefensible!”

 

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humanrightsfirst.org
Dear Paul:

 

After two years of advocacy by Human Rights First and our allies, President Biden announced that his administration would end Title 42 this Monday, May 23.  Instead, a suit by attorneys general mirroring the talking points of the Trump administration blocked the end of this inhumane policy.

 

We will continue to push for the end of the misuse of Title 42 and advocate for fair and just asylum system until we succeed and refugees are welcomed with dignity to the United States.

Taking action on Title 42
The Biden administration had announced a plan to end on May 23 the misuse of Title 42 public health regulations that have barred asylum seekers at the border for the past two years.  On Friday a federal court in Louisiana forced the continuation of this egregiously inhumane policy.

 

Anwen Hughes, Director of Legal Strategy for Refugee Programs responded, “The court’s ruling requires the continuation of a public health policy that public health experts have concluded is not needed, and allows the continued evasion of U.S. immigration and refugee laws.”

 

Human Rights First joined 57 partner organizations in an amicus brief in this case detailing the human costs of using this policy at the border.  Our most recent report, authored with allies Al Otro Lado and Haitian Bridge Alliance, underscored how extending Title 42 escalates dangers to asylum seekers, exacerbates disorder at the border, and magnifies discrimination in the system.

Courtesy Reuters
Migrants expelled from the U.S. are sent back to Mexico over the Paso del Norte International border bridge.
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“Every day that the Title 42 order remains in place is a day when the United States is turning away people seeking refuge to places where their lives are in danger.”
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Eleanor Acer appeared on Al Jazeera Friday night to discuss the continuation of Title 42.
Human Rights First President and CEO Michael Breen joined Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Mary Kay Henry, International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Marielena Hincapié, Executive Director of the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), in a press call on Monday, the day that should have marked the end of the use of Title 42.

 

Speakers called for the end of this cruel policy and reiterated the need for a fair and humane asylum system that centers the dignity of all people.

 

“It is encouraging that the Justice Department quickly filed an appeal to the Louisiana court’s ruling, which extends the use of a policy, ostensibly based on public health, that public health experts have concluded is not needed.  Now it is critical that the administration take all necessary steps to defend the CDC’s decision to end the use of Title 42,” said Breen.

 

A recording of the press event is available here.

 

Finally, two key members of our refugee protection research team, Kennji Kizuka and Associate Attorney for Refugee Protection Julia Neusner are at the border this week, reporting on the impact of Title 42 and Remain in Mexico on asylum seekers.  Please follow their up-to-the-moment reports on Twitter — @JuliaNeusner and @KennjiKizuka.

Introducing new members of our team
Yesterday, Human Rights First was pleased to announce the addition of two critical new members of our program addressing extremism, Erin E. Wilson as the Senior Director for Extremism and Human Rights and Elizabeth Yates, Ph.D. as Senior Researcher on Antisemitism.

 

Over her 20-year career, Wilson established herself as an expert on domestic extremism, serving as a senior policy strategist and analyst in the U.S. Government’s executive and legislative branches. She has extensive experience with stakeholders in communities around the world as well as federal, state, local agencies and law enforcement partners to address extremism using a rights-centered approach.

Erin E. Wilson

Senior Director of

Extremism & Human Rights

Elizabeth Yates, Ph.D.

Senior Researcher

on Antisemitism.

Yates served at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland, contributing to their work on domestic extremism and hate crimes. She co-authored numerous reports and articles on topics including extremism in the U.S. military, the growth of anti-Muslim terrorism, mass casualty hate crimes, and disengagement from right-wing extremism. Her analysis and commentary have regularly been featured on local and national news.

 

“Domestic extremism and antisemitism are two sides of the same coin, and Human Rights First is working to take that currency out of circulation,” said Michael Breen. “We are certain that as Human Rights First works to counter white supremacist extremism and the existential threat it poses to American democracy, the experience and tenacity Erin Wilson and Elizabeth Yates have long shown on these issues will be great resources.”

Join our Spring Social
We are thrilled to welcome Segun Oduolowu as emcee at our Spring Social!

 

Oduolowu joined PEOPLE (The TV Show!) as a correspondent this year after hosted the nationally syndicated television show, The List.  With Bounce TV network, Segun executive produced Protect or Neglect, a documentary focused on police brutality in underserved communities.

 

He was co-host of See It/Skip It, a weekly Facebook Live show produced by Rotten Tomatoes and he has appeared on Access Hollywood, The Wendy Williams Show and contributed to international programs for CNN, the BBC and Deutsche Welle.

The emcee for our June 8

Spring Social, Segun Oduolowu

Please join us and Segun Oduolowu for cocktails on the roof of the Bryant Park Grill in New York City on June 8 from 5:30 to 8pm EDT to honor the work of human rights defenders & highlight our work responding to the crises in Ukraine and Afghanistan.

 

Get your tickets now for what promises to be a great evening!

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Returning to Afghanistan
If you missed our live webinar “Tenets and Terrors: The Ideology and Violence of the Taliban in Afghanistan,” an in-depth look at the key factors, background, and worldview that motivates the Taliban, you can still participate in this important event by watching our recording or reading the transcript here.
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Not surprisingly, things have gone downhill for the Biden Administration on multiple fronts since their initial failure to hit the ground running with a strong condemnation and revocation of the Title 42 travesty!

Here’s a chance for the “new generation” of theNDPA to “sign on” with HRF and fight nativist racism on all levels! There is no end in sight for the need for actions to force the Biden Administration, the U.S. Government, Federal Courts, and state and local governments to comply with the law and our (not yet completely and equally implemented) Constitutional guarantees. Fight the “good fight” to end “dehumanization of the other” which, shockingly, has become SOP for the GOP right and their enablers!

Check out the link to the HRF Careers Page above!😎👍🏼⚖️🗽

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-27-22

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🗽⚖️NDPA JOB OPPORTUNITY:  WORK FOR “THE ASYLUMIST,” JASON DZUBOW! 😎 — Dzubow & Pilcher, PLLC, in Washington, D.C. is looking for a highly qualified Immigration Associate Attorney! 

Jason Dzubow
Jason Dzubow
The Asylumist

IMMIGRATION ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY 

Dzubow & Pilcher, PLLC, a boutique law firm located in downtown Washington, DC, seeks a full-time associate attorney. Our firm practices immigration law with a focus on asylum, family-based immigration, and removal defense. Our asylum clients come from a diverse range of countries and include journalists, diplomats, sexual minorities, religious and ethnic minorities, political activists, women’s rights activists, and many others.  

Job Duties & Tasks: Represent clients and manage caseload in all areas of the firm’s immigration practice, which includes: assisting clients in affirmative and defensive asylum applications, withholding of removal and other defenses to removal, family- and asylum-based adjustment of status, VAWA, DACA, TPS, employment authorization, J-1 waivers, waivers of inadmissibility, and consular processing of immigrant visa cases. Specific tasks will include conducting client intakes, providing legal consultations, completing immigration forms and affidavits, legal research and writing, direct representation of clients before the USCIS, ICE, EOIR, and the U.S. Department of State, and supervising paralegals and interns.

Qualifications: Membership in the DC bar or a state bar is required. Spanish fluency is required.  Candidates should have a demonstrated interest in immigration law and political asylum, and experience in an immigration legal services practice environment. Preference given to candidates with experience in asylum and removal defense. Candidates should also be detail-oriented, self-starters with the ability to handle multiple priorities and complete time-sensitive assignments.  

Salary and Benefits: Salary is commensurate with experience. We also offer health benefits, vacation time, and a retirement savings plan. 

To apply: If interested, please send a cover letter, resume, and writing sample (5-10 pages) to Todd Pilcher at tpilcher@dzubowlaw.com. Please include “Associate Attorney Application” in your subject line. We are accepting applications on a rolling basis.

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Contact information is in the above position posting!  Good Luck!

For those of you who don’t know him, in addition to being a great lawyer, Jason Dzubow is the author of The Asylumist Blog:  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj-1riog_v3AhXyIn0KHZWGB5YQFnoECAgQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.asylumist.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw31096PYuipIGsxJadngh9O, has written a book (How to Seek Asylum in the United States and Keep Your Sanity), and has been an Adjunct Professor of Law.

As you can see, he and his partner, Todd Pilcher, another “immigration guru” who practiced before me in Arlington, have senses of humor, an absolute requirement for practicing immigration and human rights law in today’s world!

 🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-25-22

THE GIBSON REPORT:  05-09-22 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, Managing Attorney, National Immigrant Justice Center — HEADLINERS: 2d Cir. Reverses BIA On CIMT; Texas AG Targets Legal Assistance To Migrants; EOIR “Friend of Court” Memo; Lack Of Immigrants Hurting U.S. Economy — PLUS BONUS COVERAGE:  New Legal Aid Alliance Aims to Build a Model for Universal Representation for Detained Immigrants!

Elizabeth Gibson
Elizabeth Gibson
Managing Attorney
National Immigrant Justice Center
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”

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Weekly Briefing

 

This briefing is designed as a quick-reference aggregation of developments in immigration law, practice, and policy that you can scan for anything you missed over the last week. The contents of the news, links, and events do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Immigrant Justice Center. If you have items that you would like considered for inclusion, please email them to egibson@heartlandalliance.org.

 

CONTENTS (jump to section)

  • PRACTICE ALERTS
  • NEWS
  • LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
  • RESOURCES
  • EVENTS

 

PRACTICE ALERTS

New EOIR Friend of the Court Memo

EAD Automatic Extension Time Period—Temporary Increase to up to 540 Days

USCIS Changing Communication of Case Processing Data

 

NEWS

 

Mexico will take back more Cubans and Nicaraguans expelled by U.S.

WaPo: The deal is potentially significant because the Mexican government has more latitude to carry out deportation flights to Cuba and Nicaragua, nations whose frosty relations with Washington severely limit the United States’ ability to return their citizens.

 

New Legal Aid Alliance for Detained Immigrants Facing Deportation in the Chicago Immigration Court

MIDA: The Midwest Immigrant Defenders Alliance (MIDA) is a partnership between three nonprofit organizations — the National Immigrant Justice Center, The Resurrection Project, and The Immigration Project — and the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender. The groups will lay the groundwork toward ensuring anyone who is detained by ICE and facing removal proceedings before the Chicago Immigration Court has access to legal representation. The program will reach immigrants detained in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Kentucky. While ICE no longer detains people in Illinois as the result of a state law enacted earlier this year, the groups will be representing Illinois residents who are being detained in other states.

 

Texas governor says the state may contest a Supreme Court ruling on migrant education

NPR: Abbott first made his remarks about the landmark education decision on Wednesday, in the aftermath of a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. Abbott said the court’s 1982 ruling had imposed an unfair burden on his state. “I think we will resurrect that case and challenge this issue again, because the expenses are extraordinary and the times are different” from when the decision came down, Abbott said in an interview with conservative radio host Joe Pagliarulo.

 

Texas AG Opens Probe Into State Bar’s Immigration Funding

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Friday that his office had launched an investigation into the charitable arm of the State Bar of Texas over allegations that the organization is providing funding to “entities that encourage, participate in and fund illegal immigration.”

 

DeSantis scrutinizes health care costs for the undocumented

Politico: The DeSantis administration on Thursday asked state hospitals to tally up the cost of providing medical care to undocumented immigrants. It’s part of an executive order Gov. Ron DeSantis signed in September, but just had his Agency for Health Care Administration start implementing.

 

For Second Straight Year, California Sees a Population Decline

NYT: California lost 117,552 residents last year, driven largely by the Covid death toll and a sharp drop in foreign immigration. This followed a slightly bigger decline in 2020, when the state lost 182,083 residents — the first time in more than a century that California got smaller.

 

The Things They Carried: Is the Border Patrol discarding asylum seekers’ documents?

Border Chron: In Arizona and Texas, border residents are noticing more and more personal belongings left behind, including confidential documents, along the U.S. side of the border wall.

 

Biden administration scrambles to deal with Russians trying to reach America

Politico: A senior administration official told POLITICO that the United States is exploring ways to increase Russians’ access to the U.S. refugee program, but the official declined to give details. At the same time, U.S. diplomats are effectively being warned to be extra careful in issuing tourist visas to Russians because they are more likely to overstay them due to the war, according to the April 26 cable obtained by POLITICO.

 

Massachusetts Senate OKs immigrant driver’s license bill

AP: The bill was approved 32-8 in the Democratic-controlled chamber. That’s enough to override a possible veto from Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, who has expressed opposition to similar efforts in the past.

 

Less immigrant labor in US contributing to price hikes

AP: The U.S. has, by some estimates, 2 million fewer immigrants than it would have if the pace had stayed the same, helping power a desperate scramble for workers in many sectors, from meatpacking to homebuilding, that is also contributing to supply shortages and price increases.

 

U.S. Homelessness Haunts Migrant Families Separated by Trump, Reunited by Biden

Reuters: Of the 200 families the task force has so far reunited, including Hernandez and her daughters, around three-quarters have struggled with housing insecurity, according to previously unreported data collected by two groups that aid them, Together & Free and Seneca Family of Agencies.

 

U.S. labor agency moves to thwart intimidation of immigrant workers

Reuters: The top lawyer at the agency that enforces U.S. labor laws on Monday directed staff to assure foreign workers that they will not face immigration-related consequences for filing complaints against employers or acting as witnesses in cases.

 

LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES

 

Court orders additional briefing in dispute over “remain in Mexico” policy

Howe: In a short order, the justices asked both sides in the dispute to weigh in on technical – but potentially dispositive – issues relating to the court’s power to hear the case.

 

Matter of German Santos, 28 I&N Dec. 552 (BIA 2022)

BIA: Any  fact  that  establishes  or  increases  the  permissible  range  of  punishment  for  a criminal offense is an “element” for purposes of the categorical approach, even if the term “element” is defined differently under State law… Title 35, section 780-113(a)(30) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, which punishes possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, is divisible with respect to the identity of the controlled substance possessed.

 

BIA Remand Relating To Matter Of A-B-

LexisNexis (quoting Geoffrey Hoffman):  This is a great decision as it affirms that A-B- (III) changed the law back to A-R-C-G- and warrants a remand back to the IJ for new proceedings. Importantly the Board notes that the remand is in light of the current case law of the BIA and the Fifth Circuit. Importantly, the Fifth Circuit’s Jaco v. Garland decision was not cited or relied on as impeding remand.

 

CA1 on Somalia, CAT: Ali v. Garland

LexisNexis: The critical question is whether this record compels the conclusion that Ali could not make the requisite showing with regard to the nature of the abuse to which he will be subjected, notwithstanding the IJ’s failure to have addressed evidence bearing on it. …  [W]e conclude that the prudent course is to vacate and remand for the BIA to address the aspects of the record that have not been given their proper consideration.

 

CA2 On CIMT: Jang V. Garland

LexisNexis: The agency found Jang ineligible for cancellation because of her state conviction for attempted second-degree money laundering, see N.Y. Penal L. § 470.15(1)(b)(ii)(A), which it deemed a “crime involving moral turpitude” (“CIMT”) under the Immigration and Nationality Act, see 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2). We agree with Jang that, because her crime of conviction lacks the requisite scienter, it is not a CIMT.

 

4th Circ. Says Tardiness Isn’t A Failure To Appear

Law360: The Fourth Circuit has rebuked the Board of Immigration Appeals for rubber-stamping an asylum-seeker’s in absentia deportation order without addressing claims that a medical issue made him late to his immigration hearing, saying tardiness isn’t the same as not showing up.

 

Defective NTA Remand at CA5: Urbina-Urbina v. Garland

LexisNexis: Accordingly, we VACATE the three BIA decisions and REMAND the three cases for reconsideration in light of Rodriguez v. Garland, 15 F.4th 351 (5th Cir. 2021).

6th Circ. Affirms Cuban Man’s Meth Possession Guilty Plea

Law360: The Sixth Circuit affirmed Monday the guilty plea of a Cuban man who was arrested for possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and sentenced to 16 years in prison, rejecting his argument that the district court made a crucial mistake by failing to warn him that the plea made him deportable.

 

9th Circ. Says BIA Must Rethink Gay Nigerian’s Torture Claim

Law360: The Board of Immigration Appeals must reconsider its denial of a Nigerian man’s request for protection against torture after the Ninth Circuit ruled that the man had presented enough evidence to show he faced persecution for being gay.

 

Military Can Help On Immigration Enforcement, 9th Circ. Says

Law360: The Ninth Circuit said on Wednesday that the U.S. military can assist Border Patrol agents in capturing those suspected of entering the country illegally, rejecting an appeal by a Mexican national who was apprehended with the help of a Marine Corps surveillance unit.

 

Indian Citizen Sues After Losing Work Due To USCIS Delays

Law360: An Indian citizen has asked a D.C. federal court to compel the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to resolve her employment authorization renewal application, saying its unlawful delay caused her to lose her job where she was working on a multimillion-dollar project.

 

County Called ICE On Immigrant For Traffic Issue, Suit Says

Law360: A Salvadoran immigrant has brought a $5 million lawsuit against a Maryland county, saying it illegally detained and transferred him to federal immigration enforcement over a minor traffic violation, exposing him to federal surveillance and the threat of deportation.

 

Judge Won’t Ax Florida Challenge To Biden Border Policy

Law360: A federal judge refused to toss Florida’s legal attack on the Biden administration’s border detention policies, saying Wednesday the courts could “unquestionably” review the federal government’s detention policies in a harsh rebuke to the administration’s claims of discretionary immigration authority.

 

USCIS Temporary Final Rule Increasing Automatic Extension Period for EADs

AILA: USCIS temporary final rule providing that the automatic extension period applicable to expiring EADs for certain renewal applicants who have filed Form I-765 will be increased from up to 180 days to up to 540 days from the expiration date stated on their EADs. (87 FR 26614, 5/4/22)

 

HHS Supplementary Request for Comment on Forms Related to Release of Unaccompanied Children

AILA: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) supplementary request for public comment on revised versions of several forms related to the release of unaccompanied children from the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Comments are due 6/6/22. (87 FR 27159, 5/6/22)

 

RESOURCES

NIJC Resources

General Resources

 

EVENTS

NIJC EVENTS

 

GENERAL EVENTS

 

To sign up for additional NIJC newsletters, visit:  https://immigrantjustice.org/subscribe.

 

You now can change your email settings or search the archives using the Google Group. If you are receiving this briefing from a third party, you can visit the Google Group and request to be added.

 

Elizabeth Gibson (Pronouns: she/her/ella)

Managing Attorney for Capacity Building and Mentorship

National Immigrant Justice Center

A HEARTLAND ALLIANCE Program

224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60604
T: (312) 660-1688| F: (312) 660-1688| E: egibson@heartlandalliance.org

www.immigrantjustice.org | Facebook | Twitter

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Elizabeth writes:

Hi Judge Schmidt,

 

I just wanted to share the exciting news of the official launch of the Midwest Immigrant Defenders Alliance (MIDA)! With the end of Immigration detention in Illinois, ICE is sending Illinois residents to remote detention centers where there is little access to counsel. MIDA will ensure these immigrants are not left behind. MIDA is a partnership between three nonprofit organizations — the National Immigrant Justice Center, The Resurrection Project, and The Immigration Project — and the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender, one of the largest public defender’s offices in the country.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Tara Tidwell Cullen, NIJC, (312) 833-2967, ttidwellcullen@heartlandalliance.org

 

New Legal Aid Alliance Aims to Build a Model for Universal Representation for Detained Immigrants Facing Deportation in the Chicago Immigration Court

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CHICAGO (May 9, 2022) — A group of Illinois immigration legal aid organizations today announced a new collaboration to expand access to legal representation for people in deportation proceedings who are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Midwest Immigrant Defenders Alliance (MIDA) is a partnership between three nonprofit organizations — the National Immigrant Justice Center, The Resurrection Project, and The Immigration Project — and the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender. Through a one-year pilot project, the groups will lay the groundwork toward ensuring anyone who is detained by ICE and facing removal proceedings before the Chicago Immigration Court has access to legal representation. The program will reach immigrants detained in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Kentucky. While ICE no longer detains people in Illinois as the result of a state law enacted earlier this year, the groups will be representing Illinois residents who are being detained in other states.

“The National Immigrant Justice Center has represented detained people facing deportation for more than 30 years and we are thrilled for this opportunity to collaborate with organizations who have been longtime partners in defending justice to build a model that will ensure our community members have access to legal counsel when in the throes of the punitive immigration system,” said Ruben Loyo, associate director, Detention Project, at the National Immigrant Justice Center. “We see this as the natural next step in our state to support immigrant families, and an opportunity for Illinois to join the ranks of other states like New York and California whose universal representation programs have demonstrated how ensuring access to affordable legal counsel both upholds justice and helps keep families and communities strong and intact.”

“Too often immigrants from rural and urban communities in central and southern Illinois feel isolated and marginalized while they are facing the highest possible stakes — separation from their families and, often, possible persecution in a country they may have not seen in decades,” said Charlotte Alvarez, executive director of The Immigration Project. “MIDA is a natural expansion of our current advocacy and legal representation work and will allow us to ensure that individuals who were ripped from our downstate communities are able to obtain legal counsel to pursue every possible avenue available to them under the law in order to return to their family.”

During the pilot, one day each week, any detained and unrepresented individual who has an initial hearing before the Chicago Immigration Court and cannot afford private counsel will have the opportunity to consult with one of the collaborating organizations and receive free legal representation while they are detained — and potentially longer if they reside in Illinois. The collaborative also will provide training and mentorship programs to welcome new legal practitioners into the immigration field, an effort to increase capacity for nonprofit organizations to provide affordable immigration defense services in the Midwest. Vera Institute of Justice, a nongovernmental research group, will track the case outcomes from the pilot project to evaluate its impact on ensuring justice for people facing removal proceedings in Chicago.

“Everyone has the right to due process, including immigrants, and immigrants should also have the right to an attorney if they can’t afford one — especially those in detention that face many more barriers to a successful case outcome,” said Eréndira Rendón, vice president of immigrant justice at The Resurrection Project (TRP). “MIDA will increase capacity of community-based legal service providers like TRP to ensure detained immigrants have free, high-quality, and accessible legal services. The more organizations trained and available to support with these complex cases, the closer we are to securing universal representation for all.”

“The launch of MIDA proves that the national movement for universal representation is only getting stronger as people across the country continue to demand that no one should face deportation without a lawyer,” said Annie Chen, director of the Advancing Universal Representation initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice. “People facing deportation are our neighbors, friends, and loved ones. They deserve to fight their cases freely in their communities and with a lawyer by their side. As Illinois becomes the latest state to support a right to counsel for all, we are honored to work with MIDA to help them evaluate their program’s impact and are confident it can serve as a model for the state’s anticipated task force.”

Removal proceedings can have dire consequences for many immigrants, including permanent separation from U.S. citizen children, spouses, and parents, as well as the loss of integral community members. In some cases, deportation may result in someone being sent to a country where they face persecution or death. Yet individuals in these proceedings do not have access to government-appointed legal counsel like defendants in other parts of the U.S. legal system. A 2016 study found that detained immigrants are twice as likely to obtain relief than detained immigrants without counsel. In recent years, approximately 60 percent of detained individuals have been unrepresented in the Chicago court.

The partnership between nonprofit legal aid organizations and the Immigration Unit Pilot of the Cook County Public Defender, one of the largest public defender’s offices in the country, is in part intended to chip away at racial disparities that permeate the U.S. immigration system. Black, Indigenous, and other immigrants of color are disproportionately targeted for criminal arrest, which significantly affects an immigrant’s ability to remain in the United States. Working together, public defenders and immigration counsel have the best chance of ensuring immigrants’ rights are upheld throughout the course of their legal proceedings. Advocates also believe that universal representation models advance racial equity by mitigating biases during the initial triage of cases, when service providers usually must decide who is most deserving of services.

MIDA’s launch comes just weeks after the Illinois General Assembly passed the Right to Counsel in Immigration Proceedings Act (SB 3144), which will create a task force to provide recommendations for how the state can move toward providing legal representation for all Illinoisans facing deportation. The legislation was the latest in a series of state laws championed by Illinois communities and supported by the General Assembly and Governor J.B. Pritzker in recent years to defend immigrant Illinoisans against unjust deportation. After years of advocacy to close immigrant detention centers in Illinois, in January the Illinois Way Forward Act took effect to prevent ICE from detaining immigrants within the state. MIDA seeks to ensure Illinois residents continue to have access to counsel even as ICE increasingly detains immigrants in remote detention centers that often lack local legal resources.

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Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) ensures human rights protections for low-income immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, with the goal of promoting access to justice, family integrity, and community safety. With offices in Chicago, Indiana, Washington, D.C., and San Diego, NIJC provides direct legal services to and advocates for these populations through impact litigation, public education, and policy reform. NIJC’s immigration legal services are organized into distinct projects, including a Detention Project that for years has served detained immigrants in the Midwest. Visit immigrantjustice.org and follow @NIJC on Twitter.

The Immigration Project (TIP) has secured access to justice alongside immigrant communities in downstate Illinois for over 25 years. With offices in the Bloomington-Normal and Champaign-Urbana areas, TIP maintains an extensive network of staff, partner organizations,  and specially trained community member volunteers to provide legal and social services to immigrant families residing in the 86 counties that comprise its service area. TIP works with and for immigrant communities in mutuality and interdependence to build a more just future for all. Visit www.immigrationproject.org.

The Resurrection Project (TRP) builds relationships and challenges individuals to act on their faith, values, and ideals to create healthier communities. Since its founding in 1990, TRP has increased the availability of services and expanded opportunities for Chicago’s low- and moderate-income Latinos. TRP is a trusted provider of culturally and linguistically inclusive services and helps enable families to fully participate and become invested in their communities. TRP serves families from all over the Chicago metropolitan region, though it has a deeply rooted presence in the predominantly Latino and immigrant communities of Pilsen, Little Village, and Back of the Yards.

Through the work of the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender (CCPD) Immigration Unit Pilot, Cook County is the largest county in the nation to provide public defenders to serve the immigrant communities that do not have access to attorneys. In early 2022, Governor JB Pritzker signed Public Act 102-0410 into law and the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution in support of this initiative. This authorized the defender’s office to begin representing noncitizens in removal proceedings.

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Congrats to all the fantastic NDPA members involved in the MIDA! 

As readers of “Courtside” know and see illustrated here every week, the difference between life-saving and legally correct grants of asylum and other relief in Immigration Court and “arbitrary, capricious, railroaded” denials that are all too common at EOIR is often in the expert representation.

Despite “throwing an occasional bone” to the pro bono and “low bono” bars, it’s disturbingly clear that, like its predecessors, the Biden Administration has chosen to fashion, operate, and staff the Immigration Court system on the assumption that the majority of individuals can be rotely “moved” through the system and rejected without effectively asserting their full rights to due process and fundamental fairness. 

Effective representation does make a difference! An Administration and a Congress actually concerned about making the immigration justice system work would concentrate on moving toward universal representation rather than the plethora of money and time wasting “enforcement only/deterrence” gimmicks that have failed over the years and continue to do so every day! 

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-11-22

 

DISSENTING VIEW: LET THE SUN SHINE IN!☀️ — Unaccountable, Anti-Democracy, Out-Of-Touch Righty Supremes Need & Deserve Public Scrutiny Of Decision-Making!  — The “Leak” Was “All Good” 😎 — The Retrograde Substance Of Alito’s “Draft,” Not So Much! 🤮

 

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Supreme-Court-leaks-are-good-actually-Let-s-17154277.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headlines&utm_campaign=sfc_opinioncentral&sid=5bfc15614843ea55da6b8709

Edward Wasserman writes in the SF Chron:

. . . .

No institution welcomes scrutiny. Maintaining internal cohesion and operational focus demands informational boundaries against the rest of the world. This wish deserves respect, but not automatic submission, especially when matters of vast public consequence are at stake.

That’s why news media take it as a duty to ignore organizational secrecy rules — except when disclosure would cause unwarranted harm — and insist that public awareness must outweigh institutional convenience. A document leaked from most any federal agency that upended longstanding policy would unquestionably be legitimate news, even if it was preliminary, even if exposure would gum up a cozy internal process, even if the leak broke agency rules.

But not when it comes to the Supreme Court.

Of all our governmental institutions, it is unique in the awe and deference with which our news media, for all their endless claims to seek truth aggressively, treat it.

To be sure, secrecy has a place in the judicial system. Grand juries, for example, are prosecutorial contrivances where untested evidence is presented and people suspected of wrongdoing have weak adversarial protections. Damaging the innocent by publicizing unrebutted claims is a strong possibility. Secrecy makes sense.

But the issue here is altogether different. The leak was of a 98-page draft opinion with 118 footnotes, not a filched personal email or the secondhand account of an overheard chat. It was deeply researched and carefully composed and was distributed internally nearly three months ago, and it signals a major change in an explosive area of public policy. Publishing it doesn’t endanger national security and puts no innocent lives at risk.

So should the Supreme Court, virtually alone among core public institutions, be entitled to say, “We’ll show it to you when we’re ready for you to see it?”

At best, that exceptionalist claim rests on a carefully nurtured myth of the court as a scholarly sanctuary in which big questions of public purpose are engaged through reflection, historical inquiry and quiet, reasoned debate, a process of ripening that must take place behind the sealed doors of an intellectual greenhouse.

That fiction lost credibility a long time ago, at least for anybody who was paying attention in the year 2000 when the court, with the flimsiest of pretexts, awarded the presidency to the candidate with fewer votes but of the same party as its majority.

Indeed, what standards of accountability govern the court? Its members serve life terms free from disciplinary oversight. To get aboard, nominees routinely lie before Congress — about their personal behavior and their judicial philosophy — rendering the Senate’s authority to approve candidates meaningless. Serving justices are not held to any discernible standard of independence. Their right to rule on matters in which close family have personal stakes, or on which they have clear prior leanings, is completely unregulated.

And then there’s the recent sharp increase in furtive rulings reached off-season without full briefing or oral argument — known as the shadow docket — which has further narrowed the window of public visibility. Last summer the court issued 11 such rulings, up from three in 2016, in a slapdash and opaque workaround beloved of the conservative majority that produces jurisprudence that “every day becomes more unreasoned, inconsistent, and impossible to defend,” as dissenting liberal Justice Elena Kagan said.

Perhaps the Roe leak will inaugurate a new era for the court. Maybe there will be more impertinent reporting that exposes the reasoning, bargaining, trade-offs and personal dynamics that drive constitutional lawmaking at the highest levels. Rather than something to be dreaded, such transparency would leave us all better informed and more fully empowered to play the role the system prescribes for us — to shape our collective future.

Edward Wasserman is professor of journalism and former dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley.

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Read Wasserman’s full article at the link.

He says, “No institution welcomes scrutiny.” Very true. Any leader or group of leaders who claim the contrary are probably lying.

Scrutiny sometimes brings accountability. And, as our system deteriorates before our eyes, that’s something that has become rare in today’s politics and public life.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

05-09-22

⚖️🧑🏻‍⚖️🍅FOOD FIGHT ERUPTS IN 5TH CIRCUIT AS EN BANC MAJORITY DECIDES TO FOLLOW LAW EVEN WHERE IMMIGRANT WINS! — 3 Trump Appointees, 1 Bush II Appointee, Join All Dem Appointees To Thwart 8 GOP Scofflaws’ Efforts To Overturn Rodriguez v. Garland!😎 

Food Fight
Far right activist  5th Circuit Judges reacting to colleagues who followed law and ruled in favor of immigrants. PHOTO: Creative Commons.

The issue is whether an in absentia removal order can be based on a statutorily defective notice. The panel followed the Supreme’s decision in Niz-Chavez and rejected the BIA’s conflicting decision in Matter of Laparra. In other words, the panel required the Government to follow the statute, a process known as “complying with the law.” This sent some of this most conservative circuit’s most far-right judges over the edge. Here’s the en banc decision:

https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/20/20-60008-CV1.pdf

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  • Credit Dan Kowalski over at LexisNexis for the “food fight” characterization.
  • The scofflaw GOP dissenters cited “deference” to the Executive, something they have pointedly refused to apply to Biden Administration precedents and policies favoring migrants. 
  • The majority says: “[The BIA] flies in the face of the Supreme Court’s Pereira decision, which Laparra ignored.” 
  • Incredibly, Garland is on the “wrong side” of this controversy, defending the legally incorrect misinterpretation of his “Trump holdover” BIA!
  • The statutory requirement at issue: That a “Notice to Appear” before the Immigration Court inform the individual of the time and place of the hearing. How difficult does that sound? Not very, unless you are bumbling bureaucrat at DHS and EOIR who chose, even after the Supremes’ initial decision, to  violate that decision and the statute in almost 100% of the cases instituted before the Immigration Courts! 
  • Kudos to the 3 Trump appointees and one Bush II appointee who joined 3 Obama appointees and 2 Clinton appointees to uphold the rule of law and thwart their GOP scofflaw colleagues.
  • Interestingly, and perhaps mildly encouraging, the “Trump appointees” split 3-3 on this one.
  • Apparently nothing drives a wedge between conservative judges like the scary prospect of following the law when it gives immigrants a win!
  • Future ambitious academic study: How much of the current out of control backlog can be traced to the Government’s, and particularly the BIA’s, inept handling of straightforward notice requirements set forth in the statute?
  • There’s a reason why I keep referring to Garland’s out of control EOIR backlogs as “largely self-created,” albeit in fairness not exclusively by him. The Trump Administration, and to a lesser extent the Obama Administration, also “excelled” at “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” driven by “prioritizing” improper political goals over due process, fundamental fairness, quality, and practical scholarship in the Immigration Courts.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

04-21-22

🗽BIDEN ADMINISTRATION GRANTS TPS TO CAMEROONIANS — A Modest Step Forward! — It Also Illustrates The Horrible Illegality & Immorality Of The Biden Administration’s Continuing Use Of “Title 42” Against Non-White Refugees At Our Border!🏴‍☠️☠️🤮👎🏽

 

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/04/15/secretary-mayorkas-designates-cameroon-temporary-protected-status-18-months

Secretary Mayorkas Designates Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status for 18 Months

Release Date: April 15, 2022

WASHINGTON— Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the designation of Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. Only individuals who are already residing in the United States as of April 14, 2022, will be eligible for TPS.

“The United States recognizes the ongoing armed conflict in Cameroon, and we will provide temporary protection to those in need,” said Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “Cameroonian nationals currently residing in the U.S. who cannot safely return due to the extreme violence perpetrated by government forces and armed separatists, and a rise in attacks led by Boko Haram, will be able to remain and work in the United States until conditions in their home country improve.”

A country may be designated for TPS when conditions in the country fall into one or more of the three statutory bases for designation: ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary and temporary conditions. This designation is based on both ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Cameroon that prevent Cameroonian nationals, and those of no nationality who last habitually resided in Cameroon, from returning to Cameroon safely. The conditions result from the extreme violence between government forces and armed separatists and a significant rise in attacks from Boko Haram, the combination of which has triggered a humanitarian crisis. Extreme violence and the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure have led to economic instability, food insecurity, and several hundred thousand displaced Cameroonians without access to schools, hospitals, and other critical services.

This marks the first time the Secretary of DHS will permit qualifying nationals of Cameroon to remain temporarily in the United States pursuant to a TPS designation of that country. Individuals eligible for TPS under this designation must have continuously resided in the United States since April 14, 2022. Individuals who attempt to travel to the United States after April 14, 2022 will not be eligible for TPS. Cameroon’s 18-month designation will go into effect on the publication date of the forthcoming Federal Register notice. The Federal Register notice will provide instructions for applying for TPS and an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). TPS applicants must meet all eligibility requirements and undergo security and background checks.

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According to TRAC, there were 3,191 pending Cameroonian cases in Immigration Court as of March 22, 2022. https://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/court_backlog/. On the basis of my experience, I would guess that most of these are in the mid-Atlantic region. 

Cameroonian asylum cases were a “staple” in Arlington over my 13 years on the bench ending on June 30, 2016. For example, in FY 2012, they were approximately 9% of my asylum docket, although that number dwindled between then and my retirement.

According to EOIR’s first quarter FY 2022 stats, the asylum grant rate for Cameroon is about 60%, and the denial rate is only 6%. https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1107366/download

The other 1/3 of cases are disposed of in “other” ways. This indicates that with TPS as a tool, almost all of the pending Cameroonian cases at EOIR could be resolved in short order without diminishing anyone’s rights.

That’s a “drop in the bucket” on a 1.8 million case backlog. But, it does suggest that better docket management tools, ones that comply with due process, are available to Immigration Judges and could be built upon for the future with more visionary and due-process-focused leadership at EOIR and DOJ.

Sadly, this profile also confirms that the Biden Administration’s illegal use of Title 42 to return Cameroonians to harm’s way without an opportunity to apply for asylum has been exactly the race-based, grotesque violation of asylum laws, human rights, and human dignity that critics have asserted.

It also graphically demonstrates why real Democrats, core progressive supporters who put Biden and company in office, must aggressively stand up against the disgraceful agitation by a minority of Dem legislators and uninformed, amoral politicos within the Administration to retain the already totally unjustifiable Title 42 blockade!

Continuing violation of domestic and international law through use of Title 42 is NOT, I repeat NOT, an option! Yes, the Administration needs to get a plan in place for an orderly restoration of asylum processing for Cameroonians, Haitians, Latin Americans, Ukrainians, Russians, Afghans, and all  other nationalities at our Southern Border. 

Fair, humane, advance processing of those seeking asylum at the border NOW is the essential key to avoiding a mess on May 23. Pumping credibility, efficiency, humanity, and proper generosity into the asylum system at the border NOW will reduce the chances of an “immediate backlog” come May 23. 

More importantly, showing that our laws can work in a fair, humane, and efficient way will encourage individuals seeking asylum to come to legal ports of entry to apply, rather than seeking more dangerous and difficult irregular entry that does not hold out the same prospects for rapidly obtaining legal status. Why wouldn’t legitimate asylum seekers present themselves at legal ports of entry if we had a fair, functioning, transparent system for processing them? 

By eliminating the need and reducing  the motivation for legal asylum seekers to attempt irregular entries to obtain refuge, the traffic between ports of entry should be reduced even though of course not eliminated. And the “expedited removal” procedures available under current law to CBP for those apprehended without credible asylum claims while attempting unauthorized entires are perfectly adequate to quickly process removals of those with no legal claim to be here!   

Assuming that all or most asylum seekers will attempt unauthorized entries between legal ports will become a dangerous “self-fulfilling prophecy.” Yet, to the extent that the Biden Administration has a plan, it appears to be driven by the misguided notion that all the “action” will be at unauthorized crossing points. See, e.g., https://immigrationimpact.com/2022/04/12/what-is-bidens-plan-to-end-title-42/ (a sad commentary on wobbly, uninformed, unprincipled, pedestrian, un-creative thinking about an important solvable problem if I’ve ever seen one). 

That’s only going to happen if the Administration continues to ignore the pressing need for immediate steps to establish the credibility of the asylum system at ports of entry. 

The Administration went to considerable trouble to establish a “new” regulatory framework for processing asylum claims at the border (which becomes effective on May 28). I was one of those who pointed out serious flaws in the new system adopted. 

One of the main defects is that for integrity, legal guidance, and effective supervision it heavily relies on Garland’s dysfunctional, hopelessly backlogged, and still anti-asylum-tilted Immigration Courts, at least where some of the common types of asylum applications at the border, like those from Northern Triangle countries, are concerned. These “courts that aren’t really courts” have shown a disturbing lack of asylum expertise and little effective commitment to a fair and practical application of asylum laws nationwide. It’s basically still a “denial factory” — just as Sessions and Barr staffed and manipulated it to be. That has spelled disaster in the past and will continue to do so in the future unless it can be “sidestepped” by granting more cases at the border without calling on these “courts.”

There’s where the “new system” has potential to work! One key advantage of the “new system” that many of us applauded is the potential for the USCIS Asylum Office expeditiously to grant many more claims at or near the border, thus entirely avoiding the broken Immigration Courts, prolonged detention, and releasing individuals to the interior without status. 

As asylees, refugees can be admitted in a legal, work-authorized status right off the bat. Not only does that eliminate the never-ending debate about appearing for later Immigration Court hearings, but it also helps the economy and resettlement by putting individuals anxious to support themselves and their families directly into the workforce at a time when we need workers in many segments of the economy! It also avoids the current wildly inconsistent, unprincipled, and often defective asylum adjudication that now plagues Garland’s Immigration Courts, particularly in border areas and detention centers.

But, success isn’t going to happen by “magical thinking,”  operating in “Stephen Miller’s world,” repeating platitudes about border crises, and reviving the past mistakes of “enforcement/deterrence only regimes.” I call BS! A “border crisis” is what happened in Poland! We’re not even remotely close to that!

It requires the Biden Administration to get the lead out, shut down the “naysayers,” work with NGOs, and get the expertise and manpower in place NOW at ports of entry and in Mexico to achieve success on May 23! But, continuing the illegal Title 42 charade/blockade is not an option that is on the table!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

04-16-22