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April 20, 2021

Check out this week’s digest of news, resources, faith reflections, and analysis of international migration and refugee protection, brought to you by the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS).

Haga clic aquí para la versión en español de la Actualización de Política.

Hopelessness Continues Driving Hondurans to Migrate The Associated Press (April 17, 2021) Last month, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported more than 41,000 encounters with Hondurans along the US-Mexico border, an increase of 12,000 over the same period in 2019. Eugenio Sosa, a sociologist at the National Autonomous University in Honduras, said that pervasive violence, deep-seated corruption, lack of jobs, and the devastation of two hurricanes in November 2020 have contributed to hopelessness among Hondurans. “The people don’t go just because it’s really bad,” Sosa said. “The people go because it’s bad and because they are certain that it is going to continue to be bad and that the country has rotted forever.” The Biden administration continues to expel adults arriving at the border under Title 42, which permits immigration authorities to bar foreign nationals for public health reasons and to prevent them from seeking asylum. The policy has not stopped Hondurans from arriving at the US-Mexico border. According to Sosa, small, positive changes in Honduras would encourage some to stay in their home country. READ MORE

White House Walks Back Order On Refugee Limits After Backlash NPR (April 16, 2021) On April 16, 2021, the White House released a memorandum reallocating the 15,000 refugee admission spots for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021.The historically low admissions ceiling was set by the Trump administration. In the early days of his presidency, Biden promised to raise the cap via a presidential determination (PD) to 125,000 for FY 2022 and a February Department of State report recommended an increase in FY 2021 to 62,500 admissions. Friday’s memo reallocated admissions but did not increase the admissions cap. After backlash from Democratic lawmakers, refugee advocates, and human rights groups, the Biden administration issued a statement saying that its memorandum opened up refugee resettlement to regions that had previously been blocked under the Trump administration. The administration said it will raise refugee admissions for the current fiscal year on May 15th. The fiscal year ends on September 30, 2021. It is uncertain what the new cap will be for FY 2021. READ MORE READ Memorandum for the Secretary of State on the Emergency Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2021

SIMI Interview with  Fr. Marvin Ajic, c.s., Director of Casa del Migrante Nazareth in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, on the Situation on the US-Mexico Border Scalabrini International Migration Institute (April 19, 2021) In an interview sponsored by the Scalabrini International Migration Institute (SIMI), Fr. Marvin Ajic, c.s., reflects on the situation on the US-Mexico Border, differences between Trump- and Biden-era policies, and the important work of Casa del Migrante Nazareth in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, which he directs. The interview is in Spanish. WATCH NOW

In Tijuana, Desperate Migrants Not Waiting For Godot But For Governments Crux (April 17, 2021) The United States government continues to deport from 200 to 500 migrants daily across its southern border under Title 42. Title 42 of the US Code gives US immigration authorities broad power to expel migrants it deems a danger of spreading COVID-19. It has severely curtailed access to asylum. Meanwhile, migrants continue to arrive at the US-Mexico border with the mistaken belief that they will be able to cross the border and receive asylum. The result is a “grim situation,” according to some immigrant advocates. Fr. Pat Murphy, Director of the Casa del Migrante Tijuana, says that US immigration authorities “keep sending more and more people under Title 42, and that means the pressure is on here in Mexico. We’re completely overwhelmed.” Tijuana’s 30 migrant shelters are all full, and approximately 2,000 migrants are camping outside a Mexican immigration facility waiting for the asylum process to resume. Fr. Murphy said that ending Title 42 and a resumption of the asylum process in Mexico would improve the situation. “All people are looking for is a chance,” he said. READ MORE

Indonesian Asylum Seekers Survived Trump’s Attempt to Deport Them, But Now They’re Facing Off Against Biden The Gothamist (April 15, 2021) The Biden administration is continuing efforts started by the Trump administration to deport about two dozen Indonesian Christians who have been living in Central New Jersey for decades. The Obama administration protected them from deportation and gave them work authorization, but the Trump administration sought to deport them. In February 2018, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, which is still in effect but the order could be lifted any day. Advocates are surprised that the Biden administration is trying to deport the Indonesian asylum seekers because they do not fit the administration’s revised enforcement priorities. Senators Cory Booker and Robert Menendez of New Jersey along with members of the New Jersey congressional delegation submitted a letter to the Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas asking that the group not be detained or deported. The letter states, “For nearly 30 years, these Christian refugees have raised families, bought homes, attended church services, and volunteered countless hours to aid neighbors. . . . These New Jerseyans exemplify the best qualities of our state. Their ability to continue living and working safely in New Jersey is critical to the well-being of their U.S. citizen children and to the benefit of their church communities and neighbors they serve.” READ MORE

Ottawa Opens New Pathway to Permanent Status for Temporary Essential Workers and Graduates New policy will allow up to 90,000 workers and international graduates to obtain permanent residency. CBC News (April 14, 2021) Canadian Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced the creation of a new pathway to permanent residence for up to 90,000 foreign nationals. The program is geared toward workers and international graduates with temporary visas and in designated “essential jobs.” Minister Mendicino said, “Since COVID-19 first arrived on our shores, we have charted a course guided by one north star — that immigration is key to Canada’s short term economic recovery and long term prosperity. . . . Fundamentally, we know that by attracting and retaining the best and the brightest … we will add more jobs, growth and diversity to our economy.” To qualify as an essential worker, a foreign national must have at least one year of work experience in one of 40 health-care jobs or 95 other “essential jobs.” Some listed essential occupations include electricians, metal workers, farmworkers, cashiers, home childcare providers, and French immersion teachers. For international graduates to qualify, they must have completed an eligible Canadian post-secondary program within the last four years. Minister Mendicino hopes that the program will encourage immigrants to put down roots in the country. The application period will be from May 6, 2021 through November 5, 2021. The Canadian government will accept up to 20,000 applications from temporary workers in healthcare, 30,000 from temporary workers in essential jobs, and 40,000 from international students. READ MORE

Venezuelan Military Offensive Sends Thousands Fleeing, Recharging One of the World’s Worst Refugee Crises The Washington Post (April 1, 2021) In mid-March, the Venezuelan military launched a campaign against Colombian guerrillas operating in the jungle of the western Venezuelan state of Apure. The guerrilla group, the 10th Front, became a target for interfering in the Venezuelan government’s profitable narco-trafficking business. The Venezuelan government reports that nine camps have been destroyed, 32 people arrested, and nine people killed during the offensive. Thousands of Venezuelans have fled the offensive, crossed into Colombia, and are in makeshift shelters in the border town of Arauquita. As of the beginning of April, nearly 5,000 refugees, 40 percent of them children, arrived in Arauquita. UNHCR employees are providing the refugees with tents, mattresses, hygiene kits, and face masks. Jose Miguel Vivanco, Director for Human Rights Watch’s Americas division, claims that there is “credible evidence” that the Venezuelan military carried out extrajudicial killings of three men and a woman during the offensive. The Venezuelan government, however, claims that every person killed during the offensive is a terrorist. READ MORE

The American Dream & Promise Act: It Feels Like Deja Vu Ignatian Solidary Network (March 26, 2021) On March 18, 2021, the US House of Representatives passed HR 6, the American Dream and Promise Act by 228 to 197 votes. The bill proposes a pathway to citizenship for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients as well as for certain immigrant youth. In the Senate, there are two separate bills that would open a pathway to citizenship for TPS holders, DACA recipients, and certain immigrant youth. The DREAM Act would legalize DACA recipients and immigrant youth. The SECURE Act would legalize TPS beneficiaries. Each bill needs 60 votes in the Senate to pass, and thus will require bipartisan support. For 20 years, the Dream Act has been introduced in Congress, but has never become law. Although many people were excited by HR 6’s passage, many DACA recipients were not. Instead, their past experience has given them a sense of déjà vu. They are tired of the same story of a bill that progresses and does not become law. DACA recipients have been in limbo with no path to legalize. They continue to fight for a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants. READ MORE

NEW FROM CMS The Next Presidential Determination on Refugee Resettlement: The Time to Act is Now On Friday, April 16, President Biden issued a long-awaited “Memorandum for the Secretary of State on the Emergency Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for Fiscal Year 2021.” The presidential determination opened up refugee admissions to regions blocked by the Trump administration but did not raise the historically low cap of 15,000 for the current fiscal year. The White House later stated it would decide on a new admissions ceiling by May 15. In this CMS essay, Susan Martin — Donald G. Herzberg Professor of International Migration Emerita for Georgetown University — outlines how the Biden administration can prepare to admit more refugees and how the United States will benefit from welcoming them. READ MORE Daniela Alulema on the Contributions of DACA Recipients As the Supreme Court heard oral arguments regarding the Trump administration’s efforts to terminate the DACA program, CMS released a paper offering detailed estimates of DACA recipients, their economic contributions, and their deep ties to US communities. The paper, which also features testimonies of several DACA recipients, was published in CMS’s Journal on Migration and Human Security (JMHS). In this episode, Daniela Alulema — who is author of the JMHS paper, CMS’s Director of Programs, and herself a DACA recipient — describes the paper’s findings, shares the stories of the DACA recipients, and outlines potential policy directions for the DACA program. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, and cmsny.org.

POLICY UPDATE On April 16, 2021, President Biden signed an emergency presidential determination that keeps in place the Trump administration’s historically low refugee admissions cap of 15,000 for FY 2021 but returns to allocating refugee admissions based on region. The next day the Biden administration released a statement saying it expects to increase the 2021 refugee ceiling next month but did not specify the number. In February 2021, President Biden proposed welcoming 62,500 refugees to the United States in 2021. Under former President Trump’s directive, stringent restrictions were placed on accepting refugees from certain African and majority-Muslim countries and priority was given to Christians who faced religious persecution and Iraqis who worked for the US military. The new allocations include 7,000 slots for Africa, 1,000 for East Asia, 1,500 for Europe and Central Asia, 3,000 for Latin America/Caribbean, 1,500 for Near East/South Asia, and 1,000 slots that are unallocated. On April 14, 2021, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill that will ban for-profit detention centers in the state. Under the bill, one of the largest for-profit immigrant detention centers, the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, will be shut down by 2025 when its contract with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) expires. Washington is one of the first states to pass legislation that bans private prison companies, including immigration facilities, from operating. On April 13, 2021, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that Texas and Missouri filed a lawsuit demanding that the Biden administration reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program to reduce the influx of migrants at the southwest border. MPP was established by the Trump administration in January 2019. It allowed border officers to send non-Mexicans who sought asylum at the US southern border to Mexico to await their immigration hearings. In January 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) suspended the MPP program and the Biden administration began admitting program enrollees into the United States in February. The lawsuit alleges that the Biden administration’s decision to suspend the program led to a surge of Central American migrants coming to the southwest border to make asylum claims. On April 12, 2021, President Biden nominated Chris Magnus to lead Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Ur Jaddou to head United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Magnus is currently the police chief in Tuscon, Arizona, and Jaddou was head counsel of USCIS under the Obama administration. Biden also nominated John Tien, the former senior director for Afghanistan and Pakistan of the National Security Council, as deputy director of DHS. On April 12, 2021, the Biden administration secured agreements with Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala to tighten their borders and stem the flow of migration to the United States. Under the agreements, the countries will put more troops at their own borders to monitor migration and prevent traffickers and cartels from taking advantage of migrants and unaccompanied minors. CBP apprehended a record number of 18,890 unaccompanied minors last month and more than 172,000 people attempting to cross the US-Mexico border. In March 2021 President Biden tasked Vice President Kamala Harris with coordinating efforts with Central American countries to address the root causes of migration.

ACTUALIZACIÓN DE POLÍTICA El 16 de abril de 2021, el presidente Biden firmó una determinación presidencial de emergencia que mantiene el límite de admisiones de refugiados históricamente bajo de la administración Trump de 15.000 para el año fiscal 2021, pero vuelve a asignar las admisiones de refugiados según la región. Al día siguiente, la administración de Biden emitió un comunicado diciendo que espera aumentar el límite de refugiados de 2021 el próximo mes, pero no especificó el número. En febrero de 2021, el presidente Biden propuso dar la bienvenida a 62.500 refugiados a los Estados Unidos en 2021. Según la directiva del ex presidente Trump, se impusieron estrictas restricciones a la aceptación de refugiados de ciertos países africanos y de mayoría musulmana y se dio prioridad a los cristianos que enfrentaban persecución religiosa e iraquíes. que trabajaba para el ejército de los EE. UU. Las nuevas asignaciones incluyen 7.000 espacios para África, 1.000 para Asia Oriental, 1.500 para Europa y Asia Central, 3.000 para América Latina / el Caribe, 1.500 para Cercano Oriente / Asia Meridional y 1.000 espacios sin asignar. El 14 de abril de 2021, el gobernador de Washington, Jay Inslee, firmó un proyecto de ley que prohibirá los centros de detención con fines de lucro en el estado. Según el proyecto de ley, uno de los centros de detención de inmigrantes con fines de lucro más grandes, el Centro de Detención del Noroeste en Tacoma, se cerrará para el 2025 cuando expire su contrato con el Servicio de Control de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE). Washington es uno de los primeros estados en aprobar una legislación que prohíbe el funcionamiento de las empresas penitenciarias privadas, incluidas las instalaciones de inmigración. El 13 de abril de 2021, el fiscal general de Texas, Ken Paxton, anunció que Texas y Missouri presentaron una demanda exigiendo que la administración Biden restableciera el programa de Protocolos de Protección a Migrantes (MPP) para reducir la afluencia de migrantes en la frontera suroeste. El MPP fue establecido por la administración Trump en enero de 2019. Permitió a los oficiales fronterizos enviar a personas no mexicanas que buscaban asilo en la frontera sur de Estados Unidos a México para esperar sus audiencias de inmigración. En enero de 2021, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS) suspendió el programa MPP y la administración Biden comenzó a admitir inscritos en el programa en los Estados Unidos en febrero. La demanda alega que la decisión de la administración Biden de suspender el programa provocó un aumento de migrantes centroamericanos que llegaron a la frontera suroeste para presentar solicitudes de asilo. El 12 de abril de 2021, el presidente Biden nominó a Chris Magnus para dirigir la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza (CBP) y a Ur Jaddou para dirigir el Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de los Estados Unidos (USCIS). Magnus es actualmente el jefe de policía en Tuscon, Arizona, y Jaddou fue el abogado principal de USCIS bajo la administración de Obama. Biden también nominó a John Tien, ex director senior para Afganistán y Pakistán del Consejo de Seguridad Nacional, como subdirector del DHS. El 12 de abril de 2021, la administración Biden aseguró acuerdos con México, Honduras y Guatemala para reforzar sus fronteras y detener el flujo migratorio hacia Estados Unidos. Según los acuerdos, los países pondrán más tropas en sus propias fronteras para monitorear la migración y evitar que los traficantes y los carteles se aprovechen de los migrantes y los menores no acompañados. CBP detuvo a un número récord de 18,890 menores no acompañados el mes pasado y más de 172,000 personas que intentaban cruzar la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México. En marzo de 2021, el presidente Biden encargó a la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris que coordinara los esfuerzos con los países centroamericanos para abordar las causas fundamentales de la migración.

The CMS Migration Update is a weekly digest produced by the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), an educational institute/think-tank devoted to the study of international migration, to the promotion of understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, and to public policies that safeguard the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees, and newcomers. CMS is a member of the Scalabrini International Migration Network – an international network of shelters, welcoming centers, and other ministries for migrants – and of the Scalabrini Migration Study Centers, a global network of think tanks on international migration and refugee protection, guided by the values of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo. If you wish to submit an article, blog, faith reflection, or announcement for the CMS Migration Update, please email cms@cmsny.org.

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Biden and Harris campaigned, quite logically and convincingly, on a pledge to do away with the illegality, cruelty and stupidity of the Trump/Miller White Nationalist, racist immigration program.

But, following the inauguration, Biden supporters working at the “retail level” of our failed immigration system have seen few meaningful changes, little if any honest dialogue, and most disturbingly, far, far too few progressive experts who can solve problems in key positions! 

Encouraging Northern Triangle countries notorious for corruption and human rights abuses to stop their nationals from fleeing to safety is NOT a solution. It’s the moral equivalent of having encouraged the Soviet Union and East Germany to machine gun those attempting to flee to the West during the (not so) Cold War!

The right to leave one’s country to seek refuge is a basic human right. See, e.g., https://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/ebooks/files/GCIM_TP8.pdf

Basically, the Biden Administration is encouraging and funding some of the most corrupt and repressive nations in the Hemisphere to violate human rights, just as the Trump Administration did. See, “Policy Update,” above. That’s NOT the way to establish positive international leadership on human rights and migration issues!

Two other nuggets particularly worthy of note:

• “According to [Eigenio] Sosa, small, positive changes in Honduras would encourage some to stay in their home country.” This contradicts the “conventional wisdom” that addressing the roots of the problem in sending countries is either futile or such a long-term project that it can’t be part of addressing today’s flow of forced migrants.
• “In this CMS essay, Susan Martin — Donald G. Herzberg Professor of International Migration Emerita for Georgetown University — outlines how the Biden administration can prepare to admit more refugees and how the United States will benefit from welcoming them.” Professor Susan Forbes Martin is a long-time friend and a brilliant “practical scholar.” Her point that we should welcome refugees, rather than fearing them, is well taken and the key to better, far more robust, legal immigration laws and policies.

Due Process Forever!

PWS

04-21-21