Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Audio from migrant detention facilities reveals sexual assault by staff

New audio from inside a U.S. government shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in Fort Bliss, Texas, reveals allegations of sexual misconduct by staff toward minors, acknowledgement the children were running low on clean clothes and shoes as well as a reluctance by officials to make public the scope of the facility’s COVID-19 outbreak. In the […]

Biden states he will push for a pathway to citizenship for million in economic package

President Biden reiterated his support for a Democratic effort to include immigration policy in his multi-trillion anti-poverty package, assuring a group of lawmakers that he would stand by them in their push to see a pathway to citizenship for millions signed into law. Securing Biden’s vocal and support is a critical price of effort by […]

DREAMEr qualifies for the Olympics, but his DACA status almost kept him away

Runner Luis Grijalva, an Arizona college student, got the news that he will be going to Tokyo to participate in the Olympics, representing his native country, Guatemala. However, in his case, being able to live his dream as an Olympian went beyond qualifying as an athlete. Grijalva was named to the Guatemalan Olympic team last […]

New Biden Immigration Plan Will Speed Up Asylum and Deportation

As the number of migrants increases to the highest level in two decades, the Biden administration has drafted a 21- point plan to weigh their asylum claims more quickly and deport those who don’t qualify. In the plan, the administration calls for asylum officers to have full authority to rule on asylum claims for migrants […]

DACA Ruling Puts Weight of Immigration Reform on Democrats

Last week, a federal judge in Texas blocked new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The decision puts in limbo status of hundreds of thousands of DREAMers, including 50,000 new DACA applicants who had not yet been enrolled in the program. The court decision has put new urgency behind an effort […]

Texas is Now Jailing Migrants on Trespassing Charges

Texas is beginning to arrest migrants on trespassing charges along the U.S. – Mexico border as part of Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s actions that he claims are needed to decrease the number of border crossings. So far at least 10 people have been jailed with more on the way. The arrests put in motion plans […]

Biden to Prioritize Puerto Rico’s Recovery but Not Political Status

A newly revived White House Puerto Rico task force will focus on advancing and rebuilding the island after Hurricanes Maria and Irma, last year’s earthquakes, and the COVID-19 pandemic instead of joining the congressional debate over Puerto Rico’s political status. Gretchen Sierra-Zorita, the White House’s associate director for Puerto Rico and the territories stated, “We […]

Biden Reevaluating COVID Restrictions that Stopped Migrants from Entering the U.S.

The Biden administration is rethinking its plan to lift COVID-19 restrictions that have blocked more than 750,000 migrants seeking asylum from crossing the southern U.S. border. Sources say the White House and Department of Homeland Security had targeted July 31st as the date to end Title 42 but, yesterday, those plans were “in flux” and […]

DACA Ruling Causes Frustration and Devastation for DREAMers Once Again

After living undocumented in the U.S. for 17 years, Yazmin Bruno- Valdez was accepted in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program less than a month ago, granting her long-awaited protection from deportation and opening potentially new doors for her future. Bruno-Valdez’ sense of security vanished last week when U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen […]

Federal Judge Declares DACA Program Illegal but Stops Only New Applications

On Friday a Texas federal judge declared the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program illegal. U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, Texas, stated that the Obama administration failed to follow federal administrative ruled in launching DACA in 2012. However, he put the effect of most of his ruling on hold while the […]