Migration Update – July 25, 2023
According to government data, the Biden administration has authorized the legal entry of a record 521,000 migrants into the United States over the past two years through its humanitarian parole authority. The figure includes over 160,000 Ukrainians, 148,000 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and about 77,000 Afghan evacuees. The use of humanitarian parole to facilitate entry […]
‘It’s burning out there’: Amid record heat, migrant deaths at border surge in Sunland Park
Record triple-digit temperatures have driven an increasing death toll in 2023 in U.S. Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector, which includes southern New Mexico. More than 70 migrants have died in the first nine months of fiscal 2023, including at least 14 in Sunland Park since May — among them a 12-year-old child, according to the […]
Law360 Article Examines the Causes, Composition and Solutions to the US Immigration Court Backlog
On July 19, Law360 published the attached commentary entitled A Blueprint For Addressing The Immigration Court Backlog, by Donald Kerwin. This article addresses the US immigration court backlog, which it attributes to systemic problems in the broader US immigration system. “It would be a mistake to blame the backlog on EOIR [the Executive Office for Immigration Review] or […]
Migration Update – July 19, 2023
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new parole process for family members of US citizens or permanent residents with approved family-based petitions from Colombia, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. According to DHS, qualified family members will be eligible to apply, upon invitation, for parole to join their family members in the United States […]
ICYMI: New Report on Immigration Court Backlog
On May 25, the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) released a paper entitled, The US Immigration Courts, Dumping Ground for the Nation’s Systemic Immigration Failures: The Causes, Composition, and Politically Difficult Solutions to the Court Backlog, by Donald Kerwin and Evin Millet. The paper examines several causes and solutions to the massive backlog […]
Texas troopers told to push back migrants into Rio Grande River and ordered not to give water amid soaring temperatures, report says
E-mails shared with CNN by the Texas Department of Public Safety detail a trooper-medic expressing concerns to a supervisor over the “in humane [sic]” treatment of migrants along the border in Eagle Pass, Texas. The trooper writes in the e-mail that they “were given orders to push the people back into the water to go […]
THE WEEK’S TOP STORIES FROM THE BORDER
Some have tried to deter migrants from crossing by restricting access to asylum and separating families while others may try to slow crossings by narrowing eligibility for asylum and try to create limited alternatives for people to seek admittance to the US. These temporary solutions are not enough to address the needs of those arriving […]
$300K award to jumpstart internet-aid outreach in Doña Ana, Luna Counties
LAS CRUCES – A federal program launched during the pandemic helps low-income families pay their monthly internet cost – sometimes covering the whole bill. But many people across Southern New Mexico are unaware of the program or have had problems signing up. Thursday, July 6, local internet access advocates formally announced a $300,000 funding award […]
DHS Rescinds TPS Terminations & Announces 18 Month Extension of TPS Protections for El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua & Nepal
On June 21, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced through the Federal Register the rescission of the termination of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua. The notice also redesignates all four countries’ TPS for a further 18-month extension. This decision by DHS is in tandem with […]
A HISTORY OF DETERRENCE
In the 30 years that politicians have pursued prevention-by-deterrence to manage migration, the reality is that migratory flows have resisted these policies. People on the move have already accepted the tremendous risk that comes with attempting to cross borders to seek a dignified life. While the US has invested billions of dollars in attempting to […]