COVID-19 immigration news

Weekly Immigration News: Dismantling the Trump-era

The Biden administration has ramped up its political agenda this week, with various new policies that aim to correct Trump-era institutions. After ending the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, the Biden administration announced that the United States will start letting in asylum seekers stranded in Mexico. The shift will be starting its phase 1 today along the southern border, but only migrants currently affected by the “Remain in Mexico”...

Weekly Immigration News: Slow Shifts to Change

President Biden is not acting quickly on immigration issues – will his slow shifts help move us towards change? Alejandro Mayorkas, a former Obama administration immigration official and a Cuban immigrant, has been officially nominated to become DHS (Department of Homeland Security) secretary in a Tuesday Senate vote. Although some Republicans opposed Mayorkas’ nomination due to a 2015 internal investigation on his actions during his role as head of...

Weekly Immigration News: A Less Than Promising Start

During his campaign, President Joe Biden made many promises to the immigrant community. However, after his first two weeks in office, it appears that the Biden Administration will continue to face significant pushback at every turn and it will take time to undo the damage done by the former President: A Texas federal judge has stopped the recent 100-day deportation moratorium for 14 days while he examines the Texas...

Biden’s First 100 Days

It seems that Trump’s fight against immigration is finally over as President Biden sweeps in with hopeful promises of a less acrimonious four years. In a meeting with LatinX leaders, President Biden outlined his immigration plans, including establishing a 100-day deportation moratorium, extending “Dreamer” (DACA beneficiaries) protections, passing a broad immigration bill that could create a path to citizenship for non-legal immigrants living in the US, and removing barriers...

Weekly Immigration News: Farewell Trump

After last week’s Capitol riots, there have been many shifts in the government. As the country prepares for President-elect Biden’s upcoming inauguration, the Trump administration is doubling down on dismantling immigration law and order: The DHS has signed last minute contracts with various states to try to limit the changes that the incoming Biden-Harris administration can make to immigration law through regulation. The contracts would require the DHS to...

Weekly News – Trump Calls to Ban Antifa But His Supporters Terrorize the U.S. Capitol

The events of the past week have forced the American people to reflect on the inadequacies of the current president, inadequacies that may continue into President Biden’s term. Less than two hundred new DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) applicants have been granted access to the program. Nebraska governor, Pete Rickets, has announced that the state’s vaccination program will prioritize legal United States residents, while undocumented immigrants will need...

Immigration in Pandemic Times – Last Gasps of the Trump Administration

The virus is negatively impacted job-holders all over the world, but new changes to US immigration laws may have definite effects on US workers. This past Tuesday, a federal judge ruled against Trump’s attempts to limit immigration through restrictions on H-1B visas. The new changes at DHS would have limited the jobs that H-1B visa workers could do in the United States and the amount of time that they...

Immigration in Pandemic Times, Election Edition

The election continues as issues of immigration are being heavily contested. How will our next president approach these serious issues? President-Elect Biden has promised to reinstate DACA and do away with the Muslim ban on his first day in office. His administration is also likely to undo many of the anti-immigrant changes made under Trump. This past Monday, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to enforce a...

Working Without Authorization In Pandemic Times Vol. 2, No. 3

Minority groups continue being targeted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and migrant children and immigrants continue to be discriminated against at the border and throughout the country while top brass at DHS continue to flout the rule of law by occupying their jobs unlawfully. Both the DHS acting and second-in-command Homeland Security Secretaries, Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli, are legally unable to continue working in their roles after a Government...

Immigration in Pandemic Times, Vol. 2, No. 2

The COVID-19 pandemic has persisted throughout the many months of 2020, and not only is the Trump administration still using it as a guise for further restricting immigration, but there are still severe financial repercussions facing many as we continue to battle through COVID-19. The number of deaths in ICE custody is the highest since 2006. As of August 7, the ICE custody death toll for the current fiscal year is...