COVID-19

Weekly Immigration News: Border Blame and Other Pandemic Responses

Immigration woes continue at the border, compounding pre-existing problems with the US immigration system. According to Politico, Democratic Representative Jamaal Bowman blamed the recent arrivals at the border on the United States’ “personal capitalist interests,” which he claimed caused social, economic, and political instability in Central American countries. He stated that these disruptions, in turn, led to the rise of migration to the US. In his statement, Bowman also...

Weekly Immigration News: Handling Children Seeking Asylum At the Border

COVID-19 remains an issue that is backlogging the US legal immigration system, yet the Biden Administration seems to be having a difficult time managing a predictable migration pattern of new arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border. The government is attempting to halt migration and send people back to their home countries but their methods are questionable and their outcome is unclear. Attorney Lal wanted me to add this note: It...

Weekly Immigration News: Border Politics and the Washington Immigration Agenda

The child migrant detention complex is once again gripping the nation. For decades, the United States has faced the prospect of unaccompanied minors and families coming to the border seeking asylum, and for decades, the government has struggled to balance law enforcement with humanitarian interests. Although the Biden administration says it is handling the matter differently from Trump, the jury is out. Meanwhile, Congress may hold the key to...

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...