You can listen to a recording of the call here Earlier today, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) joined advocates and Black immigrants to discuss the unique challenges Black immigrants face and the broken systems that perpetuate anti-Blackness in immigration. In the early days of the Biden administration, the disparate impact... Continue »
A new letter signed by 60 economists calls on the Biden administration to include a path to citizenship for essential immigrant workers in the economic and COVID-19 recovery package being crafted now and expected to be considered in the Spring. The impressive array of economists write:  We are writing... Continue »
A new regional strategy needs a more sophisticated set of metrics   Every month, CBP issues monthly border apprehension statistics. Typically, it sets off a round of breathless media coverage. Upticks generate stories of a coming “crisis” or “wave.” Downticks are evaluated as “success.”  We question whether border apprehensions... Continue »
Granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras can provide stability to region and safety to those who have fled disasters  In a letter sent yesterday to the Biden Administration, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Catholic Relief Services are calling for TPS to... Continue »
Asylum seekers don’t abscond, they show up “Catch and release.” It has been invoked cynically and repeatedly by the right to justify a web of cruel policies aimed at gutting the nation’s asylum system and deterring asylum-seekers. It’s one of those catch-phrases popularized by the right and picked up... Continue »
The Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and in Emergency (SECURE) Act allows Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients to apply for legal permanent residency.  Yesterday, Senators Chris van Hollen (D-MD) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) joined TPS holders and advocates on a press call to announce the reintroduction of the... Continue »
Right wing media, ex-Trump officials, anti-immigrant hardliners and leading Republicans are stoking fears of a “border crisis.” They talked incessantly about a caravan that never made it to the border. They cite unnamed Border Patrol sources to sensationalize a modest uptick in border crossings and releases. They blame any... Continue »
Right wing media, ex-Trump officials, anti-immigrant hardliners and leading Republicans are stoking fears of a “border crisis.” They talked incessantly about a caravan that never made it to the border. They cite unnamed Border Patrol sources to sensationalize a modest uptick in border crossings and releases. They blame any... Continue »
“… Congress must immediately pass the SECURE Act so that we can finally recognize in law what is already a reality …” Earlier today, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) announced the reintroduction of the Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and in Emergency (SECURE)... Continue »
McConnell, Cotton, Young move to deny stimulus payments to people who already don’t get them   Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said today that denying stimulus checks to undocumented immigrants is his top goal today as the Senate debates COVID-19 relief measures. Reliably anti-immigrant Sen. Tom Cotton is also... Continue »