Central American Minors program

We Need Common Sense, Effective and Humane Solutions Last night, the President issued a memorandum that purports to be a solution to the increasing number of families seeking asylum at our southern border by imposing fees on asylum seekers, ending work permits for asylum seekers to support themselves while... Continue »

“Actually addressing the root causes of the problem in Central America and humanely managing applications for asylum from families fleeing violence are far, far down the list of Trump administration priorities.” – Pili Tobar, America’s Voice The Trump Administration remains hellbent on failed deterrence-only policies and cynical political stunts... Continue »

It is Time for a Rational, Effective and Humane Response  Long before we saw the unprecedented numbers of families seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border that we are seeing today, the Trump administration was “crying wolf” while at the same time implementing policies that lit a match to what... Continue »

As NBC News reports, the recent numbers of daily border apprehensions are reaching the highest levels of the Trump administration and are approaching levels last seen in 2006. As a result, the Trump administration is screaming “crisis,” blaming Congress, and demanding a border wall. No, it’s not a security... Continue »

Trump’s Draconian Approach is a Failure and Only Works to Exacerbate Issues In a recent op ed, former INS Commissioner Doris Meissner concluded that our border enforcement system was fundamentally designed to interdict and deter individuals (mostly single Mexican young men) coming to the U.S. for work. But the... Continue »

Families Prepare For Their Temporary Protected Status To Expire and Subsequent Forced Deportation If Congress Does Not Act In an article for the New York Times, Julie Scharper gives voice to the uncertainty and worry of Ruth Ayala and Tomas Guevara, Temporary Protected Status holders whose legal status was... Continue »

A Positive Way Forward Exists, Yet Trump Has Dismantled the Current System Since the beginning of the Trump presidency, Trump and his administration have tried multiple cruel and hard-line approaches to addressing the challenge of Central American migration. The Trump administration has cruelly separated families, is doing everything it... Continue »

Trump’s Election Mode of Divide and Distract Continues Unabated The chaos we are witnessing at the border is directly attributable to the choices of the Trump White House to dismantle proven approaches and processes and to stoke fears and escalate a crisis. While Trump and company may view the... Continue »

At a moment that calls for presidential leadership and serious policymaking, Trump’s response to the caravan and the challenge of Central American migration has been irresponsible, cynical and ineffective. As thousands of Hondurans head north in search of security and hope, Trump has reacted with politically motivated tweets, ugly... Continue »

As Senate Democrats negotiate with their Republican colleagues on ways to further punish asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants, there’s one element missing from the conversations: reality. That was on full display in a devastating New York Times exposé this week about the large number of migrant children who have... Continue »