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Author: Angelica Pardo

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Nearly 14 million Central Americans want to emigrate to the U.S. next year.

According to a study, approximately 431% of citizens from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador would be willing to emigrate to the United States in the next 12 months, seeing it as an opportunity to improve their current situation.

The study 'Charting a new regional course of action: the complex motivations and costs of Central American migration' highlights various factors that fuel irregular migration.

The percentage of citizens (43%) far exceeds the 8% of that same indicator from two years ago, according to the study, carried out by the Migration Policy Institute, the Organization of American States (OAS), the WFP and the Michigan Institute of Technology.

The Secretary General of the OAS noted that behind the exponential increase in migrants from those countries are violence, organized crime, unemployment, food insecurity and, more recently, the impact of climate change.

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and Special Envoy to the Northern Triangle of Central America, Ricardo Zúñiga, stated: “We are trying to provide more temporary work visas to all those who want to come to the United States. This could be an option for the entire region, and we could create some order and, with that, address the migration phenomenon we are currently facing.”.

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According to advocates, the US Congress must take action regarding the arrival of migrants.

Thousands of migrants fleeing poverty and violence in Central America and the Caribbean embarked on a journey from southern Mexico last month hoping to reach the United States and apply for asylum.

However, there is a strong possibility that Mexican authorities will not allow the group known as Partió a Pie to cross the border, due to the terms of an agreement between the two countries to curb irregular migration to the United States. Even so, if they were to reach the border, they would most likely be deported under Title 42, a Trump-era policy that ensures immediate removal.

This is not the first challenge at the border and it certainly won't be the last, because the crisis in Central and South American countries will continue to cause many people to desperately seek protection in the United States.

Immigrant advocates are currently appealing to U.S. lawmakers, who are divided over passing legislation in Congress to reform the immigration system, arguing that it is the only way to achieve an effective and humane response.

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78,000 deportation case notices that were not fully processed in the U.S. will be resumed.

The United States will launch an operation to send court documents to 78,000 migrants who were not processed for deportation after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization this year.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) project, also known as "Operation Horizon," is designed to place tens of thousands of migrants who have agreed to ad hoc processing around the southern border into deportation proceedings. The agency will send the migrants "notices to appear," as well as other documents.

In most cases, migrants who are released after crossing the southern border, instead of being quickly deported or detained, are given "notices to appear," which require them to see an immigration judge who can order their deportation if they fail to appear for court appointments.

However, beginning in March, U.S. border officials stopped issuing notices to appear to tens of thousands of migrants who were released, citing limited resources due to a surge in migration. Instead, migrants received “notices to report” or instructions to appear at an ICE office in their respective destination within 60 days for further processing.

The notices sent to thousands of migrants have raised concerns among immigrant advocates who believe that many of the legal packages may be sent to addresses where the recipients no longer live, potentially leading immigration judges to order deportation due to missed court appointments.

That's why Nayna Gupa, associate director of policy at the National Immigrant Justice Center, asked ICE to issue and publish guidance requiring its prosecutors to demonstrate that migrants received notices to appear before proceeding with their deportation.

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The United States removes restrictions on processing asylum seekers at the border

Currently, the United States government, which maintains the deportation of migrants under public health reasons, has ended the limitations on the number of asylum seekers who can be processed at border crossings due to a memorandum issued by Troy Miller, acting director of the Customs and Border Protection Office.

This memorandum seeks to end the Migrant Protection Protocols (MMP) program established by the administration of former President Donald Trump, under which foreigners who arrive at the southern border seeking asylum are returned to Mexico and Central America while awaiting a hearing before immigration courts.

In the memorandum, Troy Miller, acting director of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), repealed several of the measures adopted by the Trump Administration and ruled an expansion of the processing of applications that are feasible to process in terms of operation.

Troy Miller's memorandum is reaffirmed by one issued on October 29 by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in which he notified the agencies involved in migration of his decision to end the MPP program "as soon as possible.".

The impact of the memorandum is unclear because President Joe Biden's administration maintains the use of Title 42, implemented by former President Donald Trump since March 2020, which allows for the free deportation of migrants whom border authorities consider a threat to public health.

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Higher likelihood of asylum denial for Haitians by the United States

Gibbens Revolus, his wife Lugrid, and their 2-year-old son Diego have had to experience firsthand the contempt, racism, and struggles of many Haitian immigrants as they undertake the difficult journey to the border between the United States and Mexico from Chile.

Gibbens Revolus, his wife Lugrid, and their 2-year-old son Diego have had to experience firsthand the contempt, racism, and struggles of many Haitian immigrants as they embarked on the difficult journey to the border between the United States and Mexico from Chile, only to end up like around 15,000 other Haitians in unsanitary conditions at the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas, awaiting asylum.

Revolus has sought opportunities since his country entered a growing crisis due to the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, political instability due to the death of President Jovenel Moïse in July, as well as a wave of gang violence and uncontrollable kidnappings.

Gibbens embarked on his journey from Haiti to Chile, where he found work in a butcher shop, stocking refrigerators and shelves, barely enough to cover his basic needs. However, attitudes toward Haitians soon changed. «Two coworkers tried to stab me,» says Revolus, who was in Chile on a work visa.

Feeling that growing pressure in Chile, he decided to begin his journey to the US border at the beginning of this year, where, according to him, they lived through a hell that took them 3 months of travel by bus, several days walking and crossing from Colombia to Panama in a crowded boat, only to end up being deported by the border patrol on September 27.

“We were just looking for a better life, but they turned us away” … “After each of the decades of US meddling in Haiti’s affairs, I really believed I would be allowed to ask for asylum at the border,” Gibbens says, speaking on his cell phone from Port-au-Prince.

Now Revolus and his family, like many other Haitian immigrants, remain back in a territory where the rule of law seems to have collapsed.

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Increase in “in absentia” deportation orders against immigrants

Around 173 immigrants received deportation orders between August and September 2021, which is 9 times more than the 20 orders issued between January and July of this year, according to court data.

Between January and May 2021, there were only one or two deportation orders issued in absentia per month, while in June, 14 were registered in these courts. However, in August there were 63 and in September 110 deportation orders. The San Francisco Chronicle warns that the figures for October may be similar.

These numbers have increased considerably because immigration judges in San Francisco, California, have increased the number of "in absentia" deportation orders issued against immigrants who failed to appear for their hearings, the Chronicle newspaper warned on Monday.

These decisions have generated several criticisms from immigrant advocates because deportation orders are being imposed on immigrants who did not receive court notifications because they were returned and categorized by the postal service as undeliverable, in addition to warning that the courts were notifying immigrants of hearings by sending mail to incorrect addresses.

According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, the figures for fiscal year 2021 ended with a backlog of 1,457,615 cases awaiting resolution in U.S. immigration courts.

However, immigration attorney Fernando Romo told EFE that in some cases these deportation orders issued in absentia can be challenged in court. Among the grounds for reopening the case is the argument that the immigrant was never notified by the court.

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Biden's new plan seeks to spend $100 billion to address problems in the immigration system

President Joe Biden is seeking, through the new $1.75 trillion social plan presented this Thursday, October 28, to include a $100 billion allocation to reform the immigration system in accordance with the Senate's reconciliation rules.

After having presented two proposals for the social plan, the Democrats are now trying to push through a Plan C, which is expected to grant humanitarian parole status, including work authorization and protection from deportation for certain undocumented immigrants.

According to a statement issued by the White House, the budget would be used to reduce court delays, expand legal representation, and “make the asylum and border processing system more efficient and humane.”

However, Biden did not specify whether the plan will include a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, as Democrats had already promised given the impossibility of passing immigration reform due to Republican opposition.

The new social program will be admitted to Congress through the reconciliation process, a legislative mechanism that will allow it to pass despite Republican obstruction. However, Congress requires that the package be limited at the budgetary level, so it must be reviewed by Senate rules advisor Elizabeth McDonough to determine if it can be passed through reconciliation.

The House of Representatives released a preliminary draft of the bill, which includes a provision allowing undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States by 2010 to apply for legal status. The House bill also includes a provision to reclaim up to 226,000 unused visas.

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Some detained migrants will receive minimum wage in the United States

A federal jury determined that The GEO Group, a for-profit detention center, must pay a minimum wage to detained immigrants who perform jobs such as cooking or cleaning within its facilities in Washington state.

“This multibillion-dollar corporation illegally exploited the people it detained to line its pockets,” Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in an emailed statement. «Today’s victory sends a clear message: Washington will not tolerate corporations enriching themselves by violating people’s rights.».

The jury will determine how much money is owed to the detained immigrants who worked at the facility, a sum presumed to reach millions of dollars. Federal Judge Robert Bryan will decide how much The Geo Group must pay the state of Washington for the charge of unjust enrichment at the expense of the detainees.

The detention center being sued argued that the inmates were not employees under Washington's Minimum Wage Law. It added that even if they were, it would be illegal and discriminatory for Washington to require GEO to pay minimum wage to inmates working in its own prisons or other detention facilities.

Washington appears to be the first state to sue a private detention contractor for failing to pay wages to detained immigrants. However, similar lawsuits have already been filed by detained immigrants in other states, including New Mexico, Colorado, and California, seeking to compel GEO and another major private detention company, CoreCivic, to pay detainees minimum wage.

This news story was created from AP News

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Joe Biden's immigration nominee will explain why he should lead the U.S.-Mexico border agency

Chris Magnus, President Joe Biden's nominee to head U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), will testify before Senators and explain why he should lead the border agency amid one of the busiest years in two decades on the southern border. 

The nomination of Chris Magnus, police chief of Tucson, Arizona, had been delayed by Senator Ron Wyden, who agreed last month to allow Magnus's nomination to move forward after Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas provided the materials and led a review of the agency's use-of-force policies.

The hearing takes place as the border agency battles crisis-level workloads and heated criticism from immigrant advocates, Democratic lawmakers, and the president himself over its treatment of Haitian migrants under the Trump-era Title 42 public health order, which allows for the rapid expulsion of immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Magnus is vying to lead the federal government's largest law enforcement agency and second-largest source of revenue, which has not had a confirmed leader since Kevin McAleenan resigned during the Trump administration in 2019.  

Magnus told the Senate Finance Committee that, if confirmed, he would improve training to increase the sensitivity of CBP personnel. "I believe that humanity has to be part of the discussion from the beginning and often throughout the careers of CBP members," he said.

This news story was created from The Washington Post: https://wapo.st/3njhDvn 

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US immigration advocates abandon dialogue with the Biden administration

Immigrant advocates in the United States walked out of a virtual meeting with White House officials in protest against border policies enacted during the Trump administration against undocumented immigrants and maintained by the Biden administration. 

The activists stated that they could no longer “enter into these conversations with a good conscience” after witnessing how President Joe Biden’s administration “plays politics with human lives.” 

The meeting and subsequent departure of the defenders was prompted by the Biden administration's plans to reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as Remain in Mexico, next month. This program seeks to force asylum seekers to wait on the other side of the southern border (Mexico) for their hearings. 

A significant part of the activists' frustration and concern lies in Washington's continued use and defense of Title 42, a public health order that was first used under the Trump administration as an excuse to expel migrants amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to analysts, the White House is trying to revive the immigration proposal put forward at the beginning of the term, which enacted more humane immigration laws, an idea that has become blurred with the strict measures implemented by the Biden administration.