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Tag: #migrants

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Conditional permanent residents will be exempt from the interview

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced yesterday, April 7, that it will waive mandatory interviews for some conditional permanent residents who have filed a petition to remove their conditional status.


In the interview, these types of residents who are married to US citizens must prove to the USCIS officer that their marriage is real and not for obtaining an immigration benefit.


According to the updated policy, USCIS may waive the interview requirement if an agency officer determines that there is sufficient evidence of the good faith of the marriage, no indication of fraud, misrepresentation in supporting documents, and no criminal record, among other considerations.


The new criteria will guide officials in determining when to exempt permanent residents who filed an I-751 petition to have conditions on their residency removed from interviews.


Meanwhile, USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou, the first woman to hold the position, said in a statement that this update "is consistent with the agency's priorities to break down barriers in the immigration system and eliminate undue burdens for those seeking benefits.".


Currently, the wait time for I-751 applications is 22 to 36 months, and according to agency data, more than 166,000 applications were filed in 2017.


Several changes are taking place in Joe Biden's government, thereby relaxing the rule imposed by the government of then-President Donald Trump in 2018, which proclaimed that all those who obtained conditional permanent residence for being spouses of US citizens and who have filed an application to have their conditional status withdrawn must attend a personal interview with USCIS.


Information taken from: EFE News 

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The United States is preparing for a possible increase in migrants.

In May, Customs and Border Protection expects an increase in migrants.

The Biden administration is preparing for a new wave of migrants arriving across the United States' land borders, primarily the southern border, after the controversial Title 42 expires in May.

Blas Nuñez-Neto, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Border Policy and Immigration at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, spoke about the issue on RCN Mundo and explained how the Biden administration is preparing to face the change: 

«Our department will send officers, agents, and volunteer personnel to the border in the coming weeks; we have already redeployed more than 600 Border Patrol agents and are prepared to send more if needed,» Nuñez-Neto said. There is also talk of adding technological tools such as drones and building infrastructure to process more people safely and respectfully.

With respect to deportations agreed upon with other governments, the United States' efforts will now focus on investing in the development of migrants' countries of origin to improve their conditions there and, consequently, prevent their attempts to migrate. 

In the United States, there is division over the end of Title 42. Weeks ago, the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, called the application of that regulation "terrible and inhumane" and said he was "deeply disappointed" that Biden continued to use it.

In contrast, the Republican Party considered the lifting of Title 42 to be "a disastrous decision that will open the floodgates" of migration in the United States. 

Finally, there are still weeks to go before the completion of Title 42 and the possible changes that may occur in the political and social environment are unknown.

Information taken from: RCN Mundo and Debate.

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The United States says goodbye to Title 42 and returns to Title 8

The United States will repeal Title 42, a mechanism it has used since 2020 to massively expel more than 1.7 million migrants at its border with Mexico.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a statement on Friday, April 1, announcing that Title 42, the tool used to carry out mass expulsions at the U.S.-Mexico southern border, will be repealed on May 23. Implemented in March 2020 by the Trump administration, the measure allows U.S. authorities to expel asylum seekers without giving them the opportunity to present their case. Minors and some families are exempt.

The CDC authorities have officially announced the end of this measure in a statement indicating that the arrival of migrants to US territory no longer compromises the health emergency situation derived from Covid-19, due to the greater availability of means to combat the virus such as vaccines and treatments.

The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, emphasized in a statement that Title 42 is a resource to protect public health, not to discourage immigration. He added that this mechanism was implemented by the CDC "to protect against the spread of a contagious disease," such as COVID-19.

Starting May 23, undocumented migrants arriving at the U.S. southern border will be investigated under Title 8, the previous and common law under which the U.S. carries out deportations. According to the White House, migrants without a “legal basis” to remain in the country will be deported.

Following the decision by U.S. health authorities, a significant surge of migrants is expected at the border during the spring and summer months. Last week, DHS officials confirmed that approximately 7,100 migrants were arriving daily, a figure higher than that recorded in February. Border officials anticipate that arrivals could peak at 18,000 per day in the coming months and weeks. DHS Director Alejandro Maryokas stated on Friday that his agency had a strategy in place to "manage any potential increase in migrants.".

Information taken from: France 24 and BBC News.

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Government expands H2-B visa quota for fiscal year 2022

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) announced the availability of 35,000 H2-B visas for the fiscal year 2022 quota, in response to pressure from employers and business groups affected by the shortage of workers due to the pandemic and low wages. 

According to the Department of Homeland Security, this joint temporary final rule aims to reserve these visas for U.S. employers seeking to hire additional workers from April 1, 2022, through September 30 of this year. This will help support U.S. businesses and expand legal pathways for workers seeking to come to the United States, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated. 

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USCIS announces measures to reduce backlog of over 9 million forms

On Tuesday, the Joe Biden administration announced a plan to reduce the backlog in immigration services, which exceeds 9 million forms related to various processes. 

This plan consists of three measures that aim to accelerate the processes, in addition to expanding the premium programs that - after the payment of an additional fee - speed up the awarding process from months to a few weeks. 

Those who will benefit from this measure are immigrants awaiting the delivery and/or renewal of their work permits, including holders of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), DACA recipients of Dreamers, and asylum seekers. 

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Lawsuit against the United States over program that reunites migrants with their children

Eight states sued the United States government in court over a program that reunites Central American migrants with their children.

The Republican-led states of Texas, Arkansas, Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, and Oklahoma sued the Joe Biden administration over the refugee and parole program for Central American minors implemented since March of last year, which also allows immigrants living legally in the United States to petition for their children as refugees from countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

The plaintiffs consider it an abuse of power to revive this program, since they say it allows certain foreigners who are in American territory to obtain a protected status after illegally entering the country.

What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments!

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Access to legal representation increases for undocumented immigrants in the United States

Thanks to the Legal Access at the Border program, the United States government will help increase access to legal representation for undocumented immigrants detained at the border with Mexico.

The program seeks to improve the efficiency of immigration court procedures by providing legal services to undocumented individuals.

According to the publication, the expansion of services would benefit:

Undocumented immigrants detained and in the custody of Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a branch of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Undocumented immigrants who are in or may be placed in deportation proceedings
Undocumented immigrants seeking to enter the United States from locations along the southwest border (with Mexico)
Undocumented immigrants who may be enrolled in the Migrant Protection Program (MPP)
The legal services provided to undocumented immigrants will include general information and legal guidance on options and procedures related to remaining in the United States during deportation proceedings, such as the non-refoulement interview (NRI) before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), as well as immigration court practices and procedures, relief and protection from deportation, and other relevant resources.

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Mental health conditions experienced by undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

Germán Cadenas entered the United States at the age of 15 along with his mother and younger brother to visit his father; however, given the need in his native country, Venezuela, they decided to let their visas expire and stay in the USA, so Cadenas lived as an undocumented immigrant for 9 years.

After almost 10 years, at the age of 34, Cadenas was able to become a U.S. citizen, a professor of Psychology at Lehigh University, and has managed to publish a large amount of research focused on the psychology of undocumented immigrants.

According to research they have compiled over more than a decade, American immigrant communities have been shown to suffer from mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and feelings of low self-esteem.

Researchers and advocates say these mental health problems can be caused by being persecuted, detained, and marginalized, as well as feeling dehumanized in every possible way. Examples include exclusionary higher education, exploitative and low-paying employment practices, civil rights violations, and uncertainty in changing immigration policies.

Cadenas discovered that once immigrants identify systems that harm them mentally and then join social justice activism to resist and dismantle those same systems, their efforts serve as a "coping mechanism that helps defend their psychological health" and helps others heal.

That is why Germán created activist movements, from which to work on the traumas that, like him, many immigrants deal with.

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From November 29th, no immigrant can be deported for being undocumented.

According to the new deportation priorities regulations, as of today, November 29, 2021, no undocumented immigrant (non-citizen) may be deported for not having legal residency papers in the U.S.

Alex Gálvez, an immigration lawyer in Los Angeles, stated that the 60-day wait for the new regulation to take effect "avoids lawsuits from Biden's policy detractors, who insist on reinstating the 'zero tolerance' immigration policy" that criminalized undocumented stay between January 2017 and January 2021.

During the month of January, new deportation priorities were announced, which were halted by a Texas district judge in August in response to a lawsuit filed by the states of Louisiana and Texas, who alleged that Biden's immigration policy violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

News taken from UNIVISION: https://bit.ly/3d0LuUH

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Federal judge orders more than $1,441 per day provided to immigrants detained in Washington

Thousands of detainees earned $1 a day for washing, cleaning bathrooms, and other jobs at facilities run by the GEO Group in Washington state, a company contracted by the government.

The GEO Group was registering millions of dollars in profits at the Northwest ICE Processing Center, so a federal jury in the U.S. District Court made an extraordinary decision that GEO Group should begin providing 1,441,730 retroactive payments to more than 10,000 former and current detainees.

In addition to the jury's decision, Federal Judge Bryan issued a court order requiring the company to pay the state minimum wage ($13.69) to detainees participating in the Voluntary Worker Program going forward.

The legal measures employed by the jury and Judge Bryan were based on the following arguments: “Detained immigrants are not criminals. In the U.S., people who have been convicted of a crime are exempt from state labor laws while incarcerated. In contrast, immigrants, who are detained while awaiting civil proceedings to determine whether they can remain in the U.S., fall into a different category and are therefore entitled to minimum wage for their work.”