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Tag: #migrants

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The surge in migrant cases in the US presents challenges

In the United States, an immigration court case can last an average of 4 years; however, according to the mandate of immigration judge Francisco Prieto, the deadlines for resolving cases would be reduced to 300 days.

Six months ago, the Biden administration established the new "dedicated docket" list, which places thousands of newly arrived migrant families seeking asylum at the top of the list, ahead of many other migrants who have been in the country for years.

This program is a measure to establish order at the border and, incidentally, address a backlog of 1.4 million cases in immigration courts, with approximately 35 of the country's more than 350 immigration judges working to expedite cases.

Although the list of cases was only recently started, the idea faces the same complaints and challenges as when it was imposed by former President Barack Obama, as critics claim that migrants will not receive good treatment due to the rushing of their cases, especially for those migrants who do not have a lawyer.

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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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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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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