MIGRATION UPDATE

Disappeared

Views from Alongside a Border (Blog) (May 16, 2014)

With no halt to our nation’s often cruel deportation policies, hardworking undocumented immigrants with families fall prey to an inhumane immigration system that treats them like criminals and tears them away from their families.  Michael Seifert writes about one such family man who lived in the United States for years working to put his children and then his grandchildren through school only to be arrested by immigration while mowing the lawn at his neighborhood church.

To read more, visit http://alongsideaborder.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/disappeared/.

Celebrations of Life, at Its Various Stages

The New York Times (June 4, 2014)

St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma has 10,000 parishioners; 90% of which are Hispanic.  New York Times correspondent Damien Cave and photographer Todd Heisler are posting articles about their trip north along Interstate 35 from Laredo, Texas to Duluth, Minnesota -- exploring along the way the thorny issues involved with immigrant integration in the United States. In this segment of the series (Day 18 of the trip), they record a day in the life of the largest Roman Catholic parish in Oklahoma. The church is the bustling hub of activity in the lives of its parishioners providing food for the needy as well as space for celebrations from baptisms, Masses, and weddings to quinceañeras -- a celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday; similar to the concept of a Sweet 16 celebration or a debutante ball.  This once mostly white parish now serves as the point of reference in the lives of its mostly Hispanic parishioners.

To read the article on St. Thomas More Catholic Church, visit http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/us/the-way-north.html?ref=us%23p/22#p/18.
To read this series of articles, visit http://nyti.ms/1oC83AT.

No Immigration in GOP’s June Plans

Children on the Run

The New York Times (Editorial) (June 4, 2014)

With an expected 60,000 unaccompanied children and teenagers expected to cross the border this fiscal year fleeing violence in their home countries, the federal government is scrambling to form a coordinated response to this humanitarian crisis and help the children -- many of whom are traumatized.  Any discussion of immigration reform should be mindful of factors that are pushing these children to come here (e.g., violence, oppression, and instability in their home countries).

To read more, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/05/opinion/children-on-the-run.html?emc=edit_tnt_20140604&nlid=47251438&tntemail0=y.

Justice Department and CNCS Announce New Partnership to Enhance Immigration Courts and Provide Critical Legal Assistance to Unaccompanied Minors

United States Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) (June 6, 2014)

Attorney General Eric Holder announced the creation of a partnership between the Department of Justice and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which administers AmeriCorps, to provide legal representation in immigration court to immigrant children who crossed the border without a parent or legal guardian.  The partnership is known as “justice AmeriCorps” and will provide up to 100 attorneys and paralegals to provide legal services to certain unaccompanied children under age 16 who are in removal (i.e., deportation) proceedings in one of the 29 cities designated under the program. The partnership seeks to provide legal assistance to the most vulnerable of the children who are fleeing violence, abuse, and human trafficking.  

To read more, read EOIR’s news release at http://www.justice.gov/eoir/press/2014/JusticeAmeriCorpsRelease06062014.html and read the CNCS grant announcement at http://www.nationalservice.gov/build-your-capacity/grants/funding-opportunities/2014/justice-americorps-legal-services.

Subscribe to Migration Update