Copy
CMS Migration Update is a weekly digest of news and other information related to national and international migration.  It is designed to educate faith leaders regarding vulnerable immigrant populations, developments in the immigration field, pastoral resources and the religious touchstones of diverse faith traditions on migrants and newcomers. It should not be relied upon to provide advice or counsel in immigration cases. The publication is provided by the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), an educational institute/think-tank devoted to the study of international migration, to the promotion of understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, and to public policies that safeguard the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees and newcomers. CMS is a member of the Scalabrini International Migration Network, an international network of shelters, welcoming centers, and other ministries for migrants.
Thomas J. Shea
Editor
Rachel Reyes
Director of Communications
May 3, 2016

One Thing People Don’t Know about the US-Mexico Border

Brookings Institution/Council of the Americas-America Society (March 16, 2016)
 
At an event hosted by Brookings Institution’s Latin America Initiative and Americas/Society Council of the Americas, Congressman Beto O’Rourke (D-TX 16th) sought to dispel the myth that the US-Mexico border is insecure. “The border has never been more secure in the history of the US,” O’Rourke stated. He pointed out that border apprehensions are below 400,000 (down from 1.6 million in 2000) and that any surges in border arrests are due to Central Americans turning themselves in at the border. According to Congressman O’Rourke, the doubling of the Border Patrol and the tripling of spending on border security has reduced average Border Patrol agent apprehensions from 106 to 17 per year. In the El Paso sector, border apprehensions have been reduced to six per year. Congressman O’Rourke stated that we are “wasting tax payer resources on a problem we don’t have.” By focusing on where the problem is not, the congressman argued that “we take our eye off the ball to where the problem is.” 
 
To hear more, visit http://www.brookings.edu/events/2016/03/16-us-mexico-border.

At One Border Park, Separated Immigrant Families Hug across a Steel Divide

Washington Post (May 1, 2016)
 
Friendship Park is the only federally established binational meeting place along the 2,000-mile border between the United States and Mexico. Dedicated in 1971 by former first lady Pat Nixon, the park which divides San Diego and Tijuana is marked by an obelisk established at the end of the US-Mexico war. Last weekend, to celebrate Children’s Day in Mexico, the emergency door on this portion of the border fence was opened to allow five families three minutes each to embrace. This article follows Gabriela Esparza who, after clearing a background check by the Border Patrol and a second vetting by the migrant-advocacy group Border Angels, was among those selected to briefly reunite with family members. Author Yanan Wang also speaks with other people meeting family through the border fence and the border agents that guard the area.
 
To read more, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/for-families-divided-by-a-mesh-fence-a-rare-chance-to-embrace/2016/05/01/d0fdcf08-0b07-11e6-a6b6-2e6de3695b0e_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_friendshippark%3Ahomepage%2Fstory.

Watching Out

Views from Alongside a Border (May 2, 2016)
 
Michael Seifert recounts a meeting between the Border Patrol and immigration advocates held in McAllen, Texas. The advocates were invited to see improvements made to the McAllen Border Patrol processing center. Commonly known by immigrants as la hielera (“the icebox”) for the practice of keeping temperatures at 68 degrees, the center made headlines for its treatment of Central American children during the surge of unaccompanied minors into the United States during summer 2014. In this post, Seifert details his experience of the tour, including witnessing the many mothers and children packed into cells. According to Seifert, the detainees lacked privacy, and were required to partake in interviews and share biographical information in the open.
 
To read more, visit https://alongsideaborder.com/2016/05/02/watching-out/.

The Disastrous, Forgotten 1996 Law that Created Today's Immigration Problem

Vox Explainers (April 28, 2016)
 
In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), which according to author Dara Lind, “laid the groundwork for the massive deportation machine that exists today.” The purpose of the law, she writes, was to increase penalties against immigrants who violated US law. Lind argues that IIRIRA (1) made more immigrants susceptible to deportation, (2) made it easier for the US to deport immigrants, and (3) made it harder for undocumented immigrants to legalize. Stricter border enforcement contributed to more undocumented immigrants remaining in the United States for fear of not being able to return if they left the country, contributing to an increase in the US undocumented population. According to sociologist Douglas Massey, if certain provisions from IIRIRA had not been instituted, there would be 5.3 million fewer undocumented immigrants in the United States today.
 
To read more, visit http://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11515132/iirira-clinton-immigration.

Hispanic Voter Registration Spikes

The Hill (April 27, 2016)
 
Author Rafael Bernal writes that voter registration among Latinos is spiking during this presidential election cycle due to the anti-immigrant rhetoric from Donald Trump and the other Republican presidential candidates. Bernal cites Arturo Vargas, Executive Director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), who estimates that 13.1 million Hispanics will vote nationwide in 2016, up from 11.2 million in 2012 and 9.7 million in 2008. According to Bernal, Trump and the other Republican candidates’ views on immigration make it less likely that Latinos will vote Republican in November. He writes: “Immigration was shown by an America’s Voice/Latino Decisions poll to be the primary issue driving Hispanics away from Republican candidates in 2016.”  
 
To read more, visit http://thehill.com/latino/277824-hispanics-in-swing-states-create-daunting-electoral-map-for-gop.

Citizens with No Passport at Border Face Fines

El Paso Times (April 22, 2016)
 
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency within the US Department of Homeland Security that oversees immigration and customs inspections at US ports of entry, is proposing to charge fees to US citizens who re-enter the United States without a US passport or a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative-approved document. The fee is to recover the cost of determining the identities of US travelers at the time they re-enter the United States. US citizens who do not have appropriate documentation are not currently barred entry to the United States but CBP would like to start fining them.
 
To read more, visit http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2016/04/22/citizens-no-passport-border-face-fines/83405410/.

What I Will Do When I Get My Papers (Op Ed)

The New York Times (April 22, 2016)
 
Olga Armas is an undocumented immigrant from Peru living with her undocumented husband and three daughters in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Two of her daughters were born in the United States, which would qualify her for work authorization and temporary relief from deportation under President Obama’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program. If she and her husband were both granted protection under DAPA, they could each obtain Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses. She could then drive her daughters to school, and her husband could search for less strenuous work. In addition, they would no longer be in constant fear of deportation. Armas is waiting for the US Supreme Court to rule in June on President Obama’s DAPA program. If the Court rules in the President’s favor, everything will change – for the better – for her and her family.
 
To read more, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/opinion/what-i-will-do-when-i-get-my-papers.html?emc=edit_ty_20160422&nl=opinion&nlid=47251438&_r=0.

‘We Were Fleeing From Death’: Interview with One of the Families Francis Brought From Greece

Zenit (April 28, 2016)
 
The Alshakarji family is part of the group of 12 Syrian refugees chosen by Pope Francis to be resettled in Italy from the Greek island of Lesbos. The family fled their city of Deir Ezzor in Syria to escape the jihadist group ISIS. The father, Rami, was held prisoner by ISIS for six months. During that time, the mother, Suhila, escaped to Lebanon with their children. After ISIS released Rami, he reunited with the family in Lebanon. The family then traveled to Turkey and boarded a rubber dinghy to make the treacherous crossing to Lesbos. When they arrived, they were greeted warmly by volunteers who helped them bring their dinghy ashore and threw flowers on them. The family resided in the Moria refugee camp, and, although they did not have all the basic necessities such as food and water, they nevertheless felt welcome by the people at the camp. â€œThe people were very good, very affectionate,” Suhila stated. Upon their arrival in Italy, the family requested asylum and have begun the process to integrate into the community.
 
To read more, visit https://zenit.org/articles/we-were-fleeing-from-death-interview-with-one-of-the-families-francis-brought-from-greece/.

Statement from the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and the Minister of Canadian Heritage

Morningstar (April 30, 2016)
 
John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, issued a statement commemorating the second annual “Journey to Freedom Day” in Canada. The day honors the more than 60,000 Vietnamese boat people who have been resettled in Canada since the end of the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975. The ministers noted that the outpouring of support by Canadians for the Vietnamese refugees has shaped Canada’s approach to other refugee crises.
 
To read more, visit https://www.morningstar.com/news/canada-news-wire/CNW_20160430C2668/statement-from-the-minister-of-immigration-refugees-and-citizenship-and-the-minister-of-canadian-heritage.html.

WASHINGTON UPDATE


On April 20, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved by a voice vote HR 3694, the Strategy to Oppose Predatory Organ Trafficking Act, or the STOP Organ Trafficking Act. The measure would amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 by making the trafficking of persons for removal of their organs a severe form of trafficking in persons. Currently, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations is drafting legislation to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which is scheduled to expire in September 2017.
 
Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) is working on possible legislation that would improve services to unaccompanied children who are released to sponsors by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Senator Portman, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, conducted an investigation earlier in the year that revealed that several children released to sponsors had been trafficked and were enslaved on a farm in Ohio.
 
On April 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee, in S. 2837, the Commerce, Justice, and State 2017 appropriations measure, approved the same funding amount for the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) as in FY 2016, despite ongoing backlogs in the immigration court system. The amount is about $10 million less than requested by the Administration. In its report, the committee directed the Department of Justice to better train immigration judges on cases for children and to increase the number of immigration judges in the system.
 
On April 29, the State of Texas authorized the licensing of Karnes Family Detention Center in Karnes, Texas, as a child-care facility, against the strong objections of child advocates. Karnes, as well as a detention center in Dilley, Texas, have been used to detain young mothers with children fleeing violence in Central America. Reports have shown that keeping children in detention can cause them psychological and emotional harm. The Administration has appealed a federal court decision requiring the release of children from detention, per the federal guidance in the case of Flores v. Reno.
 
The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) of the State Department is accepting public comments on the FY 2016 US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) in preparation for the use of its FY 2017 budget. The statements are due to PRM at prm-comments@state.gov by close of business on May 19. 
 
The number of unaccompanied children who arrived at the southwest border in March jumped from 3,126 in FY 2015 to 4,240 this year, but was significantly lower than the 7,176 unaccompanied children who arrived at the height of the Central American migrant crisis in FY 2014. The number of family units was also higher than at the same time last year, rising from 2,782 to 4,452. More information can be found at http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-border-unaccompanied-children/fy-2016.

NEW FROM CMS


MAY 18 | Refugee Crises in the Middle East: A Shared Responsibility


Join CMS on May 18th from 8:15am to 12:45pm at Casa Italiana in Washington DC for an event on the resettlement of refugees from the Middle East, with a particular focus on refugees from Syria and Iraq. This meeting is designed to review the facts related to the processing and resettlement of refugees from the Middle East. Federal government and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) officials will provide information about the processes to identify and screen refugees for resettlement. In addition, speakers from faith communities will discuss the shared responsibility to refugees, highlight their contributions to the United States, offer insights on the resettlement process, and feature examples of communities that have welcomed refugees from the Middle East. The meeting will also offer an opportunity for refugees to share their stories of flight and resettlement in a new land, and for community volunteers who have assisted refugees in their resettlement.
 
To read more visit, http://cmsny.org/middle-east-refugee-crises/.

To register, visit http://goo.gl/forms/5C1YYdcYHp.

If you are a migrant or pastoral worker and wish to submit an article or reflection to the CMS Migration Update, please email Tom Shea at tshea@cmsny.org
Copyright © 2016 Center for Migration Studies, New York, All rights reserved.


update subscription preferences | unsubscribe from this list