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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
June 21, 2016

Pope Recognizes Temptation to Feel Hostile Toward Needy

Zenit (June 15, 2016)
 
During his general audience, Pope Francis addressed the temptation to be annoyed with the needy. The Holy Father recalled the Gospel of Luke’s account of the healing of the blind man on the road to Jericho. In the story, the blind man cried out to Jesus while other people annoyed by his cries rebuked him to be quiet. The Holy Father stated, “How often we are annoyed, when we see so many people on the road – needy, sick people who have nothing to eat. How often we are annoyed when we find ourselves before so many refugees. It’s a temptation we all have – I too! It’s because of this that the Word of God admonishes us, reminding us that indifference and hostility render us blind and deaf, they impede our seeing our brothers and do not allow us to recognize the Lord in them – indifference and hostility. And sometimes this indifference and hostility become also aggression and insult: ‘but throw all these out!’; ‘put them somewhere else!’” Pope Francis reminded his audience that Jesus similarly passes in their lives, enabling us to recognize those in need of help and of consolation and providing opportunities to draw closer to Him and be better Christians.

To read more, visit https://zenit.org/articles/do-immigrants-annoy-you-pope-at-audience-recognizes-temptation-to-feel-hostile-toward-needy/.

To read the full text of Pope Francis’s address, visit https://zenit.org/articles/general-audience-on-the-healing-of-the-blind-man/.

Woman Sues for 'Inhuman & Degrading' Border Search

Courthouse News (June 10, 2010)
 
Ashley C., a native-born US citizen, filed a federal complaint against US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Holy Cross Hospital in Nogales, Arizona for subjecting her to “seven hours of abusive and degrading searches and strip searches for no reason” as she tried to walk home after breakfast from Nogales, Arizona to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. The teenager had frequently walked across the border between the two cities using her US birth certificate and her Arizona ID card. According to the article, a CBP Border Patrol officer accused her of carrying drugs, detained her in a room handcuffed to a chair, had dogs sniff her, had female agents strip-search her, and then had her transported – in handcuffs – to Holy Cross hospital where she was to be X-rayed and to undergo a cavity search. At no point, the author writes, was the teenager read her rights. She was also not permitted to call her mother, even though the hospital records falsely indicate that she was accompanied by her mother. The federal complaint also states that CBP and Holy Cross Hospital never obtained a warrant or consent to conduct the searches. The complaint states that CBP and Holy Cross never found any drugs on or in Ashley C. She “seeks punitive damages for civil rights violations, including false arrest, false imprisonment, and assault and battery.”
 
To read more, visit http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/06/10/woman-sues-for-inhuman-degrading-border-search.htm.

Valedictorians Prove Value of Investing in Young Immigrants (Op Ed)

The Hill (June 15, 2016)
 
Using the examples of two Texas high school valedictorians – Mayte Lara Ibarra and Larissa Martinez – who both revealed their undocumented status during graduation, Kevin Appleby, CMS’s Senior Director of International Migration Policy, writes of the great benefit the United States would receive if Congress were to pass immigration reform permitting undocumented people to integrate and fully contribute to US society. Mr. Appleby writes: “They are representatives of hundreds of thousands of young people in similar circumstances who simply want a chance to succeed and contribute to the only nation they have ever known. Why would we want to send such impressive and talented young people back to a country they do not know?” He added that passage of legislation like the DREAM Act “would spawn millions of similar success stories, making the country only stronger.”
 
To read more, visit http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/immigration/283530-valedictorians-prove-value-of-investing-in-young-immigrants.

The Cost of Banning All Muslims (Podcast)

Marketplace (June 14, 2016)
 
On June 13th, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reiterated his plan to ban temporarily all Muslims from entering the United States. This podcast examines how such a ban would affect the US economy were Trump to become president. In 2013, visitors from the Middle East spent $6.7 billion in the United States. According to the narrator, should a ban be implemented, the loss of Muslim tourism could cost the United States closer to $18 billion. The ban would also bar Muslim students from attending schools in the United States, which means an additional loss to the US economy of around $5.6 billion from lost tuition and fees, not including the impact on jobs that support education. In addition to this estimated $24 billion loss to the US economy, Trump’s plan does not address the cost of trying to implement such a ban or the impact it would have on America’s “brand” as a leader of the free world.
 
To listen to more, visit http://www.marketplace.org/2016/06/14/world/cost-banning-all-muslims.

What Donald Trump Can Actually Do on Immigration

CNBC (June 16, 2016)
 
After a native-born US citizen of Afghan descent killed 49 people and injured 53 others at a gay night-club in Orlando, Florida, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump “doubled down on his divisive immigration rhetoric” calling for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. CNBC reports that Trump plans on restricting immigration to the United States from areas with ties to terrorism. According to author Jacob Pramuk, Trump could restrict immigration through executive action for which there is some precedent. President Obama has used executive power to issue an order to defer the removal of certain undocumented immigrants (i.e., the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program). However, restricting immigration based on religion would result in constitutional challenges and be difficult to implement. Pramuk writes that Trump might garner congressional support for an approach that focuses on a sending country’s government and terrorist presence in it, rather than on religion.
 
To read more, visit http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/16/what-donald-trump-can-actually-do-on-immigration.html.

Federal Judge Tosses Texas’ Lawsuit to Bar Syrian Refugees

The New York Times (June 16, 2016)
 
On June 16th, a federal district court judge in Dallas dismissed a lawsuit filed by Texas against the Obama administration and the nonprofit International Rescue Committee (IRC) seeking to halt the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the state. Texas claimed in its lawsuit that the US State Department violated the Refugee Act of 1980 by not consulting with state officials before resettling refugees. Texas also claimed that IRC breached its contract with the state. The judge determined that the lawsuit had no legal merit because Texas did not have legal standing to enforce the Refugee Act’s consultation requirement. The judge also found that Texas failed to present sufficient facts to prove breach of contract. Terri Burke, executive director of the Texas American Civil Liberties Union, stated, “The goal of this wasteful lawsuit had nothing to do with public safety, and everything to do with scoring political points on the backs of desperate refugees.” As of the date of this article, it is unclear whether Texas will pursue further legal action in the case.
 
To read more, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/us/federal-judge-tosses-texas-lawsuit-to-bar-syrian-refugees.html?emc=edit_tnt_20160616&nlid=47251438&tntemail0=y&_r=0.

World Refugee Day: Canada Should Lead By Example and Do More

The Huffington Post (June 16, 2016)
 
Canadian politician Hélène Laverdière writes that although Canada took in more than 25,000 Syrian refugees last year, the country should do more. She calls on Canada to accept more refugees, to increase its humanitarian assistance during crises and to increase its development assistance to fragile countries. Laverdière calls on the Canadian government and other donors to address the root causes of forced migration and to apply “concrete and viable political solutions to prevent conflict and fight climate change.”
 
To read more, visit http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/helene-laverdiere/world-refugee-day-canada_b_10511742.html.

Seeking Refuge

Human Rights Watch (June 9 2016)
 
Human Rights Watch reports that the arrival of more than 35,000 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in 2015 strained Sweden’s child protection system. This study, conducted between January 25 to February 8, 2016, identifies “key shortcomings in the system” resulting in children not receiving the care or attention that they need and to which they are entitled. The report offers recommendations to the Swedish government, Swedish municipalities, and the Swedish Children’s Ombudsman on how to address the shortcomings so that children will “enjoy fuller access to their rights” and have “a path to a bright future.”
 
To read more, visit https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/06/09/seeking-refuge/unaccompanied-children-sweden.

WASHINGTON UPDATE


Monday, June 20, 2016 marked World Refugee Day. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that a record 65 million persons around the world were displaced from their homes in 2015. To read more, visit http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/65-million-people-displaced-2015-record-39980957.
 
Refugees and migrants continue to flee conflict zones and attempt to enter Europe, either through land corridors or by boat in the Mediterranean. In three days in late May, over 700 migrants died in boat crossings in the Mediterranean, and more than 10,000 have died in sea crossings since 2014. To read more, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/30/world/europe/migrants-deaths-mediterranean-libya-italy.html?_r=0.
 
The Most Reverend Eusebio Elizondo, Bishop of Seattle, WA and Chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration, called for Catholics and the world community to respond to the world’s refugee crises in a more robust way. To read more, visit http://www.usccb.org/news/2016/16-074.cfm.
 
On June 14, 2016, the US Senate failed to consider an amendment by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and John McCain (R-AZ) to extend the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program, which provides permanent visas to Afghans who assisted the US government in the fight in Afghanistan. The amendment would have added 4,000 visas to the program and extended it to December 2017. Other attempts to extend the program will be made, likely through an appropriations bill. In the House of Representatives, two amendments to block Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients from participating in the military failed.
 
The Supreme Court will soon issue a ruling in the case, U.S. v. Texas, which will decide whether the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program and the expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, both authorized by President Obama on November 20, 2014, can move forward. Four million persons could be impacted by the ruling. The decision could come down this Thursday, June 23; Monday, June 27; or Thursday, June 30. In the meantime, the DACA program, which has helped over 700,000 persons, celebrated its fourth anniversary on June 15.  To read more, visit http://globalsistersreport.org/blog/gsr-today/migration/supreme-court-focuses-immigration-amid-deportations-40326?utm_source=CLINIC+Mail&utm_campaign=9432c756e6-CLINIC_Daily_6_15_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a33179621a-9432c756e6-283998645.

NEW FROM CMS


SAVE THE DATE | Center for Migration Studies 2016 Gala


Join the Center for Migration Studies on October 26, 2016 to celebrate another successful year of advancing understanding of international migration and public policies that protect the rights and dignity of migrants, newcomers, and refugees. The CMS Annual Gala will include a cocktail reception, a dinner and a special presentation of awards to individuals who have contributed exceptionally to the field of international migration.
 
To read more, visit http://cmsny.org/2016gala/.

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.


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