MIGRATION UPDATE

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
Communications Coordinator
May 19, 2015

Unlocking Human Dignity:  A Plan to Transform the US Immigrant Detention System

A Joint Report by Migration and Refugee Services/United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Center for Migration Studies (May 2015)

Following visits to detention centers across the nation, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) issued a new report detailing the growth of the US immigration detention system and examining its flaws.  According to the report, the average daily detained population has increased dramatically between 1994 and 2013.  Held in prisons, jails, and other secure facilities, immigrant detainees are not only governed by standards designed for criminal defendants, but are seen by society as criminals. The report offers recommendations on reforming the system and argues that these goals can be accomplished more humanely and at far less cost through a national infrastructure of community-based, supervised release programs. As the first step in this process, the report urges Congress to commission a comprehensive study on the benefits, challenges, cost, and time frame for creating a civil immigration detention system. It also proposes that the administration create a full menu of court compliance programs, with varying degrees of supervision, reporting, oversight and monitoring.

To read more, visit http://jmhs.cmsny.org/index.php/jmhs/article/view/48.

A Plan to Transform the US Immigrant Detention System

Huffington Post (May 13, 2015)

In a blog for the Huffington Post, Donald Kerwin, Executive Director for the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), discusses the new USCCB and CMS report, Unlocking Human Dignity: A Plan to Transform the US Immigrant Detention System (mentioned above), and outlines seven of the report’s main findings and corresponding recommendations.

To read more, visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donald-kerwin/a-plan-to-transform-the-us-immigrant-detention-system_b_7265064.html

Where Are the Children?

For extortionists, undocumented migrants have become big business
The New Yorker (April 27, 2015)

In this article, the author discusses the “migrant extortion market” in which smugglers and human traffickers, many part of organized criminal enterprises, exploit migrants and their families in the United States.  According to the author, this problem is rarely discussed in the US immigration debate due, in part, to the risk involved for migrants who speak out.  The author asserts that victims are sometimes twice disappeared: after being rescued, they are detained only long enough to testify against their captors and then they are swiftly deported.  Family members of migrants are also vulnerable.  After paying extortion money to human traffickers and kidnappers, family members can be subject to removal proceedings or criminal prosecution for being willing participants in immigrant smuggling.  Because the United States has made it more difficult for immigrants to enter the country illegally, smugglers have become essential to the process of unauthorized border crossing.  Migrant smuggling has become a lucrative business, while simultaneously becoming more dangerous for the immigrants smuggled. 

To read more, visit http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/27/where-are-the-children.
 

Think of Undocumented Immigrants as Parents, Not Problems

The New York Times (April 27, 2015 and May 1, 2015)

In an Op-Ed for the New York Times, Professor Roberto Suro and Professor Marcelo M. Suarez-Orozco discuss the physical, emotional, and economic impact on the children of unauthorized immigrants.  At least one of every 15 children in the United States has an unauthorized parent, and nearly all of those children are native-born US citizens. Their parents’ lack of legal status and the threat of deportation cause children to experience fear and uncertainty, resulting in delayed cognitive development, lower education performance, and clinical levels of anxiety. 

The authors cite their report, “Removing Insecurity: How American Children Will Benefit from President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration,” which reviews more than 50 research studies on the children of unauthorized immigrants conducted by scholars working independently in different fields.  The authors catalog the benefits that children of the unauthorized may receive if the threat of deportation is removed, including increased education outcomes and employment, and quicker and more successful ascension into the middle class.  Finding that removing the threat of deportation or granting legal status to unauthorized parents can reverse harm imposed on children, the authors – in both their report and their Op-Ed – call for reform of the US immigration system.

In support of the Op-Ed, Jeanne Atkinson, Executive Director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), wrote a Letter to the Editor calling on Congress to stop delaying the creation of a pathway to citizenship for undocumented parents of US citizens.  She writes that the failure to create a path to legal status for the parents punishes their children, many of whom suffer from the loss of deported parents. Without status, the parents are prevented from fully participating in US society.

To read the report “Removing Insecurity: How American Children Will Benefit from President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration, visit http://trpi.org/pdfs/research_report.pdf.

To read Roberto Suro and Marcelo M. Suarez-Orozco’s Op-Ed, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/27/opinion/parents-first-undocumented-second.html.

To read Jeanne Atkinson’s Letter to the Editor, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/02/opinion/a-path-to-citizenship-for-immigrants.html

European Commission Prepares Plan to Distribute Migrants Across EU

The New York Times (May 11, 2015)

Tens of thousands of migrants are risking the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.  Some European countries (for example, Germany, Greece, and Italy) have borne the brunt of the influx.  To alleviate some of the pressure on these countries, the European Union is expected to submit a proposal to redistribute migrants throughout its 28 member states.  The proposal would be based on a quota system that would take into account factors such as a country’s population, the state of its economy, and its level of unemployment.  EU officials expect strong resistance from some of its member states to this proposal.

To read more, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/world/europe/migrants-mediterranean-italy-european-commission.html?emc=edit_tnt_20150511&nlid=47251438&tntemail0=y&_r=0

LIRS Releases Guide for Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Migrants Release from Detention

Lutheran Refugee and Immigrant Services (May 2015)

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), one of the largest non-profit organizations supporting migrants and refugees, recently published a guide entitled, First Steps, to provide refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants released from detention with information and resources “critical to safely integrating into the United States.” LIRS recommends the First Steps guide for practitioners, faith organizations, and service providers involved in the migration process and for migrants themselves as a useful resource for understanding the complex system of rights and benefits available for them.  Additionally, LIRS has published two separate supplements targeted at asylum seekers and lawful permanent residents (LPRs). These additional handouts are intended to provide status-specific information and to answer questions on these two populations. The supplements provide useful information on the rights, responsibilities, and benefits available for asylum seekers and LPRs, as well as information on the process of gaining status.

The guides are available for free download or for paperback purchase on the LIRS website at http://lirs.org/firststeps/ in both English and Spanish. 
 

Pressure Mounts on Myanmar over Asia 'boat people' Crisis

Reuters (May 17, 2015)

Stateless after being effectively stripped of citizenship in 1982, many of Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya population have fled the country by boat to escape conditions imposed on them by the Myanmar government.  Malaysia, one of the wealthier economies in Southeast Asia, claims to have accepted 120,000 Rohingya refugees, but has announced it will not accept additional migrants and has called on Myanmar to address the exodus of Rohingya refugees.  In recent days, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand have turned migrant boats away.  An estimated 5,000 “boat people” are reportedly floating on rickety boats on the Andaman Sea.  Their fate remains uncertain while regional governments figure out how to respond to this humanitarian crisis.

To read more, visit http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/17/us-asia-migrants-idUSKBN0O20JB20150517.
 

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

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