U.S. (Im)migration News

Smuggling trial for border aid worker could set new precedent: This week, the trial for border-aid volunteer Scott Warren opened in Arizona in a closely watched case that could set a harsh new precedent for humanitarian aid. Warren, a volunteer with a group called No More Deaths, or No Mas Muertes, has been charged with smuggling two Central American men. Warren says he simply provided food, water, and shelter to migrants traveling through a deadly desert. It’s the first charge of felony human smuggling in Arizona in more than a decade (Arizona Daily Star).

Migrant deaths in the desert have been rising since U.S. Border Patrol began its “prevention through deterrence” strategy in the 1990’s — disrupting illegal migration routes through cities in the hopes that migrants wouldn’t take the risk to cross the desert. But over the past 20 years, at least 7,000 people have died in the desert (The Intercept) and the odds of dying on the journey have more than quadrupled. Thousands more people remain unaccounted for or missing (The New York Times).

Warren is one of many volunteers and activists working to provide direct aid — mostly food and water — to those crossing the desert. Arrests of people for providing this sort of aid have risen since 2017, when then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered prosecutors to prioritize cases against those who “knowingly harbored” aliens (NPR). Related: Warren’s own words: “I gave water to migrants crossing the Arizona desert. They charged me with a felony.” (Washington Post).

What we’re watching:

• Trump announces Mexico tariffs: President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he would impose a 5 percent tariff on Mexican imports starting June 10 if the country does not stop the flow of illegal immigration to the U.S. (The New York Times). Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed alarm (The Washington Post).

• Trump proposal would bar asylum for thousands: Trump is considering denying asylum to migrants who travel through a third country (BuzzFeed News). These sweeping restrictions would effectively block Central American migrants from entering the U.S. (Politico).

• Case of Mexican teen killed by Border Patrol reaches Supreme Court: The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to decide whether the family of a Mexican teenager fatally shot while on Mexican soil by a U.S. Border Patrol agent who fired from across the border in Texas can pursue a civil rights lawsuit in American courts (Reuters).

• Potential new USCIS head would mark stark change: The representative for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) employees said Sunday that President Donald Trump’s expected nominee to run the agency “spells the end of legal immigration as it currently exists” (Newsweek).

• The New York Times: As the US Supreme Court is set to rule on the census citizenship question, new evidence shows it was designed to advance GOP interests on redistricting and that the administration is lying about its rationale.
• Washington Post: Nearly 169,000 children have arrived at the U.S. border in the first seven months of the fiscal year, or 37 percent of all crossings — far above previous eras.
• CBS: Six migrant children have died in U.S. custody — or soon after being released — in the past eight months.
• USA Today: 10 key immigration issues presidential candidates will face on the campaign trail.
• Quartz: Undocumented immigrants are far more likely to speak English and have college degrees than ever before.
• The New York Times: In a 12-month period ending in March, more than 112,000 people were prosecuted for illegal entry or re-entry, while just 11 employers faced criminal charges for hiring undocumented workers.
• WNYC: A DACA recipient has been in ICE detention for more than a year, even though charges against him were dropped.
• Newsweek: Asylum seekers "left languishing in immigration prisons" sue Trump administration for "categorically denying release."
• CNN: Separated by the travel ban, these couples are taking to video to plead their case.
• PBS NewsHour (watch): Thousands of Venezuelan immigrants, fleeing persecution and economic crisis, have entered the U.S. in recent years. Many settled near Houston, Texas.
• Catholic News Service: Close to 5,000 people from all denominations who come to the United States each year as “religious workers.”
• Refugees international: Report shows distinct rise in denials for those seeking T-visas, especially of claims by women and children trafficked over the U.S. southwest border.
• The New York Times: New York’s Attorney General and mayor have ordered probes into lending practices that trapped immigrant taxi drivers reckless loans by bankers who made huge profits. (Read the original investigation)

Around the World

What European elections mean for migration policy: Last week’s elections to the European Parliament saw growing support for anti-immigrant parties, which topped the polls in Italy, France, Britain and Hungary. The parties are unlikely to form a cohesive bloc at the European level, and mainstream parties with somewhat softer stances on migration still control more seats (InfoMigrants). But far-right parties are succeeding in pushing national policy in a harsher direction (The New Humanitarian).

The elections were not one-way traffic, however--The left-wing governing party in Greece ran an Iranian refugee as a candidate in Athens, despite opposition parties using immigration to attack the government (Politico). In Italy, a doctor from the island of Lampedusa who has spent years treating newly-arrived refugees won a seat in the parliament — though only in second place to the far-right Lega, whose leader declared that “migration will be our first battle in Europe” (The Guardian).

Reports of self-harm among refugees spike after Australian election: Refugees held in detention by Australia in Nauru and Papua New Guinea have reacted with despair to the surprise victory of Australia’s conservative coalition government in the May 18 election (Washington Post). Though the opposition supported many elements of the government’s harsh policy, it also promised to accept an offer from New Zealand to resettle some of the refugees detained offshore (SBS). Instead, the re-elected government plans to repeal legislation passed this year to facilitate transfers off the remote islands for refugees in need of medical help. Since the result, according to refugees and advocates, between 23 and 26 refugees held on Manus Island have attempted self-harm, overwhelming the small local hospital. The government has refused to respond to those reports (Sydney Morning Herald).

Americas:

• PRI's The World: Hospitals are turning into “cemeteries for migrants” on the Colombia-Venezuela border.

• NPR: In Mexico, new groups offer aid to a generation of deported “Dreamers.”

• Reuters: Mexico’s refugee agency turns to the UN amid asylum surge and funding cuts.

• Toronto Star: Despite its reputation, Canada’s looming election turns up the heat on refugees.

• Human Rights Watch: Lebanon deported at least 16 Syrians, some of them registered refugees, back to Syria.

• Daily Star: U.S. calls for dismantling of UNRWA, the UN agency that assists Palestinian refugees.

• Times of Israel: Israeli law requires businesses that employ asylum seekers to divert 20 percent of their wages into a fund they can access only by leaving the country. But many employers aren’t complying.

• AnsaMED: UNHCR held numerous meetings with the Tunisian government and other international organizations to prepare for a possible mass influx of refugees from Libya.

Europe:

• The New York Times: Denmark rejects final asylum appeal from an Afghan woman with dementia.

• Reuters: Malta rescues 216 migrants amid upsurge of Mediterranean crossings.

• Reuters: The British government expanded the list of occupations officially facing shortages, making it easier for businesses to hire migrants to fill those roles.

• The Atlantic: Why China’s expat artists move to Berlin.

• The Guardian: Child asylum seekers in the UK suffer abuse because the government wrongly classifies them as adults, using an age assessment method ruled unlawful.

Tania Karas is a reporter and editor for PRI The World's immigration desk. She has reported from Greece, Turkey and Lebanon and was previously a staff reporter for the New York Law Journal. Find her on Twitter at @TaniaKaras.

Lolita Brayman is a U.S.-based immigration attorney focusing on refugee and asylum issues and a staff attorney with the Defending Vulnerable Populations Project with CLINIC. Find her on Twitter at @lolzlita.

Moira Lavelle is a freelance reporter focusing on gender, migration, and borders. She has written for Broadly, Rewire, and PRI. She is currently working on a master’s degree at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Find her on Twitter @alohamoira.

Fergus Peace is a researcher and journalist writing about refugees and migration. He's recently written for the Financial Times and Apolitical, and tweets at @FergusPeace.

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