Migrant Center July Newsletter - The Injustices of Quarantine

SHELTERS DIRECTED TO CUT EDUCATION, RECREATION, AND LEGAL SERVICES

May 30 – The Department of Health and Human Services sent an email to unaccompanied minor shelters notifying them that the government will not pay for education or recreational activities retroactive to May 22 because those costs are “unallowable.” The Office of Refugee Resettlement which oversees the shelters began discontinuing the funding for English classes, activities — including soccer — and legal aid programs. The CEO of Southwest Key Programs, which shelters hundreds of minors in Texas and other states, wrote that she is trying “to understand the reasons behind this decision and what, if anything, we can do to continue offering these vital services.” At least one shelter worker has come out saying that educational classes and sports activities are crucial to maintaining the children’s physical and mental health while in custody. HHS, on the other hand, stated that these services are “not directly necessary for the protection of life and safety.” More than 40,800 children have passed through the shelter system this year. On a daily basis there are 12,500 minors in shelters, where they stay an average of 48 days before being reunified with their families. The Flores settlement agreement and state-licensing requirements mandate education and recreation for minors in federal custody.

COURT RULES CONGRESS DOESN’T HAVE POWER TO SUE PRESIDENT FOR DIVERTING BILLIONS TO BORDER WALL

June 3 – U.S. District Judge McFadden of the District on Monday denied a House request to temporarily stop spending on the wall because the House lacked legal standing to sue the president for allegedly overstepping his power by diverting $6.7 billion intended for other purposes to pay for it. The judge said that Congress has various political options available such as denying funds, passing other legislation, conducting hearings and investigations, or overriding a president’s veto, and that the court did not need to step into its role as a forum of last resort. McFadden granted that the case “presents a close question” and added that his ruling “does not imply that [the full] Congress may never sue the Executive to protect its powers.” Congress declined to fund the border wall during the 35-day partial government shutdown but did ultimately appropriate $1.375 million for border barriers.

TRUMP THREATENS MEXICO TO INCREASE REPRESSION OF MIGRATION

June 7 – Trump made a “deal” with Mexico under the threat of 5% U.S. tariffs (to increase to 25%) for Mexico to take “strong measures to stem the tide of migration” that include the deployment of 6,000 national guard troops to the Guatemalan border. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a statement from 140 business and agricultural organizations warning that the tariffs “would harm U.S. consumers, workers, farmers and businesses of all sizes across all sectors.”

Separately, DHS personnel are being deployed to Guatemala to serve as advisors to Guatemala’s national police and migration authorities in targeting human trafficking and smuggling operations

HOUSE PASSES BUDGET HALTING REMAIN IN MEXICO PROGRAM WHILE LITIGATION AGAINST THE PROGRAM GETS SUPPORT FROM GOVERNMENT OFFICERS

June 11 – The House Appropriations Committee passed a $64 billion FY2020 DHS bill that would halt Remain in Mexico and does not include money for border barriers, just border security technology. The Remain in Mexico Program has sent 13,000 refugees to Mexico to wait for their court hearings. DHS Secretary McAleenan alleges that the high numbers of migrants – 144,278 were taken into CBP custody in May, 132,887 after crossing without documents and 11,391 who presented themselves at a Port of Entry – is due in part to a “loophole” that allows children and their parents to wait for their court case outside detention.

U.S. asylum officers wrote an amicus brief to the Ninth Circuit condemning the Migrant Protection Protocols, stating that the program “increases the burdens on our immigration courts and makes the system more inefficient” and “the government’s purported justifications for the MPP do not pass muster.” The brief states, “In the course of waiting for a determination of their asylum applications, many will face persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. By forcing a vulnerable population to return to a hostile territory where they are likely to face persecution, the MPP abandons our tradition of providing a safe haven to the persecuted and violates our international and domestic legal obligations. Moreover, the MPP is entirely unnecessary, as our immigration system has the foundation and agility necessary to deal with the flow of migrants through our Southern Border.”

In a separate amicus brief, former immigration, national security, foreign policy, and other public officials, stated that “Based on our collective hundreds of years of service in the departments and agencies of the U.S. government responsible for immigration and diplomatic relations, we believe the government’s purported justifications for the MPP do not pass muster—and indeed believe that the MPP actively harms the United States’ foreign and security interests”.

MISTRIAL DECLARED IN CASE AGAINST PROVISION OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO MIGRANTS

June 11 – A mistrial was declared after the jury deadlocked in the case of Scott Warren, border activist charged with conspiracy to transport and harbor migrants due to his provision of humanitarian aid. One question before the court is whether caring for migrants is a legally protected act of faith. As put by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “humanitarian aid is not a crime.” In FY2018 4,500 people were charged with these crimes, a 30% increase since 2015. Last year France’s constitutional court found that smuggling migrants into the country was allowed under the principle of “fraternity.”

Separately, NBC 7 San Diego filed a FOIA suit seeking information from CBP and other agencies within DHS regarding CBP’s use of a secret database to track journalists and advocates working at the southern border.

COURT RULES ICE REQUIRES REASONABLE SUSPICION TO CONDUCT RAIDS AND ARRESTS

June 13 – Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that ICE cannot carry out preplanned mass detentions, interrogations, and arrests at a factory without individualized reasonable suspicion, and remanded ordering the BIA to dismiss the removal proceedings without prejudice. The case is Perez Cruz v. Barr.

CIRCUIT COURT UPHOLDS BAN ON DENIAL OF ABORTION ACCESS TO MINORS

June 14 – The D.C. Circuit Court affirmed the district court's preliminary injunction against the government's blanket denial of access to abortion for unaccompanied minors but allowed disclosure to parents and others of UACs' pregnancies and abortion decisions. The case is J.D., et al. v. Alex Azar, II, et al.

NEW YORK ALLOWS DRIVER’S LICENSES FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS

June 17 – New York state overturned a ban on driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. There are now 13 states (and D.C.) that do not require proof of legal residence to obtain a driver’s license.

A study in Connecticut conducted after offering driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants four years ago found increased compliance with traffic safety laws. Low income immigrants with families to support are also no longer getting burdened with heavy fines for driving without a license.

At the beginning of July it came to light that ICE has been using facial recognition software to review driver’s license databases for undocumented immigrants. There are concerns that this software is not always accurate when looking at people of color.

TRUMP PROCEEDS WITH TERMINATING FLORES SETTLEMENT AND ADVOCATES SUE FOR FLORES VIOLATIONS

June 19 – DHS and HHS sent a final rule to the Office of Management and Budget to review the regulations related to the apprehension, processing, care, custody, and release of undocumented minors, terminating the Flores Settlement Agreement and creating an "alternative" to the existing licensed program requirement for family residential centers, including the ability to detain family units together during the entirety of their immigration hearings. The final rule will be published in the Federal Register. DHS Secretary Nielsen falsely claimed the settlement is a 'legal loophole' that hinders DHS’s ability to detain and deport family units and that it therefore encourages families to come to the U.S. Read DHS’ letter to Congress asking for legislative changes to the Flores settlement agreement and the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA).

June 26 – The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law filed an emergency request for a Temporary Restraining Order and a Contempt Order against CBP in federal district court, demanding that CBP immediately start processing children for release to parents and relatives as required by the Flores settlement, and to provide them with basic necessities including adequate food, clean water, medical care, and access to sleep. The request further demands immediate, unfettered access of medical experts to the facilities.

BUILDING OF UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN’S SHELTERS INCREASE

June 20 – CBP announced that the temporary holding facility near Donna-Rio Bravo International Bridge in Donna, TX, will expand to hold an additional 500 people. CBP said that the expansion is in response to rising numbers of unaccompanied children and family units arriving.

MASSACHUSETTS RULES ICE CANNOT ARREST IN STATE COURTHOUSES

June 20 – The U.S. District Court of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction in Ryan v. ICE, prohibiting ICE from arresting people for civil violations of immigration law while they are coming to, attending, or leaving Massachusetts courthouses under their own power. This injunction does not apply to ICE arrests of people who are being released in court from criminal custody. Read a letter on this issue by state and federal judges.

ILLINOIS ENACTS “SANCTUARY STATE” LAW AND OPENS FINANCIAL AID TO UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS

June 21 – Illinois Governor Pritzker signed into law HB 1637, which prohibits local law enforcement from working with federal immigration enforcement and from removing undocumented immigrants from the U.S., and also signed HB 2691, which allows undocumented immigrants in Illinois to qualify for state financial aid.

Previously and separately, Georgia’s Republican Governor Kemp signed into law legislation that dismantled Immigration Enforcement Review Board, a state body established in 2011 to investigate complaints against public agencies and employees for violating or failing to enforce Georgia’s anti-immigrant laws, with the power to levy $5000 fines and withdraw state funding. Anti-immigrant vigilantes could file complaints against local governments perceived as friendly to immigrants and did not need to show that they had been injured by an agency’s or an officer’s failure to comply. The Board was plagued by due process violations and lack of oversight and scared cities from welcoming immigrants. The city of Decatur sued, forcing the resignation of the Board’s chairman and two other members and resulting in a settlement settled whereby Decatur received $12,000 in attorney fees and other costs.

Conservative Supreme Court justices have upheld the ability of states to refuse participation in executing a federal regulatory scheme under the Tenth Amendment.

TEXAS SENDS NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS TO THE BORDER

June 21 – Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that Texas is sending 1,000 Texas National Guard soldiers to the southwest border. In the first three weeks of June, 45,000 individuals have been apprehended in Texas crossing the border. Currently 40% to 60% of CBP agents are providing humanitarian support at the border.

Separately, two U.S. citizens filed two separate damages suits after CBP detained them for days at a port of entry, forced them to undergo a detoxification process from alcohol and opioid addiction without a doctor’s supervision, and ignored their repeated requests for medical assistance.

CONGRESS SENDS MONEY TO THE BORDER

June 26 – The Senate voted 84-to-8 to give $2.88 billion to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, as well as hundreds of millions for Customs and Border Protection, the Pentagon and other agencies. According to the ACLU, at least six children have died in U.S. government custody. DHS Secretary McAleenan said four children died during the one week in June while trying to reach the United States. Border crossings typically decline during the summer months.

June 27 – The $4.6 billion bill subsequently passed the House 305-102 without being amending for additional child protection and government accountability measures. Pelosi had hoped to amend the Senate bill with changes that included a 90-day limit for how long children can spend in holding facilities; less funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and a provision to ensure lawmakers could visit facilities that hold children without prior notice.

SUPREME COURT BLOCKS CITIZENSHIP QUESTION FROM CENSUS

June 27 – The Supreme Court ruled that the Administration cannot add a citizenship question to the U.S. census, stating that the Administration’s reasons for doing so are “contrived”. There are fears that such a question would scare people into not participating and affect the accuracy of the census, resulting in immigrant communities being undercounted and thereby decreasing political representation as well as public funds for roads, schools, hospitals, and health care that are dependent on population size. The Administration had already included this question on 250,000 test questionnaires sent out.

At first Trump sought to delay the census so he could find a legal work-around that would allow him to still include the question. Then, on July 2 the Commerce Department said the administration would drop the question from the census and begin printing, followed by a reversal on July 3, when the Department of Justice said the administration was looking for a way to add the question despite the Supreme Court’s ruling. Then the Administration said it was looking into changing its lawyers and the plaintiff sought to halt this change pending a good explanation.

COURT BLOCKS TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO BUILD WALL

June 28 – U.S. District Judge Gilliam Jr. issued a permanent injunction preventing the Administration from using unauthorized funds to build a border wall in Yuma, California and El Paso, Texas. The case was brought by the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition and halted the use of the $1 billion that had been moved from military pay and pension accounts. On May 24 the judge had previously temporarily halted the transfer of funds, finding a good chance of prevailing on the claims that the administration is acting illegally in shifting money from other programs to pay for the wall. The judge wrote that the government’s position “that when Congress declines the Executive’s request to appropriate funds, the Executive may simply find a way to spend those funds ‘without Congress’ does not square with fundamental separation of powers principles dating back to the earliest days of our Republic” which states that no money may be spent without an appropriation from Congress as well as restrictions on the purposes for which funds can be reallocated. The Administration claimed that the shift in funds was allowed due to “unforeseen” events but the judge said that wall construction was not “unforeseen” considering Trump’s many demands for funding dating back to early 2018 and before that during his electoral campaign.

CBP BEGINS CONSTRUCTION OF FAMILY DETENTION CENTER IN ARIZONA

June 28 – CBP announced that it began construction on June 15 for a 500 bed temporary detention facility for immigrant families in Yuma, Arizona at a cost of $15 million.

Previously, a pilot program to conduct DNA testing to confirm parentage at seven locations on the border, called Operation Double Helix 2.0, was announced.