In the News

Recent Spike in Unaccompanied Minors Has Feds Desperate for Placements

John Kelly, The Chronicle of Social Change (Nov 27, 2017)

The number of Central American youth arriving at the Mexican border has skyrocketed in recent months, up from about 10 a day to 75 per day, causing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is aggressively recruiting for more beds.

US Immigration Body Seeking Automated Social Media Monitoring Tools

Ellen Tannam, Silicon Republic (Nov 24, 2017)

ICE is asking big tech names to help it conduct social media surveillance of visa holders deemed ‘high-risk’.

DACA Protesters Demonstrate at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Monsy Alvarado, North Jersey (Nov 23, 2017)

Several people were removed Thursday after they attempted to block the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as part of a protest to press lawmakers to pass legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children to stay in the country without fear of deportation.

Trump Administration Ends Temporary Protection for Haitians

Miriam Jordan, The New York Times (Nov 20, 2017)

Haitians with what is known as Temporary Protected Status will be expected to leave the United States by July 2019 or face deportation.

The Myth of the ‘Acceptable Immigrant’ is Tearing Families Apart

Jose Antonio Vargas, NBC News (Nov 16, 2017)

To be eligible, we ask DACA recipients not just to go to school or to be enlisted in the U.S. military. We also ask them to point a finger at their parents, who risked everything to bring or send them to America, so that they might be safe.

US Proposal Would Sacrifice Central America’s Children

Michael Garcia Bochenek, Human Rights Watch (Oct 10, 2017)

The Trump administration announced on Sunday Oct. 8th that it wants Central American children – even those fleeing for their lives – to be turned away at the US-Mexico border or quickly sent back to their home countries.

In Reversal, Immigration Agency Will Consider Delayed DACA Requests

Liz Robbins, The New York Times (Nov 15, 2017)

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services agency reversed its decision to not accept nearly 100 applications to renew permits that were rejected due to a delay in the mail. All those that were rejected due to the delay can resubmit for their DACA renewals.

Why Does the U.S. Have Such an Outlier Child Poverty Rate? Our Immigration System Has A Lot to Do With It

Kay S. Hymowitz, The LA Times (Oct 29 2017)

This author draws a connection between the high rates of child poverty in the U.S. and the nation’s immigration system, particularly its emphasis on family-preference immigration.

Expect Illegal Immigration Across the Mexican Border to Double Next Year

Steven Kopits, The Hill (Oct 27, 2017)

Dubbed as the “Trump effect”, this opinion piece suggests that illegal immigration across the Mexican border will double in 2018. Data supporting this theory is discussed, in addition to immigration trends from this year and previous years.

Children are Dying at Alarming Rates in Foster Care, and Nobody is Bothering to Investigate

Ryan Grim and Aída Chávez, The Intercept (Oct 18, 2017)

An investigation by the bipartisan Senate Finance Committee indicates that children in the for-profit foster care system are dying at a disturbing rate and without proper investigation.