World Refugee Day is June 20th. Visit Episcopal Migration Ministries’ website for a message from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and to see how you can participate in World Refugee Day.
Articles
6/12/19, RCUSA: Refugee Council USA Releases Comprehensive Report On The Harmful Impact Of Drastic Refugee Resettlement Cuts
6/12/19, Time: President Trump Wants to Dramatically Limit People Seeking Asylum in the U.S.
6/12/19, Reuters: Exclusive: Asylum seekers returned to Mexico rarely win bids to wait in U.S.
6/11/19, Portland Press Herald: Portland Expo to serve as emergency shelter as influx of asylum seekers creates ‘a very critical situation’
“The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram reported in December about the increasing numbers of families from sub-Saharan Africa making the long and dangerous journey through Central America and Mexico to the southern U.S. border, where they ask for asylum. Many of the migrants ask to be sent to Portland, Maine, because of the support the city provides and because of the immigrant community that has taken root here.”
See Allison Duvall’s post in the Members’ Forum for more information about the situation in Maine and how you can help.
6/11/19, New York Times: An Arizona Teacher Helped Migrants. Jurors Couldn’t Decide if It Was a Crime.
6/11/19, Vox: Should tech companies build tools for US immigration enforcement agencies?
6/11/19, Time: Trump Administration to Hold Migrant Children at Base That Served as WWII Japanese Internment Camp
6/10/19, New York Times: Border Agency’s Images of Travelers Stolen in Hack
6/10/19, The Christian Post: How churches are helping asylum seekers on both sides of the southern border
6/10/19, New York Times: Migrants in Custody at Hospitals Are Treated Like Felons, Doctors Say
“Doctors typically do not know what rights they might have to challenge these practices. At Banner and several other hospital systems across the country, they have called on administrators to oppose and change security measures that they view as endangering health.
In many cases, doctors say, their patients are newly arrived asylum seekers, like the Guatemalan woman in Tucson, who had fled violent abuse from her baby’s father back home. Such patients, who are in custody only because of their imm
igration status, are often subjected to security measures meant for prisoners charged with serious crimes.”
6/9/10, ABC News: California lawmakers agree to health benefits for immigrants
6/8/19, The Guardian: ‘We should be ashamed’: bearing witness to migrant deaths at sea
6/7/19, The New Humanitarian: The creeping criminalisation of humanitarian aid
6/7/19, The Guardian: Venezuela’s ‘staggering’ exodus reaches 4 million, UN refugee agency says
6/7/19, CNN: What’s behind the spike in immigrants at the border
6/6/19, Houston Chronicle: Houston Symphony’s Resilient Sounds concert finds harmony through musicians paired with refugees
“When Basulto asked Marjorie how she wanted him to tell her story, she told him, “I want to hope.”
“That for me was really one of the most outstanding parts,” he says. “I’m writing a piece of music inspired by this story that is really cruel and emotional and tragic, but at the same time (this) person wants to keep believing in the future.
“I think that if I had to endure half of what she endured, I would be dead by this time, so I want to honor that,” he continues. “The music is basically describing her path.””
6/6/19, Enid News & Eagle: With Dreamers’ status still in question, faith leaders call for Congressional action
6/6/19, ELCA: ELCA presiding bishop, faith leaders issue statement on children in detention
Opinion
6/9/19, New York Times Editorial Board: When Will Congress Get Serious About the Suffering at the Border?
6/8/19, New York Times: This Teenager Knows a Secret to Slowing Guatemalan Migration
Publications
6/13/19, Migration Policy Institute: Spotlight: Refugees and Asylees in the United States
Using the most recent data available, including refugee arrival figures from the State Department and asylum data from the Department of Homeland Security’s 2017 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, this Spotlight examines characteristics of the U.S. refugee and asylee populations, including top countries of origin and top states for resettled refugees. It also provides the numbers of refugees and asylees who have become lawful permanent residents (LPRs), which refugees (but not asylees) are required to do within a year of arrival.
June 2019, Migration Policy Institute: Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: From Bright Spots to System Change