Articles
9/12/19, New York Times: ‘This Takes Away All Hope’: Rule Bars Most Applicants for Asylum in U.S.
9/12/19, NBC News: DACA recipients in 12 states pay over $50 million in taxes, report says
9/11/19, Texas Observer: Journalists Blocked from Attending Secretive Immigration Tent Courts
9/11/19, New York Times: Supreme Court Says Trump Can Bar Asylum Seekers While Legal Fight Continues
“Under the policy, which was announced July 15, only immigrants who have been denied asylum in another country or who have been victims of “severe” human trafficking are permitted to apply in the United States. “The rule thus screens out asylum seekers who declined to request protection at the first opportunity,” Mr. Francisco wrote.
Under the rules, Hondurans and Salvadorans must seek and be denied asylum in Guatemala or Mexico before they can apply in the United States. Guatemalans must seek and be denied asylum in Mexico.”
9/11/19, Vox: The Supreme Court just let Trump close the Mexican border to nearly all migrants seeking asylum
9/11/19, New York Times: Trump’s Refugee Cuts Threaten Deep Consequences at Home and Abroad
9/11/19, Immigration Impact: USCIS Wants to Make it Harder for Asylum Seekers to Get Work Permit
9/11/19, The Hill: Disability rights groups join challenge to ‘public charge’ rule
9/10/19, CNN: Trump administration won’t grant temporary protected status to Bahamians
9/10/19, NBC News: Rollout of ‘soul crushing’ Trump immigration policy has ‘broken the courts’
9/10/19, Texas Tribune: Most migrants cross at the Texas border. Here’s how the flow of people intersects with Trump’s policies.
9/10/19, New York Times: Turkey’s Radical Plan: Send a Million Refugees Back to Syria
9/10/19, Vox: Senate Democrats are trying to end Trump’s national emergency at the border, again
9/9/19, Immigration Impact: Chaos and Dysfunction at the Border: The Remain in Mexico Program Firsthand
9/9/19, LA Times: Tent courthouses for migrants to open along Texas border, as questions abound
“While federal immigration courts are public, the tent courts are unique because they were built on Homeland Security land. Homeland Security facilities generally are not open to the public beyond occasional press tours, meaning the public and the media could potentially be prevented from observing the hearings.
Access became a concern this summer after migrant advocates and the Office of the Inspector General reported squalid conditions at migrant holding areas in several South Texas Border Patrol stations. Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials did not respond to requests from The Times to visit the tents or provide more information about how they will operate.”
9/8/19, New York Times: Europe Keeps Asylum Seekers at a Distance, This Time in Rwanda
9/6/19, CNN: Homeland Security to collect social media usernames on immigration and visitor applications
9/6/19, The Guardian: Manus and Nauru refugees in Australia on medical grounds can apply for US move
9/6/19, New York Times: What Is the Refugee Program and Why Does the Trump Administration Want to Make Cuts?
9/6/19, The Atlantic: The Capricious Use of Solitary Confinement Against Detained Immigrants
Opinion
9/12/19, San Francisco Examiner: The suffering of migrant children and families in detention demands action
9/12/19, Dallas Morning News: Prosecuting asylum-seekers as criminals isn’t working
9/9/19, South Florida Sun Sentinel: Trump may open door to Venezuelans to stay in U.S. under TPS program, but wrongly shuts out others from troubled countries
9/8/19, Washington Post: Cutting refugee admissions will have severe consequences for the U.S. military
9/6/19, LA Times: Editorial: The common thread through all the Trump administration’s immigration policies is cruelty
Publications
9/6/19, RCUSA: State and Local Support for Refugee Resettlement–Interactive Map
In 2019, elected officials, congregations, and business leaders across the country have been showing their support for refugee resettlement by writing letters to the administration. Explore the map to learn more, and find full copies of the sent letters by following the links on the page.
8/30/19, UNHCR: 10 Facts About Refugees (infographic)
8/14/19, Journal on Migration and Human Security: An Overview and Critique of US Immigration and Asylum Policies in the Trump Era
This article provides an overview and critique of US immigration and asylum policies from the perspective of the author’s 46 years as a public servant. The article offers a taxonomy of the US immigration system by positing different categories of membership: full members of the “club” (US citizens), associate members (lawful permanent residents, refugees, and “asylees”), friends (nonimmigrants and holders of temporary status), and persons outside the club (the undocumented). It describes the legal framework that applies to these distinct populations and recent developments in federal law and policy that relate to them. It also identifies a series of cross-cutting issues that affect these populations, including immigrant detention, immigration court backlogs, state and local immigration policies, and constitutional rights that extend to noncitizens. It ends with a series of recommendations for reform of the US asylum system, and a short conclusion.