OGR Action Alert: Show your support for refugees! As part of the annual consultations process for refugee admissions, the administration is required by U.S. law to consult with Members of Congress. The consultations with leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committee offer an opportunity for Senators and Representatives to reflect their constituents’ support for welcoming refugees into their communities. In Fiscal Year 2020, the Trump Administration set a historically low ceiling of refugee admissions at 18,000. This substantial reduction in refugee admissions represents continued efforts to dismantle the historically bipartisan refugee resettlement program. Please let your members of Congress know you support welcoming refugees!
Articles
9/27/20, Guardian: ‘Catastrophe for human rights’ as Greece steps up refugee ‘pushbacks’
9/26/20, Guardian: Activists protest ban on distributing food to migrants in Calais
9/24/20, ABC News: Trump admin urged to accept refugees amid concerns it will indefinitely delay admissions
9/24/20, Immigration Impact: Proposed 15-Day Filing Rule for Asylum Seekers Is Designed to Be Impossible
9/24/20, Roll Call: Trump’s ‘good genes’ rhetoric illustrates why the fight for justice never ends
9/24/20, New York Times: Even When They Lost Their Jobs, Immigrants Sent Money Home
9/24/20, WBUR: ‘It’s Scarier Than Having A Surgery’: A Year Later, Uncertainty Around Medical Deferrals Remains
9/24/20, BuzzFeed News: Immigrant Women Detained By ICE Said A Gynecologist Performed Procedures Without Their Consent
9/24/20, Guardian: From diplomat to dinghy: why people are risking the Channel in small boats
9/23/20, RNS: Priest supports whistleblower allegations at ICE facility as Christian leaders weigh in
9/23/20, Washington Post: E.U. proposes immigration deal that would require countries to take a share of asylum seekers or assist in deportations
9/23/20, New Humanitarian: ‘No more Morias’: New EU migration policy met with scepticism
9/23/20, Des Moines Register: ‘Immigrants are welcome here:’ Demonstrators call on Iowa to end ICE detentions, repeal law targeting ‘sanctuary cities’
9/23/20, Roll Call: Senate GOP eases Wolf’s path to becoming Homeland Security secretary
9/23/20, Reuters: Young, undocumented, and getting out the vote
9/23/20, AZ Central: 124 immigrant children held in 3 Phoenix hotels under Trump policy, court records show
9/23/20, Guardian: Risking the Channel ‘death route’ to Britain – a photo essay
9/22/20, Reuters: ‘Unacceptable’ if Mexicans subjected to medical abuse in U.S. custody, minister says
9/22/20, Guardian: How rescuing drowning migrants became a crime
9/22/20, CBS News: Trump administration reimposes “public charge” immigration wealth test following court orders
9/22/20, Guardian: He fought wildfires while imprisoned. California reported him to Ice for deportation
9/22/20, Oprah Magazine: What It Was Like Registering to Vote for the First Time as a Latina Immigrant
9/21/20, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A week after warning, ICE detainee dies from COVID-19
9/21/20, Washington Post: Immigrant detainees get poor medical care, face retaliation for speaking out, according to Democrat-led report
9/20/20, Atlantic: Immigrants Don’t Just Change Voting Patterns
9/19/20, New Yorker: The Private Georgia Immigration-Detention Facility at the Center of a Whistle-Blower’s Complaint
Opinion
9/25/20, Denver Post: Guest commentary: Funding immigrant defense promotes justice and a strong legal system
9/25/20, Equal Times: It’s time for an alternative approach to migration and asylum policy in Europe
9/22/20, Salt Lake Tribune: Brian D. King: Latter-day Saints should stand with immigrants
9/22/20, New Humanitarian: Look back and learn: Notable humanitarians who took sides
Policy Resources
Comparative Migration Studies article: Social contact and encounter in asylum seeker reception: the Utrecht Refugee Launchpad
Working Papers series: Why Migrants Stay in Small and Mid-Sized Canadian Cities: Towards a New Analytical Framework Using a Life Course Approach
MPI Report: Driving Migrant Inclusion through Social Innovation: Lessons for Cities in a Pandemic
MPI Policy Brief: Educating English Learners during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Policy Ideas for States and School Districts
Multimedia
People’s Action podcast: To See Each Other
9/22/20, CBN News (video): Claims of Questionable Hysterectomies and COVID Practices at Detention Center Lead to Investigation
Educational Resources & Opportunities
2020 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Virtual Conference
The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) and the University of Notre Dame will hold the 2020 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference on Thursday, October 1 and Friday, October 2, 2020. Out of an abundance of caution for all who would like to participate, this year’s conference will take place virtually. This annual event is part of CMS’s Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative (CIII) which seeks to understand, expand and strengthen the work of Catholic institutions with immigrant communities.
Immigrant Learning Center webinar: Teaching the Refugee Experience: Welcome to the New World
Have you been looking for a new way to help your students understand the complex issues surrounding modern U.S. immigration? Graphic novels can be an engaging tool to capture students’ imaginations. The recently released graphic novel, Welcome to the New World, based on the Pulitzer-prize-winning editorial cartoon of the same name published in The New York Times and written by journalist Jake Halpern and illustrator Michael Sloan, presents the perfect opportunity to bring the refugee experience to life. This free webinar will guide participants through the graphic novel, The ILC’s nine-lesson mini-curriculum for grades seven through 11, the ADL’s discussion guide and various methods of telling immigrant and refugee stories in the classroom. Participants will also hear from and be able to pose questions to author Halpern. Wednesday, October 7, 2020, 5:00-6:00 PM EDT.
In the month of October, join Episcopal Migration Ministries, in partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) and Lutheran Family Services of the Rocky Mountains (LFSRM), for a three-part training series for congregations interested in supporting and walking alongside asylum seekers. The three 90-minute virtual events will provide advocacy updates, resources for group discernment, ministry models, and important considerations when engaging in ministry with asylum seekers. Participants may choose to attend one or more of the virtual events offered. Registration is required. The October 8 webinar will be available on-demand following the event; the latter two meetings will not be available on-demand. October 8, 20, and 27 at 4:00 – 5:30PM Eastern.
Balsillie School of International Affairs webinar: Rust & Reinvention: International Migration and Urban Change in the American Rust Belt
This talk examines this relationship from the perspective of cities in the “Rust Belt,” the former manufacturing heartland of the U.S. Increasingly, both immigrants and refugees are part of the comeback stories of Northeastern and Midwestern cities, from Buffalo to Dayton to Pittsburgh. This virtual event will be hosted on Zoom on October 22, 2020, 1:00 – 2:30 PM Eastern. The Zoom link will be sent to participants in the morning of October 22nd.