Articles

3/6/19, USCIS: Ombudsman Partners with USCIS to Inform Public on the Release of a Revised Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status

3/6/19, New York Times: Amid Halal Grocers and a ‘Bangladesh Avenue,’ a Polish Pastry Is a Beloved Tradition

HAMTRAMCK, Mich. — It was 5:45 a.m. and 10 degrees — before the sunrise, before the first call to prayer sounded from the city’s mosques — and already the Fat Tuesday line had spilled out the bakery’s doors, onto the street, past the pizzeria, around the corner.

The reward at the end of the frigid wait: a box of paczki (pronounced “PAWN-chkee”), the doughy Polish pastries filled with custard or fruit or, for the less tradition-bound, stuffed with Cocoa Puffs cereal.

3/7/19, UNHCR: Soap making offers fresh start to grieving Syrian refugee

3/6/19, CNN: Refugees and Americans find community — over a cup of coffee

3/6/19, New York Times: JPMorgan Chase Stops Funding Private Prison Companies, and Immigration Activists Applaud

Ms. Archila, one of several protesters arrested on charges of blocking the entrance to the bank’s headquarters in Manhattan in May 2017, said targeting the financial services industry was a new frontier in the campaign for immigrants’ rights.

“In some ways, the Trump era is one of fighting against incredible odds, to protect our communities, to protect ourselves, to protect each other,” she said.

3/6/19, UNHCR: Irish woman sets up community programme to help refugees

3/5/19, New York Times: Border Patrol Facilities Put Detainees With Medical Conditions at Risk

3/5/19, The Washington Times: Venezuela exodus undercuts Trump on immigration: ‘Nothing as permanent as a temporary refugee’

“TPS was designed for the exact situation that Venezuelans are facing today,” said Ali Noorani, executive director at the National Immigration Forum. “I’m not sure if it’s a legal question or an ideological question the administration is facing at this point.”

3/4/19, AP: Immigration documentary’s protagonist faces deportation

3/4/19, CNN: What happened to the migrant caravans?

3/4/19, CNS News: FY 2019 Refugee Admissions: Below-Average 9,305 in Total; 82.5% Christians, 14% Muslims

3/3/19, The Guardian: From child soldier to making music with Paul Kelly: Fablice Manirakiza’s remarkable journey

3/3/19, New York Times: ‘You Have to Pay With Your Body’: The Hidden Nightmare of Sexual Violence on the Border

3/1/19, Office of the Inspector General: Fraud Alert: DHS Telephone Numbers Used in Scam to Obtain Personally Identifiable Information and Extort Money from Victims

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is issuing this fraud alert to warn citizens of reports that DHS telephone numbers have been used recently as part of a telephone spoofing scam targeting individuals throughout the country. Spoofing is the deliberate falsifying of information transmitted to a caller ID display to disguise an identity.

3/1/19, ABC News: Judge orders Trump administration to process immigrant cases

2/26/19, NPR: Texas ‘Dragtavist’ Drag Queens Stage Border Wall Protest

In a public park, a performer who goes by Beatrix Lestrange did not have to struggle to catch the attention of protesters gathered for the No Border Wall Protest Drag Show. Lestrange, whose real name is Jose Colon-Uvalles, wore a multicolored dress, a red wig, black pumps and a choker with studs.

“Who’s ready to have a political time?” Lestrange yelled out. The audience, standing in a semicircle and dressed in similarly vivid outfits, cheered and applauded.

“We’ll try to bring joy, positivity, beauty, drag, culture to whatever this is,” Lestrange said, pointing to the section of the border fence directly behind her.

Publications

3/1/19, Refugees Deeply (Podcast): Deeply Talks: Refugee Children and Resilience

2/14/19, Refugees Deeply: Refugee Love Letters to Inanimate Objects Left Behind

These love letters were written by refugees stranded in the “hotspot” camp on the Greek island of Leros. They were an assignment developed by Maria Tetradi, language education director of the Hub, a refugee community space organized by Austrian charity Echo100Plus. The letters were originally published in the second issue of ZINE, a publication by and for refugees that is organized by editor and journalist Holly St. Lifer.

2/21/19, IRIN: Special Report: Venezuela: Millions at risk, at home and abroad – A collection of our recent reporting

2018: Sontag, K. Mobile Entrepreneurs: An Ethnographic Study of the Migration of the Highly Skilled. Verlag Barbara Budrich.

Migration, mobility, and globalization are transforming ways of working and living. Business activities, relationships and a sense of belonging are often not tied to any one place. This book explores biographies of highly mobile startup founders who often run startups that have been called “born global”. It describes how they move, how they orientate and perceive themselves, and how migration and mobility play a role beyond the physical act of ‘moving’. Presenting current ethnographic research, the book critically discusses approaches in migration and mobility studies and the research field of the “migration of the highly skilled”. The book is available open access at:

6/20/18, Refugees Deeply: Nothing About Us Without Us: Why Refugee Inclusion Is Long Overdue by Sanaa Mustafa

I was really invited to deliver a keynote address at an event on refugee inclusion… The master of ceremonies bellowed over the loudspeaker, “Please join me in welcoming a Syrian refugee to the stage.” I cringed. In a fleeting moment the event organizers had undermined the very project they had set out to address: empowering refugees. I had asked them to introduce me like they would anyone else, by my resume. By introducing me by my legal status, they had stripped me of my agency, further entrenching the narrative of dependent, passive refugees.” Sana Mustafa.