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EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) Several groups are calling on Joe Biden to invest more federal dollars to deal with the migrant surge on the southern border.

That money should be used to immediately hire more immigration judges and shore up border infrastructure. That includes expanding temporary holding facilities and child shelters, as well as modernizing border security through technology. That, in turn, will free border agents to deal with this or future challenges, participants in a Border Solutions Roundtable said this week.

The groups are also calling on Biden to involve the governments of Mexico and Northern Triangle countries of Central America in addressing internal crises that make so many people leave their homes and seek and end to persecution or a better way of life in the United States.

I really think solutions have to begin south of the border, said Danilo Zak, senior policy and advocacy associate at the National Immigration Forum. That [] really represents the only path toward an ideal scenario where children, families and other migrants are safe and secure in their own country (with) no need to flee or migrate irregularly in the first place.

Analysts and advocates say the U.S. should help Central American nations address the root causes of migration like insecurity and poverty and provide a reliable structure for people there to apply for asylum remotely, without putting their lives and those of their children in jeopardy by making a dangerous trip through Mexico.

We should do more to combat cartels and smugglers. Part of that is engaging in a more effective messaging campaign to dispel some of the fiction sold by these cartels to desperate migrants, Zak said. And thats not just dont come, but to inform them about asylum laws and the immigration system to dispel misinformation by the smugglers.

But while that happens, the Biden administration must make immediate changes to the way it deals with the thousands of family units and single adults that are showing up at the border, they say.

The problem with the border right now is not that so many people want to come here, but solely that people are coming illegally and when they do come Border Patrol treats them inhumanely by caging them or dumping them in destitute and dangerous cities in Mexico, said David J. Bier, senior policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based public policy research organization.

Bier suggests the federal government apply the same standard to would-be refugees today as it did to Cuban emigres who showed up to ports of entry prior to 2017.

The government should grant asylum immediately at the border to as many applicants as possible. It should grant the rest parole status and admit them to pursue their applications, Bier said. This would end the illegality and inhumane treatment. Perhaps more people would come but if they crossed legally this wouldnt be a problem any more than the millions of legal crossers that we (process) each week.

Bier says refugee admission policies are behind the steep rise in unaccompanied minors coming across the border.

We will accept 100 percent of them but only if they cross illegally. If they seek asylum at ports of entry, nearly all will be refused entry. This approach means that nearly all kids are being forced into the hands of smugglers, he says. If they are with their parents, in many cases theyre expelled to Mexico. So, many parents are sending their kids alone and trying to sneak in behind them, leading to repeated attempts over and over by parents to reunite with their kids.

The migrants wouldnt have to resort to smugglers if, for instance, theyre given Temporary Protected Status on account of hurricanes that struck the Northern Triangle late last year and devastated communities and farms.

And Biden should boost the H2-B visa cap for temporary workers, he said, because despite the pandemic millions of job openings exist in certain industries.

Monica Weisberg-Stewart, chair of the Texas Border Coalition, said border security issues must also be addressed or else the Mexican drug cartels will continue to exploit women and children, smuggle drugs and inflict pain on our American way of life.

She said immigration reform, better equipped and staffed ports of entry and new asylum laws are a must.

Asylum laws need to be updated. The children traveling alone needs to be addressed. We believe keeping Title 42 on the border is essential given what is happening at the border currently, she said. Title 42 is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order allowing federal officials to immediately expel unauthorized migrants to prevent cross-border spread of COVID-19.

More immigration judges are needed to deal with the surge and Biden should engage border leaders and residents before making decisions that affect them, she said.

We are right here on the border. Our mayors are dealing with these issues every day, Weisberg-Stewart said.

She added border agents need to be allowed to do their jobs because theres a lot of mixed messages.

Visit theBorderReport.com homepagefor the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the United States-Mexico border.

Excerpt from:
Groups urge Biden to hire more immigration judges and fight drug cartels - WNCT

National Review

Senator Mike Braun (R., Ind.) on Saturday said a Biden official asked a group of Republican senators who visited the southern border to delete photos they had taken of the overcrowded conditions at a migrant processing and holding center they toured one day earlier in Donna, Texas. There was one of Bidens representatives. I felt sorry for the lady because she actually talked to me about deleting a picture, but by the time she got to me, all those other pictures were taken, and that shows you the hypocrisy, Braun told the Washington Examiner. None of us would have gone down there if we were going to be muzzled, Braun said, adding that Border Patrol instructed them not to take photos, though they were telling us that because they had to. Braun visited the facility, which is at 700 percent capacity, with a group of 18 other Republican lawmakers. Photos reveal children sleeping on the ground on mats and migrants crowded into enclosed pods. The Indiana Republican told the paper that the group ran into so-called coyotes, who guide migrants across the border for money, during a stop at the edge of the Rio Grande with border agents. All of a sudden to hear from the other side of the river taunting from the smugglers and coyotes, most of it in Spanish, telling the border guards that whatever you do, were coming, Braun said. That kind of hit home in such an anecdotal way because it is one story that kind of is a metaphor for whats happening all up and down the border. After the visit, Braun wrote a letter to the president urging him to visit the border himself. The crisis surrounding this surge makes it a moral imperative for you to see firsthand what is happeningand not the sanitized version of the border tour taken by some of my congressional colleagues, Braun wrote. Having personally gone this week, I can testify to this being an inhumane, unsustainable and dangerous situation. The lawmakers visit comes amid a worsening crisis at the border as officials struggle to keep up with an influx of migrants especially unaccompanied minors at the border. As of Thursday, there were more than 18,000 unaccompanied minors in Border Protection and Health and Human Services custody. The increase has caused delays at processing centers that are required, by law, to transfer children to HHS shelters in under 72 hours.

Continue reading here:
Immigration Reform - Crisis at the southern border - Yahoo News

The number of people who have been apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border has trended upward since October, and the Biden administration is struggling with how to address the rapid influx of undocumented immigrants. How can robust immigration reform move forward?

Join The Texas Tribune at noon Central on March 31 for an interview with U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, and McAllen Mayor Jim Darling. Texas Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey will moderate.

Theyll discuss the increase in migrant apprehensions, cramped conditions at Border Patrol facilities and what this all means for Texans.

Register for the conversation here

Escobar, D-El Paso, has represented Texas 16th Congressional District since 2019. She sits on the House Judiciary, Armed Services and Ethics committees and is vice chair of the Democratic Womens Caucus. Escobar is also co-chair of the Womens Working Group on Immigration. Previously, she served as El Paso County judge and as county commissioner.

Darling has served as mayor of McAllen since 2013. Previously, he spent 28 years as a city attorney with the city of McAllen and other governmental entities and as a city commissioner for six years. Darling is also the chair of the Lower Rio Grande River Water Authority, Hidalgo-McAllen International Bridge Board and Anzalduas International Bridge Board.

This conversation will be livestreamed starting at noon Central on Wednesday, March 31 here and on our social media channels.

Tribune events are also supported through contributions from our founding investors and members. Though donors and corporate sponsors underwrite Texas Tribune events, they play no role in determining the content, panelists or line of questioning.

Originally posted here:
Veronica Escobar and Jim Darling on the state of the border - The Texas Tribune

Immigration-rights activists held a car rally outside of Rep. Young Kims (R-Fullerton) office on Wednesday as part of a national effort to advocate for legal status for 11 million immigrants.

The event was part of Relay Across America, which was launched by immigrant-rights groups CHIRLA and FIRM Action Network.

The effort was aimed at drawing attention and support for the U.S. Citizenship Act, an immigration reform bill that President Joe Biden sent to Congress in late January. The bill would provide a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants who lack legal status in the country, including people who are temporarily protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

About 20 cars drove by Kims office in Placentia in the early afternoon. The caravan was followed by a short press conference.

Cars with immigration reform advocates line up during a rally in front of Rep. Young Kims office in Placentia on Wednesday, March 24.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

The U.S. Citizenship Act is important to me because Ive made a promise to my parents, said Karen Osorio, a DACA recipient with CHIRLA. We shouldnt conform to DACA, we need an immigration reform for all 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S.

I am a mother to a 3-year-old, Sophia. And Ive made a promise to her. I cant imagine being deported and separated from her. I am fighting for her. We demand Representative Young Kim to stand with immigrants and support the U.S. Citizenship Act.

As they spoke, activists honked their horns in support.

At one point, a man who would not identify himself got into a screaming argument with the activists.

Kims spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment regarding the rally.

During a phone interview prior to the rally, Janeth Bucio, Orange County regional organizer for CHIRLA, said that events will be held in other states, but the group has particularly focused on California because of the undocumented population.

David Jimes, with CLUE, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, holds a sign during a press conference in front of Rep. Young Kims office in Placentia on Wednesday, March 24.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Bucio said they chose to bring the rally to Kims office to let her know that shes in a congressional district that has a very significant amount of undocumented constituents.

The House approved two immigration reform bills last week that Kim voted against.

Young Kim hasnt really done anything so far to let us know that she supports the immigrant community, Bucio said.

Bucio said CHIRLA also partnered with St. Philip Benizi Church in Fullerton, the LGBTQ Orange County center and OCCCO for the event.

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Activists hold car rally for immigration reform in front of Rep. Young Kim's office - Los Angeles Times

The United States could eventually grant citizenship to roughly 2.5 million undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.

The American Dream and Promise Act of 2021, which passed in the Democrat-dominated House of Representatives on March 18, would give a group known as the Dreamers permanent resident status for 10 years. They could then apply to be naturalized as U.S. citizens.

Only nine House Republicans voted for the bill, so in its current form it is unlikely to pass the Senate, which is split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. For over a decade, all congressional efforts to protect Dreamers have died in the Senate.

In 2012, President Barack Obama bypassed Congress with an executive order to help this group of immigrants. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, granted the temporary right to live, study and work to about 800,000 undocumented immigrants age 30 or younger who had come to the U.S. before age 16.

President Donald Trump rescinded DACA in fall 2017, asking Congress to resolve the Dreamers legal limbo by March 2018. Congress hasnt passed any legislation to resolve Dreamers status; the American Dream and Promise Act is an effort to attempt that.

Heres some key background and expert analysis on the Dreamers and DACA as the debate advances to the Senate.

Researchers who evaluated DACA found the program benefited both Dreamers and the United States.

Wayne Cornelius, a professor emeritus of U.S.-Mexican relations at the University of California, San Diego, led a research team that interviewed dozens of DACA recipients in 2014. He found that work permits enabled them to get higher-paying jobs.

This made college more affordable and increased their tax contributions. DACA [also encouraged] them to invest more in their education because they knew legal employment would be available when they completed their degree, Cornelius wrote in 2017.

A survey conducted earlier that year of some 3,000 DACA recipients found that 97% were currently employed or enrolled in school, and many had started their own businesses.

But DACA had significant limitations, according to Cornelius. Because their work authorization had to be renewed every two years, for example, some employers were reluctant to hire Dreamers.

Still, research found, DACA enabled recipients to further their education and obtain jobs and health insurance, wrote migration specialists Elizabeth Aranda and Elizabeth Vaquera in September 2017.

The program gave the Dreamers peace of mind something that, until then, was unfamiliar to them.

Nearly 80% of DACA recipients came from Mexico. So when the Trump administration in September 2017 set DACA protections to expire within six months, the decision affected Mexico, too.

Ending DACA exposes 618,342 undocumented young Mexicans to deportation, wrote political scientist Luis Gmez Romero.

Gmez Romero said the DACA decision could be read as a power play in Trumps ongoing battle with the government of Mexico over its refusal to pay for a border wall.

By early 2018, with DACA soon to expire, Congress was in a scramble for a solution, according to Kevin Johnson, a dean and professor of Chicana/o studies at the University of California, Davis. That month, a congressional showdown over the Dreamers closed the federal government for 69 hours.

While some conservatives have balked at the idea of giving amnesty to any lawbreakers, he wrote, some progressives found DACA too narrow.

According to the Migration Policy Initiative, DACA excluded about 1 million unauthorized immigrants who met most criteria for DACA but had not completed their education, had committed a crime or feared applying to DACA because of worry their undocumented parents could be deported.

Trump reentered the fray in January 2018 with a proposed path to legalization for 1.8 million Dreamers. The trade-off for siding with Democrats: Congress had to fund his U.S.-Mexico border wall.

That proposal, too, failed.

The Dreamers plight has forced the Supreme Court to get involved on several occasions.

In 2017 the court issued an injunction on Trumps termination of the program, allowing DACA recipients to renew their protected status for another two-year period while other lawsuits proceeded. In June 2020, the court ruled the Trump administration could not actually dismantle DACA because it had not provided adequate justification for doing so.

That gave the Dreamers another respite, but DACA remained in danger because the 2020 ruling was not about whether the president of the United States has the authority to rescind DACA, wrote political scientist Morgan Marietta of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. All of the parties involved agreed that he does.

The case merely confirmed that a president cannot lie about the rationale underlying his executive orders.

The justices narrow decision left open the possibility that the administration could try to rescind DACA at a later date, wrote Marietta.

Joe Bidens election forestalled that. His administration is pushing Congress to undertake comprehensive immigration reform that would create pathways to citizenship not only for the Dreamers but also for other undocumented immigrants, including farmworkers.

Any immigration overhaul must tackle a host of new challenges created over the past four years, according to Miranda Cady Hallett, a Central America immigration expert at the University of Dayton.

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Trump made over 400 changes to immigration policy, by Halletts tally, including barring immigrants from several Muslim-majority countries and separating families at the border.

While many presidents have deported large numbers of undocumented immigrants, Trumps immigration enforcement was more random and punitive, writes Hallett. It vastly increas[ed] criminal prosecutions for immigration-related offenses and remov[ed] people who have been in the U.S. longer.

That includes the Dreamers.

After a decade of legal battles and political threats, the Dreamers arent so young anymore. Many in the original group of 800,000 are pushing 40.

Read more here:
Citizenship for the 'Dreamers'? 6 essential reads on DACA and immigration reform - The Conversation US