Asylum Limits at US-Mexico Border Expected to End May 23, Sources Say
The Biden administration is expected by May 23 to end the asylum limits that were put in place at the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to people familiar with the matter. The decision, not yet final, would halt use of public health powers to absolve the United States of obligations under American law and international treaty to provide haven to people fleeing persecution, and would apply to all asylum-seekers. Ending the limitations in May would allow for time to prepare at the border, the people said. But the delay runs against the wishes of top Democrats and others who say COVID-19 has long been used as an excuse for the U.S. to get out of asylum obligations. It also raises the possibility that more asylum-seeking migrants will come to the border at a time when flows are already high. The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that about 7,100 migrants were coming daily, compared with an average of about 5,900 a day in February, and are on pace to match or exceed highs from 2021, 2019 and other peak periods. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended its asylum-blocking powers for two months in …
In Context: US Pledges to Admit up to 100,000 Ukrainians
If the United States is to even partially fulfill President Joe Biden’s pledge to admit up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, it will have to overcome massive backlogs in a system that managed to admit only 6,494 refugees in the first five months of this fiscal year. The applicants, meanwhile, are likely to find themselves confronting a bewildering array of U.S. immigration laws and policies, many of which were put in place to manage – and in some cases restrict – a flood of would-be refugees from Latin America. Biden commented on the flows of refugees in his March 26 remarks in Warsaw, Poland, where he said Americans should do “our part” to accommodate some of the 3.8 million refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of their country, about half of whom are now in Poland. “The fact that you have so many, so many Ukrainians seeking refuge in the, in this country of Poland, we understand that because we have, in our southern border, thousands of people a day — literally, not figuratively — trying to get into the United States,” he said. The White House has released few details about its plans for the Ukrainian refugees, but Biden officials said there …
US Preps for Possible Spike in Border Crossings When COVID Curbs Lifted
U.S. officials are preparing for the possibility of thousands of migrants per day attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization, a pace that could shatter last year’s record-breaking levels, as the Biden administration weighs lifting a COVID-era order currently blocking most asylum-seekers. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is readying for three scenarios: as many as 18,000 migrants per day in the coming weeks, or a smaller increase to 12,000 arrivals per day or arrivals similar to current levels, an agency official said during a Tuesday call with reporters, requesting anonymity to discuss internal matters. The official did not provide the current number of migrant encounters at the border each day. As of mid-March, around 5,000 migrants were arriving a day on average, two separate U.S. government sources told Reuters at the time. Another DHS official on the same call said it remained unclear whether lifting the COVID-era order would increase migration, but preparations were underway anyway. Title 42 deadline U.S. health officials face a deadline this week to renew, modify or terminate the so-called Title 42 COVID-19 health order. The order was implemented in March 2020 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during …
Ukrainian Students Overseas Fret About Relatives, the Future
At a boarding school in the Rocky Mountains, a group of Eastern European teenagers made crepes to raise money for the millions of people whose lives have been uprooted by Russia’s war on Ukraine. The students, studying at a pine-dotted campus in northern New Mexico, worry from a world away about their relatives in the war-torn region. Masha Novikova, a 19-year-old student from central Ukraine, spent the night before on the phone with NGOs trying to get her mother and three younger siblings to Germany, and arguing with her mother about which would be more dangerous: staying put or hitting the road. Novikova said she was dealing with a lot of tasks “teenagers do not usually face,” as she grapples with the reality that her family’s home might not exist in the way it once did. “It ruins you from the inside,” she said. At the United World College campus, teenagers from 95 countries study as part of a network of schools dedicated to fostering understanding between cultures. The Russian-speaking students, including some from overseas as well as the sons and daughters of immigrants, have been united in horror over the invasion of Ukraine. On a recent Saturday, a half-dozen …
Immigration Experts Contrast US Support for Ukrainian, Afghan Refugees
More than 3.7 million people have fled Ukraine in the month since Russia’s invasion began. United Nations officials said this kind of exodus has not been seen since World War II. And just as uncommon, some immigration attorneys say, is the quick response from countries welcoming refugees. Ukrainian refugees are crossing mainly into Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. Currently, Poland has taken the majority of refugees. Ukrainians also are trying to reunite with family members in the United States and have even arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border. Given the growing pressure on the Biden administration to find direct paths for displaced Ukrainians to come to the United States, the White House announced Thursday it would welcome as many as 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing the eastern European nation. But is the U.S. accepting Ukrainian refugees differently from Afghan refugees, who similarly fled war in large numbers? “Absolutely,” said Ally Bolour, an immigration lawyer in California, adding, “I really need to preface by saying that it’s amazing that the U.S. is going to let in supposedly 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.” But, Bolour said, there is a disparity between the ways the U.S. has welcomed Afghans and Ukrainians, starting with the Temporary …
ICE to Stop Using Alabama Jail, Limit Use of 3 Others
Federal immigration authorities announced Friday that they would stop housing detainees at an Alabama jail with a history of problems and would limit the use of three other detention centers. The decisions reinforced a commitment by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to review detention facilities to determine whether they are humane, meet applicable standards and are a responsible use of funding, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement news release. ICE said it would stop using the Etowah County Jail in Gadsden, Alabama, as soon as possible, taking into account a 30-day notification requirement. The jail has “a long history of serious deficiencies,” the release said. Advocates who have long sought the end of ICE detention at the Etowah County Jail hailed the news as a victory, but they urged federal authorities not to just transfer people from one facility to another. “The Etowah County Detention Center exemplifies everything that is wrong with immigration detention and why the detention system must be abolished,” Detention Watch Network advocacy director Setareh Ghandehari said in a news release. “The administration can and must do more to completely phase out the use of immigration detention by continuing to terminate contracts, shut down additional …
Did Taliban Infiltrate Afghan Evacuees to the US?
Among thousands of Afghans flown to the United States in the chaotic evacuation from Kabul last August, some 50 have been flagged for “potentially significant security concerns.” U.S. officials have not ruled out the possibility that they could include members of the Taliban that now rules Afghanistan. A report last month by the Department of Defense’s inspector general concluded that “U.S. agencies did not use all available data when vetting Afghan evacuees” and that “the United States faces potential security risks” if certain Afghans “are allowed to stay in the country.” The report has alarmed lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Earlier this month, Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, noted that fulfilling America’s obligation to Afghans “does not require compromising a thorough, comprehensive vetting process for those Afghans who managed to get on airplanes before the last U.S. aircraft left the runway [in Kabul].” Collins spoke at a hearing in which she pressed Defense Intelligence Director Scott Berrier on the whereabouts of “at least 50 individuals with security concerns.” Berrier responded that he did not know but would “get back to” the senator. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, did not …
Spanish-Language Reporter Facing Deportation Gets Asylum
A Spanish-language reporter who had been facing deportation since his arrest while covering an immigration protest in Tennessee has been granted asylum in the U.S., his lawyers said Thursday. In a phone conversation with The Associated Press, Manuel Duran said an immigration court in Memphis granted him asylum, four years after he was arrested while doing his job for a Spanish language news outlet. “I’m very happy for this victory after so much time fighting for this case to be resolved. I’m very emotional,” Duran, 46, said in Spanish. “My family is celebrating with me. We didn’t think it would happen because it was a difficult case.” A native of El Salvador, Manuel Duran had fought for asylum since he was arrested while covering a rally protesting immigration policies in Memphis on April 3, 2018. Protesters had blocked a street in front a downtown courthouse to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination on April 4. Protest-related charges were subsequently dropped, but Duran was picked up by immigration agents after he was released from jail and detained. Memphis police denied that Duran was targeted because of coverage that had been critical of law enforcement. Duran …
New Rules Aim to Decide US Asylum Cases in Months, Not Years
The Biden administration on Thursday unveiled new procedures to handle asylum claims at the U.S. southern border, hoping to decide cases in months instead of years. The rules empower asylum officers to grant or deny claims, an authority that has been limited to immigration judges for people arriving at the border with Mexico. Until now, asylum officers have only done initial screenings for asylum and other forms of humanitarian relief for border arrivals. The change could have far-reaching impact, but administration officials said they will start slowly and without additional resources. It will take effect 60 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register, which will occur next week. The administration estimated last year that it would need to hire 800 more employees for asylum officers to handle about 75,000 cases a year. Without more money and new positions, it is unclear how much impact the move will have at first. The United States has been the world’s most popular destination for asylum-seekers since 2017, according to the U.N. refugee agency, putting enormous strain on immigration courts. The court backlog has soared to nearly 1.7 million cases. “The current system for handling asylum claims at our borders has …
US Special Immigration Program Refers More Than 5,000 Afghan Refugees to Canada
The U.S. State Department has referred more than 5,000 Afghan refugees who were seeking admission to the United States to a parallel program in Canada, where waiting times for permanent residence are shorter. State Department officials confirmed to VOA those referred to the special immigration program are not simultaneously going through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). “We are working with Canada to refer up to 5,000 refugees to Canada, independent of our ongoing efforts for U.S. resettlement,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA. On the Canadian side, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said Afghan refugees referred by the U.S. are coming to Canada from third countries, where they have been located since they fled Afghanistan. Masuma Haidari, 37 and a software engineer in Afghanistan, is one of the people benefiting from the partnership between the two countries. She was able to leave Afghanistan in August 2021 and lived in North Macedonia for more than six months. Private organizations helped her leave Afghanistan and find her way through the program that led her to Canada. Haidari told VOA she was about to get the keys to her first apartment in Calgary, Canada. “It’s not bad,” Haidari said. “The government …
Campus Ministries Soothe, Rally Students Shaken Over Ukraine
Entering Yale University’s St. Thomas More Catholic Chapel, Oksana Goroshchuk spotted sunflowers adorning a candlelit altar and thought of the fields full of her country’s national blossom near her grandmother’s home in Ukraine. A mezzo-soprano launched into a traditional folk tune that Goroshchuk used to sing growing up, and the postdoctoral medical researcher broke down in tears of grief — and gratitude for the university community’s solidarity with her homeland. “It’s people who support us and people who love us,” said Goroshchuk, 32, who was born in Kyiv and whose parents recently escaped the war-torn country. Across the United States, campus ministries of different denominations are working to bring comfort to college students who, after two years of pandemic disruption and isolation, have been plunged deeper into feelings of crisis and helplessness by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. From Ivy League schools to public institutions to Catholic universities, they’re holding prayer vigils, organizing medical supply drives and staging emotional performances of sacred music. Chaplains say religious and nonreligious students alike, especially those with loved ones in war zones, urgently need a sense of community to help them cope. “One of the best things we do in campus ministry is we foster …
California Lawmakers Vote to Increase UC Berkeley Enrollment
The California Legislature voted unanimously Monday to overturn a recent court ruling that would have forced one of the nation’s most prestigious universities to turn away thousands of students from its incoming freshman class. If signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the bill will ensure that about 2,600 freshmen admissions slots for this that had been eliminated by a judge will be restored for the University of California, Berkeley. Just two weeks ago, the state Supreme Court ordered the school — one of nation’s the top public universities — to reduce its enrollment because it said the college had failed to comply with a state law that requires them to consider how adding more students would affect the environment. While the state law in question is designed to protect the environment, it has often been used by neighborhood groups to block unwanted development. In this case, the nonprofit group Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods had sued the university, arguing that adding more students would only worsen the housing shortage and increase rents for everyone in the San Francisco Bay Area city. The court agreed with the neighborhood group and ordered the university to stop construction of more housing and classroom space …
Deportation Agents Use Smartphone App to Monitor Immigrants
U.S. authorities have broadly expanded the use of a smartphone app during the coronavirus pandemic to ensure immigrants released from detention will attend deportation hearings, a requirement that advocates say violates their privacy and makes them feel they’re not free. More than 125,000 people — many of them stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border — are now compelled to install the app known as SmartLink on their phones, up from about 5,000 less than three years ago. It allows officials to easily check on them by requiring the immigrants to send a selfie or make or receive a phone call when asked. Although the technology is less cumbersome than an ankle monitor, advocates say tethering immigrants to the app is unfair considering many have paid bond to get out of U.S. detention facilities while their cases churn through the country’s backlogged immigration courts. Immigration proceedings are administrative, not criminal, and the overwhelming majority of people with cases before the courts aren’t detained. Advocates said they’re concerned about how the U.S. government might use data culled from the app on immigrants’ whereabouts and contacts to round up and arrest others on immigration violations. “It’s kind of been shocking how just in a …
Boat Carrying Haitian Migrants Grounds Off the Florida Keys
A wooden boat carrying hundreds of Haitian migrants in a suspected human smuggling operation ran aground in shallow water in the Florida Keys, where 163 people swam ashore and many needed medical attention, federal authorities said. The boat teeming with people listed sharply to its side near Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, not far from where another boat carrying 176 Haitians was stopped in January. Many of the migrants were in need of medical attention, according to a tweet sent by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chief Agent Walter N. Slosar on Sunday night. The U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies rushed to help the group of migrants, which included women and children. “Multiple agencies responded quickly & worked closely to protect a lot of lives today.” U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jason Neiman tweeted on Sunday night. It was not immediately known how many people were taken to hospitals. Coast Guard images at the scene showed a large group of Haitians draped in towels on the shore. Border Patrol officials said human smuggling is suspected and an investigation is continuing. …
US Court Partly Upholds Fast-Track Expulsion of Migrants
A federal court ruled Friday that the U.S. can continue to expel certain migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border unless they would be returned to a country where they might face persecution or torture. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit allows a rule, known as Title 42, implemented during the Trump administration at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, to largely stay in effect. The case was brought by a group of migrants who were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union. The court ruled the migrants, who entered the United States without authorization, “have no right to be in the United States” and that the government “can immediately expel them.” However, they cannot be expelled to a country where their “life or freedom would be threatened” – or because of “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion” – or to a country where they will likely be tortured. Kept as health measure Amid continuing chaos along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Biden administration has opted to retain the policy, which was originally put forth as a public health measure. Migrants are fast-tracked for …
Advocates Urge Protected Status for Ukrainians in US
As Russian troops march through Ukraine, Ukrainians in the U.S. are anxious about their future and that of their homeland. Roman Korol, a graduate student at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, is concerned for his family’s safety here in the U.S. when his visa expires and his extended family in Ukraine. “They’re all in Ukraine. They’re all under fire. They’re all civilians. But that doesn’t stop me from worrying about them every day, every second of this conflict. I’m stressed. I’m checking the news all the time and trying to find ways I can help from abroad,” he told VOA. Korol is one of about 105,000 Ukrainians in the U.S. under a noncitizen status, which includes visa holders, undocumented immigrants and DACA recipients. His nonimmigrant student visa allows him to live in the United States while studying at a U.S. institution. “As soon as I’m done [with] my studies, as soon as I graduate, and then become a doctor of philosophy, I have to leave the U.S. within, I believe, it’s two or three months. … I was thinking of coming back there after I finished my degree. But at the moment, the situation is so severe that, you …
Fate of Ukrainian Visa Holders in US Is Uncertain
While the U.S. joins its allies in sanctioning top Russian officials for the war in Ukraine, humanitarian advocates in the U.S. are urging the Biden administration to give immigration relief to Ukrainians present on American soil. VOA’s immigration reporter Aline Barros reports. …
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