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Your weekly summary from the Council
LATEST ANALYSIS
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Biden Keeps Ties with Billion-Dollar Business of Immigration Detention, Despite Reports of Serious Abuse [[link removed]]
After a three-year court battle, NPR gained access to more than 1,600 pages of secret inspection reports documenting a range of abuses in immigration detention facilities. Despite promises of transparency, the Biden administration fought the release of these reports . Read More » [[link removed]]
Biden’s Family Reunification Parole Programs Offer Hope—But With a Blind Spot [[link removed]]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched new Family Reunification Parole Programs for Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras earlier this year. And recently, it announced that it is revamping the Cuban and Haitian Family Reunification Parole programs as well. The new process will take place almost entirely online. The changes point to a renewed commitment to the programs—and raise hopes that the administration is putting real resources behind family reunification parole. Read More » [[link removed]]
FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Biden administration is redesignating and extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukraine as the war with Russia continues, and also redesignating and extending TPS for Sudan. TPS is a temporary immigration status provided to nationals of certain countries experiencing problems that make it difficult or unsafe to return.
The redesignation will make an estimated additional 166,700 Ukrainians eligible for TPS, including those who originally came under the administration’s Uniting for Ukraine program, and an estimated additional 2,750 Sudanese nationals eligible for TPS. The extension and redesignation of TPS for both countries will last an 18 months, through April 2025.
This updated fact sheet from the American Immigration Council provides an overview of how TPS designations are determined, the benefits, and how TPS recipients apply for and renew their status.
Read more: Temporary Protected Status: An Overview [[link removed]]
ACROSS THE NATION
The United States needs more foreign-born workers to fill gaps in the workforce—particularly those in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
One way to secure more workers is through the H-1B visa category, which allows U.S employers to petition for a limited number of highly skilled foreign workers for an initial employment period of three years. The demand for these workers—who have been shown to complement their U.S.-born counterparts—has been far greater than the number of available visas in recent years.
This updated fact sheet from the Council provides an overview of the H-1B visa category and petition process, addresses myths about the H-1B visa category, and highlights the key contributions H-1B workers make to the U.S. economy.
Read more: The H-1B Visa Program and Its Impact on the U.S. Economy [[link removed]]
The Council and our partners recently filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to block Section 10 of Florida’s new draconian anti-immigrant law.
That portion of the law criminalizes transporting individuals into Florida who may have entered the country unlawfully and have not been “inspected” by the federal government since.
The lawsuit alleges that it is unconstitutional for a state to regulate federal immigration and subject people to criminal punishment without fair notice. It also argues that Florida’s use of the term “inspection” is incoherent and unconstitutionally vague.
Read more: Challenging Florida’s Unconstitutional Anti-Immigrant Law [[link removed]]
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The Biden Administration continues to detain immigrants in dangerous detention facilities. Documents obtained by NPR explain why decisions to invest in immigration detention can mean serious harm and even death for immigrants.
Government records obtained by NPR expose the shocking conditions within immigration detention facilities. Immigration detention is not punishment and should never expose immigrants to dangerous and deadly conditions.”
– Emily Creighton, Legal Director of Transparency at the American Immigration Council, in response to the abuses in ICE detention found by an investigative report from NPR [[link removed]]
FURTHER READING
Miami Herald: U.S. tries to reduce irregular migration in the Darien Gap [[link removed]]
WRAL News: Morrisville, North Carolina Councilman Steve Rao: A more compassionate approach to asylum seekers [[link removed]]
The Salt Lake Tribune: Utah is a haven for Afghan refugees like me. Now Congress must act. [[link removed]]
Tech Wire: What’s the ROI for refugees coming to NC? That’s a billion-dollar question [[link removed]]
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