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** This week, in the world of immigration and asylum law, the news has been unrelenting
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There have been several major, mostly devastating developments in the area of national immigration policy. Knowing how pandemic and social justice themes are currently dominating the news cycle, I thought we would offer a brief run down of the immigration news so that you can stay educated and aware. One good place to start might be this horrifyingly titled piece in Slate: America is Closed ([link removed]) . This is all overwhelming and unrelenting and the ever present questions lingers: what can I do? Personally when I feel that overwhelm I always break it down to my body, my money, my voice, and my vote. How do I put my body on the streets to protest policy and stand in solidarity with affected communities? How do I put my money in the hands of people who are positioned to address the problem and out of the hands of corporations that aggravate it? How do I raise my voice in the ears of people who need compassionate
education or confrontation? How do I leverage my one, precious vote towards a better vision of the future? Some of those answers are more obvious than others. For now, read on below to find out what is going on and how you can help:

Best,

Allegra Love
Executive Director
Santa Fe Dreamers Project

DACA SCOTUS Decision in Limbo: The DACA decision provided an instant moment of joy that the Trump Administration could be checked in favor of the lives and future of DACA recipients. However, the text of the decision did not focus on whether Trump could cancel DACA but rather how the administration went about cancelling it. This means that DACA is still vulnerable and, in fact, the Trump Administration wasted no time asserting their opposition to the decsion. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a statement on Friday saying, "today’s court opinion has no basis in law and merely delays the President’s lawful ability to end the illegal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals amnesty program". The agency seems to indicate that another attack on the program is imminent. Congress passing a law to protect DACA recipients and their families has always been the optimal path forward in this case and it was never been more important.
Media: "Dreamers, Angry that Trump is still trying to end DACA, pledge counter offensive ([link removed]) ", "Fact Check: Breaking down Trump's false claims about DACA and the Supreme Court Ruling ([link removed]) "
What you can do: Vote Trump out of office in November. Email DHS Secretary Chad Wolf and demand action. ([link removed]) Donate to United We Dream ([link removed]) . Support members of Congress and candidates who have clear intentions to create a pathway to protection for DACA recipients. Support businesses that employ DACA recipients in our community. Follow the NM Dream Team ([link removed]) and local groups on social media and pay attention to their calls to action. Donate to a DACA fund ([link removed]) . Donate to Santa Fe Dreamers ([link removed]) .

SCOTUS Strikes a Blow to Immigrants Rights: On Thursday June 25 the Supreme Court sided with the Trump Administration to say that a Sri Lankan asylum seeker seeking to challenge the decision of an asylum officer in Federal Court does not have the due process right to have a court review the decision. The asylum seeker in question was in a process called expedited removal, a fast track deportation process where there is a startling lack of rights. Nicole Narea of Vox.com explains it nicely: The implications for asylum seekers caught in the middle of Trump’s efforts to expand expedited removal are clear: Because the government faces no possible repercussions for wrongfully subjecting migrants with legitimate asylum claims to expedited removal, it will have no incentive to prevent mistakes from happening.
Media: "The end of asylum? Supreme Court sides with Trump administration on fast-tracking deportations ([link removed]) ", "The Supreme Court just allowed Trump's expansion of deportations to go unchecked ([link removed]) ", "The Supreme Court Didn't Have to Rely on Xenophobic Logic ([link removed]) "
What you can do: Vote Trump out of office in November. Donate to organizations that bring direct services to people in expedited removal: Las Americas ([link removed]) , DMRS ([link removed]) , Proyecto Dilley ([link removed]) , and The Florence Project ([link removed]) are just a few of our faves.

Dangerous Nationwide Expansion of Expedited Removal: As noted above, expedited removal is a terrifyingly fast tracked deportation process where people have very few legal rights despite the very high stakes consequences of removal to a foreign country. It is only applied, however to people caught within 100 miles of the border and less than 14 days in the US. A new rule from the Trump Administration is changing that and as soon as August 14th expedited removal could be applied to an immigrant anywhere in the US who has been in here for less than 2 years. The rule was actually proposed last summer but a law suit effectively stopped it until this week when a DC appeals court allowed it to continue.This will give ICE even more incentive to hunt down our neighbors, coworkers, and friends in our community. There is still some room for legal maneuvering on this case before August 14th.
Media: "Some immigrants are now subjected to expedited removal. Here's what to know ([link removed]) " (note: this article is from a year ago and ahead of the law suit that temporarily stopped this from rolling out but it explains the change well)
What you can do: Vote Trump out of office in November. Support sanctuary measures in your city and state. Donate to organizations like Somos Un Pueblo Unido ([link removed]) that educate our community about how to avoid ICE arrests.

A New Proposed Rule to Eviscerate US Asylum Law: It would be impossible to overstate how terrible this new rule is. On June 15th the Trump administration quietly published a new rule for notice and comment that would destroy the american asylum system as we know it. Among the changes are: categorically denying claims where the violence is related to gender; allowing judges to "pre-termit" cases which basically means denying the claim without a hearing; completely denying asylum to anyone who enters the country between ports of entry, works without a permit, or doesn't pay taxes; and to apply the new rules retroactively to the nearly 1 million people, including children who are currently waiting in a backlog to have their cases adjudicated. This rule is BAD. Fortunately it is only a proposed rule. There is a 30-day window to submit comments and the more comments that are submitted the more difficult it will be to legally effectuate this rule quickly, meaning there is a chance that we could
make it past the November election without it going into law. Instructions on how to make comments below.
Media: "Trump's proposed changes would effectively abolish asylum ([link removed]) ", "Trumps new rules against asylum seekers are dire. They must be challenged. ([link removed]) "
What you can do: Vote Trump out of office in November. Submit a comment against ([link removed]) t ([link removed]) he rule ([link removed]) using this toolkit ([link removed]) . Read all 161 pages of the rule ([link removed]) . Donate to organizations that are educating and organizing people to flood comments like CLINIC ([link removed]) .

The Trump Administration Denies Work Permits to Asylum Seekers:
Media: Beginning in August, a new rule will deny work permits to asylum seekers who crossed the US border without permission and for those that are still eligible to apply, the wait time will now be a year before they can apply. There is no illegal way to seek asylum and crossing the border between ports of entry is a legally prescribed way to do it. This rule punishes people for seeking asylum in the United States. Many people have to wait years for a court hearing to adjudicate their claim and now they will have to do it without the ability to work legally. The effects will be devastating.
Media: "The Trump Administration will soon deny work permits to asylum seekers who enter the US without inspection ([link removed]) ", Human Rights First's fact sheet opposing lengthening wait times ([link removed])
What you can do: Vote Trump out of office in November. Donate to organizations that provide social services to asylum seeking families (in Santa Fe, for example, the Adelante program ([link removed]) , provides critical support to undocumented individuals)

The Trump Administration Suspends Visas for Workers: In a sweeping order, the Trump Administration suspended the H-1B and several other critical visa programs for at least the rest of the year. This move affects a half a million potential foreign workers. In addition, the government also continued it's April ban on issuing green cards to eligible foreign workers. Here at Santa Fe Dreamers we are careful not to place too much emphasis on "legal" immigration because we understand how the system is broken to the point that that label is practically meaningless. However in this context it is important to point out that for much of the last few years the Trump has justified their attacks on immigrants and refugees because they are "breaking the law". Here they are attacking a group of people who are following the legal system perfectly. They rationalize it in the name of American jobs but it reads as naked xenophobia and a startling attack on American businesses who depend on foreign labor and
talent.
Media: "Trump suspends visas allowing hundreds of thousands to work in the US ([link removed]) "
What you can do: Vote Trump out of office in November.

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