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ESTELA — Even as the Biden administration winds down the Trump administration’s "Remain in Mexico" policy, many asylum-seekers are still facing injustices from the policy, reports Elliot Spagat of the Associated Press. Estela Lazo and her family, from Honduras, had their initial asylum case dismissed due to government missteps and were rescheduled for another hearing a month later. But when the family arrived at a border crossing for the follow-up hearing, U.S. officials denied them entry because their initial case had been closed. "Lazo’s inability to have her claim even considered on its merits is one of many anomalies of the policy known as ‘Remain in Mexico,’ an effort so unusual that it often ran afoul of fundamental principles of justice — such as the right to a day in court," writes Spagat. According to data from Syracuse University, there are about 6,700 asylum-seekers in similar situations to Lazo. HEARTLAND — According to a new report by Heartland Forward, more foreign-born immigrants are moving to the center of the U.S. than previous years, Worth Sparkman and Linh Ta report for Axios. As U.S. population growth has slowed significantly, immigrants across the U.S. have helped fill the labor shortages in both high-skilled and low-skilled industries. "This could be part of the formula for fostering stronger job creation and growth overall in heartland communities," said Ross DeVol, president and CEO of Heartland Forward. Last year The New York Times reported that many states' populations would be shrinking if not for immigrants, and Alexandre Tanzi at Bloomberg the fastest-growing foreign-born populations in the U.S. include "heartland cities" like Columbus, Ohio, and Des Moines, Iowa. FLORIDA — Participants in a bipartisan virtual panel hosted by the American Business Immigration Coalition and IMPAC Fund urged Republican Florida Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio to back immigration bills that would boost the economy for tourism, reports Lisa Maria Garza of the Orlando Sentinel — namely, legislation that would provide recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) with an earned pathway to citizenship. As Axios’ Ben Montgomery reports, such legislation would permanently protect some 490,000 immigrants in Central Florida alone. When it comes to passing permanent solutions in Congress, "Florida is a key state," said Al Cárdenas, IMPAC Fund’s co-chair and former chairman of the Florida Republican Party. "If [Scott and Rubio] put their signature on the line in sponsoring these bills, they’re going to happen."
GREATER RISKS — New data and analysis show that strict border enforcement policies, including Title 42, continue to put migrants in danger, Andrew R. Calderón and Isabela Dias report for The Marshall Project in partnership with Mother Jones. "Because these [Title 42] expulsions don’t trigger prosecution for illegal reentry, migrants are attempting multiple crossings, seeking out more remote and perilous sections of the border," they note. While the number of encounters at the border dropped by half in fiscal year 2020 compared to the previous year, the number of encounters that required a rescue operation doubled to a 10-year high — and the death rate nearly doubled. "History shows us that increased enforcement leads to greater risk taking, and greater risk taking leads to increased death," said Bradford Jones, a professor of political science at UC Davis. "It's a simple equation. That’s the legacy," UTAH — Utah’s changing demographics have presented new challenges and opportunities for the state — and while federal and state-level immigration policies are key to these changes, local approaches are a critical part of the conversation. For our latest Only in America episode, I spoke with Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson about fostering inclusivity and welcome at the local level — and, critically, how to put those values into action. Thanks for reading, Ali |
