|
FAMILY SEPARATION — The Biden administration’s Family Reunification Task Force released its initial report this morning, and the numbers are stark. The task force found that at least 3,900 children were separated from families under President Donald Trump’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy, reports Myah Ward of Politico. The report concludes that there were 5,636 family-child separations from July 2017 through January 2021, but that only 3,913 children fell under the task force’s scope. Cases for the other 1,723 children remain under review, per a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) senior official. The task force lacks a record of reunification for more than 2,100 families, and a senior DHS official "said that upon the review of thousands of files, the task force found incorrect names, repeated cases or mismatched families — a ‘reflection of a lack of tracking [and] record-keeping at the time.’" LATEST ON TEXAS — On Monday the Biden administration said it would sue Texas if Gov. Greg Abbott (R) follows through on plans to pull state licenses from shelters that house migrant children, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent a letter to Abbott explaining that such a move would break federal law, giving the governor until Friday to clarify his intent. As Catherine Rampell opines in The Washington Post, the administration’s shelter system has faced some deserved criticism — but the effect of Abbott’s move would be to force more children into unacceptable conditions. Faith-based organizations are frustrated that their ability to act on their beliefs would be restricted, she notes: "As a follower of Jesus, I take seriously his admonition that we demonstrate how much we love God by how we treat ‘the least of these,’" said Marv Knox, a coordinator at Fellowship Southwest. TPS DECISION — A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients are not eligible for green cards or other legal status if they entered the country without authorization, reports John Fritze of USA Today. A New Jersey couple from El Salvador had argued that they should be eligible to legalize, but the Trump and Biden administrations disagreed. The ruling does not change the status of anyone who has TPS, and it’s worth noting that the American Dream and Promise Act, which passed the House with bipartisan support in March, would protect all current TPS holders and provide them with a pathway to earn permanent legal status.
LIVES ON THE LINE — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that the Biden administration is looking "at every possible contingency" to assist Afghans who helped the U.S., report Kylie Atwood, Nicole Gaouette and Michael Conte for CNN. Blinken did not directly address the idea of evacuating the thousands of Afghans waiting for Special Immigrant Visas to another country while they wait. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and chief executive of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, urges swift action: "As the clock on withdrawal winds down, the stakes could not be clearer: Our Afghan allies’ lives, as well as our nation’s legacy, are on the line." TRIP IN PROGRESS — Vice President Kamala Harris is in Mexico today following her visit to Guatemala yesterday, per Alexandra Jaffe at the Associated Press. "I want to emphasize that the goal of our work is to help Guatemalans find hope at home," Harris said after meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei. She also gave a clear message to migrants who would consider traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border: "Do not come, do not come." Giammattei said the two nations will collaborate on channeling "regular migration" through a visa-based process and will prioritize family reunifications. In tandem with Harris’ trip, the administration announced plans for an anti-corruption task force and another task force "to combat human trafficking and drug smuggling in the region," among other initiatives. The border will remain central today, when Harris is scheduled to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. ARELI — Growing up, DACA recipient and bilingual educator Areli Morales could not find any picture books that addressed being undocumented. So she wrote one. "Areli Is a Dreamer: A True Story," out today, "depicts the author's early childhood in Puebla, Mexico, where she was born, and in New York City, where she grew up," reports Pamela Avila of USA Today. "We need to start these conversations at a young age because children might be dealing with this, they might have family members who are undocumented, who might find themselves in situations like that," said Morales. Thanks for reading, Dan |
