‘IS THIS EVEN LEGAL?’ — In his syndicated Washington Post column, Ruben Navarrette Jr. challenges Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and other Republican state leaders for sending National Guard troops to the southern border. Not only are there already more than 19,000 U.S. Border Patrol agents protecting the border, but "[t]here are reasons why Americans don't allow private citizens — even the wealthy ones — to commandeer law enforcement officers or National Guard troops to serve pet causes," he writes. "There are ethical concerns, liability issues and jurisdictional conflicts. Is this even legal?" The politics of the deployment are hindering progress on border solutions — a pattern seen across the immigration debate, he concludes. "Is this deployment of National Guard troops by Republican governors about protecting the border, or trying to reclaim the White House?" 

SIJ — Four Catholic Charities branches and three Catholic legal organizations have signed onto a May letter urging top U.S. immigration officials to address the backlog of Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status holders who are eligible for green cards but remain at risk of deportation, reports Lucy Grindon of the National Catholic Reporter. SIJ status, created for minors who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected by a parent and need protection from a juvenile court, is classified as an employment-based immigrant visa. This means green card applicants with SIJ status are subject to country caps on employment-based immigrant visas, often leading to years-long backlogs. "This work is so important because we're really working with young people who have come from the most difficult of circumstances," said Anthony Enriquez, director of the Unaccompanied Minors Program for Catholic Charities of New York's Immigrant and Refugee Services office. "When young people qualify for special immigrant status, they've been deprived of that parent-child connection; they've often had to parent themselves." 

ASYLUM — [This story contains descriptions of sexual assault.] Guatemalan-born Areli sought refuge in the U.S. in 2018, fleeing a father who she says had raped her since she was five years old. But Justice Department rulings under then-President Trump made the U.S. asylum process more difficult "for those fleeing violence by private actors, including domestic partners, gangs and those persecuted ‘due to family ties,’" reports the Los Angeles Times’ Cindy Carcamo. Last month, Attorney General Merrick Garland reversed the Trump-era policies, "dramatically improv[ing] the chances for Areli and tens of thousands like her with applicable cases in the system — including in appeals — to gain asylum." Under Trump, any asylum cases related to domestic violence or gang violence "[were] pretty much met with a blanket denial," said Areli’s attorney, Aaron Chenault. "I’m very much happy that we are going back to allowing immigration judges to issue a decision on a case-by-case basis."