|
MORE FROM THE BORDER — Attorneys with the Border Project say at least 24 vulnerable immigrants who should have been shielded from MPP due to medical conditions or fear of increased risk of harm in Mexico were mistakenly returned to Mexico earlier this month, report Adolfo Flores and Hamed Aleaziz of BuzzFeed News. The Border Project, "a pro bono endeavor to provide legal aid to immigrants operated by the Jones Day international law firm," sent an email to CBP identifying the issue, leading to at least nine of the 24 being removed from the program. Separately, on Monday, Haitian migrants – including Mirard Joseph, the Haitian migrant photographed being chased by mounted Border Patrol agents in September — filed a lawsuit against the government regarding Border Patrol’s inhumane treatment at the southern border, reports Eileen Sullivan of The New York Times. The lawsuit "alleges that the Biden administration knew an influx of migrants was coming but deliberately made no humanitarian preparations." WINTER WORK VISAS — For the first time ever, the Department of Homeland Security is making an additional 20,000 H-2B seasonal guest-worker visas available for this winter season, reports Michelle Hackman of The Wall Street Journal. "Of the 20,000 additional visas, 6,500 will be set aside for applicants from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Haiti — all countries that have sent large numbers of migrants to the U.S. border in recent months," notes Hackman. The rest of the visas will be for returning workers from other countries. This brings the total seasonal work visas this fiscal year to over 50,000. Employers can hire for these guest worker slots starting now until March 31. Additionally, DHS plans to update the seasonal-worker program next year to address exploitative employers, among other concerns. YOUNG MIGRANTS — Young people in search of a better life were at the forefront of this year’s dangerous migration journeys to the U.S. and Europe, report Patrick J. McDonnell and Nabih Bulos of The Los Angeles Times. Nearly 80 percent of the more than 5.5 million first-time asylum seekers in Europe since 2014 were 34 or younger, per Eurostat, the statistical branch of the European Union. And almost one third were teenagers. A more concerning statistic: More than 1,600 migrants and refugees have been lost at sea this year alone. "We are here out of necessity," said Maria Joseph, an 18-year-old Haitian hoping to reach the U.S. "I want my son to have a good education … That’s why we are here, risking everything."
BORDER WALL — The unbuilt portion of Trump's signature border wall is now just tens of thousands steel bollards slowly rusting throughout the southwestern borderlands, writes John B. Washington for The Atlantic. The steel is "worth at least a quarter of a billion dollars. The Department of Defense owns most of that steel, but it’s unclear what will — or can — be done with it." Meanwhile, DHS announced Monday that the U.S. will use border security funds "to close gaps and clean up Trump-era construction sites," per Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News. FYI, if you’re in the D.C. area and want an immersive look at what happens at the southern border, check out the National Building Museum’s "The Wall / El Muro: What is a Border Wall?" exhibit, as Jonathan Lehrfeld highlights for Medill News Service. ‘WELCOME THE STRANGER’ — A coalition of Crawfordsville, Indiana, churches have formed the Crawfordsville Afghan Refugee Coalition (ARC) to raise money to permanently resettle an Afghan family in the Indianapolis area, reports Nick Hedrick of the Journal Review. "We need to do what we can, where we can, when we can … Resettling one of the families out of thousands was the place to begin," said David Hadley, one of the facilitators of the effort. "... it’s a part of our Christian responsibility … to welcome the stranger." ARC is working with Indianapolis-based nonprofit Exodus Refugee Immigration Inc. to connect with a family. More on local welcome:
Thanks for reading, Ali |
