Week of December 22–31, 2022

Sheriff's deputies in Arlington County jail will no longer voluntarily cooperate with federal immigration officials, according to outgoing Sheriff Beth Arthur. The change mostly affects how the sheriff's department communicates with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement over undocumented inmates in the jail. Unlike some conservative counties, Arlington does not honour immigration detainers. However, deputies would give ICE a heads-up when they were about to release an inmate with a detainer request. The move underscores an increasingly common policy in the jails of many liberal cities and suburbs. Activists want Arlington to cut ties entirely. Arthur had limited pre-release notifications earlier this year to inmates arrested on a felony charge. In cutting further voluntary ties to ICE, she did not offer a detailed explanation for her decision.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of the United States increased by 0.4% in 2022, driven primarily by net international migration. The population had nearly stagnated at 0.1% in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated a trend of subdued growth in prior years. This was the first time since 1937 that the U.S. population grew by fewer than one million people, and the lowest numeric growth since at least 1900.

Florida was the fastest-growing state in 2022, with a population increase of 1.9% to about 22.2 million, while California and Illinois had six-figure decreases in resident population due to net migration to other states. Eighteen states experienced a population decline in 2022, compared to 15 and the District of Columbia in the prior year.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is enforcing immigration and public health laws at the border by expelling individuals and families who attempt to enter without authorization, or placing them into removal proceedings. The Title 42 public health authority requires expulsion of individuals, regardless of nationality, who attempt to enter without authorization. Those who cannot be expelled may be placed in expedited removal with a bar on entry for five years. Venezuelans attempting to enter between ports of entry continue to be returned to Mexico and will be barred from the Venezuela Migration Enforcement Process. The DHS is working with partners in Mexico to reinforce coordinated enforcement operations targeting human smuggling organizations and has 23,000 agents and officers working to secure the Southwest border.

The Immigration Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) is the largest provider of immigration legal services in Northern California. IIBA, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, offers free and low-cost legal help for immigrants, provides classes to prepare clients to take the citizenship test, advises social services organizations and local government agencies on changes to immigration law and serves clients from a range of countries. It is hoping to raise $25,000 via the East Bay Times’ annual Share the Spirit campaign to provide legal consultations and representation to the low-income immigrant communities in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The need is particularly acute this year after the nonprofit lost a longtime grant. The money raised will support immigration legal services for 250 individuals.

The US defense industrial base is facing a significant shortage of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) talent, which is being worsened by an outdated immigration system. Despite calls for reform, the caps on available visas mean that thousands of foreign-born graduates of US universities are forced to return home rather than remaining in the US. Advocates have proposed legislation to exempt all foreign citizens who have earned an advanced STEM degree from a US university from numerical visa caps, but previous efforts have failed. A politically successful high-skilled immigration proposal must be limited in size and scope and include explicit protocols and institutional capacity for identifying and preventing potential espionage. To mitigate allegations of an overt “Big Tech” influence on the effort, advocates must clearly articulate that an increase in foreign talent will fill a gap critical to national security.

President Joe Biden will visit Mexico next month as the US struggles with a growing number of immigrants arriving at its southern border. Despite a recent surge, Republicans are fighting to keep restrictions in place at the border, which saw 2.3 million migrant encounters last year. Temporary shelters have been built to cope with the influx, but the Supreme Court is debating the future of Title 42, the rule that allows quick deportation of illegal immigrants due to COVID-19 concerns. When this expires, the crisis at the border could worsen. Many in Washington say the lack of policy, rather than resources, is the issue, with Republicans blaming the White House for no detailed plan, while the White House criticises Congress for failing to pass comprehensive reform. Biden's team believes that improving conditions in Latin America would slow immigration, but this is a long-term strategy.

Tunisia has stopped 216 illegal migrants, including 127 of different nationalities, attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Italy in 11 separate incidents, according to National Guard Spokesman Houcemeddine Jbabli. The interceptions took place on Monday night, and bring the number of Tunisian illegal migrants intercepted this year to 37,188, according to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights. The group also noted that this year has been the most deadly for migrants of all nationalities attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Tunisia. Despite the adoption of strong measures by Tunisian authorities to tackle the problem, the number of illegal immigration attempts from Tunisia to Italy has increased.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have arrested a Brazilian citizen wanted for murder in his home country. Jaconias Rosa Pereira, who had entered the US illegally, was detained in Worcester, Massachusetts, by ICE officers after he was traced through an arrest warrant requiring him to serve a 15-year sentence for the murder. Pereira is being held in custody, pending immigration proceedings. The agency’s enforcement and removal operations directorate arrests and removes people found to be in violation of US immigration laws, including those who illegally entered the country, as well as foreign fugitives wanted for crimes committed abroad who are living in the US. Officials made 12,025 such arrests in fiscal year 2021.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested Honduran citizen Juan Jose Meija-Ramirez, 42, in Alexandria, Virginia on December 19 for illegal re-entry into the US. Mejia-Ramirez has numerous convictions, including prostitution, driving while intoxicated, and the manufacture, sale, and/or possession of a fictitious driver’s license. ICE ERO previously deported Mejia-Ramirez to Honduras three times. Following his current arrest, ERO Washington processed him as a Reinstatement of Prior Order of Removal and remanded him to the custody of the US Marshals Service for criminal prosecution in the Eastern District of Virginia. After this, ICE intends to remove him from the US to Honduras. In fiscal year 2021, ERO arrested 12,025 individuals with aggravated felony convictions, including those associated with homicides, sexual assaults, assaults, robberies, and kidnappings.

Undocumented migrants are continuing to camp outside Sacred Heart Church in downtown El Paso, which is considered a "protected area" for migrants by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Areas that offer social services, such as medical facilities, schools, and social services establishments, are also considered "protected areas", where ICE will not undertake enforcement actions unless there is a public safety issue. According to the Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services Attorney Anna Hey, not all of those camping outside the church are undocumented, as some could be homeless populations, or people who have already been processed and permitted to remain in the US. The City of El Paso has increased law enforcement in the area after receiving reports of illegal activity.