Week of January 15–21, 2022

More than 50,000 illegal immigrants released into the US by Immigration and Customs Enforcement failed to report to their deportation proceedings during a five-month period analyzed last year, according to a report by the Department of Homeland Security. The report also states that ICE doesn’t have court information on over 40,000 individuals it’s supposed to prosecute. Between March and August 2021, over 270,000 illegal aliens have been dispersed into the US with little chance for removal. The Biden administration halted the policy requiring those seeking to enter the US to remain in Mexico throughout their immigration proceedings, instead allowing illegal immigrants to enter the US, receive federal benefits, including Medicaid, housing benefits, and food stamps, and enroll their children in public schools, all while they wait for their immigration hearings to be scheduled and then undergo a lengthy immigration proceeding, which could lead to possible deportation.

The Bronx building fire that killed 17 people last week highlights the vulnerability of immigrants in New York City. Most of those who died were from Gambia and other West African countries, and many worked several jobs just to make ends meet. For more than a century, the city’s deadliest fires have claimed the lives of immigrants, with a lack of legal and regulatory enforcement cited as a factor, alongside their often precarious living and working conditions. Survivors of the Twin Parks North West fire have called for better building codes and alarm systems, and for landlords to be held accountable for any failings. In response to the tragedy, the Gambian Youth Organisation, which had provided support to some of the victims, organised a food and clothing drive for those who had lost everything in the fire.

Between August and December 2021, Mexico held up to 50,000 US-bound immigrants at its southernmost border in Tapachula to reduce political damage from a mass migration wave that could harm the Biden administration's mid-term election prospects. The delay was meant to be solved with a new visa system, the QR code visa. The Mexican government distributed thousands of the visas almost overnight and arranged for their exodus by hundreds of buses across 14 different Mexican states. This move cleared the way for mass migration to the American border without raising any alarms. However, a powerful wave of the QR code visa recipients began arriving at the US southern border as early as mid-January. Signs indicate that tens of thousands are still swamping Border Patrol from Brownsville, Texas, to Yuma, Ariz. Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui claims the transfers of "tens of thousands" of migrants to other Mexican regions were accelerated in December 2021, with some migrants admitting they would break for the US border right away. Americans should be aware of Mexico's ant operation model that may lead to a new surge of illegal immigrants every three months.

Immigrants have served in the US military in large numbers throughout the country's history, including serving in the Revolutionary War and every major conflict since the founding of the republic. Congress has recognized the vital role immigrants play in the nation's military by promising them an expedited path to citizenship. However, in 2017, the US government implemented a new policy that deprived thousands of immigrant service members of the path to citizenship promised to them by Congress and earned through honorable military service. The policy required service members to meet onerous new requirements, including serving a minimum period of time, before the military would issue the administrative documents attesting to the honorable service necessary for them to seek citizenship. In April 2020, the ACLU filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of immigrants whose service in the US military entitles them to naturalize expeditiously, but who were blocked from doing so by the 2017 policy. In August 2021, the ACLU returned to court to ensure the government's compliance with the law.

The US immigration court backlog has reached almost 1.6 million cases, equivalent to the population of Philadelphia, according to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The backlog, which has been increasing rapidly, is causing serious delays and prompting calls for an independent immigration court. The Immigration Courts are under the remit of the US Department of Justice and decide whether to deport immigrants. The backlog has resulted in cases piling on faster than judges can keep up, with the largest increase on record taking place in the last quarter of 2021. Contributing factors include court closures due to the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border and docket management issues. While the suspension of case quotas is unlikely to address the backlog's speed, it was a positive change and part of the Biden administration's effort to repeal Trump-era policies.

Legal immigration to the US has collapsed since the COVID-19 pandemic and the Trump administration, and the recovery of legal immigration under President Biden has been slower than expected, according to the Cato Institute. Visa issuance abroad had already been declining before the pandemic, due to policy and other reasons, but the American government's response to COVID-19 has accelerated this trend. The number of non-immigrant visas issued abroad has declined by 95% from the pre-pandemic monthly average of 738,642 from January 2017 through February 2020, with only 391,022 issued in November 2021. The number of immigrant visas issued has partly recovered from a low of 697 in May 2020 to 35,647 in November 2021, but this is still 16% below the pre-pandemic monthly average. The Biden administration needs to act quickly to reverse the situation, recover lost visas through legislation, and promote legal immigration for the US economy to grow.

Immigration advocates in the US are planning a new strategy to ignore the Senate parliamentarian in order to pass legislation that will offer protections for undocumented immigrants. The parliamentarian had rejected proposals by Senate Democrats to include such provisions in the social and climate spending bill. Some groups pushed for citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, while others looked for a narrower option that would offer temporary protections. Following the parliamentarian's decision in December, all groups have agreed to go ahead with the strategy to ignore the parliamentarian, although some still have reservations. The proposed strategy would reinstate language in the bill that would put some undocumented immigrants on a path to citizenship. This would require the support of all 50 Senate Democrats, but the bill has taken a back seat to efforts to strengthen voting rights and overhaul the filibuster, which have priority.

University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax is facing an investigation and potential sanctions for making statements about Asian and non-white immigrants, which many consider to be deeply problematic. In particular, she stated that she thinks the US would be better off with fewer Asian and non-white immigrants because they tend to support Democrats and advance their positions. While many of Wax's supporters defend her statements by emphasising that her objections to Asian and non-white immigrants are based on political and cultural values, her views are still seen as advocating for large-scale racial and ethnic discrimination. Wax's comments highlight a broader pattern on the right, where many conservatives support discrimination and injustice in immigration policy. However, the argument that governments have a general right to exclude migrants does not justify racial and ethnic discrimination. Discrimination in government policy is wrong, and there is no good reason to exempt immigration restrictions from moral constraints that apply to other government policies.

The number of black immigrants in the US has doubled over the past two decades to reach 4.6 million, with African countries seeing the most migration to America. Almost one-third of black immigrants over the age of 25 hold a degree, compared with 22% of native-born African Americans, while median incomes for black immigrant households are $57,200, compared with $42,000 for native-born black households. However, black immigrants still face the same barriers and discrimination as US-born black people. Black immigrants are less likely to live in the US without authorisation, but twice as likely to face deportation because of a criminal conviction compared to other immigrant groups, according to the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.

Jamal Simmons, Vice President Kamala Harris's communication director, has apologized for decade-old tweets that seemed to make light of immigration enforcement arrests. Simmons met with Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) members to address the tweets, which surfaced shortly after his appointment. According to a source present at the meeting, Simmons "was apologetic and seemed open." However, he faced pushback, particularly from New Jersey Senator Bob Menéndez, who emphasized that his actions were more important than words. Simmons' presentation to the CHC was preceded by a social media blitz and direct calls to lawmakers, with powerful allies in the immigrant community vouching for the Harris aide. While some members of the CHC and many in the Hispanic community found it hard to forgive Simmons for his tweets, others suggested that he could make amends by working to pass immigration reform.