Week of October 15–21, 2022

A recent report by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) claims that illegal immigrants in Texas are convicted of homicide and sexual assault at higher rates than the state average, contradicting an earlier study by the Cato Institute that found lower rates of serious crime among illegal aliens in Texas. However, Alex Nowrasteh of the Cato Institute has responded by arguing that the CIS report made mistakes in computing the homicide conviction rate for illegal aliens, overestimating the numerator and underestimating the denominator. Nowrasteh suggests that CIS used a lower estimate of the illegal immigrant population in Texas than their own estimates, resulting in a higher crime rate by reducing the denominator. Nowrasteh argues that when using CIS's own estimates of the illegal immigrant population in Texas, the illegal immigrant homicide rate is actually below that of Cato's estimate of the native-born American homicide rate in Texas in 2018.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott's anti-immigrant rhetoric has been a central part of his re-election campaign. During a gubernatorial debate on September 30, his Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke argued that this kind of rhetoric was contributing to an increase in violence towards migrants and mass shootings such as the 2019 El Paso shooting. Hate crimes have been on the rise nationally, with 517 anti-Hispanic or anti-Latino incidents in the US in 2020, including over 300 in Texas, 70% of which were motivated by race, ethnicity or ancestry. Abbott's policies, including his border security mission Operation Lone Star, perpetuate fear about an "invasion" of immigrants, contributing to negative perceptions and potentially increasing violence and tension throughout the country. While O'Rourke is critical of Abbott's rhetoric, he has also been careful to emphasize working alongside Border Patrol and local law enforcement agencies, raising concerns about his stance on immigration.

US President Joe Biden has invoked the controversial Title 42 rule to deny Venezuelan asylum seekers access to the country, despite criticising his predecessor Donald Trump's immigration policy towards the country. Title 42, which was introduced by Trump in 2020, allows the US to deny asylum requests from migrants based on the need to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Biden's new policy means that Venezuelans who cross the US-Mexico border on foot or by swimming will be expelled, and any Venezuelan who enters Mexico or Panama illegally will be unable to come to the US. However, up to 24,000 Venezuelans will be allowed to enter the US via airports, similar to the way Ukrainians have been allowed in since Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea. The policy has drawn criticism from immigrant advocates, who argue that the administration is “enabling expulsions of Venezuelan migrants” and eroding the right to asylum.

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin has discussed several pressing issues, including Ukraine, immigration, and election deniers, in a recent interview. As co-chair of the Senate’s Ukraine Caucus, Durbin emphasized that any decision to negotiate with Russia over its illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory must come from the Ukrainians, rather than from Western pressure. Durbin also called for comprehensive immigration reform, criticizing Republican rhetoric that suggests that all immigrants crossing the border are criminals. He noted that the current immigration system is inadequate for the 21st century and that immigrants come to the US to find jobs and support their families. Finally, Durbin expressed concern about election deniers refusing to accept the results of the midterm elections and called out Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake for refusing to commit to honoring election results.

Laredo, Texas has opened new immigration courtrooms to help tackle a backlog of migrant cases. Previously, cases had to be taken to other cities, such as San Antonio, Houston, and Miami, causing a bottleneck in the system. Congressman Henry Cuellar held a press conference to announce the new courts, which will be overseen by eight immigration judges, and he hopes to have more local judges and attorneys considered for positions. According to Cuellar, one of the issues faced is approving 100% of asylum seekers, but he hopes that by having these courts, it will reduce those numbers by 10-12%. The courts are expected to handle roughly 3,500 cases of detained and non-detained individuals in the city.

Starting from November 15, 2022, international students with off-campus work authorization on their study permit in Canada will not be restricted by the 20-hour-per-week rule. This temporary change is expected to last until December 31, 2023, and will also apply to foreign nationals who submitted their study permit applications as of October 7, 2022, provided their applications are approved. Meanwhile, study permit holders are still expected to balance their study and work commitments, and those who reduce course loads to only study part-time will not be eligible to work off-campus. The Canadian government has also recently launched other measures to benefit international students, including a transition period for those studying online from abroad and an opportunity for those with expired or expiring post-graduation work permits to get an additional 18-month open work permit.

Magistrate Judge Hegarty in the District of Colorado recommended the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit, following the plaintiff's refusal to answer a deposition question regarding her legal basis for entering the US in 2013. The plaintiff declined to answer, citing relevance and confidentiality issues. The defendant asked the magistrate judge to order her to answer the question, and the magistrate judge complied. However, the plaintiff persisted in disobeying the order, leading to the recommendation of the lawsuit's dismissal. The plaintiff also argued that her immigration matter was not relevant to the case and could be used as a tool for harassing and intimidating individuals. The magistrate judge disagreed, stating that the relevance of the line of questioning was demonstrated by the fact that the plaintiff's allegations in her complaint relate to her travels to and in the US.

The UK government, led by the Conservative Party, aims to reduce immigration to the country, as they believe that immigration is a net loss to British society. This attitude is reflected in the Home Office's recent actions, as they have been breaking the law and raiding homes over minor infractions. For example, they detained an immigrant who was working too many hours at a care home, despite the fact that he had only worked two unpaid hours more than his visa allowed, and they had raided the wrong house while looking for someone else. While immigration officials claim that the search was conducted with Balan's consent, an early morning raid coupled with deportation threats leans heavily on the side of coercion. The Home Office's attitude towards immigration, combined with the UK's history of giving law enforcement officers too much leeway when it comes to allegations of rights violations, puts immigrants' rights at risk.

The Department of Homeland Security has authorized Church World Service (CWS), which advocates the abolition of ICE, to oversee a pilot program providing voluntary case management and other services to migrants in immigration removal proceedings, despite CWS calling for defunding and abolishing ICE. Congress authorized the program, which provides grants to service nonprofits and local governments to provide the migrant services, under the 2021 DHS Appropriations Act, providing $5m in funding to FEMA for the program. CWS is one of three organizations selected to sit on the program’s National Board and is designated as its secretariat and fiscal agent, meaning it will be substantially involved in overseeing the implementation, monitoring, and reporting of the program outcomes.

Chicago community group the Mural Movement plans to continue providing direct donations to immigrants arriving from Texas, despite objections from the Salvation Army and city officials. The group has stopped at the Salvation Army’s Humboldt Park shelters to greet those arriving by bus from Texas, but a donation effort recently led to a confrontation with a Salvation Army worker who told the group to leave. The worker has since been reassigned. The Mural Movement has concerns about the treatment and care of immigrants arriving in Chicago and believes some of their needs are not being met. The group wants to show the new arrivals “love” by providing them with food, shoes, blankets and clothes. While the Salvation Army can facilitate donations, the group cannot access the shelter without going through a vetting process because minors live at the shelters.