Wednesday October 20, 2021
Justice Department Eliminates Trump-Era Case Quotas for Immigration Judges – The Justice Department is ending the use of case quotas for immigration judges that became a point of contention during the Trump administration for undercutting judges’ authority and discretion. Judges argued that the quotas valued expediency over the due process and was not an appropriate metric to evaluate their performance.
Latino Voters Will Remember Inaction on Immigration Reform, Activists Warn Democrats – A coalition of progressive lawmakers and Latino activists said the U.S. government did not ask essential healthcare workers and food producers for employment authorization during the pandemic, so it should not turn its back on them when they are asking for legalization. Further, the activists warn that Latino voting rates have nearly doubled in the past decade, and they will remember broken promises of immigration reform in the next election if the Biden administration would not deliver on their promises, namely the rectification of the reconciliation bill that can provide a path to legal residency for about 8 million farm workers, essential workers and DACA recipients.
Thursday October 21, 2021
Green Card Job Queue Gets Cold Shoulder in Bill Aiding Families – Employment-based immigration advocates say the hoped-for measure to address massive green card backlogs as part of the congressional spending bill would do nothing to address wait times for foreign workers or their families. Processing delays and per-country caps on the number of green cards available mean thousands of foreign workers can end up waiting decades for permanent authorization to live and work in the U.S. After the expiration of as many as 80,000 unused employment-based green cards at the end of fiscal year 2021, those workers and immigration advocates wanted Congress to pass legislation to restore unused green cards from the previous years.
Human Rights Watch: Internal Docs Detail Alleged Abuses by US Immigration Agents – Human Rights Watch has obtained more than 160 internal reports from United States immigration authorities documenting alleged abuses against asylum seekers by federal agents. The reports include allegations of physical, sexual and verbal abuse, as well as due process violations and discriminatory treatment that took place between 2016-2021. In many cases of the due process violation, asylum seekers detailed authorities inaccurately recording statements regarding whether it was safe for them to return to their home country or compelling them to sign documents they did not understand. The organization calls on the U.S. Congress, the Biden administration, and the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to investigate the allegations.
Friday October 22, 2021
U.S. Officials Come Across Nearly 2 Million Unauthorized Migrants In Fiscal year 2021 – Almost 2 million people entered the United States without authorization in the 12-month period ending on September 30, 2021, according to a government report. Most apprehensions took place at the southern border, where sectors like Del Rio and the Rio Grande Valley have been overwhelmed at times. The report also says that repeat crossers – migrants who were apprehended, expelled, and then attempt to come in again multiple times – are skewing the numbers and that the officials only identified 1.15 million unique individuals in fiscal year 2021.
