I've been out on vacation for a few days so haven't posted this daily chart, but now that I'm back, time to talk about a not-so-good week the Biden administration is having.
After two straight weeks of progress, the number of kids in custody has unexpectedly hit a plateau.
One of the reasons this week hasn't seen a plateau is that there are a few hundred more unaccompanied children coming to the border this week compared to last week. But that could easily be normal variance and the trendline is still good.
The real concern is releases from ORR custody to sponsors. Last week was the first week since the Biden administration began reporting daily numbers that we saw the average number of children released to sponsors go *down.* And this week is on track for another drop!
The combination of falling numbers of releases to sponsors and (as of this week) a small increase in unaccompanied children coming to the border means that the trendline on net changes in children in custody has been going in the wrong direction for a few days.
All of this could easily be a few day speed bump and we could see numbers start going back down again within the next week or so.
This isn't the first time we've seen a speed bump in this process either. So this could easily be normal variance.
This week shows that the Biden administration's response to unaccompanied children is still quite fragile. Lots of successes but we're not out of the woods.
To end this thread with some good news, we're about to drop below 20,000 kids in custody for the first time since April 6.
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Trump here uses the phrase "remigration." I was unfamiliar with the term, so I googled it.
Wikipedia describes it as a "far-right and Identitarian political concept" largely used to describe the mass deportation of non-white immigrants and their descendants from Europe.
Needless to say, the use of such a loaded far-right term suggesting a purge of non-white people in the US far greater than described would itself be newsworthy in a normal world. But given how much else has happened just in the last 24 hours, it's barely even been noticed.
Yep, though given how poorly Operation Janus did the first time around and how tough it is for the US government to denaturalize people, I suspect that’s more about driving support from the base than actual policy (which is not to say it shouldn’t be taken seriously).
The overwhelming majority of migrants didn't want to stay in Texas. They wanted to go elsewhere. So if the question was the most efficient way to help them leave the state, the answer would be just buy them tickets and not pay millions to bus them to NYC.
They are able to live wherever they want while they go through the court process. It's just that many people used up every last cent to get here, so a free bus from Abbott was a very enticing option, especially since it was going to known option like NYC.
It's here! The biggest executive action since DAPA/Extended DACA in 2014 just dropped on the Federal Register in the form of a "Notice of Implementation." Here's a 🧵on the Biden admin's new program for undocumented spouses and stepchildren of US citizens. public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2024-18725.pdf
Before I dive into the fine details, a reminder of why this new program matters.
Even though spouses of US citizens are eligible to apply for green cards, a 1996 law keeps that process out of reach for many undocumented immigrants. Read 👇 for more.
Wow! Paxton is going after ANOTHER immigrant rights nonprofit. He's arguing that if any nonprofit engages in activities he thinks violate 501(c)(3) status, he can sue to shut it down.
Paxton is trying to punish @FIELHouston for social media posts which he argues run afoul of the limits federal law places on 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
If judges accept that argument (and so far it seems they're not), it would put every nonprofit in the state at risk.
Paxton's efforts to destroy this particular nonprofit are happening simultaneously with two federal lawsuits in which FIEL is a plaintiff against Texas.
@MALDEF, which represents FIEL, argues this was "not accidental" and accuses him of fighting dirty. maldef.org/wp-content/upl…
Not commenting on the election here, just noting that deporting what some estimate at half of all farmworkers in the country is the kind of thing that will cause grocery prices to go UP, not down.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture. The data is available here:
Data from the Center for Migration Studies shows that contrary many of the responses, most have been here for years, with no path to “fixing their papers” available. ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-ec… cmsny.org/agricultural-w…
Let's do a brief fact-checking 🧵 of this section on immigration. I'll start with 4 specific, provably false claims Senator Vance makes about VP Harris' record and the role she played in the Biden admin, each marked below. My count excludes claims which could arguably be opinion.
First, Senator Vance claims VP Harris is "our border czar." As I've been arguing for years, this is simply false. Jon Karl himself pushes back on this, but I want to emphasize again that the role Biden assigned her was a diplomatic role, not a border role.
Second, Senator Vance claims VP Harris "assumed the title" of border czar.
This, again, is simply false. Since the beginning, Harris, the President, the White House, and Secretary Mayorkas have all consistently rejected the title and job description.