Our statement on the Biden administration’s first year on immigration:

“It was never going to be a simple undertaking to mitigate the damage of its predecessor. One year into the Biden administration, an honest assessment recognizes both progress and promises unfulfilled.
 
1/6 We are grateful for President Biden’s repeal of the Muslim ban, for expanding programs to welcome Afghan evacuees, for reunited migrant families, and for good-faith efforts to protect DACA recipients and other vulnerable individuals from detention and deportation.

2/6

.@LIRSorg Press Statement on the Biden administration's termination of Trump memo impacting reunification of unaccompanied migrant children with their U.S. sponsors.

1/8

lirs.org/biden-administ… “Through our Safe Release program, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service operates the majority of fingerprint sites across the nation to vet potential sponsors of unaccompanied migrant children.

2/8

.@LIRSorg statement on @POTUS restarting the CAM program.

The re-launch of this program is a welcome and promising development. @LIRSorg was an implementing partner of the program before its abrupt cancellation, and its impact cannot be overstated.

...
lirs.org/biden-administ… The program represents our nation’s bedrock principle of family unity put into practice. When families are together, America thrives.

Biden's immigration reform legislation is quite popular, according to new polling by Politico/Morning Consult.

60% of registered voters strongly or somewhat support an 8-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, compared with 24% opposition. On the question of more funding to address the backlog of asylum applications, we see similar levels of broad public support.

51% strongly or somewhat support, while only 26% oppose.

(2/...)

PRESS STATEMENT: The Biden admin today announced the highly anticipated task force that will seek to reunite migrant families separated at the border during the Trump administration as a result of its “Zero Tolerance” policy.

Read @LIRSorg's statement: bit.ly/2MItAfw This is a monumental first step in addressing the imperative question of how we make these families whole again.

(2/7)

THREAD: It's been 2 months since a federal judge ordered the release of migrant children in ICE family detention centers; yet none have been discharged because ICE refuses to release them w/ parents, forcing them to choose between separation or detention.

lirs.org/release-childr… These binary options – be separated from your children or remain detained together indefinitely in a COVID-19 tinderbox – can hardly be considered a “choice.”

THREAD: This past week marked 100 years since the passage of the 19th Amendment, which established the legal right of women to vote. Yet, all women, particularly women of color, were not extended this same, equal right until decades later.

(1/4) In 1924, we saw the Snyder Act, which granted Native Americans citizenship and voting rights.

In 1965, we saw the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which prohibited the denial of someone’s right to vote on the account of race.

THREAD: I'm thrilled to moderate @LIRSorg's brand new Virtual Book Series this summer! Check out our amazing line-up!

First up, @soniashah and I chat about climate displacement and the life-saving power of migration on Thurs, 8/13 at 3pm.

Sign-up today: bit.ly/30K47Xu Next Wed., Aug 19th, join me for a live chat with @jessica_goudeau, author of "After The Last Border: Two Families and The Story of Refuge in America" -- an intimate look at the lives of 2 refugee women as they struggle for the American dream.

Sign up: bit.ly/2XNjvRi

THREAD: Some updates on the Flores case that determines how migrant children in ICE Family Detention centers will be released (or not).

Counsel informed the court that the protocol negotiations have broken down on account of disagreement on three key matters.

(1/4) 1. The extent to which counsel of record for parents should be advised of ICE’s decisions;
2. How to release a child if an approved sponsor is unable to appear at an ICE detention facility to take custody of a child; and...

(2/4)

NEW: A federal judge has denied a motion for Prelim. Injunction in OMG v. Wolf, which sought release of families from ICE Family Residential Centers.

This is a devastating loss for vulnerable asylum-seeking families and for all Americans who value dignity and decency.

(1...) Family detention centers are structured in a way that renders adherence to CDC guidance unfeasible – communal toilets, sinks, showers and food service make social distancing impossible and place at-risk detainees in grave danger.

This odious executive order reaffirms what we already knew: this White House does not see immigrants as people. The Constitution explicitly directs Congress to conduct a census that counts persons–not citizens.

(1/8)
documentcloud.org/documents/6999… By issuing this unconstitutional order, the Administration is once again showing its disrespect for vital members of our society who have been essential to our nation’s frontline response efforts.

(2/8)

.@jacobsoboroff and @JuliaEAinsley report 127 of the 300 CoreCivic employees contracted to run an AZ detention center have tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in a shortage of staff to monitor cells and leaving many migrant detainees neglected.

nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1… "Another client in Eloy reports being locked up from 6 p.m. onward during the week and all day over the weekend. She reports not getting food or water for over 24 hours over the weekend due to lack of staffing."

NEW: Protests across the U.S. have sparked a national dialogue about racism in America’s police departments.

Unfortunately, this culture of cruelty extends beyond local authorities. Immigration enforcement agencies, too, have militarized racism.

(1/...)
houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outloo… Take the 2012 murder of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, a 16-year-old boy shot 10 times in the back and head across the border by a Border Patrol agent in the U.S. In criminal proceedings, a jury cleared the agent of all charges.

via @RafaelCarranza usatoday.com/story/news/nat…

THREAD: I want to highlight some personal stories in my new OpEd to drive home how high the stakes are.

Luciana, a widowed single mother who fled Venezuela with her 5 children last summer was working in a factory, taking English classes 4 times a week...

baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/… Then COVID-19 hit. Suddenly, she found her hours drastically cut. She scrambled to find another job, but it wasn’t long until she was laid off. She filed for unemployment, but backlogs mean she is unlikely to have a source of income for weeks, if not months.

THREAD: the administration just announced a ban on many temporary employment visas through the end of the year.

This is yet another attempt to reduce immigration – even temporary immigration – under the guise of a public health crisis.

whitehouse.gov/presidential-a… This order will shut the door on more than 167,000 foreign-born workers and the families they support.

https://twitter.com/migrationpolicy/status/1275193001401344000?s=21

THREAD: Since we're in the middle of a national dialogue on the pervasiveness of racism in U.S. police departments, let's talk about how immigration enforcement (ICE + Border Patrol) have also militarized xenophobia to oppress minority communities of color. Take the 2012 murder of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, a 16-year-old boy shot 10 times in the back across the border by a Border Patrol agent in the U.S. In criminal proceedings, a jury cleared the agent of all charges.

via @RafaelCarranza

usatoday.com/story/news/nat…

I need to ask for your prayers and thoughts. Tomorrow morning, at 9 AM, under general anesthesia, a world-class surgeon at Johns Hopkins will remove a cancerous lump and prophylactically my left breast.

(1/5) A couple years ago when I ran for governor, I shared publicly the wonder of breastfeeding my daughter, Alana. The tumor is on the same side where in the video Alana is resting her head angelically. There is of course no link, but it makes me wistful.

The House just released the HEROES Act, its latest relief legislation. Let’s take a look at the immigration specific provisions (starting on page 1729).

1. Cash payments to imm. families filing with ITIN number (includes citizens in these households that were left out before.) 2. Provides no-cost testing, treatment and vaccines for all through Medicaid. The provision allows for these services regardless of immigration status (brings those previously excluded into the fold like DREAMers, TPS holders, green card holders here less than 5 years, etc).

From my new Op-Ed with John Moeller of @weareinspiritus:

"While anxious shoppers across the country stockpile toilet paper and hand sanitizer, immigrants at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, struggle to make their lone bar of soap last the week."

ajc.com/news/opinion/o… "Even more so now, as ICE has confirmed at least 9 positive cases among detainees in the facility and 23 cases among personnel, according to the private prison contractor, CoreCivic, that operates the detention center."

wrbl.com/news/georgia-n…

THREAD: Here is the grim reality of what’s going on inside immigration detention centers in the U.S.

➡️ 38,000 in ICE custody
➡️ Continued immigration arrests
➡️ Insufficient hygiene supplies and medical support
➡️ At least 5 hunger strikes
➡️ Disregard of CDC guidance Days ago, 3,000 medical professionals sent a letter to ICE urging them to reduce population levels to protect public health.

The agency then increased its population by 700.

ICE even continued enforcement in COVID-19 hot spots like NY.

Via @rdevro
bit.ly/3dEH3Oe

According to the UN, this horrific swarm was made possible by extreme weather. The climate crisis is real, and the domino effects are devastating.
wsj.com/articles/swarm… Locusts feast; Africans face famine.

Swarms of locusts in the billions are eating their weight in vegetation every day and putting 20 million people in Africa at risk of starvation.