Migratory Notes 189
Biden’s immigration moves; GOP multiethnic coalition, smuggling boom
Know someone who might like Migratory Notes? Please help us spread the word: Here’s the subscribe form and here’s an archive on Medium. Got a story or an immigration-related resource or opportunity we should know about? Send it on!
#MustRead
Trump effectively shut down borders, but he failed to stop the growth of immigration’s impact on the U.S. population, reports The New York Times. “All the attention on the border ignored the much more significant growth in immigration that was happening elsewhere in the country,” Miriam Jordan writes in a deep dive into national shifts. “Even with one of the most severe declines in immigration since the 1920s, the country is on an irreversible course to becoming ever more diverse, and more dependent on immigrants and their children.”
Biden Administration
Biden made big immigration promises, notably to create a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, but carrying many of them out will depend upon the Senate, reports NPR. If blocked in Congress, Biden can still use executive powers to bypass Congress as Trump did. Here is where to expect some initial changes:
Biden plans to sign a series of executive orders when he takes office in January, revoking some of the 400+ that Trump signed. Among them:
- A reversal of the “Muslim” travel ban
- The reinstatement/ extension of DACA
Additional likely initial policy moves:
- Reverse Trump’s border wall policy by ending construction, although CBP said that border wall construction of projects already funded will continue for the rest of Trump’s term. (Politico, Border Report)
- Hundred-day deportation moratorium (CBS News)
- Withdrawal from agreements to send asylum seekers to Central American countries (CBS News)
- Increase the refugee cap from 15,000 to 125,000 (Reuters)
- Reforms to the H-1B visa program for foreign skilled workers (Reuters)
- A shift in the bilateral approach to border security that includes aid to Mexico (Texas Tribune)
Other changes, like ending the Remain in Mexico program could result in an influx at the border, and Biden is not likely to change the policy quickly, at least during the pandemic.
For more details, check out Reuters’ handy guide to what to expect on immigration.
Latino Vote
The Biden campaign said they haven’t yet identified any key mistakes in their strategy for reaching Latino voters, reports Politico. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Dems are scapegoating Latinos instead of analyzing why the party is losing white voters. Meanwhile, Republicans see the election pointing toward more voters of color for their party: “The future of the party is based on a multiethnic, multiracial working class coalition,” Sen. Marco Rubio told Axios.
One of the most significant shifts in Latino voters were Mexican Americans in the Rio Grande Valley, where Democrats fell behind in places they had previously made gains, reports The Washington Post. In Zapata County, for example, Trump won by 5 percentage points after losing it by 33 to Hillary Clinton in 2016, reports The New York Times. Latino South Texas voters cited Trump’s economic policy and anti-abortion stance as reasons they voted for him, reports The Dallas Morning News. The economic toll of the pandemic and the loss of jobs in the oil industry also may have swayed them, reports The Wall Street Journal.
More than a week after elections, journalists and analysts continue to debate the “Latino vote” — and whether it actually exists. Migratory Notes board member Roberto Suro, who back in 1999 wrote Strangers Among Us: Latino Lives in a Changing America, argues it is time to embrace power in the diversity of this broad group. “Latinos have many voices,” Suro writes in the LA Times. “They exercise power by different means, in many venues, with a variety of objectives. In post-Trump America, that can be a great source of strength.”
Election Reactions
- DACA recipients hope a new administration will mean more than just relief from deportation, but also a path to citizenship. (Boston 25 News)
- Asylum seekers at the Matamoros tent camp celebrated a Biden win by parading a Trump effigy around the camp with the grim reaper following behind. But some remain cautiously optimistic about their futures even with a change in president. (The Monitor, Border Report)
- Some DHS officials are relieved that they won’t have to face another four years of Trump’s “frantic changes” to the immigration system. Many considered quitting if he won a second term. (BuzzFeed News)
- Cuban voters who supported Trump cheered for “four more years” and echoed baseless claims of voter fraud. They say they found freedom in the U.S. under Trump after fleeing Cuba. (Miami Herald)
Immigration is an International Issue
The Guatemalan president said Monday that he would ask the U.S. to give temporary protected status to Guatemalans in the U.S. after Tropical Storm Eta killed at least 44 and damaged more than 20,000 homes, reports AP. The country’s foreign minister submitted a formal request to U.S. ambassador William Popp Wednesday, citing 700,000 people affected, reports Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre. In neighboring Honduras, the hurricane has led to widespread flooding and an estimated 400,000 people displaced, reports Vice News. It is unknown if Honduras will make the same request.
Family Separation
Lawyers working to reunite parents separated from their children at the border said they are still looking for 666 parents, more than the previously reported estimate of 545 parents they tried and failed to contact, reports NBC News. The number now includes parents without a phone number provided by the government. Lawyers said they hope the government provides more information to help with the searches. President-elect Biden has pledged to create a task force on his first day in office to reunite the children with their families, reports Reuters.
Detention
With Biden elected, stocks in private prison companies fell last week, reports Crimmigation/ Telemundo.
Allegations are growing that ICE is trying to deport women who came forward about nonconsensual gynecological procedures at a Georgia detention center, reports Vice News. At least six witnesses told Vice that ICE deported them or tried to deport them to prevent them from providing their full testimony. At least two women say they were nearly deported to Mexico despite having little ties there after leaving as toddlers. Six other women have already been deported, reports AP. ICE denies the allegations and says it is cooperating with an ongoing investigation.
During the pandemic, churches have stepped up to provide their address to immigrants seeking release from ICE detention, reports the LA Times. Some activists are calling this a new sanctuary movement, which started in the 1980s as a way to help Central Americans fleeing conflicts.
Border
The shutting of the border has had an unintended consequence: fortifying smugglers, reports Reuters. “It’s led to an increase in repeated border crossing attempts, data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows,” write Laura Gottesdiener and Sarah Kinosian. “And it’s benefiting the illegal networks that move people from Central America to the United States.”
A Border Patrol agent shot and injured an immigrant in Texas after the man allegedly tried to resist arrest. This is the second Border Patrol shooting in the area in two weeks, reports The Monitor.
Enforcement
An ICE billboard campaign in North Carolina has caused controversy between immigration officials and the local sheriff. The billboards show photos of immigrants released from local law enforcement custody, who ICE claims are dangerous and threaten public safety, reports Fox 46 Charlotte. The local sheriff says the billboards are misleading because they give the impression he is releasing dangerous criminals, when in fact these people go through a process to determine if it is safe to release them on bond, reports The Charlotte Observer. ICE launched a similar anti-sanctuary policy campaign in Pennsylvania before the elections.
Courts
Harris County in Texas approved a $2.5 million taxpayer-funded deportation defense fund for immigrants facing deportation who can’t pay for counsel, joining a number of other cities in Texas, New York, California that have similar public defender-style programs, reports the Houston Chronicle. An OpEd in Bloomberg reports this is part of a growing movement: “Prior to 2017, locally funded programs to provide public defenders to those facing deportation existed in only two states. Today, there are nearly 40 jurisdictions across 18 states that provide lawyers to as many immigrants as possible facing deportation.”
Recent Trump Admin Immigration Moves
The Trump administration is planning to lengthen the naturalization test to add more questions, a move that could make it more difficult for immigrants to pass the citizenship exam, reports CNN.
Farmworkers on temporary visas say the Trump administration is trying to cut their wages, reports NPR.
Follows
- Deportations of unaccompanied minors to Guatemala has more than tripled from 2019 to 2020 after the Trump administration started a policy to rapidly expel migrants during the pandemic. (The Guardian)
- Since July, Guatemalans abroad have sent about a billion dollars per month home to their families, keeping many afloat during the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. (Vice News)
Immigration Resources & Opportunities
Coronavirus Resources
- Immigrants in COVID America documents the health, economic and social impact of COVID-19. (Immigrant History Research Center)
- Database of more than 200 COVID relief funds that are accessible to refugees and other immigrants, including without legal status. (IRAP)
- Updates on immigration developments during COVID-19 (Center for Migration Studies)
- Map of detention centers tracking coronavirus outbreaks (Freedom for Immigrants)
- COVID-19 resources for undocumented immigrants (UndocuScholars)
- Database of likely deportation flights during the pandemic (Center for Economic and Policy Research)
- Informed Immigrant is an online resource that provides information for undocumented immigrant communities in the U.S. during the coronavirus.
Recently released immigration books and films (got one, send it over)
- After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America by Jessica Goudeau (September 2020)
- Next Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move by Sonia Shah argues climate change migration is a solution rather than a crisis. (August 2020)
- Unforgetting: A Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs, and Revolution in the Americas by Roberto Lovato. (September 2020)
- Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda by Jean Guerrero (August 2020)
- Separated: Inside an American Tragedy by NBC correspondent Jacob Soboroff tells the story of the long-term impact of the family separation policy on families. (July 2020)
- 14 Miles: Building the Border Wall by DW Gibson covers the repercussions of the wall in San Diego. (July 2020)
- “USA V Scott” a documentary that depicts the moral dilemma facing Arizona residents, who must decide whether or not to help desperate migrants they come across, using the case of activist Scott Warren as a case study.
- The Deportation Machine: America’s Long History of Expelling Immigrants by Adam Goodman. The book examines how public officials have used different forms of deportations and expulsion “to purge immigrants from the country and exert control over those who remain.” (June 2020)
- One Mighty and Irresistible Tide: The Epic Struggle Over American Immigration, 1924–1965 by Jia Lynn Yang, chronicles the major changes in U.S. immigration policy in the 20th century and their profound impact on immigrant families including her own. (May 2020)
- The Dispossessed: A Story of Asylum at the US-Mexican Border and Beyond by John Washington. The book takes an in-depth look at the Trump administration’s attack on asylum, told through the story of one Salvadoran dad, Arnovis. (May 2020)
- Migranthood: Youth in a New Era of Deportation, by anthropologist Lauren Heidbrink, chronicles deportation from the perspectives of Indigenous youth who migrate unaccompanied from Guatemala. (April 2020)
Reporting Initiatives about Immigrant Communities
- Borderless: a non-profit online magazine reimagining coverage of the immigration system.
- Documented: a non-profit news site covering immigrants in New York.
- Ethnic Media Services: organization that works with ethnic media organizations to improve coverage and reach.
- Feet In Two Worlds: project that tells immigrant stories and provides fellowships for immigrant journalists.
- Finding American: a collaboration between documentary photographer Colin Boyd Shafer and immigrants to feature their stories.
- The Immigrant Story: a project between journalists, photographers, graphic designers and developers to document and archive immigrants’ stories.
- ImmPrint: an online publication by and for people affected by immigrant detention.
- New Michigan Media: a network of ethnic and minority media across the state of Michigan.
- Newest Americans: a multimedia collaboration between journalists, media-makers, artists, faculty and students telling the stories of the immigrant and immigrant communities in Newark, NJ.
- Refugees (Santa Fe Dreamers Project): a collection of testimonies from asylum seekers in partnership with the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center.
Newsletters, Podcasts, & Facebook Groups
- Immigrant & Democracy from Harvard University’s immigration initiative.
- Detention Dispatches by Capital & Main follows the conditions in ICE detention centers during the pandemic.
- In The Thick podcast covers the coronavirus impact on immigrant communities from Chelsea, MA to the Bronx, New York.
- Only Here is a podcast about the “subcultures, creativity and struggles” at the US-Mexico border from KPBS
- Nuestro South is a podcast exploring the experiences of Latinx people in the U.S. south.
- Salvadoran investigative media outlet El Faro has launched an English-language newsletter with reporting from Central America.
- ¿Qué Pasa, Midwest? Podcast tells stories of Latino life “from the homeland to the heartland.”
- Frontera Dispatch is a weekly newsletter by the Hope Border Institute on news and analysis from the border.
- BIB Daily Edition is a free aggregation of “inside immigration news” (court cases, new regulations and the like) and “outside news” (culled from the mainstream and not-so-mainstream media).
- Center for Migration Studies Migration Update is a weekly digest of news, faith reflections, and analysis of international migration and refugee protection.
- Migration Information Source from the Migration Policy Institute offers a series of newsletters.
- Documented NY’s Early Arrival newsletter aggregates information on immigration in New York and nationally.
- Politico’s Morning Shift newsletter: a daily read on employment and immigration.
- Tempest Tossed, a podcast with “conversations on immigration and refugees that go beyond the predictable soundbites.”
- Displaced, a podcast from the International Rescue Committee.
- A is for America America’s Voice discusses immigrant politics and organizing.
- Only in America National Immigration Forum’s podcast about the people behind immigration issues.
Curriculum & Campaigns
- Doctors for Immigrants released a toolkit to welcome and protect immigrants within the healthcare system.
- We Have Rights is a campaign to educate immigrants about rights in encounters with ICE
- Ecologies of Migrant Care has collected nearly 100 interviews with migrants, activists, academics and other immigration experts to shed light on the reasons why Central Americans flee and detail the networks that have developed to help them along their journey.
- Moving Stories is an app and curriculum to capture and share immigrant stories.
- Re-imagining Migration has resources and lessons to teach about migration, immigration, refugees, and civic empowerment through history, literature, and the sciences
- The Advocates for Human Rights and the Immigration History Research Center at UMN free curriculum that helps students learn about U.S. immigration through personal narratives: Teaching Immigration with the Immigrant Stories Project
- Freedom for Immigrants publishes an Immigration Detention Syllabus
Reporting resources, tools and tips
- The Immigrant Defense project created a style guide for journalists reporting on immigration.
- Digital First Responders: A database, report, and case study of how immigrant news outlets are innovating to serve their communities. (Center for Community Media).
- Journalists who have been targeted for their work can send incident reports through the online platform of Press Freedom Tracker.
- No Refuge from Council on Foreign Relations’ InfoGuide series, includes an interactive map of origin and destination countries for refugees, and policy options that can help refugees and support host states.
- Covering Immigration Enforcement webinar from Poynter with Marshall Project contributing writer Julia Preston.
- Tools for covering ICE from the Columbia Journalism Review
- Migration Reporting Resources (Global Investigative Journalism Network)
- Resources for Investigating Visas (Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting)
- Reporting on Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Immigrants (90 Days, 90 Voices)
- Immigration Data Resources: An extensive, and growing, list of immigration resources curated by PRI’s Angilee Shah.
If there’s a story or immigration-related opportunity you think we should consider, please send us an email.
*Daniela Gerson is a co-founder and the editor of Migratory Notes. She is an assistant professor of Journalism at California State University, Northridge and senior fellow at the Center for Community Media (CCM) at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at City University of New York (CUNY). Previously she was a community engagement editor at the LA Times; editor of a trilingual hyperlocal publication, Alhambra Source; staff immigration reporter for the New York Sun; and a contributor to outlets including WNYC: New York Public Radio, The World, Der Spiegel, Financial Times, CNN, and The New York Times. She recently published Digital First Responders: How innovative news outlets are meeting the needs of immigrant communities, a report for the Center for Community Media. You can find her on Twitter @dhgerson
*Elizabeth Aguilera is co-founder and executive editor of Migratory Notes. She is a multimedia reporter for CalMatters where she co-hosts the new political podcast California State of Mind and covers the health and welfare of California’s next generation. Previously she covered health care and social services, including immigration for the digital outlet. Before joining CalMatters Aguilera reported on community health for Southern California Public Radio. She’s also reported on immigration for the San Diego Union-Tribune, where she won a Best of the West award for her work on sex trafficking between the U.S. and Mexico; and worked for the Denver Post covering urban affairs and immigration. You can find her on Twitter @1eaguilera
*Anna-Cat Brigida is a staff writer for Migratory Notes. She is a freelance reporter covering immigration and human rights in Mexico and Central America. She began covering immigration as a journalism student at USC Annenberg and later moved to Central America to work as a reporter. She has covered the region since 2015 and has been based in El Salvador since January 2018. She has also worked as a Spanish-language writer for Fusion out of the Mexico City office. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, The Guardian, Univision, LA Times, and Al Jazeera, among others. You can find her on Twitter @AnnaCat_Brigida
*Yana Kunichoff is a special projects editor for Migratory Notes. She currently covers public education for Chalkbeat Chicago. She was project manager for Migrahack 2016 in Chicago. She has also produced feature-length documentaries and a pop-culture web series for Scrappers Film Group; worked as a fellow with City Bureau, where she won a March 2016 Sidney Hillman award for an investigation into fatal police shootings; and covered race and poverty issues for the Chicago Reporter. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Atlantic, Pacific Standard and Chicago magazine among others. You can find her on Twitter @yanazure
*Migratory Notes Advisory Board: Daniel Connolly, Maria Kari, Dan Kowalski, Paola Marizán, Mirta Ojito, Roberto Suro, Phuong Ly, Fernanda Santos
