Migratory Notes 37
How Chad landed on the Travel Ban list, abortions in detention, confiscating property
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Two women from Honduras seek asylum in the U.S. with nearly identical cases. One woman is allowed to stay; the other is forced to leave. The difference: which judge hears the case, and where. A Reuters team of journalists analyzed thousands of court decisions and found huge discrepancies, among them one judge who deports 89 percent of the time, and another judge who grants stays 93 percent of the time.
Chad, Travel Ban 3.0, and Passport Paper
Why was Chad added to the list of countries in travel ban 3.0, which includes the non-Muslim additions of Venezuela and North Korea? The AP says the reason is they ran out of paper. “This is the story of how an office supply glitch became a major irritant between the United States and one of its close security partners,” Josh Lederman writes. “The passport paper issue helps to illustrate the infighting within Trump’s administration that led up to the revised travel order.”
For now, paper supply or not, that travel ban is blocked. A federal judge in Hawaii halted it, writing Tuesday that it “suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor,” Namely, that it, “plainly discriminates based on nationality” and that the government had not demonstrated that admitting people from those countries could put the U.S. at risk, The New York Times reports.
NorCal Fires, Fine Wine, and Grape Harvesters
The crucial role of immigrants, many of them in the U.S. illegally, in the wine business was made evident when fires ravaged Northern California’s vineyards. Under evacuation and unsure about the fate of their homes, some immigrants worked through the night picking Cabernet Sauvignon because the grapes needed harvesting and they needed to be paid, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The next steps for immigrant workers impacted by the fires is precarious, with potentially dire consequences for the regional industry if they choose to leave the area. Workers often do not qualify for disaster aid and their homes may be ruined, The New York Times reports. A Sonoma County farmer described the effect if immigrant workers were to leave as “catastrophic to our economy.”
Justice
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to allow an undocumented Central American in immigration custody to have an abortion, reports The Washington Post. Court filings make clear indicate the federal government is trying to prevent minors in its custody from getting abortions, a departure from practices under Obama.
Nine states and the District of Columbia are suing DHS for its failure to turn over FOIA records about its deportation plans, reports Bloomberg Politics.
Detention
The Trump administration is planning to open several new immigration detention centers, reports USA Today. Possible sites are Chicago, Detroit, St. Paul, Salt Lake City and southern Texas, where the AP reports the center could hold up to 1,000 beds.
One of the ways ICE expects to fill new detention centers is by quadrupling workplace crackdowns in the next year, reports CNN. Immigration judges will be evaluated against new benchmarks in an effort to push through a 600,000-case backlog, reports WNPR, a move that many judges have opposed.
Enforcement
An internal ICE handbook obtained by The Intercept provides a glimpse into how agents are instructed to carefully appraise the value of of property before confiscating it under the rules of asset forfeiture.
Police in Oakland made false statements about their involvement in an immigration raid, signalling that federal authorities may have found a way to circumvent Oakland’s status as a sanctuary city, reports the East Bay Express.
An immigrant mother from Liberia who feared deportation drowned her children in the bathtub, AP reports. The woman, who lived in Delaware, called 911 saying that she was worried her visa had lapsed. But she had legal status and it is not immediately clear why these fears led her to kill her two children.
Refugees
The New Yorker places the responsibility for the United States having the lowest refugee cap on record, at 45,000, with one man: White House top aide Stephen Miller. Another White House aide told Jonathan Blitzer, “He basically just had a political agenda: to limit the number of foreign nationals who come into our country.”
Before Miller arrived at the White House, Facebook and Google also played a role, helping a conservative advocacy group target voters in swing states with anti-refugee messages during the 2016 election, according to Bloomberg.
DACA
With little movement from Congress to find a solution for DACA, a coalition of corporate CEOs and local politicians have launched a project called ‘The Dream Coalition’ to push for action.
The Trump administration has been ordered by a federal judge to turn over documents it used in assessing whether DACA was constitutional, reports Politico.
Immigration as Pop Culture
CBS announced it’s developing a show centered around an immigration attorney, joining a trend of popular television shows are taking up the immigration crackdownreports The Washington Post. Superstore, Jane the Virgin, and Fresh Off the Boat have all tackled stories about undocumented immigrants.
In the years leading up to World War II, Immigration and Naturalization Services started its own radio show aimed at promoting the stories of naturalized citizens, found NPR. The show was aptly named ‘I’m an American.’
Immigrant Soldiers
Joining the military used to be an accessible path to citizenship for some immigrants. But in recent weeks, the Army has indefinitely halted all enlistment of legal permanent residents into the Army Reserves and National Guard, reports the Washington Post. Green card holders looking to join the Army as active-duty soldiers can’t start basic training until their background check clears.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters that he would support the return of a separate program that offers fast-track citizenship to foreign military recruits,reports The Washington Post. The program was suspended one year ago.
Immigration is an International Issue
Austria emerged as the latest country in Europe to support hard-line positions on immigration. The Washington Post reports the new head of government, 31-year-old Sebastian Kurz, campaigned on strengthening border controls, reducing caps on refugees and cutting benefits for the newly arrived. The win sets him up to become Austrians next chancellor.
Tech giants Amazon and Facebook are expanding in Mexico, as they try to take advantage of Trump’s anti-immigration policies. In Guadalajara recruiters are trying to land 10 new companies by the end of the year and WeWork, the popular shared-office company, has opened five new sites. Reuters reports that all of this has been spurred by Trump’s moves to reduce H-1B visas, which tech companies rely on, and the cancellation of DACA. “This may be a good soft landing spot for people who are incredibly well prepared and may be able to take advantage of building their American Dream back in Mexico,” said Bismarck Lepe, CEO of Wizeline, a San Francisco tech firm with 260 employees in Mexico.
Border Wall
Along the border in Texas, local officials are calling for a virtual wall that uses technology and men on the ground to protect the area versus the physical wall Trump has been pushing for. They argue an actual brick and mortar wall would obstruct cross border trade and shopping, impact the environment and not work as well as a virtual wall in areas across Texas, reports the Dallas Morning News.
Follow — Border truck deaths
The Texas truck driver implicated in the death of 10 immigrants found in a sweltering van in San Antonio plead guilty to human smuggling charges, and could face life in prison, reports Reuters.
JOB POSTINGS & OPPORTUNITIES
Resources
DACA studies/ guides:
- Who are the DACA recipients (Urban Institute) also check out Local Insights from DACA (Brookings)
- DACA, the DREAM Act and undocumented immigrants: A primer for journalists (Journalist’s Resource/ Shorenstein Center)
- Guide for DACA recipients (Immigrant Legal Resource Center)
- The Migration Policy Institute released a report about the education and work profiles of the DACA set
- Define American DACA #FactsMatter sheet
- Center for American Progress produced a report on DACA Recipients’ Economic and Educational Gains
Immigration related curriculum
- Re-imagining immigration 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 recently released a free curriculum that helps students learn about U.S. immigration through personal narratives: Teaching Immigration with the Immigrant Stories Project
- Imm-print published an Immigration Detention Syllabus
Recently released immigration books and reports (got one, send it over)
- New Italian Migrations to the United States, including reports on role shaping 1965 immigration laws.
- Special report released on the Politics of Immigration and Education from the journal Education Policy.
Immigration reporting tools and tips
- New tool from Trac maps cases pending in immigration court
- Tips on covering immigration when you do not live near the border (Daniel Connolly, from IRE 2017)
Podcasts to check out
- The New American Songbook from Groundtruth Project looks at the stories behind the songs of immigrants.
- Voices in America
- Mash-Up American
Immigration Jobs and Opportunities
- Managing Editor — Southern California Public Radio
- Program Manager and Interns for Spring and Summer — Hello Neighbor
- Communications Consultant — Global Detention Project
- Resource and Organizational Development Director — America’s Voice
- The new Emerson Collective Immigration Incubator is interested in supporting tools, technologies, and ideas that will improve immigrant services and advocacy efforts. Applications open September 25 and close October 20.
- Associate Editor, Investigations Think Progress
- PRI’s Global Nation is accepting pitches for stories about immigration and diversity
That’s all for Migratory Notes 37. We’re based in LA, so help us out by letting us know what’s going on elsewhere. If there’s a story you think we should consider, please send us an email.
Special thanks to intern Dalia Espinosa. Other thank you to those who helped this week, knowingly or unknowingly. Jacque Boltik for creating our template. Yana Kunichoff, Daysha Eaton, Mica Rosenberg, Michele Henry, Daniel Kowalski, Audrey Singer, Jason Alcorn, Voice of San Diego Border Report, Global Nation Exchange FB group, Migration Information Source, and countless tweeters.
*Daniela Gerson is an assistant professor at California State University, Northridge with a focus on community, ethnic, and participatory media. She is also a senior fellow at the Democracy Fund. Before that she was a community engagement editor at the LA Times; founding 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 wrote “I feel like I have to go back into hiding” for the Los Angeles Times. You can find her on Twitter @dhgerson
*Elizabeth Aguilera is a multimedia reporter for CALmatters covering health and social services, including immigration. Previously she 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 before that she covered a variety of beats and issues for the Denver Post including urban affairs and immigration. Her latest story is California lags in testing toddlers for lead exposure. You can find her on Twitter @1eaguilera
