Tag: Trump immigration policy

New Bill Would Hold HHS Feet to Fire for Unaccompanied Minors

Whereabouts of nearly 1,500 undocumented children are reportedly unknown

A bipartisan group of senators have introduced a bill designed to ensure that the Department of Health and Human Services takes full responsibility for, and keeps better track of, unaccompanied children who come to the border seeking entry to the United States and then are placed with U.S. sponsors.

The legislation follows a new report that revealed that the government could not determine the whereabouts of nearly 1,500 children that HHS had placed with sponsors this year.

The bill, introduced Tuesday by Republican Sens. James Lankford of Oklahoma and Rob Portman of Ohio and Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Thomas R. Carper of Delaware, would require HHS to notify state governments before placing a child in a state with a sponsor and would increase the number of immigration court judges to help the Justice Department reduce the immigration case backlog.

View the complete September 21 article by Camila DeChalus on the Roll Call website here.

U.S. Loses Track of Another 1,500 Migrant Children, Investigators Find Image

A recreation area outside Casa Padre, an immigrant shelter for unaccompanied children, in Brownsville, Tex., in June. Credit: Loren Elliott, Reuters

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is unable to account for the whereabouts of nearly 1,500 migrant children who illegally entered the United States alone this year and were placed with sponsors after leaving federal shelters, according to congressional findings released on Tuesday.

The revelation echoes an admission in April by the Department of Health and Human Services that the government had similarly lost track of an additional 1,475 migrant children it had moved out of shelters last year.

In findings that lawmakers described as troubling, Senate investigators said the department could not determine with certainty the whereabouts of 1,488 out of 11,254 children the agency had placed with sponsors in 2018, based on follow-up calls from April 1 to June 30.

View the complete September 18 article by Ron Nixon on the New York Times website here.

U.S. reduces refugee ceiling to 30,000 for 2019

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that the U.S. will limit refugee admission to 30,000 in 2019, down from 45,000 in 2018. When Trump took office, the refugee cap stood at 110,000.

The big picture: It’s the smallest cap placed on the refugee program since it was created in 1980.

View the complete September 17 post on the Axios.com website here.

Arrests of migrant families rose 38 percent in August in what Trump officials call a ‘crisis’ at the border

A mother and her 5-year-old daughter from Honduras are detained by U.S. border agents in San Luis, Ariz., in July. Credit: Matt York, AP

The number of migrant family members arrested for illegally entering the United States shot up 38 percent in August, according to statistics released Wednesday, a surge homeland security officials characterized as a “crisis.”

Border Patrol agents apprehended nearly 13,000 members of “family units” last month, the latest data shows, the highest August total ever recorded. The increase followed President Trump’s decision to back off the provision of his “zero tolerance” crackdown that separated children from parents in an attempt to deter illegal migration.

Migration numbers typically rebound in August after a summer lull. Overall, the number of foreigners apprehended or deemed “inadmissible” at border crossings rose to 46,560 in August, up from 40,011 in July.

View the complete September 12, 2018, article by Nick Miroff on the Washington Post website.

THE LATEST: Families Suffer Continued Trauma From Trump’s ‘Unconscionable’ Family Separation

Hundreds of children remain separated from their families because of Trump’s cruel policy. Even after families are reunited, they continue to suffer from trauma. That is why the United Nations’ human rights chief recently denounced Trump’s family separation as a human rights violation and called it “unconscionable.” Here’s the latest:

The UN’s top human rights official denounced Trump’s family separation policy as a human rights violation and called it “unconscionable.”

The Hill: “The United Nations’s new top human rights official is calling the Trump administration’s family separation policy ‘unconscionable.’ Michelle Bachelet in her first speech on Monday denounced the practice as a human rights violation.” Continue reading “THE LATEST: Families Suffer Continued Trauma From Trump’s ‘Unconscionable’ Family Separation”

Trump administration to circumvent court limits on detention of child migrants

The following article by Nick Miroff and Maria Sacchetti was posted on the Washington Post website September 6, 2018:

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen. Credit: Cliff Owen, AP

The Trump administration took the first official step Thursday toward withdrawing from a court agreement limiting the government’s ability to hold minors in immigration jails, a move that could lead to the rapid expansion of detention facilities and more time in custody for children.

The changes proposed by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services would attempt to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement, the federal consent decree that has shaped detention standards for underage migrants since 1997.

The maneuver is almost certain to land the administration back in court, while raising the odds that the government eventually could petition the Supreme Court to grant the expanded detention authority lower courts have denied.

View the complete article here.

DNC Chair on Trump’s Proposal To Detain Children Indefinitely

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s proposal to circumvent court limits and detain immigrant children indefinitely:

“Donald Trump’s cruelty knows no bounds. Hundreds of children remain separated from their parents because of this administration’s actions. But instead of reuniting these families, they’re working to circumvent court limits so they can keep children detained for as long as their family’s case is evaluated, a process that can take years. This is an astonishing new low in one of our nation’s darkest hours. And Republicans in Congress refuse to do anything about it.

“Enough is enough. The American people want accountability and an end to this cruelty. Democrats believe our nation’s diversity is our greatest strength, and we will continue the fight to hold Trump accountable, to reunite separated children with their families, and to fix our broken immigration system.”

Companies Say Trump Is Hurting Business by Limiting Legal Immigration

The following article by Nelson D. Schwartz and Steve Lohr was posted on the New York Times website September 2, 2018:

Rob Hurst, manager of Edgartown Commons on Martha’s Vineyard, had to scrub bathrooms this summer because 5 Jamaican workers who’d long worked at the hotel couldn’t get visas. Credit: Elizabeth Cecil, The New York Times

The Trump administration is using the country’s vast and nearly opaque immigration bureaucracy to constrict the flow of foreign workers into the United States by throwing up new roadblocks to limit legal arrivals.

The government is denying more work visas, asking applicants to provide additional information and delaying approvals more frequently than just a year earlier. Hospitals, hotels, technology companies and other businesses say they are now struggling to fill jobs with the foreign workers they need.

With foreign hires missing, the employees who remain are being forced to pick up the slack. Seasonal industries like hotels and landscaping are having to turn down customers or provide fewer services. Corporate executives worry about the long-term impact of losing talented engineers and programmers to countries like Canada that are laying out the welcome mat for skilled foreigners.

View the complete article here.

Nearly 500 immigrant kids remain separated from parents. Most of their parents have been deported.

The following article by Addy Baird was posted on the ThinkProgress website August 31, 2018:

Twenty-two of those children are under the age of 5.

Credit: Mike Blake/Reuters

Nearly 500 migrant children are still separated from their parents, including 22 children under the age of five.

According to a government filing Thursday night, 497 of the 2,654 migrant children separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy are still being held in detention facilities, many of which have histories of abuse, mismanagement, or neglect.

The parents of 322 of those children have already been deported.

View the complete article here.

Want to Know More About: ICE Detained Infant Death

Mika Brzezinski: “A Toddler Who Crossed The Border With Her Guatemalan Mother Seeking Asylum In This Country Died After Receiving What Is Being Reported As Inadequate Medical Care While In ICE Custody.” BRZEZINSKI: “A toddler who crossed the border with her Guatemalan mother seeking asylum in this country died after receiving what is being reported as inadequate medical care while in I.C.E. Custody according to layers for the woman. The mother and her lawyers now plan to file several lawsuits alleging negligence and inadequate medical care when they were held in detention led to the toddler’s death.” [Morning Joe, MSNBC, 8/30/18; VIDEO]

Mika Brzezinski: “The Firm Alleges At The Detention Facility She Became Sick With A Severe Respiratory Infection That Went Under-treated For Nearly A Month.” BRZEZINSKI: “A statement from the law firm representing the mother says Marie had no health problems. At the detention facility she became sick severe respiratory infection that went under-treated for nearly a month. The firm also states that the girl’s mother continually sought attention from medical staff, was prescribed medications that did not improve the child’s condition and her daughter continued to get worse.” [Morning Joe, MSNBC, 8/30/18; VIDEO]