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CHICAGOEvergreen Park police officers pulled over Cecilia Garcias husband, Hugo Velasco, for an expired license plate in 2012. One asked if he was in the country legally, and he answered honestly. He wasnt.

Later that night, Velasco called home from the police station. The police had contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement; he was being deported for the secondtime.

Because it was his second deportation, Velasco was barred from legally re-entering the United States for 10years. Soon, he was back in Mexico. Garcia, aU.S. citizen, was left to raise their five children by herself. She says that, overnight, she had to be both a mom and dad without mychoice.

Velasco is one of more than 5million immigrants the U.S. government deported between 2002 and 2020, another casualty of asystem that tears families apart and leaves deportees with difficult odds of returning. The Biden administration has signaled awillingness to review the cases of thousands of immigrants it believes were unjustly deported during the Trump years, but as immigrant rights activists are eager to point out (and as people like Garcia have experienced), family separation is bigger than any oneadministration.

Theres asilent, invisible group of people who desperately need relief, and who arent explicitly mentioned in [conversations about immigration reform], says Csar Miguel R. Vega Magalln, Mexico advocacy fellow at the Rhizome Center for Migrants, abinational nonprofit that provides legal services for deported immigrants. Vega Magalln wants reforms to include deportees, as well as the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the UnitedStates.

Drawing inspiration from movements for displaced peoples in Palestine and elsewhere, the Rhizome Center has spearheaded a #Right2Return campaign. It broadens immigrant rights advocacy to include those separated from their families and forcibly expelled from the country. Other campaigns, such as Bring Them Home, have focused on individual Dreamers who were deported during the Obama administration; #Right2Return asserts that family reunification and returning home are basic humanrights.

Garcia, in addition to working multiple jobs to compensate for the familys lost second income, co-founded Family Reunification Not Deportation in 2015. The human rights organization provides support to immigrants and, along with groups like Al Otro Lado (To the Other Side), has joined Rhizome in calling for the right to return for people unjustlydeported.

On January 28, Rhizome published an open letter (co-signed by Family Reunification, Al Otro Lado and 69 other groups across the United States, Mexico and Germany) calling on the Biden administration to adopt aseries of policies that would grant the right to return. These policies include waivers on automatic bans (like Velasco received) and discretionary relief for those who have been criminalized, have had contact with the criminal legal system, or have criminalrecords.

Rhizome has also held aseries of live chats with groups such as Human Rights Watch and Deportados Unidos en la Lucha (Deportees United in Struggle), among other groups, to examine the consequences of mass deportation and the importance of providing deported immigrants apath to return. For now, the campaign is focused on getting immigrant rights organizations to treat deportees as more than anafterthought.

When someone gets deported, that person is not the only one affected; an entire community is being affected, says Maggie Loredo, co-director of Otros Dreams en Accin (Other Dreams in Action), adeportee-led nonprofit based in Mexico City and one of the signatories on Rhizomes open letter. As part of acoalition of advocacy groups, Otros Dreams has helped lead the Leave No One Behind Mural Project, which pushes for family reunification and new pathways to citizenship for deportedveterans.

In early July, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced anew initiative to review the cases of deported veterans and their immediate families. According to apress statement, immigration agencies will create a rigorous, systematic approach to review the cases of individuals whose removals failed to live up to our highest values. Advocates estimate the initiative could provide hundreds, or potentially thousands, of deported veterans achance to come home, but it remains unclear whether President Joe Biden is willing to reckon with the millions of other deportations that were executed when he was vice president during the Obamayears.

Until aright of return is codified into law, the deported and their families will continue to bear the burden of punitive U.S. immigration policies. We have these systems that are just meant to break us, break families apart, break communities apart, says Pricila Rivas, adeportee who works at Al Otro Lado. Something needs tochange.

See more here:
Under Biden, Migrants Continue Fighting for the Right to Return to the U.S. - In These Times

By Morf Morford

Tacoma Daily Index

If there were any issue that you would think would unite us as a nation, since literally 99% of us are or are descendants of immigrants, that issue would be immigration policy.

But in spite of personal history, a couple centuries of unparalleled progress and prosperity and unmatched achievements across Nobel Prizes, Olympics awards and technological breakthroughs, we still argue about what is clearly our biggest and most reliable strength.

This is not an opinion.

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This was, in fact the focus of a recent session put on by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. You can see the entire session here: https://www.uschamber.com/on-demand/immigration/how-immigration-reform-will-drive-economic-growth?autoplay=1&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=SFMC&utm_campaign=&utm_content=.

The name of the session was Putting Communities First: How Immigration Reform Will Drive Economic Growth.

As our economy recovers from COVID related repercussions, we need workers lots of them. In every area.

From pilots to doctors to teachers to restaurant workers, we need workers from every conceivable skill level and vocational field.

If your personal experience hasnt shown you, here are a few statistics that will show all too clearly what the issues are, how high the stakes are and what the solution is.

Seasonal workers

The U.S. cant meet demand for seasonal workers. In the first half of FY 2021, the Labor Department certified that American employers had 126,943 seasonal employment opportunities they could not fill with American workers.

This affects landscapers, seafood processors, forestry companies, construction firms, among many others, many of which are small businesses.

This also impacts the cost and availability of fresh produce for all of us.

Small businesses

A poll by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife found that less than half of small business owners can find the workers they need. (https://www.uschamber.com/series/above-the-fold/less-half-of-small-business-owners-can-find-workers-new-poll-shows)

The majority of small business owners (55%) think the U.S. small business climate will return to normal in six months to a year. Only 27% think the climate will return to normal in under six months.

I see Help wanted signs almost everywhere I go.

Many small business owners report that they would put people to work the day they apply.

Most businesses offer better pay and benefits and even sign-up bonuses and more flexible schedules

This was unheard of just a few months ago.

Tourism?

In tourism and travel dependent industries and regions, the problem is far worse.

Hospitality businesses like restaurants, hotels, and resorts are cutting back or closing altogether.

Fewer hours means less revenue and a poorer customer experience, which hurts the reputation of a tourist-dependent region. Service and wait times at restaurants and for hotel rooms to be cleaned are expanding and frustrating for employers and customers alike. Theres even a huge shortage of Uber and Lyft drivers.

Students

You might think of students as going to school. They do, of course, but they do much more than that.

They work, learn about American culture and develop networks and many of them start businesses.

Our economy needs those seasonal and part-time workers, and we need those students with their entrepreneurial energy and networks to stay here and set up their businesses within our borders.

These students, with their assets and energy, are our future.

Anyone remember the term brain drain?

That was the term used to describe the literal migration to the USA of almost every nations best and brightest young people as they sought opportunities unavailable at home but abundant here.

Somehow in recent years, brain drain of another sort seems to have developed among American politicians as many sought to cancel or cut foreign student programs and even expelled or deported recent graduates forcing them to build their companies outside of our borders instead of inside them.

These are not the entrepreneurs, professionals, medical and technological innovators who are going to TAKE our jobs, they are the entrepreneurs, professionals, medical and technological innovators who are going to CREATE our jobs.

Inherent bias

Some might argue that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is biased.

Or that I am.

Yes, that is certainly true. I and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are heavily biased in terms of increased opportunity, prosperity and stability of our society and economy.

What we believe is that what WILL make our economy strong is what has always made it strong; encouraging, even welcoming, those whose vision and energy can find a home here even if it might not anywhere else.

Unlike those politicians who seem to have failed Econ 101, I want the brain drain to work for us and not against us.

If you want to see more on how immigration impacts local communities and economies, look here: https://www.uschamber.com/series/above-the-fold/why-immigration-reform-matters-local-communities-0?.

See more here:
Immigration: the issue that makes us crazy - Tacoma Daily News

We work at the George W. Bush Institute on challenges that would appear to be disconnected: modernizing Americas immigration system and promoting a reliable flow of information. But they come together directly and forcefully at Americas southern border, which remains the epicenter of the nations immigration debate and has emerged as a new front line in the need for truth-telling over fake news.

We see border issues and disinformation converging in three ways: smugglers spreading false information about border security, those same smugglers spreading disinformation about the safety of trips to the border and a Russian campaign to spread misleading narratives. Combating these realities will require comprehensive immigration reform, a vigilant effort to counter disinformation and better use of Spanish-language media to convey truthful information.

Of course, human smugglers have long used lies to tempt migrants to come to the United States border. They continue that habit today by leading would-be migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to believe that the Biden administration is throwing the gates open for them to seek a new life in the United States. As NPR reported this spring, Misinformation spread by smuggling organizations is helping spur this surge in migration from Central America.

The border, however, is not wide open. While President Biden rescinded the Trump administration policy of not allowing in unaccompanied minors or some asylum-seekers with children, the current administration is drawing upon public health guidance as it continues to expel migrants along the southern border. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 103,014 of the 178,416 migrants who Border Patrol encountered in June were sent back to Mexico.

Smugglers also maliciously trick migrant families into thinking that their trip to the United States will be an easy, comfortable family vacation. In reality, crossings at times run from brutal to deadly.

The Russians, meanwhile, are adding an extra wrinkle. Adm. Craig Faller, head of the U.S. Southern Command, recently informed Congress that disinformation can drive migration. As an example, pieces from RT en Espaol, which is part of the government-controlled Russia Today operation, end up in popular local media outlets, where they provide misleading information about the border to potential migrants.

The best way to stop the unreliable flow of information is to fix our broken immigration system, which gives smugglers ample room to spread disinformation. If we modernize our system with regularized, legal and realistic pathways for immigrants to enter our country, we could help curb inaccurate information. We particularly should expand temporary worker visa programs and diversify employment-based green cards so that migrants who want to work here can do so without attempting to cross the southwest border.

Countering disinformation also involves a smart media strategy. Advertising in Central American media outlets is crucial to countering the smugglers misinformation as well as misleading RT en Espaol stories. Earlier this year, the White House launched an ad campaign in Spanish- and Indigenous-language media outlets to inform would-be migrants our border is not wide-open. Good. Keep up the just-the-facts campaign.

For their part, U.S. journalists should remain vigilant about distinguishing between asylum-seekers and other migrants. U.S. law stipulates that seeking asylum is the legal right of people trying to escape corruption, violence and extortion at home. TV footage of people crossing on foot, especially, should provide context about who is attempting to cross the border legally and illegally. Otherwise, the footage risks sensationalizing immigration realities.

Spanish-language media outlets in the United States are an important means for the administration as well as journalists to get the facts out, and they should take that responsibility seriously. Spanish-language papers in Los Angeles, New York, Dallas and elsewhere are major sources of information for families here and abroad.

Spanish-language TV stations are especially important. The Pew Research Centers latest data show that about 1.1 million viewers watch Univisions evening newscast, while about 700,000 people view Telemundos evening newscast. Those networks also own affiliates that reach local audiences with their own reporting.

We can and must solve our immigration challenges, starting with reforming our immigration system. Solving that challenge, however, also requires a reliable flow of truthful information.

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Commentary: Getting information right is crucial to solving the border crisis - Press Herald

More than 80,000 young undocumented immigrants who hoped to gain legal protections through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program had their dreams dashed in July when a federal judge in Texas closed the program to first-time applicants.

The judges unfortunate ruling has prompted Democrats to redouble their efforts to create a more permanent legal-status solution for these young people, often called Dreamers, who were brought to our country illegally as children and call no other nation home.

This time, advocates for the Dreamers, including the Chicago City Council Latino Caucus and Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, are putting their hopes in a proposed $3.5 trillion federal budget plan, supported only by Democrats on Capitol Hill, to finally achieve this fundamental immigration reform. Because it is a budget bill, Democrats could push it through by a simple majority vote, bypassing Republican opposition.

President Joe Biden last Thursday made clear he supports including immigration reform specific steps to protect Dreamers from deportation and possibly give them a clear path to citizenship in the budget package. But Biden did not spell out exactly what changes he has in mind. And Republicans, for their part, wonder what immigration reform has to do with the budget.

We would remind the Republican critics that federal budgets are never just about dollars and cents, but always about values and priorities, whether that means earmarking funds for a border wall, for early childhood education, for Social Security or as in this latest case for a program to protect young undocumented immigrants from unjust deportations.

The Democrats proposed budget package still is being firmed up. It will be a challenge a real trick to get even all Democrats in the Senate to sign on to the massive bill, and compromise is the name of the game. But when it comes to including immigration reform measures, we trust that leading Democratic advocates, including Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, will hang tough.

After years of being undermined by the Trump administration, the DACA program was fully reinstated in December 2020, but the pace of approving new applications was slow. As of May 31, only about 1,900 of more than 62,000 applications had been approved. By the end of June, the backlog of applications had grown to more than 80,000.

In response, the Biden administration moved to assign more immigration officers to the job, but it was too late. On July 17, a federal judge in Texas, Andrew Hanen, ruled that the program could not accept new applicants, citing technical violations of federal law. DACA, Hanen concluded, violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs federal rulemaking, by evading the normal notice and comment process in adopting new rules.

Hanens decision doesnt immediately threaten legal protects for some 616,030 Dreamers already protected under DACA, but it leaves those 80,000 new applicants out in the cold.

Adding to their distress, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced last week that each applicant who paid $495 in fees will not get a refund.

Biden initially attempted to achieve the same goal of locking in permanent legal status for Dreamers and offering them a way to citizenship through his proposed U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, as well as the American Dream and Promise Act. But the legislation has stalled in the Senate, where at least 10 Republican votes are needed for passage.

Hence the effort to score a victory for immigration reform through the budgeting process, where a Senate parliamentary process called reconciliation allows passage of a bill by means of a simple majority vote.

Biden indicated his support for this strategy by tucking the word reconciliation into his remarks on Thursday. He said:

I have repeatedly called on Congress to pass the American Dream and Promise Act, and I now renew that call with the greatest urgency. It is my fervent hope that through reconciliation or other means, Congress will finally provide security to all Dreamers, who have lived too long in fear.

We see an historic win for justice in the offing. If only the Democrats will go for it.

Send letters to letters@suntimes.com.

Link:
A chance for an historic win on immigration reform if only Democrats will hang tough | Editorial - Chicago Sun-Times

The White House has issued a fact sheet that describes President Joe Bidens plan for establishing a fair, orderly, and humane immigration system.

It says, While President BidenJoe BidenGOP report on COVID-19 origins homes in on lab leak theory READ: The .2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Senators introduce bipartisan infrastructure bill in rare Sunday session MORE can implement significant parts of this strategy within his executive authority,Congress must also act. But it doesnt reflect much effort to make the plan acceptable to the Republicans and Republican support is needed to pass the necessary legislation.

It calls instead for passage of the necessary legislation through reconciliation or other means.

Reconciliation is a special process that was established by theCongressional Budget Act of 1974to conform tax and spending levels to levels set in abudget resolution.

The advantage of the reconciliation process is that it permits a bill to be passed in the Senate with a simple majority. In other words, it would avoid a Republican filibuster. The 50 Democratic senators would need 10 Republican votes to reach the 60 votes required to end a filibuster, which is practically impossible at the moment.

It is extremely doubtful, however, that the Senate parliamentarian will permit the Democrats to include immigration reform legislation in a budget bill that is going through the reconciliation process.

According to Bill Hoagland, reconciliation is reserved for policies that have a direct budgetary impact, i.e., that would increase or lower the federal governments tax revenue and spending. It is not intended to make major policy changes. Hoagland was the director of budget and appropriations in the office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist from 2003 to 2007.

A single Senator can ask the parliamentarian to remove immigration provisions from a budget bill that is going through the reconciliation process by raising apoint of order. If the parliamentarian agrees, it requires a 60-vote majority to overrule his decision.

Issues the plan should have addressed

Bidens plan does not include sanctions to discourage illegal entries. Illegal crossers can keep trying until they succeed in reaching the interior of the country, and when they reach the interior, they are home free unless they are found to be a threat to national security or public safety.

Ronald Vitiello, who was ICEs acting director in 2018 and 2019, has said that, Theodds of being arrested just for being in the country illegallywere always extremely low, and now theyve basically ruled it out by policy.

It shouldnt be this easy for aliens we know nothing about to enter illegally and remain here unlawfully, and this is especially true while we are in the midst of a deadly pandemic.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbotthas issued an executive orderto limit the ground transportation of undocumented aliens through Texas who have recently been released from border patrol custody. According to Abbott, busloads of migrants, an unknown number of whom are infected with COVID-l9, are being transported to communities across the State of Texas exposing Texans to the spread of COVID-19.

Consequently, he orders that

Bidens plan calls for improving expedited removal proceedings to fairly determine which individuals have legitimate claims for asylum or other forms of protection. Aliens who dont qualify for protection will be removed to their countries of origin.

Apparently, though, Biden doesnt intend to fully utilize expedited removal proceedings.

Section 1225(b)(1)(B)(IV) of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides that aliens in expedited removal proceedings must be detained pending a final determination ofcredible fear of persecutionand, if found not to have such a fear, until removed. His plan does not include the construction of additional detention facilities at the border, which would be necessary to fully utilize these proceedings during the present surge in illegal crossings.

The plan emphasizes the strategy of reducing illegal migration from Central America by addressing the root causes for leaving those countries to come to the United States. This strategy has not worked in the past, and there is no reason to expect it to work now.

Biden was the Obama administrations point-man for the $750 million Alliance for Prosperity strategy in 2014, which was supposed to dissuade unaccompanied minors from coming to the United States. It helped to reduce migration in the short term, but it did not have a significant impact on the root causes for leaving Central American to come to the United States.

The immigration court currently has 535 judges to deal with its backlog of 1,357,820 cases. The plan calls for hiring an additional 100 judges to deal with this crisis.

The immigration courts most productive year since fiscal 2008, was fiscal 2019, when it completed 276,970 cases. But it received 546,248 new cases that year, which meant that the backlog increased by 269,278 cases. In the second quarter of fiscal 2021, it received 66,158 new cases and completed 43,652, which increased the backlog by 22,506 cases.

In fact, the immigration court has not reduced the backlog a single time during that 13-year period.

How is a 20 percent increase in the size of the court going to turn this around?

Not to mention the factcompetent immigration judges dont grow on trees. Immigration law is second only to the Internal Revenue Code in complexity, and weve already been promoting people with no immigration law experience whatsoever to be judges.

Biden has to address these problems to get enough Republican support to pass the legislation needed to implement his plan.

Nolan Rappaportwas detailed to the House Judiciary Committee as an executive branch immigration law expert for three years. He subsequently served as an immigration counsel for the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims for four years. Prior to working on the Judiciary Committee, he wrote decisions for the Board of Immigration Appeals for 20 years. Followhis blogathttps://nolanrappaport.blogspot.com.

More here:
Biden's plan for immigration is as porous as the border | TheHill - The Hill