Patterico's Pontifications

8/22/2019

Trump Administration’s New Rules to deal with Families claiming Asylum

Filed under: Immigration,Politics — DRJ @ 6:31 am



[Headlines from DRJ]

Child migrants to be held in detention longer under new Trump administration rule:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled new rules that would allow officials to detain migrant families indefinitely while judges consider whether to grant them asylum in the United States.

The rules, which are certain to draw a legal challenge, would replace a 1997 legal agreement that limits the amount of time U.S. immigration authorities can detain migrant children. That agreement is generally interpreted as meaning families must be released within 20 days.

Administration officials blame the so-called Flores Settlement Agreement for a spike in immigration, especially of Central American families, saying it encourages migrants to bring children with them so they can be released into the United States while their court cases are pending.

The Administration initially tried to deal with Flores by separating children from adults but the public relations and legal fallout presented serious problems.

In related news, DC Mayor blocks planned shelter:

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) has moved to block the Trump administration’s construction of a shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in the district.

The Washington Post reported that Bowser blocked the shelter’s construction by using emergency regulations that bar the city’s child welfare agency from issuing licenses to facilities that house more than 15 people.

There was opposition to the Mayor’s decision:

According to the Post, six residents in the district who once held senior positions in the Department of Health and Human Services under former President Obama had written to Bowser last week, urging the mayor to reconsider opposition to the planned shelter.

“While the District’s intent in opposing an unaccompanied children’s shelter is noble, such action is unlikely to benefit children and may make it more likely that children are harmed, forcing longer stays in crowded Customs and Border Protection facilities or in massive temporary shelters that are not licensed by a state or local child welfare agency,” they wrote, according to the outlet.

The Mayor presented her decision as based on concern for the welfare of children in large facilities that might not be properly staffed or supervised. That is a legitimate concern but the existing detention centers are already overwhelmed.

— DRJ

8/16/2019

9th Circuit lifts Asylum Injunction in Texas and New Mexico

Filed under: Immigration,Law — DRJ @ 5:07 pm



[Headlines from DRJ]

9th Circuit lifts nationwide injunction against Trump plan to limit asylum.

Court: US can reject asylum along parts of Mexico border:

A federal appeals court on Friday cleared the way for the U.S. government to forbid Central American immigrants from seeking asylum at the two busiest stretches of the southern border in a partial legal victory for the Trump administration.

The ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allows President Donald Trump to enforce the policy in New Mexico and Texas, rejecting asylum seekers who cross from Mexico into either state. Under Friday’s ruling, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar’s July 24 order stopping the policy would apply only in California and Arizona, which are covered by the 9th Circuit.

The two busiest areas for unauthorized border crossings are in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley and the region around El Paso, Texas, which includes New Mexico. Nearly 50,000 people in July crossed the U.S. border without permission in those two regions, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

In theory and maybe in reality, this will cause asylum-seekers to travel to Arizona and California.

— DRJ

7/27/2019

American Citizen detained by ICE for 23 Days

Filed under: Government,Immigration — DRJ @ 2:45 am



[Headlines by DRJ]

I want to share this comment by Paul Montagu:

[T]he story of Francisco Erwin Galicia–the American citizen who was held by CBP/ICE for 26 days and was not released until after the media got wind–just gets worse.

First, border chief Brian Hastings lied to Congress when he said that Galicia never claimed to be a US citizen. There is literally a DHS document where some minion wrote down that “you falsely represented yourself to be a citizen of the United States.”

Second, I’m pretty sure that CBP/ICE violated the 8th Amendment (the one about “…nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted”) when, during his confinement without a shred of due process, Mr. Galicia lost 26 pounds, was denied a shower during his confinement, and “had to sleep under a foil blanket in a packed holding area.”

Even if not a citizen, our federal government shall not inflict cruel and unusual punishment on human beings, but this is all the worse because he is a citizen and he literally had a wallet-sized birth certificate, Social Security card and Texas ID card on his person. US citizenship should be the gold standard, the golden ticket, meaning that citizenship should mean something. We are supposed to be treated humanely, it’s our birthright, no matter the alleged transgression, but not so this administration.

Galicia discussed his treatment on MSNBC — US citizen released by ICE: ‘We went through something inhumane’:

“From my experience, we went through something inhumane, all of us who were in that detention center,” Francisco Erwin Galicia said in an interview with MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes” on Friday.

“There, we couldn’t bathe or brush our teeth. Nothing. You didn’t have anything. The only thing that they would give us from time to time, to clean ourselves were wipes,” he added.

Paul’s links include a Dallas Morning News’ article where this story was first reported. The Hill has also reported on it:

Galicia was detained while traveling to a soccer scouting event with his younger brother, Marlon, who is not a citizen and the “illegal alien” Hastings referred to.

When the two brothers reached a CBP checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, Marlon only had a school ID card, while Francisco Galicia had his Texas ID, which can only be obtained with a Social Security number.

Francisco Galicia was later transferred to an ICE facility on the belief that his documents were fraudulent, while his brother signed a voluntary deportation form and has been staying in Reynosa, Mexico.

This story is concerning. I don’t know if it is relevant but it is common for people in Texas with ties to Mexico to cross the border, especially in the Summer and on holidays. I can’t tell if Galicia was confused at being detained, or this was about protecting his brother, or if someone is lying.

— DRJ

7/26/2019

SCOTUS agrees with Government’s use of Military Funds for Border Wall during Appeal

Filed under: Immigration,Law — DRJ @ 7:06 pm



[Headline from DRJ]

U.S. Supreme Court lets Trump use disputed funds for border wall:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday handed President Donald Trump a victory by letting his administration redirect $2.5 billion in money approved by Congress for the Pentagon to help build his promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border even though lawmakers refused to provide funding.

The conservative-majority court on a 5-4 vote with the court’s liberals in dissent blocked in full a ruling by a federal judge in California barring the Republican president from spending the money on the basis that Congress did not specifically authorize the funds to be spent on the wall project fiercely opposed by Democrats and Mexico’s government.
***
A brief order explaining the court’s decision said the government “made a sufficient showing” that the groups challenging the decision did not have grounds to bring a lawsuit.

Trump celebrated on Twitter.

RELATED: “Trump announces ‘safe third country’ plan with Guatemala in deal that will keep asylum-seeking migrants from trekking north through Mexico to the United States; Deal will allow the U.S. to refuse asylum to Hondurans and Salvadorans unless they first apply in Guatemala.”

OR NOT: “Guatemala’s Constitutional Court had ruled that a safe third country deal could not be signed without prior approval from the country’s Congress, which is on a summer recess.”

— DRJ

7/15/2019

Administration proposes new Asylum Rules

Filed under: Government,Immigration,Law — DRJ @ 6:29 am



[Headline from DRJ]

Trump to end asylum protections for Central American migrants at US-Mexico border:

The Trump administration is moving to end asylum protections for most Central American migrants, the Department of Justice announced Monday.

According to a new rule published in the Federal Register, asylum seekers who pass through another country before reaching the U.S. will be ineligible for asylum when they reach the southern border.
***
Under the rule, those who have been the victims of trafficking are granted exceptions. The rule also allows exceptions for migrants passing through countries that have not signed major international refugee treaties and for migrants who have been denied asylum in the countries they traveled through.

ADDED: More at Sara Carter’s blog on today’s Stricter Asylum Rules: Immigrants Must Apply In First Safe Country They Enter, including:

“The rule’s bar on asylum eligibility for aliens who fail to apply for protection in at least one third country through which they transit en route to the United States also aims to further the humanitarian purposes of asylum,” Barr stated in Monday’s decision. “It prioritizes individuals who are unable to obtain protection from persecution elsewhere and individuals who are victims of a “severe form of trafficking in persons” as defined by 8 CFR 214.11, many of whom do not volitionally transit through a third country to reach the United States.”

This makes sense and can be defended in court.

— DRJ

7/12/2019

9th Circuit: Trump DOJ can withhold grants to Sanctuary Cities

Filed under: Immigration,Law — DRJ @ 4:00 pm



[Headline from DRJ]

Courthouse News:

Justice Department Cleared to Tie Police Grants to ICE Cooperation

Reversing, a divided Ninth Circuit panel ruled Friday the Justice Department acted lawfully when it withheld federal grants from Los Angeles for refusing to comply with the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

And from The Hill:

The ruling, a split 2-1 decision, said the Department of Justice (DOJ) was within its rights to withhold Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants from sanctuary cities and states over their refusal to work with federal immigration enforcement authorities and instead prioritize agencies that focused on unauthorized immigration and agreed to give Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) access to jail records and immigrants in custody.

The city of Los Angeles first sued the administration after it was denied a $3 million grant on the grounds that it did not receive the money because it did not focus on immigration for its community policing grant application. The decision reversed a district court’s ruling.

— DRJ

Trump’s EO to Obtain Data on Everyone’s Status (UPDATED)

Filed under: Government,Immigration — DRJ @ 6:40 am



[Headlines from DRJ]

Following up on Trump Surrenders on Census Change, NPR reports:

President Trump announced Thursday he would sign an executive order to obtain data about the U.S. citizenship and noncitizenship status of everyone living in the United States.

In a Rose Garden ceremony, Trump said he would drop efforts to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census. Instead, his executive order will direct all U.S. agencies to provide the Department of Commerce all information they have on U.S. citizenship, noncitizenship and immigration status.

Might this data include driver’s license photos?

Civil rights activists complained Monday of the potential for widespread abuse following confirmation that at least three states have scanned millions of driver’s license photos on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement without the drivers’ knowledge or consent.

Public records obtained by the Georgetown Law Center on Privacy and Technology provided the first proof that ICE had sought such scans, which were conducted in Utah, Vermont and Washington.

All three states — which offer driving privileges to immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally — agreed to the ICE requests, according to documents shared with The Associated Press on Monday and first reported by The Washington Post.

Twelve states and the District of Columbia allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

In addition:

Twenty-one states and Washington, D.C., let the FBI access their drivers’ license and identification photos, according to a Government Accountability Office report published last month. The report said the FBI currently has access to 640 million photos — including for U.S. visa applicants — with more than 390,000 photos searched for matches since 2011, the year the agency augmented its fingerprint database with facial analysis.

What other information does the government already have, and do you think there should be a limit on the government using this information?

UPDATE: Asking a Census question may or may not have been the best way to get answers:

The Census Bureau currently asks about citizenship status on the American Community Survey, a yearly survey involving about one in 38 households. But research by the bureau suggests asking all U.S. households about citizenship status could discourage noncitizens from taking part in the national head count and harm the accuracy of the population counts used to redistribute congressional seats and Electoral College votes among the states once a decade.

Still, Ross overruled those warnings, as well as a suggestion by Census Bureau officials to forgo the question and instead compile existing government records about citizenship status. In a memo prepared for Ross, the bureau’s chief scientist said that alternative would be less expensive and produce more accurate citizenship data for Voting Rights Act enforcement.

The memo reviews three possible approaches — no change, adding a Census question, or obtaining existing data from government records — and discusses the costs and benefits of all three.

— DRJ

7/4/2019

Cory Booker goes to Juarez

Filed under: Immigration,International — DRJ @ 6:54 am



[Headlines from DRJ]

El Paso Times — Presidential candidate Cory Booker visits Juárez to help escort migrants seeking asylum:

JUÁREZ, Mexico — Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker walked five Cuban and Honduran asylum seekers over an international bridge Wednesday.

The New Jersey senator was joined by attorneys from Las Americas and organizers with the group Families Belong Together, in escorting the five women over the bridge, their faces obscured by manila folders.

Las Americas attorney Linda Rivas said the women were victims of sexual assault and labor trafficking in Juárez and intended to claim fear of returning to the border city. Rivas said Booker “is supporting our clients in his role as a senator, which is a pretty powerful support.”

Indeed.

Undermining a Republican President’s foreign policies is what some Democratic Senators do.

— DRJ

7/2/2019

Immigration News: Trump Signs Border Aid Bill; El Salvador on Board?

Filed under: Immigration,International — DRJ @ 8:45 am



[Headlines from DRJ]

Yesterday, Dana posted Political Cartoonist Depicts President Trump Standing Over Two Drowned Migrants. The underlying story involved an El Salvadoran migrant, Óscar Martínez, and his daughter Valeria who sadly drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande.

Father and daughter have been buried in El Salvador and its President said, Óscar Martínez drowning: El Salvador takes blame:

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has said his country is to blame for the death of a father and daughter who drowned while trying to reach the US.

Mr Bukele told the BBC his government had to fix the issues that forced people to migrate in the first place.

Mr Bukele, who took office a month ago, promised he would work to make El Salvador a safer and better place.

President Trump signed HR 3401 into law yesterday. His Remarks are worth reading. He uses his familiar rambling style but addresses how this involves many players — Congress, the courts, the countries to our South — as well as our economy and the asylum and immigration policies that bring migrants here.

— DRJ

6/29/2019

Federal Judge Enjoins Trump on Wall

Filed under: Government,Immigration — DRJ @ 9:19 am



[Headline from DRJ]

The HillJudge blocks Trump from using billions in military funds for border wall:

A federal judge on Friday issued a ruling blocking the Trump administration from tapping billions of dollars in military funds to construct a wall on the United States’s southern border.

U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam issued the permanent injunction in a California federal court, after initially ruling last month to temporarily halt the administration’s use of military funds for the border wall.

President Trump declared a national emergency earlier this year in order to divert roughly $6 billion in Defense Department funds toward border wall construction. Friday’s ruling blocks the administration from using $2.5 billion in military funds for a border wall.

— DRJ

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