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The Supreme Court’s Ruling on DACA: Adherence to Process Matters in the Law
The Supreme Court ruled on June 18 that the president did not end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in a lawful manner. This ruling does not permanently protect the DACA program, as the main point in the ruling is that the president did not follow the proper legal process to end DACA. In short, adhering to correct processes matters. While the decision is good news for Dreamers and the majority of Americans who support DACA, the struggle is not at an end. The office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has indicated the president will continue his attempts to rescind DACA, this time attempting to do so with…
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Call to Action: Oppose New Asylum Procedures
On Monday, June 15, the Trump administration posted a proposal to the Federal Register that would drastically restrict the ability of people seeking asylum to apply and qualify for asylum in the U.S. The proposal’s biggest changes include removing the ability to claim asylum due to a credible fear of domestic or gang violence in the country of origin and increased restrictions to legal representation. Previous policy interpreted asylum law to include such threats. Under President Trump, policy has increasingly excluded this type of violence. The new proposal would make that policy official, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people vulnerable. To Do: Please use our Call to Action tool…
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MWEG Deep Dive Recap: Immigration Op-Ed Tutorial with FWD.us
For our inaugural Deep Dive event, MWEG hosted two communications professionals from FWD.us to talk about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — and how to advocate for it. FWD.us is a bipartisan organization working to fix the failed immigration and criminal justice systems that have locked too many out of the American dream for too long. In their presentation, Leezia Dhalia, immigration press director, and Alexis Sosa, communications fellow, shared the facts about DACA and why defending it is important. Leezia is a DACA recipient herself, having been brought to the U.S. from Canada as a pre-teen. DACA protects 750,000 young immigrants — Dreamers — who have…
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Executive Order on Immigration Does Not Make Our Country Safer
President Trump announced his intentions of “prohibiting immigration into our Country” and just last week signed an executive order halting the issuance of green cards, a legal avenue to citizenship. This order covers a very narrow area of immigration law, implies migrants are worsening the effects of the pandemic, and does nothing to make our country more secure. The executive order largely targets individuals who have been seeking entry to the U.S. legally for years or, for some, decades. The Associated Press observed, “the proclamation Trump signed Wednesday will most affect the parents, adult children and siblings of citizens and permanent residents hoping to one day join them in the country.” According to the wording…
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Release Detainees Now
COVID-19 has changed the way we live, work, and learn in the United States, in the all-important effort to slow the spread of this virus. Difficult as these changes have been, most of us are fortunate to be able to socially distance and practice proper hygiene. Inside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, however, conditions remain dangerously unsanitary. As COVID-19 continues to present new and pressing needs, consider the ethical obligations in these common scenarios: A young man with asthma fled gang violence in Honduras. He is in ICE custody after presenting himself at the border to declare his desire to obtain asylum. An elderly woman is detained in…
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Update on COVID-19 and Immigration
Many of us are focused on our own social distancing and coping with the stress of strange schedules and new routines. Some of us are shuffling to find childcare or replacement income for lost work. All of these struggles are real and valid. As we deal with our own trials, may we also keep in mind those refugees who are unable to work or social distance while in U.S. custody or in camps, both at our southern border and around the world. Asylum seekers in border camps Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP), also known as the “Remain in Mexico Policy,” can remain in…
