----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Center for Migration Studies of New York
<cms@xxxxxxxxx>To: William Mejia <wmejia8a@xxxxxxxxx>Sent: Tuesday, December
14, 2021, 05:37:11 PM GMT-5Subject: CMS Migration Update – December 14, 2021
CMS's digest of news, resources, faith reflections, and analysis of
international migration and refugee protection (available in Spanish and
English)
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| December 14, 2021 |
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| Check out this week's digest of news, resources, faith reflections, and
analysis of international migration and refugee protection, brought to you by
the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS). |
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| Haga clic aquí para la versión en español de la Actualización de Política. |
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Explained: UK Seeks Power to Strip Nationality, without Warning
What you need to know about the UK’s controversial Nationality and Borders Bill.
Al Jazeera (December 6, 2021)
On December 8, the Nationality and Borders Bill was approved by the UK House of
Commons. The United Kingdom’s Home Secretary, Priti Patel, proposed a clause of
the government’s Nationality and Border Bill that would permit the government
to strip British nationals of their citizenship without warning if the
government does not have the citizen’s contact information or it is not
“reasonably practical” for the government to give notice. The clause would also
give the government authority to revoke citizenship without notice, if it is in
the public interest to not do so. Apart from the proposed clause, the bill also
bars asylum claims from undocumented people and criminalizes refugee rescue
missions in the English Channel. The bill will progress to the House of Lords
next year. In October 2021, the UNHCR published a comprehensive legal analysis
of the bill and warned that it undermines the 1951 Refugee Convention and the
UK government’s stated goal of improving protection for those at risk of
persecution.
READ MORE
FULL TEXT | NATIONALITY AND BORDERS BILL
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Brazilian Church Raises Vaccine Awareness among Venezuelan Immigrants
Crux (December 10, 2021)
The state of Roraima has one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in
Brazil. The Catholic Church is engaged in a public awareness campaign to
encourage vaccination among the estimated 50,000 Venezuelan migrants living
there. Ronaldo da Silva Santos, Vice Coordinator of Migrants’ Pastoral Ministry
for the Diocese of Roraima, said that President Jair Bolsonaro has been
downplaying the seriousness of COVID-19, and his criticism of wearing masks and
social distancing has led to strong “denialism” of the need to get vaccinated.
In addition, da Silva added, disinformation about the safety of vaccines is
circulating among Venezuelan migrants, and those who areundocumented fear they
will be targeted if they come forward to get vaccinated. Ronildo Rodrigues, the
Executive Director of Roraima’s Caritas, said the Migrants’ Pastoral ministry
is reaching out via social media and, “In parishes, information on the
vaccination rollout is being provided during celebrations and educational
activities. The diocesan radio station is also broadcasting those contents,” to
fight against the vaccination disinformation spread by Bolsonaro-aligned radio
stations.
READ MORE
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US Ramps up Return of Asylum Seekers to Mexico under MPP Program
Border Report (December 10, 2021)
On the Stanton Street Bridge – which connects El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico
– US Customs and Border Patrol agents began sending non-Mexican asylum seekers
back to the Mexican side of the border last week. On Friday, 20 asylum seekers
at this port of entry were returned under the re-implemented Migrant Protection
Protocols (MPP), commonly referred to as the “Remain in Mexico” policy. A
government official in Juarez said the city will receive up to 35 migrants per
day under the revamped program. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
issued a June 2021 memorandum terminating MPP, but the US District Court of
Texas ordered DHS to restart the program. Under the revamped program, US
immigration officials can send “nationals of any country in the Western
Hemisphere other than Mexico” to Mexico to wait for their US court hearings.
The original program was restricted to people from Spanish-speaking countries
and extended to people from Brazil in January 2020.
READ MORE
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Podcast: Visiting a Greek Refugee Camp with Pope Francis
America Magazine (December 9, 2021)
From December 2 to December 6, Pope Francis visited Cyprus and Greece to bring
attention to the plight of migrants and refugees. Both countries are receiving
tens of thousands of migrants and refugees each year. Gerard O’Connell,
America’s Vatican correspondent, followed Pope Francis on the trip and
discusses the experience on this podcast. O’Connell quoted Pope Francis saying
he made the visit “to touch the wounds of humanity.” Pope Francis attended five
meetings with migrants and refugees and held an ecumenical prayer service in
Nicosia, Cyprus where he listened to their stories. In response, the Holy
Father gave a passionate statement calling for migrants and refugees to be
welcomed and not met with walls and barbed wire. Then Pope Francis visited a
reception center surrounded by walls and barbed wire on the Greek island of
Lesbos, where 2,000 people live in metal containers and tents. Half of those in
the Lesbos reception center are single young people detained without family
members. Upon his arrival, Pope Francis made an unplanned stop during his car
ride, got out, and walked to meet with the residents.
LISTEN TO MORE
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Rohingya Refugees Sue Facebook for $150 Billion, Alleging it Helped Perpetuate
Genocide in Myanmar
The Washington Post (December 7, 2021)
A Rohingya refugee living in Illinois brought a class action lawsuit in federal
court in California against Facebook’s parent company, Meta. The complaint
alleges that despite repeated warnings that hate speech and inflammatory
content against the Rohingya people posted on the platform could spur ethnic
violence against the minority group, Facebook neglected to take action quickly.
The plaintiff brought the lawsuit on behalf of 10,000 Rohingya refugees who are
resettled in the United States and asks for $150 billion in compensation from
Facebook for contributing to the persecution and genocide of Rohingya in
Myanmar. The mostly Muslim Rohingya have a long history of being discriminated
against in the mostly Buddhist Myanmar. A 2018 United Nations report connects
Facebook to the atrocities against the Rohingya people, stating that
“propagators of hate speech resort to Facebook to wage hate campaigns, amplify
their message, and reach new audiences. In addition to hate speech, Facebook
has also been widely used to spread misinformation, including by government
officials.” In response to the report, Facebook started devoting more resources
to the region and deleted and banned accounts and removed 64,000 pieces of
content in the third quarter of 2018 which violated its hate speech policy. The
lawsuit asserts that the action by Facebook was insufficient and came too late.
READ MORE
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H.E. Msgr. Vaclav Maly Talks about the Migratory Situation in the Czech
Republic (VIDEO)
Migrants & Refugees Section (December 9, 2021)
Auxiliary Bishop of the Prague Archdiocese, Vaclav Maly, states that being
inattentive to the situation of people fleeing war and instability is a big
mistake. He says the Church welcomes migrants who come to the Czech Republic in
good faith and helps them integrate and start a life there. An estimated
600,000 foreign-born persons live legally in the Czech Republic, and many
newcomers are applying for legal status. Let us not forget, Bishop Maly says,
that the whole world will have to adapt to enormous changes which the pandemic
has triggered. Bishop Maly calls on listeners to “change the places where we
all live and try to take care of our families and our surroundings so that the
chaos that spreads and affects society globally does not settle in our hearts
too.”
WATCH MORE
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NEW FROM CMS
Ready to Stay: A Comprehensive Analysis of the US Foreign-Born Populations
Eligible for Special Legal Status Programs and for Legalization under Pending
Bills
CMS released a new report with estimates of the US immigrant populations that
would be eligible for permanent residence (legalization) if any of the
following bills became law: the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021, the
Dream Act of 2021, the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act, the Farm
Workforce Modernization Act, or the US Citizenship Act of 2021. The report also
offers detailed statistical profiles of immigrants who are or could become
eligible for special legal status programs, such as Temporary Protected Status
(TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The report recommends
that immigration reform legislation should allow the great majority of the
10.35 million US undocumented residents to legalize, should reform the
underlying legal immigration system, and should provide for the legalization of
future long-term undocumented residents through a rolling registry program.
DOWNLOAD REPORT
WATCH WEBINAR ON REPORT FINDINGS
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| POLICY UPDATE
NYC Council Granted over 800,000 Noncitizens the Right to Vote in Local
Elections
On December 9, New York City Council passed legislation that will allow certain
noncitizen residents to vote in local elections. New York City is now the
largest city in the United States to allow noncitizens to vote in local
elections and granted this right to more than 800,000 noncitizens. Green card
holders and noncitizens with work authorization who have been NYC residents for
at least 30 consecutive days can register to vote starting on December 9, 2022
and begin voting in local elections on January 9, 2023. They will only be able
to vote in local elections, not state or federal. The NYC Board of Elections
will provide noncitizens separate voter registration forms and ballots that
only include municipal offices.
LEARN MORE
DHS Requests Public Input on Preventing the Separation of Families at the Border
On December 10, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a Request
for Public Input seeking recommendations on how to permanently prevent the US
officials from separating families at the border as a deterrent against
migration to the United States. Comments will be accepted until January 10,
2022. This practice was implemented by the prior administration under the “zero
tolerance” border policy resulting in the separation of thousands of migrant
families. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the policy in April 2018,
directing US Attorney’s Offices along the southwest border to prosecute and
detain every adult caught crossing the border illegally. Because the children
could not be jailed with their parents, they were separated and taken into
custody by the Department of Health and Human Services. The Department of
Justice rescinded this policy on January 26, 2021. The Biden administration
formed a Family Reunification Task Force responsible for finding and reuniting
separated migrant families on February 2, 2021. Families who were reunified in
the United States and those seeking to enter for purposes of reunification are
eligible for humanitarian parole and support services.
LEARN MORE
DHS FAMILY REUNIFICATION TASKFORCE VIDEO UPDATE
LRIF Application Deadline on December 20, 2021
The deadline to submit applications for permanent residence under the Liberian
Refugee Immigration Fairness Program (LRIF) is December 20, 2021. This program
offers certain Liberian nationals who have lived in the US since November 20,
2014 the opportunity to apply for permanent residence. CMS estimates that
10,000 Liberian nationals are potentially eligible for the LRIF program. US
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a policy update on
October 29, 2021 stating that applications must be properly filed on or before
December 20, 2021 and include at minimum the applicant’s signature and the
correct fee. If USCIS does not receive an application by December 20, then the
application is outside of the statutory filing window, even if it is postmarked
December 20 or earlier.
LEARN MORE
Senate Confirms Chris Magnus to Lead CBP
On December 7, the Senate confirmed Chris Magnus to lead Customs and Border
Protection (CBP). He was sworn in as the fifth Commissioner of CBP by DHS
Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on December 13. Magnus was nominated by President
Biden for the role on April 12, 2021. Prior to joining CBP, Magnus served as
police chief in Tucson, Arizona and has decades of experience as a law
enforcement officer. Previously, he served as police chief in Fargo, ND and
Richmond, CA.
LEARN MORE
DOJ Agreed to Recognize the Immigration Judges Union
On December 7, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the office that administers the
US immigration courts, agreed to recognize the Immigration Judges Union, which
represents over 500 immigration judges. The settlement agreement between the
DOJ Executive Office of Immigration Review and the National Association of
Immigration Judges resolved a dispute over the previous administration’s
attempt to prevent recognition of the union.
LEARN MORE
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| INTERNATIONAL AND UN UPDATE
IOM Released the 2022 World Migration Report
On December 1, 2021 the International Organization for Migration (IOM) released
the 2022 edition of its biannual World Migration Report. It presents the latest
data explaining key migration trends worldwide and emerging migration policy
issues, including in the contexts of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing recovery
efforts, and climate change. IOM also provides an interactive platform that
allows users to explore key data presented in the report. It shows a dramatic
increase in internal displacement due to disasters, conflict and violence as
global mobility has come to a halt due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Despite
these restrictions, the estimated number of international migrants has
increased over the past five decades, which has grown from 84 million people in
1970 to 281 million in 2020. The report also covers specific topics such as
peace and development links to migration, human trafficking in migration
pathways, disinformation about migration, migrants’ contributions in an era of
disinformation, and artificial intelligence and migration.
LEARN MORE
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Addressed the UN Security Council
On December 7, Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
addressed the UN Security Council. He emphasized that the failure and inaction
of national governments in responding to instability and insecurity has
compelled humanitarian organizations to work in uncertain and highly
politicized situations. He warned that humanitarians cannot replicate the role
of States in finding political solutions and fixing economies in countries like
Afghanistan, Yemen and Myanmar. Grandi stressed the extent that climate
emergencies combined with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and
conflicts have increased forced displacement. He also stated that the UNHCR
appealed for approximately 9 billion USD to cover its operations in 136
countries and territories in 2022.
LEARN MORE
Fifteen EU Countries Agreed to Accept 40,000 Afghans
On December 9, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Yiva Johansson announced
a group of 15 European Union (EU) Member States agreed to accept 40,000 Afghan
migrants. Some will arrive with evacuation or humanitarian admission programs,
and others will be resettled as refugees. Germany will accept 25,000, the
Netherlands will accept 3,159, Spain and France will take in 2,500, and the
remaining 11 Member States will accept the rest of the Afghan arrivals. During
the aftermath of the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan, EU States
accepted 28,000 Afghan evacuees. The EU estimates that approximately 664,000
Afghans have been internally displaced in the country since the beginning of
2021. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in September
2021 the EU would provide an extra €100 million in funding as part of a new and
expanded Afghan Support Package, bringing the total EU humanitarian aid for
Afghanistan to €300 million.
LEARN MORE
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ACTUALIZACIÓN DE POLÍTICA
El Consejo de la Ciudad de Nueva York Otorgó a Más de 800,000 no Ciudadanos el
Derecho a Votar en las Elecciones Locales
El 9 de diciembre, el Ayuntamiento de la ciudad de Nueva York aprobó una
legislación que permitirá que ciertos residentes no ciudadanos voten en las
elecciones locales. La ciudad de Nueva York es ahora la ciudad más grande de
los Estados Unidos que permite que los no ciudadanos voten en las elecciones
locales y otorgó este derecho a más de 800,000 no ciudadanos. Los titulares de
tarjetas verdes y los no ciudadanos con autorización de trabajo que hayan sido
residentes de la ciudad de Nueva York durante al menos 30 días consecutivos
pueden registrarse para votar a partir del 9 de diciembre de 2022 y comenzar a
votar en las elecciones locales el 9 de enero de 2023. Solo podrán votar en las
elecciones locales, no estatales o federales. La Junta de Elecciones de la
Ciudad de Nueva York proporcionará boletas y formularios de registro de
votantes separados para los no ciudadanos que solo incluyen las oficinas
municipales.
APRENDA MÁS
El DHS Solicita la Opinión del Público Sobre la Prevención de la Separación de
Familias en la Frontera
El 10 de diciembre, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS) publicó una
Solicitud de opinión pública en la que buscaba recomendaciones sobre cómo
evitar permanentemente que los funcionarios estadounidenses separaran a las
familias en la frontera como disuasivo contra la migración a los Estados
Unidos. Se aceptarán comentarios hasta el 10 de enero de 2022. Esta práctica
fue implementada por la administración anterior bajo la política fronteriza de
“tolerancia cero” que resultó en la separación de miles de familias migrantes.
El fiscal general Jeff Sessions anunció la política en abril de 2018, y ordenó
a las oficinas del fiscal de los Estados Unidos a lo largo de la frontera
suroeste que procesaran y detuvieran a todos los adultos atrapados cruzando la
frontera ilegalmente. Debido a que los niños no podían ser encarcelados con sus
padres, fueron separados y puestos bajo custodia por el Departamento de Salud y
Servicios Humanos. El Departamento de Justicia rescindió esta política el 26 de
enero de 2021. La administración de Biden formó un Grupo de Trabajo de
Reunificación Familiar responsable de encontrar y reunir a las familias
migrantes separadas el 2 de febrero de 2021. Las familias que se reunieron en
los Estados Unidos y las que buscan ingresar por fines de reunificación son
elegibles para permisos de permanencia temporal humanitaria y los servicios de
apoyo.
APRENDA MÁS
ACTUALIZACIÓN DEL VIDEO DEL GRUPO DE TRABAJO DE REUNIFICACIÓN FAMILIAR DEL DHS
Fecha Límite de Solicitud de LRIF es el 20 de Diciembre de 2021
La fecha límite para presentar solicitudes de residencia permanente bajo el
Programa de Equidad de Inmigración de Refugiados de Liberia (LRIF) es el 20 de
diciembre de 2021. Este programa ofrece a ciertos ciudadanos liberianos que han
vivido en los EE. UU. desde el 20 de noviembre de 2014 la oportunidad de
solicitar la residencia permanente. CMS estima que 10,000 ciudadanos liberianos
son potencialmente elegibles para el programa LRIF. El Servicio de Ciudadanía e
Inmigración de EE. UU. (USCIS) publicó una actualización de política el 29 de
octubre de 2021 que indica que las solicitudes deben presentarse correctamente
el 20 de diciembre de 2021 o antes e incluir como mínimo la firma del
solicitante y la tarifa correcta. Si USCIS no recibe una solicitud antes del 20
de diciembre, entonces la solicitud está fuera del plazo de presentación legal,
incluso si tiene el matasellos del 20 de diciembre o antes.
APRENDA MÁS
El Senado confirma a Chris Magnus para dirigir CBP
El 7 de diciembre, el Senado confirmó a Chris Magnus como director de Aduanas y
Protección Fronteriza (CBP). Fue juramentado como el quinto comisionado de CBP
por el secretario del DHS Alejandro Mayorkas el 13 de diciembre. Magnus fue
nominado por el presidente Biden para el cargo el 12 de abril de 2021. Antes de
unirse a CBP, Magnus se desempeñó como jefe de policía en Tucson, Arizona y
tiene décadas de experiencia como agente del orden. Anteriormente, se desempeñó
como jefe de policía en Fargo, ND y Richmond, CA.
APRENDA MÁS
El DOJ acordó reconocer al sindicato de jueces de inmigración
El 7 de diciembre, el Departamento de Justicia (DOJ), la oficina que administra
los tribunales de inmigración de Estados Unidos, acordó reconocer al Sindicato
de Jueces de Inmigración, que representa a más de 500 jueces de inmigración. El
acuerdo de conciliación entre la Oficina Ejecutiva de Revisión de Inmigración
del DOJ y la Asociación Nacional de Jueces de Inmigración resolvió una disputa
sobre el intento de la administración anterior de impedir el reconocimiento del
sindicato.
APRENDA MÁS
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| The CMS Migration Update is a weekly digest produced by the Center for
Migration Studies of New York (CMS), an educational institute/think-tank
devoted to the study of international migration, to the promotion of
understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, and to public
policies that safeguard the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees, and
newcomers. CMS is a member of the Scalabrini International Migration Network –
an international network of shelters, welcoming centers, and other ministries
for migrants – and of the Scalabrini Migration Study Centers, a global network
of think tanks on international migration and refugee protection, guided by the
values of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo. If you wish to submit an
article, blog, faith reflection, or announcement for the CMS Migration Update,
please email cms@xxxxxxxxx. |
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