Johnson informs Schumer he will send Mayorkas impeachment articles to Senate on April 10

Speaker Mike Johnson informed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that the House will send the impeachment articles against Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on April 10, according to a letter obtained by CNN, the next step in having an impeachment trial in the upper chamber. Schumer’s office responded to the letter, saying senators will be sworn in as jurors on April 11. The House impeached Mayorkas on February 13 by an extremely narrow margin, making him the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached in almost 150 years. ADVERTISING House Republicans impeached Mayorkas last month after failing to do so on their first try, a stunning loss that came about after GOP defections and absence sank the initial floor vote. Republicans have sought to use the impeachment of Mayorkas’ to spotlight the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border, as the conference has faced building pressure from their base to hold President Joe Biden and his departments and agencies accountable over immigration and border security policies. The Democratic-controlled Senate is not expected to convict Mayorkas, and senators could move to quickly dismiss the impeachment, though Schumer has not outlined specifically how his chamber will handle the trial. Schumer said last month that Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray will preside over the proceedings. In his letter, Johnson said Mayorkas has committed high crimes and misdemeanors for his handling of the southern border, even though several constitutional experts have said the evidence does not reach that high bar. Mia Ehrenberg, a DHS spokesperson, called the effort a “baseless, unconstitutional impeachment” that is “without a shred of evidence or legitimate constitutional grounds.” House Republicans had intentionally not sent the impeachment articles over to the Senate until Congress completed addressing government funding for this fiscal year, as CNN previously reported. Both chambers do not return back into session until the week of April 8. Johnson called on Schumer to hold a Senate trial on Mayorkas. “We urge you to schedule a trial of the matter expeditiously,” Johnson wrote, arguing that Schumer must fulfill his “constitutional obligation.” Sending the impeachment articles against Mayorkas over to the Senate sets up a showdown between Senate Democrats and Republicans over the border, a particularly charged topic in the lead up to the 2024 presidential election. The way the impeachment process against Mayorkas has played out has led many Republicans to grow even more skeptical about the prospects of impeaching the president, arguably their top investigative target this Congress. Republicans do not have the votes or concrete evidence to impeach Biden given their razor-thin majority, leaving the impeachment inquiry stalled. On top of that, many have pointed out that the impeachment of Mayorkas is likely to go nowhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate, making their painstaking efforts to impeach Biden appear to be a dead end. In a recent fundraising email obtained by CNN, House Oversight Chairman James Comer who is helping to lead the investigation into Biden, made this exact argument. Highlighting that the Senate has yet to take up the Mayorkas impeachment articles and will likely dismiss them quickly, Comer wrote, “What do you think they would do if we Impeached Biden?” Johnson signed the letter with the House Republicans he selected as his impeachment managers, which include House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green of Tennessee and Reps. Michael McCaul of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Ben Cline of Virginia, Michael Guest of Mississippi, Andrew Garbarino of New York, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgie, August Pfluger of Texas, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming and Laurel Lee of Florida. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Baltimore bridge victims were immigrants in riskier, hard-to fill jobs

Six people were working the night shift on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed after being rammed by a cargo ship. The missing construction workers include men from El Salvador, Mexico and Guatemala. Immigrants from Latin America are among the workers most likely to die in the workplace, according to a recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So why do they often hold riskier jobs? And what would happen without them? For more than a decade, George Escobar has been working with Latino immigrant workers for the advocacy group CASA. One of its members, Miguel Luna, is one of the men who didn’t come home from his construction job on the Baltimore bridge earlier this week. “He was looking forward to establishing his own business,” Escobar said. He said Mexican and Central American workers like Luna have been the lifeblood of the Baltimore economy. Marketplace Hosted by Kai Ryssdal Marketplace LATEST EPISODES Feelings versus facts Mar 28, 2024 Immigrants fill high-risk jobs that U.S.-born workers don’t Mar 27, 2024 Baltimore bridge collapse a jolt to commerce Mar 26, 2024 “They come here for better opportunities, right? And unfortunately, even when they’re in the middle of the night, working the graveyard shift in the middle of a flimsy bridge, that represents a future for them and that represents opportunity for them,” Escobar said. Opportunity to help their families here and back home, taking the jobs they can get, as these workers often have less education and limited English fluency. “They’re kind of naturally slotted into blue-collar jobs, many of them that are in occupations and industries where they’re just characterized by more injury and fatalities,” said Pia Orrenius, a senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. They’re filling jobs U.S.-born workers won’t. Latest Stories on Marketplace Fed Chair Powell: Interest rates likely won’t return to “historically low levels” before the pandemic 2030 census will include “Middle Eastern or North African” box for the first time Baltimore’s port closure could upend jobs and supply chains for months “If we didn’t have the immigration, you would see a lot of bottlenecks to growth,” she said. “Companies and cities and municipalities and whoever is building stuff, see a lot higher costs associated with building, but you’d also see delays.” These immigrant workers — some who may not have legal status — also have less agency to speak up about unsafe conditions, said Marcy Goldstein-Gelb with the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. “They’re at the bottom of the ‘lowerarchy.’ And that means that they toil in the most dangerous jobs, work the longest hours and have the least ability to speak up in the face of exploitations,” she said. But immigrant workers will continue to show up. Advocate George Escobar said as Baltimore rebuilds from this tragedy, “it’ll be those same neighbors. It’ll be the victims’ neighbors that will be back on that construction site.” He said that always happens after a disaster. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Immigrants and Latinos are most entrepreneurial in U.S., study finds

Immigrants started new businesses last year at more than double the rate of U.S.-born citizens, according to a recent analysis. Why it matters: Entrepreneurship can lead to financial success for immigrants, especially those who lack legal status to work. They in turn help fuel the nation's economic growth. Yet anti-immigrant rhetoric this U.S. election season often paints immigrants as straining resources. Zoom in: According to the new analysis of federal labor statistics and census data by Robert Fairlie, an economist and professor at UCLA, immigrants had the highest rate of new business creation among U.S. adults. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the study. About 670 out of 100,000 immigrants — or 0.67% of immigrants — launched a new business each month in 2023. The overall average for the adult population was 0.35%. The immigrant data isn't broken down by race or ethnicity. Latinos also had staggeringly higher rates of new business ownership than any other racial or ethnic group. That number was 0.6% for Latinos, or 600 Latinos out of 100,000; 0.34% for Black Americans; 0.31% for Asian Americans; and 0.28% for white Americans. What they're saying: Many immigrants launch businesses out of necessity, but the entrepreneurial spirit is also embedded in who they are, says Gustavo Suarez, the founder and CEO of Trez, the first payroll platform focused on U.S. Latino businesses. When immigrants come to the U.S., they already have "some type of mindset of wanting to improve their lives, of wanting something better, of wanting to create impact," Suarez says. That mentality aligns with the definition of an entrepreneur, he adds. Between the lines: Latinos and other communities of color have long struggled to access capital at the same rates their white counterparts do. But the number of federally-backed loans to Latino-owned small businesses hit a record $3 billion in 2023, per the U.S. Small Business Administration, which says that number doubled in just two years. Latino-owned businesses of all sizes contribute $800 billion to the U.S. economy each year, according to the latest Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship report released Wednesday. The median growth rate for Latino businesses was 25% from 2019 to 2022, per the 2023 Stanford report. It was 9% for white non-Hispanic owned businesses. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Many Americans say immigrants contribute to economy but there’s worry over risks, AP-NORC poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are more worried about legal immigrants committing crimes in the U.S. than they were a few years ago, a change driven largely by increased concern among Republicans, while Democrats continue to see a broad range of benefits from immigration, a new poll shows. The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that substantial shares of U.S. adults believe that immigrants contribute to the country’s economic growth, and offer important contributions to American culture. But when it comes to legal immigrants, U.S. adults see fewer major benefits than they did in the past, and more major risks. About 4 in 10 Americans say that when immigrants come to the U.S. legally, it’s a major benefit for American companies to get the expertise of skilled workers in fields like science and technology. A similar share (38%) also say that legal immigrants contribute a major benefit by enriching American culture and values. ADVERTISEMENT Both those figures were down compared with 2017, when 59% of Americans said skilled immigrant workers who enter the country legally were a major benefit, and half said legal immigrants contribute a major benefit by enriching American culture. Meanwhile, the share of Americans who say that there’s a major risk that legal immigrants will commit crimes in the U.S. has increased, going from 19% in 2017 to 32% in the new poll. RELATED COVERAGE FILE - This combo image shows Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, left, March 9, 2024 and President Joe Biden, right, Jan. 27, 2024. Many Americans are unenthusiastic about a November rematch of the 2020 presidential election. But presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump appears to stoke more fear and anger among voters from his opposing party than President Joe Biden does from his. That's according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (AP Photo, File) Trump evokes more anger and fear from Democrats than Biden does from Republicans, AP-NORC poll shows FILE - President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 7, 2023. A poll shows that a growing share of U.S. adults doubt that 81-year-old President Joe Biden has the memory and acuity for the job. That means Biden's upcoming State of the Union address could be something of a real-time audition as he bids for a second term. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) 6 in 10 US adults doubt mental capability of Biden and Trump, AP-NORC poll finds FILE - Firefighters extinguish a fire after a Russian attack on a residential neighborhood in Kharkiv, Ukraine Feb. 10, 2024. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that U.S. adults have become fractured along party lines in their support for military aid for Ukraine. (AP Photo/Yevhen Titov, File) US adults fracture along party lines in support for Ukraine military funding, AP-NORC poll finds Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say that immigration is an important issue for them personally, and 41% now say it’s a major risk that legal immigrants will commit crimes in the U.S., up from 20% in 2017. Overall, Republicans are more likely to see major risks — and fewer benefits — from immigrants who enter the country legally and illegally, although they tend to be most concerned about people who come to the country illegally. Bob Saunders is a 64-year-old independent from Voorhees, New Jersey. He disapproves of President Joe Biden’s performance when it comes to immigration and border security and is particularly worried about the number of immigrants coming to the southern border who are eventually released into the country. He stressed that there’s a difference between legal and illegal immigration. Saunders said it’s important to know the background of the immigrants coming to the U.S. and said legal immigration contributes to the economy. He also noted the immigrants in his own family. ADVERTISEMENT “It’s not anti-immigration,” Saunders said. “It’s anti-illegal immigration.” Many Republicans, 71%, say there’s a risk of people in the country illegally coming to the U.S. and committing crimes , although many studies have found immigrants are less drawn to violent crime than native-born citizens. Even more, 80%, think there’s a major risk that people in the country without permission will burden public service programs, while about 6 in 10 Republicans are concerned that there’s a major risk of them taking American jobs, that their population growth will weaken American identity or that they will vote illegally — although only a small number of noncitizen voters have been uncovered. ADVERTISEMENT Amber Pierce, a 43-year-old Republican from Milam, Texas, says she understands that a lot of migrants are seeking a better life for their children, but she’s also concerned migrants will become a drain on government services. “I believe that a lot of them come over here and get free health care and take away from the people who have worked here and are citizens,” Pierce said. “They get a free ride. I don’t think that’s fair.” Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely to see benefits from immigration, although the poll did find that only half of Democrats now think that legal immigrants are making important contributions to American companies, a decrease of more than 20 percentage points from 2017. But they’re more likely than Republicans to say that the ability of people to come from other places in the world to escape violence or find economic opportunities is extremely or very important to the U.S’s identity as a nation. ADVERTISEMENT “People who are coming, are coming for good reason. It’s how many of us got here,” said Amy Wozniak, a Democrat from Greenwood, Indiana. Wozniak said previous waves of immigrants came from European countries. Now immigrants are coming from different countries but that doesn’t meant they’re not fleeing for justifiable reasons, she said: “They’re not all drugs and thugs.” There’s also a divide among partisans about the value of diversity, with 83% of Democrats saying that the country’s diverse population makes it at least moderately stronger, compared with 43% of Republicans and Independents. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say that a shared American culture and set of values is extremely or very important to the United States’ identity as a nation, although about half of Democrats also see this as important. ADVERTISEMENT U.S. adults — and especially Republicans — are more likely to say that the country has been significantly changed by immigrants in the past five years than they are to say that immigrants have changed their own community or their state. About 3 in 10 U.S. adults say immigrants have had a major impact on their local community while about 6 in 10 say they’ve had a major impact on the country as a whole. The gap between perceptions of community impact and effects on the country as a whole is particularly wide among Republicans. There is some bipartisan agreement about how immigration at the border between the U.S. and Mexico should be addressed. The most popular option asked about is hiring more Border Patrol agents, which is supported by about 8 in 10 Republicans and about half of Democrats. Hiring more immigration judges and court personnel is also favored among majorities of both parties. About half of Americans support reducing the number of immigrants who are allowed to seek asylum in the U.S. when they arrive at the border, but there’s a much bigger partisan divide there, with more Republicans than Democrats favoring this strategy. Building a wall — former President Donald Trump’s signature policy goal — is the least popular and most polarizing option of the four asked about. About 4 in 10 favor building a wall, including 77% of Republicans but just 12% of Democrats. Donna Lyon is a Democratic-leaning independent from Cortland, New York. She believes a border wall would do little to stop migrants. But she supports hiring more Border Patrol agents and more immigration court judges to deal with the growing backlog of immigration court cases: “That would stop all the backup that we have.” Congress just recently approved money to hire about 2,000 more Border Patrol agents but so far this year, there’s been no significant boost for funding for more immigration judges. Many on both sides of the aisle have said it takes much too long to decide asylum cases, meaning migrants stay in the country for years waiting for a decision, but the parties have failed to find consensus on how to address the issue. ___ The poll of 1,282 adults was conducted March 21-25, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

GOP putting vulnerable Senate Democrats on defense with Mayorkas impeachment

After weeks of waiting, House Republicans say they will send two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate next month in a move that GOP strategists say will put vulnerable Democrats such as Sens. Jon Tester (Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio) on the defensive. Republicans acknowledge the impeachment charges against Mayorkas aren’t going anywhere in the Senate, but they say votes by vulnerable Democrats to dismiss them will incur political damage — raising the question of whether Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) may try to protect his colleagues by postponing a vote until after Election Day. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote a letter to Schumer on Thursday informing him the House will send the impeachment articles to the Senate on April 10. “I would say it’s the biggest threat to Sherrod Brown and Jon Tester, specifically. It’s a really, really bad issue for them,” a Senate Republican strategist said of the vulnerability Republicans think the two Democrats have on border security and immigration issues. “They’re caught between their base and what the majority of their state wants,” the strategist said. Trump carried Ohio with 51.3 percent of the vote in 2016 and 53 percent in 2020. And he won Montana with 55.6 percent in 2016 and 56.9 percent in 2020. Republican strategists are already taking shots at House Democrats in competitive Senate races who voted against impeaching Mayorkas. “The impeachment is both good policy and good politics,” said Constantin Querard, a Republican strategist based in Arizona, where Democrats are trying to keep control of the seat now held by retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). He noted that the likely Democratic nominee for Senate, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), voted twice in the House against impeaching Mayorkas. “Gallego is very much a Mayorkas fan. Whoever the Republican nominee is not,” Querard added. “It’s just another piece in that larger battle over illegal immigration that obviously is a big issue here.” Schumer earlier this month dismissed the impeachment articles as “absurd,” indicating little willingness to let the House impeachment managers consume days of Senate floor time presenting their case against Mayorkas. “I think there is no evidence that he’s committed any impeachable activities or actions, and I think it’s absurd,” he said. Schumer’s office said Thursday that once the House managers bring the articles of impeachment to the Senate, senators will be sworn in as jurors for a trial the next day, and Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) will preside over the chamber. The Speaker tried Thursday to ramp up pressure on Schumer to allow a full trial to proceed. “If he cares about the Constitution and ending the devastation caused by Biden’s border catastrophe, Sen. Schumer will quickly schedule a full public trial and hear the arguments put forth by our impeachment managers,” Johnson said after sending Schumer a letter notifying him that House impeachment managers will formally bring their accusations to the Senate after the Easter recess. Senators expect Schumer to hold a quick vote to dismiss the matter — but that could expose his vulnerable Democratic colleagues to new immigration related attacks. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg pointed out that three House Republicans voted against the impeachment charges and accused the Speaker and impeachment managers of “trampling on the Constitution for political gain.” “House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country,” Ehrenberg said. The first attempt to impeach Mayorkas failed in the House by a 214-216 vote on Feb. 6. It passed the following week by a 214-213 vote. Vulnerable Democratic senators are already taking heavy fire for voting against a series of immigration-related amendments to the $1 trillion spending package the Senate passed last week. Senior Trump domestic policy adviser Stephen Miller went on conservative talk radio in Montana this week to attack Tester over immigration issues. “Jon Tester … voted to kill the Laken Riley Act,” he said on “Montana Talks,” referring to an amendment sponsored by Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) to the spending package. The amendment would have required Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest people who illegally entered the country who commit theft, burglary or larceny, and detain them until they are removed from the United States. It passed as a stand-alone bill in the House earlier this month. “How did Jon Tester vote? To keep the criminal migrants here in America,” Miller said. Budd’s amendment failed by party-line vote of 47-51, with all Democrats voting against it. Senate Republicans forced Democrats to take tough votes on several other immigration-related amendments to the spending package, including one sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) to bar federal money for cities that refuse to comply with Department of Homeland Security requests to notify federal authorities when people in the country illegally are released from custody. Democrats also voted en bloc against an amendment sponsored by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) to prohibit the federal funding of flights to bring migrants into the country. The proposal was offered in response to a Biden policy enacted at the start of 2023 allowing migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the country for a period of two years if they have a financial sponsor and arrive at designated airport. “It is going to be impossible for Senate Democrats to campaign on securing the border when they unanimously oppose commonsense measures like the Laken Riley Act, which would force ICE to arrest illegal immigrants who commit serious crimes,” National Republican Senatorial Committee communications director Mike Berg said. “They also unanimously voted to continue funding sanctuary cities and Joe Biden’s secret migrant flights into our country. Democrats created this crisis and are refusing to fix it,” he said. An Associated Press “fact check” of Republican claims that the Biden administration has secretly flown migrants into the country found Biden has parole authority under a 1952 law to admit refugees into the country on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons. Senate Democrats tried to flip the script on Republicans last month after all but four GOP senators voted against a bipartisan border security deal that had the endorsement of the National Border Patrol Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Wall Street Journal. It would have given the president emergency power to limit the flow of migrants, reformed the nation’s asylum process and increased funding for Customs and Border Patrol and ICE. Democrats argued that Republican opposition to the deal showed they want to keep border security alive as a political issue heading into November instead of taking steps to fix the problem. They are now deploying that argument to give political cover to endangered Democratic senators ahead of the battle over Mayorkas’s impeachment. “Republican Senate candidates lost their message on the border the minute they opposed the border security bill that was written by their own party. Democrats will hammer these GOP Senate candidates for refusing to crack down on Chinese fentanyl, refusing to keep Americans safe, and failing to stand with border patrol agents who backed this proposal – the ads write themselves,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee communications director David Bergstein said. The Senate Democrats’ campaign arm has launched a new ad calling out Senate Republicans for opposing the border security bill. And in Ohio, where Brown is squaring off against businessman Bernie Moreno, the state Democratic Party has launched a digital ad highlighting Moreno’s opposition to the bipartisan Senate border deal. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

'No good options': Biden admin has no plans to change how it treats Haitian migrants despite outrage from advocates

The Biden administration is under increasing pressure from human rights organizations to rethink its treatment of Haitian migrants trying to flee Haiti or currently living undocumented inside the U.S., but so far there are no plans to change course, three U.S. officials told NBC News. More than 480 human rights organizations sent a letter to the Biden administration on Wednesday asking for a moratorium on deportations to Haiti, the immediate release of detained Haitian migrants, the closure of pending deportation cases for Haitian migrants and a new designation of Temporary Protected Status that would let more Haitian migrants already living in the U.S. remain in the U.S. “If the United States cannot keep its personnel safe in Haiti, then the Haitian government is unlikely to keep Haitian nationals safe,” said the letter, referring to the U.S. mission to airlift Americans out of Haiti. For more on this story, tune in to "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt" tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT or check your local listings. U.S. officials say there has been moral handwringing inside the administration, both at the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, over the issue. “It’s heartbreaking,” one U.S. official said, adding that there are no plans to allow more Haitian migrants into the U.S. “There are no good options here,” said another U.S. official. The Biden administration is facing sharp backlash on its immigration policies, including from some Democratic mayors, heading into the November presidential election. Customs and Border Protection has made more than 10 million apprehensions of undocumented migrants trying to cross the southern border since the beginning of the administration, many of them Haitian. Crossings hit record monthly levels in late 2023, though they have now dropped. Since gangs took over Haiti this month, forcing Prime Minister Ariel Henry to announce his resignation, the Caribbean nation has been engulfed in violence. The charred remains of vehicles The charred remains of vehicles in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Monday.Clarens Siffroy / AFP - Getty Images The Biden administration has not deported Haitian migrants back to their home country by plane since the violence began, in large part because the airport in the capital and largest city, Port-au-Prince, has been taken over by gangs. But it has continued sending migrants who are interdicted at sea back to Haiti by boat. On March 14, the U.S. Coast Guard returned 65 Haitians found on a sailboat at sea. “Those interdicted at sea are subject to immediate repatriation pursuant to our longstanding policy and procedures," a spokeswoman for DHS said. "The United States returns or repatriates migrants interdicted at sea to The Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti." Recommended CONGRESS House Oversight chairman invites Biden to testify in impeachment probe FROM THE POLITICS DESK Kari Lake struggles to win over her GOP skeptics: From the Politics Desk Evacuation efforts ramping up in Haiti as violence worsens 04:23 A spokeswoman for the White House’s National Security Council said the Biden administration’s approach is to help Haitians pave a path to democracy. “If our goal was to bring everyone from around the world whenever there’s a crisis, we would have a huge problem,” the NSC spokeswoman said. She noted that the U.S. has been working to help the situation for over a year. The U.S. government has provided more than $170 million in humanitarian aid since October 2022, making it the single largest humanitarian assistance provider to Haiti. No protected status Two U.S. officials told NBC News that the Biden administration will not change the policy of returning Haitians interdicted at sea because they do not want to trigger mass migration. The officials also said that the current crisis has not yet spurred the U.S. to consider granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to an additional group of undocumented Haitians. Some Americans make it out of Haiti after weeks of turmoil 01:32 TPS has historically been used to let nationals from a country facing a humanitarian crisis legally live and work inside the U.S, whether the crisis at home is due to political upheaval or a natural disaster. TPS is granted by the president. Many Haitian migrants who arrived in the U.S. in the past already have TPS, including those who came after Haiti’s 2010 earthquake. Advocates for Haitian refugees argue the administration set a double standard by granting TPS to a new group of Venezuelans last summer, when conditions in Venezuela were less dire than the current situation in Haiti. People, including many Haitians, leave Mexico to cross into the United States People, including many Haitians, leave Mexico to cross into the U.S. in Tijuana, Mexico, on March 13.Gregory Bull / AP file The fear of using TPS for Haitians now, two officials said, is that it will send the wrong message to Haitians that they will be allowed to stay in the U.S. if they can make it here. But, they acknowledged, it is a terribly violent situation to which to return anyone. “There’s an acknowledgement this is really difficult,” said a U.S. official. “But we don’t want to encourage more people to take to the sea.” Guerline Jozef, a human rights advocate and co-founder of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, which led the letter sent Wednesday, said the Biden administration should rethink its policy. She said accepting desperate migrants who are lucky enough to escape would not trigger mass migration because it is so hard to get out. “It is almost impossible to leave Haiti,” Jozef said. U.S. officials noted that those recently interdicted at sea are not being sent back to Port-au-Prince, where most of the violence is concentrated, but in other parts of Haiti like the northern city of Cap-Haïtien. “There is no excuse to send anyone to anywhere in Haiti right now. They are using this as an excuse for the inexcusable,” Jozef said. “The whole country is unstable.” For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

New Citizens Will Be Able to Seamlessly Request Social Security Updates

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that, starting April 1, applicants filing Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, will have the option to request an original or replacement Social Security number (SSN) or card and update their immigration status with the Social Security Administration (SSA) without having to visit an SSA office. Noncitizens applying for naturalization using the new edition of Form N-400 (edition date 04/01/24) will be able to request an SSN or replacement card when submitting Form N-400. New citizens may no longer need to visit an SSA field office to apply for an SSN or replacement card or to provide documentation as evidence of their new U.S. citizenship status. Note that SSA may request additional information, if needed. Applicants who use the 09/17/19 edition of Form N-400 will not have this option as the SSA questions are only included in the 04/01/24 edition. The 04/01/24 edition of the Form N-400 will be available for online filing on April 1. To file Form N-400 online, applicants must first create a USCIS online account, which provides a convenient and secure method to submit forms, pay fees, and track the status of any pending USCIS immigration request throughout the adjudication process. There is no cost to set up a USCIS online account, which offers a variety of features, including the ability to communicate with USCIS through a secure inbox and respond to Requests for Evidence online. USCIS previously announced our intention to expand the Enumeration beyond Entry program to include applicants who apply for U.S. citizenship in the Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization: First Anniversary Accomplishment Highlights.

Appeals court keeps controversial Texas immigration law on hold

A controversial Texas law that allows state officials to arrest and detain people they suspect of entering the country illegally will remain blocked while legal challenges to it play out, a federal appeals court said Tuesday. In a 2-1 vote, the court said the law, known as SB 4, will continue to be blocked while the court considers the larger question of whether it violates the US Constitution. Immigration enforcement is generally a responsibility of the federal government. The court’s decision to not allow enforcement of the law caps off a messy few days in which SB 4 was caught in legal limbo after the Supreme Court allowed it to go into effect for a short period, only for the appeals court panel to put it back on hold hours later. ADVERTISING In the majority opinion penned by Chief Judge Priscilla Richman, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals said that it’s likely that the law runs afoul of the Constitution, but said a “lack of funding coupled with the lack of political will” have left a “gaping void” in the area of immigration that “Texas, nobly and admirably some would say, seeks to fill.” “But it is unlikely that Texas can step into the shoes of the national sovereign under our Constitution and laws,” she wrote, adding later: “The Texas removal provisions bestow powers upon itself that are likely reserved to the United States.” Richman was joined by Circuit Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, who was appointed by President Joe Biden. Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, wrote in a lengthy dissent that he would have let Texas enforce the law. He said that his colleagues’ “readiness to invalidate” the law is “exceedingly troubling.” “The State is forever helpless: Texas can do nothing because Congress apparently did everything, yet federal non-enforcement means Congress’s everything is nothing,” Oldham wrote. “And second, while the dispute before us is entirely hypothetical, the consequences of today’s decision will be very real.” Signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in December, SB 4 makes entering Texas illegally a state crime and allows state judges to order immigrants to be deported. US District Judge David Alan Ezra had blocked the law in late February before it went into effect, holding that the measure “could open the door to each state passing its own version of immigration laws.” “SB 4 directly challenges the federal government’s long-held power to control immigration, naturalization, and removal,” Ezra wrote in the preliminary injunction. “Applied to the field of immigration, the federal government has both a dominant interest and a pervasive regulatory framework that preclude state regulation in the area.” Texas quickly appealed that decision. The appeals court will hear arguments on April 3 over whether to uphold the injunction. Doing so would be a devastating blow to the law. Texas can appeal Tuesday’s decision to the Supreme Court or ask the full 5th Circuit to review its request to enforce the law for now, but both options are unlikely given the proximity to next week’s hearing. SB 4’s challengers include the Biden administration and two immigrant advocacy groups, as well as El Paso County. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Immigrants are excluded from the right to legal representation. It's time to change that.

Ibrahima Keita waited outside the immigration court for hours, but his attorney never came to accompany him to his asylum hearing. Inside, an immigration judge marked Keita a no-show and ordered his deportation. He didn’t know he could attend the hearing by himself and ask for a “continuance.” He didn’t know it was a day that would forever change his life, after many years of building a life in the United States. Keita's is just one of many families separated due to the lack of legal representation. Last year, there were nearly 4 million people in immigration court facing deportation, 70% of whom lacked legal representation. Of the approximately 250,000 people who were ordered deported last year, 74% lacked legal representation. Protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Washington, D.C., in 2020. Anyone navigating a complex legal process that has life-altering consequences, like immigration court, should have a trained legal adviser at their side. It’s this principle that led the Supreme Court to rule unanimously 61 years ago in Gideon v. Wainwright that people facing criminal charges have the right to legal representation. But those principles don’t apply to civil immigration court matters – at least not yet. Universal representation for immigrants is possible – regardless of immigration status and ability to pay for an attorney. And states and cities across the country think so, too: More than 55 jurisdictions have already established publicly funded deportation defense programs. And last year, Congress introduced the Fairness to Freedom Act, which would secure the legal right to an attorney for immigrants facing deportation and family separation. I escaped from Haitiin the throes of gang violence. The people there need our help. 'Now everything is upside down.' Our immigration system fails families. The immigration system and unreliable legal representation failed Keita when they ordered his deportation in 1997. He fought to remain in the United States by re-filing for asylum and later regularly attending his required Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) check-ins until 2016, when his check-ins were deemed no longer necessary because of changes to the government’s removal priorities. By this point, he had spent nearly 30 years in the United States, working as a delivery driver, paying taxes and starting a family. He and his wife, Neissa Kone, were raising two young sons. But then the life he had built all came crashing down: The Trump administration changed the U.S. government’s deportation priorities and carried out Keita’s removal in 2018. ICE arrested Keita outside his home, car keys in hand, as he was about to drive his boys to school. Neissa and their sons witnessed it all. “We never asked for help. We had a good life, a nice house in the suburbs, he worked so hard. Now everything is upside down,” she said. From inside the ICE jail, Keita and a new legal team tried everything they could think of to stop his deportation. But the Trump administration was focused on sending him to Mali – despite the dangers and persecution Keita had fled – and they did so in 2019 after he had spent an entire year in ICE detention. Keita’s new lawyers could not reverse the deportation set in motion when his first attorney failed to show up 20 years prior. Laken Riley's death made national news.Here's the real story on undocumented migrants. Lawyers are necessities, not luxuries If Keita had been guaranteed the right to a lawyer by his side throughout his legal battle to remain in the United States, this family’s pain would likely be behind them. Now, Keita says, “I cry a lot. I think about my two kids. Sometimes I can’t even talk about it because it makes me sad. I worked hard for everything I got. Very hard. ... I lost everything. ... I’m a family man. I take care of my wife, my two boys. I work every day: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, seven days (a week). I just want to take care of my two kids.” Keita and his family deserve to be together today, as do tens of thousands of other families like theirs who have been torn apart by immigration enforcement and little to no legal representation. Annie Chen And it doesn't have to be this way − just as it was decided 61 years ago for people facing life-altering legal battles in criminal court, “Lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries.” The same should apply in immigration court, where the stakes are just as high. Nicole Melaku Immigrants deserve their fair day in court with an attorney by their side. The Fairness to Freedom Act would secure this right, ensuring immigrants like Keita understand their rights under U.S. laws, are more fairly equipped to make their case, stay rooted in their communities with their families and remain in this country they’ve come to call home. Annie Chen is the director of the Advancing Universal Representation initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice. Nicole Melaku is the executive director of the National Partnership for New Americans. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Fox News host slammed for linking Baltimore Key bridge disaster to immigration: ‘Reprehensible stupidity’

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo has been slammed after she attempted to link the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore to Joe Biden’s immigration policy. In an early morning broadcast on the right-wing channel, Bartiromo asked US Senator Rick Scott for his take on the bridge collapse, linking it to the “wide-open border.” “Let me also get your take on what’s going on in terms of world affairs. The White House has issued a statement on this saying that ‘There’s no indication of nefarious intent in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge,’” Ms Bartiromo said. “The ship involved in the collapse of the bridge is 948 feet long, called The Dali, a Singaporean-flag container, but of course you’ve been talking a lot about the potential for wrongdoing or potential for foul play given the wide-open border. That is why you have been so adamant,” she added. There is no suggestion or evidence that the bridge’s collapse was in any way linked to federal immigration policy. RECOMMENDED Singapore tells Israeli embassy to remove Facebook post about Palestine and Quran Trump compares himself to Jesus Christ – again Your Destination for All Things Wedding Shutterfly | Sponsored Chuck Norris Says: Do This Daily For More Energy, Even If You're 80 Roundhouse Provisions | Sponsored Powered by Taboola

Fox News host Maria Bartiromo and Senator Rick Scott

Fox News host Maria Bartiromo and Senator Rick Scott (Fox Business) Ms Bartiromo was slammed for her remarks, with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle describing her comments as “reprehensible stupidity.” “The people still unaccounted for...the workers who were on the job at 1AM fixing potholes... the families experiencing unimaginable grief today... They deserve better than this absolute garbage & reprehensible stupidity,” she wrote on X. “What’s next, someone saying the Titanic hitting the iceberg is a result of Trump not building the wall?” another person wrote. The tragic incident unfolded just before 1.30am ET local time on Tuesday morning when the Singapore-flagged Dali ship slammed into one of the bridge’s pillars. Multiple cars were crossing over the bridge at the time, including one the size of a tractor-trailer. Authorities said a group of workers were also on the bridge at the time of the collapse, who were “doing some concrete deck repair”. Desperate rescue efforts are currently underway to find survivors in the freezing waters, with just two people pulled from the river so far and at least six unaccounted for.

Six people are unaccounted for after the crash

Six people are unaccounted for after the crash (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

In an aerial view, cargo ship Dali is seen after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridg

In an aerial view, cargo ship Dali is seen after running into and collapsing the Francis Scott Key Bridg (Getty Images) Baltimore fire chief James Wallace said one person was rescued uninjured, while a second person, believed to be part of the work crew, was in a serious condition in hospital. At least five vehicles were also submerged in the water after the crash, authorities said. Meanwhile, Singapore’s port authority confirmed all 22 crew members who were on board the Dali were accounted for and there were no reports of any injuries. Although the exact cause of the crash has not yet been determined, an unclassified intelligence report, obtained by ABC, revealed the Dali container ship “lost propulsion” as it was leaving port. “The vessel notified MD Department of Transportation (MDOT) that they had lost control of the vessel and a collision with the bridge was possible,” ABC quoted the report by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as saying. “The vessel struck the bridge causing a complete collapse.” The FBI were on the scene of the crash on Tuesday morning, however, officials later confirmed that there was no indication that terrorism was involved in the incident and that the crash was not intentional. At a press conference held in the hours after the incident, Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott said the bridge collapse was an “unthinkable tragedy.” “We have to be thinking about the families and people impacted, folks who we have to try to find. This is what our focus should be on right now, we’re going to continue to work in partnership with every part of government to do everything we can to get us through the other side of this tragedy,” he said. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

As immigration debate swirls, Girl Scouts quietly welcome hundreds of young migrant girls

Once a week in a midtown Manhattan hotel, dozens of Girl Scouts gather in a spare room made homey by string lights and children's drawings. They earn badges, go on field trips to the Statue of Liberty, and learn how to navigate the subway in a city most have just begun to call home. They are the newest members of New York City's largest Girl Scout troop. And they live in an emergency shelter where 170,000 asylum seekers and migrants, including tens of thousands of children, have arrived from the southern border since the spring of 2022. As government officials debate how to handle the influx of new arrivals, the Girl Scouts — whose Troop 6000 has served kids who live in the shelter system since 2017 — are quietly welcoming hundreds of the city's youngest new residents with the support of donations. Most of the girls have fled dire conditions in South and Central America and endured an arduous journey to the U.S. What is Troop 6000? Launched by the Girl Scouts of Greater New York in 2017, Girl Scouts Troop 6000 is a program for girls living in the New York City Shelter System. There were 21,774 families living in the city's homeless shelters in December 2023, according to data from the Coalition for the Homeless. Of those, 33,399 were children. Last year, Troop 6000 opened its newest branch at a hotel-turned-shelter in Midtown Manhattan, one of several city-funded relief centers for migrants. Though hundreds of families sleep at the shelter every night, the Girl Scouts is the only children's program offered. Unflagging support amid anti-immigrant sentiment Last January, the Girl Scouts expanded its Troop 6000 program to serve more than 100 young arrivals living in New York City Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center, according to a statement at the time. The group began recruiting at the shelter and rolled out a bilingual curriculum to help scouts learn more about New York City through its monuments, subway system, and political borders. One year later, with nearly 200 members and five parents as troop leaders, the shelter is the largest of Troop 6000's roughly two dozen sites across the city and the only one exclusively for asylum-seekers. Not everybody is happy about the evolution of Troop 6000. With anti-immigrant rhetoric on the rise and a contentious election ahead, some donors see the Girl Scouts as wading too readily into politically controversial waters. That hasn't fazed the group — or their small army of philanthropic supporters. Amid city budget cuts and a growing need for services, they are among dozens of charities that say their support for all New Yorkers, including newcomers, is more important than ever. "There are some donors who would prefer their dollars go elsewhere," said Meridith Maskara, CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York. "I am constantly being asked: Don't you find this a little too political?" But Troop 6000 has also found plenty of sympathetic supporters, "If it has to do with young girls in New York City, then it's not political," Maskara said. "It's our job." With few other after-school opportunities available, the girls are "so hungry for more" ways to get involved, said Giselle Burgess, senior director of the Girl Scouts of New York's Troop 6000. New York City, charities feeling the crunch New York City has spent billions on the asylum seekers while buckling under the pressure of an existing housing and affordability crisis. That's left little time to court and coordinate the city's major philanthropies. "It's very hard to take a step back when you're drinking out of a fire hose," said Beatriz de la Torre, chief philanthropy officer at Trinity Church Wall Street, which gave the Girl Scouts a $100,000 emergency grant — plus $150,000 in annual support — to help expand Troop 6000. With or without government directives, she said, charities are feeling the crunch: Food banks need more food. Legal clinics need more lawyers. Since asylum-seekers began arriving to the city, around 30 local grant makers, including Trinity Church and Brooklyn Org, have met at least biweekly to discuss the increased demands on their grantees. Together, they've provided over $25 million for charities serving asylum seekers, from free legal assistance to resources for navigating the public school system. "It's hard for the government to be that nimble — that's a great place for nonprofits and philanthropy," said Eve Stotland, senior program officer at New York Community Trust, which convenes the Working Group for New York's Newcomers, and itself has distributed over $2.7 million in grants for recent immigrants. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

New York City mayor defends migrant debit card program as cost efficient and fraud resistant

NEW YORK — A pilot program to distribute preloaded debit cards to migrants for food and baby supplies is just that: a pilot and trial run, New York City officials said Tuesday amid backlash to that effort. “We can take a look at it after six weeks and see what’s working and what’s not,” Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom said at a wide-ranging news conference. The prepaid cards are intended to be used for groceries, diapers, baby formula and other necessities at local businesses. They’ve invited the condemnation by right-wing news media as simply another benefit for people who entered the country illegally and for the hefty contract involved in the rollout. “There is no free money. These are not ATM cards. You can’t take cash out,” Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy said at the news conference. Mayor Eric Adams and top aides also stressed that safeguards are in place to prevent fraud. They said the program saves the city money and prevents food waste. The program launched Monday with 10 families and the pilot will expand to 115 families. Families of four getting $350 each week on their cards. The mayor was additionally asked Tuesday if the debit cards send a “mixed message” to migrants crossing the southern border who may have been told both that the city has no room for them and that the government provides shelter and food and other services. “It sends a mixed message when it’s distorted,” Adams said. The mayor himself had been set to visit the border beginning Saturday but abruptly nixed the trip. After three days with limited public details on what the trip entailed and why it had fallen apart, the mayor explained Tuesday that the U.S. State Department warned his team of gang violence and other dangers in his intended destination, Reynosa in Mexico, just south of McAllen, Texas. The Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley had invited him after she recently visited Gracie Mansion to learn how the city is supporting migrants, Adams said. Sister Norma Pimental, executive director of the branch, did not respond to requests for comment. “We wanted to make the right decision. I’m not going to put my team in harm’s way,” he said, adding that he plans to eventually reschedule the trip. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Appeals court keeps controversial Texas immigration law on hold

A controversial Texas law that allows state officials to arrest and detain people they suspect of entering the country illegally will remain blocked while legal challenges to it play out, a federal appeals court said Tuesday. In a 2-1 vote, the court said the law, known as SB 4, will continue to be blocked while the court considers the larger question of whether it violates the US Constitution. Immigration enforcement is generally a responsibility of the federal government. The court’s decision to not allow enforcement of the law caps off a messy few days in which SB 4 was caught in legal limbo after the Supreme Court allowed it to go into effect for a short period, only for the appeals court panel to put it back on hold hours later. ADVERTISING In the majority opinion penned by Chief Judge Priscilla Richman, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals said that it’s likely that the law runs afoul of the Constitution, but said a “lack of funding coupled with the lack of political will” have left a “gaping void” in the area of immigration that “Texas, nobly and admirably some would say, seeks to fill.” “But it is unlikely that Texas can step into the shoes of the national sovereign under our Constitution and laws,” she wrote, adding later: “The Texas removal provisions bestow powers upon itself that are likely reserved to the United States.” Richman was joined by Circuit Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, who was appointed by President Joe Biden. Circuit Judge Andrew Oldham, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, wrote in a lengthy dissent that he would have let Texas enforce the law. He said that his colleagues’ “readiness to invalidate” the law is “exceedingly troubling.” “The State is forever helpless: Texas can do nothing because Congress apparently did everything, yet federal non-enforcement means Congress’s everything is nothing,” Oldham wrote. “And second, while the dispute before us is entirely hypothetical, the consequences of today’s decision will be very real.” Signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in December, SB 4 makes entering Texas illegally a state crime and allows state judges to order immigrants to be deported. US District Judge David Alan Ezra had blocked the law in late February before it went into effect, holding that the measure “could open the door to each state passing its own version of immigration laws.” “SB 4 directly challenges the federal government’s long-held power to control immigration, naturalization, and removal,” Ezra wrote in the preliminary injunction. “Applied to the field of immigration, the federal government has both a dominant interest and a pervasive regulatory framework that preclude state regulation in the area.” Texas quickly appealed that decision. The appeals court will hear arguments on April 3 over whether to uphold the injunction. Doing so would be a devastating blow to the law. Texas can appeal Tuesday’s decision to the Supreme Court or ask the full 5th Circuit to review its request to enforce the law for now, but both options are unlikely given the proximity to next week’s hearing. SB 4’s challengers include the Biden administration and two immigrant advocacy groups, as well as El Paso County. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Biden and Harris discuss migration in separate White House meetings with Guatemalan leader Arévalo

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed Bernardo Arévalo, the newly elected president of Guatemala, to the White House on Monday to praise his battle against corruption and promote their work on stemming migration from Central America. “Your leadership can help rebuild the Guatemalan people’s trust in their institutions, and give them a sense of hope and opportunity,” Harris said. President Joe Biden met privately afterward with Arévalo to congratulate him on his inauguration, the White House said later Monday. They discussed good governance, effective migration management, the importance of upholding democracy and other issues, the White House said. The Democratic vice president announced that her efforts to address the root causes of migration by improving economic opportunity in the region have generated $5.2 billion in private sector commitments. ADVERTISEMENT “The problems, of course, did not occur overnight, and the solutions will not be achieved overnight,” Harris said. But there has been short-term progress, she said. Migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras — an area known as the Northern Triangle — have long made the journey north to the U.S.-Mexico border. Successive administrations have struggled to manage the flow of migrants, and it’s become a humanitarian and political challenge for Biden during this year’s election. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress say the nation’s immigration system is broken, but lawmakers have failed to address the problem. READ MORE Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the media after she and the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention met with families whose loved ones were murdered during the 2018 mass shooting that took the lives of 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Saturday, March 23, 2024. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP) ‘Frozen in time.’ Kamala Harris tours bloodstained building where 2018 Parkland massacre happened Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Frankie Miranda, Hispanic Federation president, applaud, during a visit, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday, March 22, 2024. Harris visited Puerto Rico on Friday as part of a whirlwind trip to tout the federal aid the U.S. territory has received following deadly hurricanes and attend a Democratic fundraiser. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo) Kamala Harris marks first visit to Puerto Rico as vice president, riling some in the US territory FILE - San Diego Wave forward Alex Morgan, left, controls the ball as OL Reign defender Lauren Barnes defends during the second half of an NWSL semifinal playoff soccer match Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, in San Diego. The National Women's Soccer League has a lot to be excited about heading into its 11th season. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File) Alex Morgan has late goal, leads San Diego past Gotham FC 1-0 in the Challenge Cup Harris and Arévalo discussed the Biden administration’s use of so-called “safe mobility offices,” which were set up in Guatemala, Colombia, Costa Rica and Ecuador in the fall, among other immigration matters. The safe mobility offices are designed to streamline the U.S. refugee process so migrants apply where they are and avoid paying smugglers to make the journey north. The number of arrests for illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border nudged upward in February over the previous month to 140,644, although it was still among the lowest monthly tallies in Biden’s presidency. Of those, 23,216 were Guatemalan. ADVERTISEMENT Arévalo took office in January after winning the presidency in August, beating the establishment candidate by a comfortable margin. He is the son of a former president credited with implementing some of Guatemala’s key labor protections, but his strong showing in a crowded field was still a shock. The politician with a background in academia and conflict resolution caught fire with a message of challenging the country’s entrenched power structure and resuming the fight against corruption. “Your election has brought a sense of of optimism to the people of America and around the world,” Harris said. “And despite the challenges that have been posed to Guatemala’s democratic process, the United States was proud to stand with you, Mr. President, following a free and fair election.” Arévalo thanked Harris and the U.S. for their support. “I view this as a historic moment in relations between our two countries, which share basic values and common interests,” Arévalo said. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Texas border law plagued by legal doubts

The whiplash created by rapid-fire court orders is sparking alarm over whether a Texas law clearing the way for state and local authorities to carry out immigration enforcement will be allowed to stand. A whirlwind 24 hours in the courts for S.B. 4, the controversial Texas measure, ended last week with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals putting the law on ice after the Supreme Court briefly lifted a stay and allowed it to go into effect. The 5th Circuit now must decide whether to allow the law to take effect while it considers the broader legality of the case. If it upholds the law, it would drastically change the power dynamic in immigration enforcement. S.B. 4 would allow state and local law enforcement to arrest those suspected of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, who could then face deportation to Mexico or jail time. The law was challenged by the federal government as well as immigrant and civil rights groups. While the Biden administration has argued the law flies in the face of long-standing precedent giving federal authorities control over immigration, civil rights groups fear the law will encourage targeting of Latinos and others perceived as being migrants. “The federal law is absolutely clear — it has been absolutely clear since the late 1800s — that immigration policy is the obligation and the responsibility of the federal government,” said César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, an immigration expert and law professor at Ohio State University. The Supreme Court has shifted since the court last weighed a similar bill, and Texas, he says, is hoping new justices mean “new outcomes.” Texas has lost recent Supreme Court battles in which it tried to usurp federal authorities, including in a case that allowed the Biden administration to cut razor wire the state has installed along the border. “Texas has been on a losing streak when it gets to the Supreme Court. But it wins rather regularly at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which has shown itself to be the most right-wing federal appellate court in the United States right now,” García Hernández said. Like in prior court battles, Texas again suggested its moves are needed to address inaction by the federal government to protect its own border. “S.B. 4 is a modest but important statute,” Texas Solicitor General Aaron Nielson told the judges during a hearing last week to review the stay. “It’s modest because it mirrors federal law. It’s important because it helps address what even the president has called a border crisis.” But that runs counter to guidance from a court that has often determined that the government must speak with one voice on immigration. “It’s playing chicken on state and federal preemption in immigration law,” said Kathleen Campbell Walker, an immigration attorney and former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Campbell Walker called immigration “an area of law that is so regulated by the federal government, that that area has basically been ruled off-limits for the state,” given its impact on international relations issues and that it also touches on the Commerce Clause. But the bill raises other legal and logistical challenges, as well. The law ignores the rights of migrants to seek asylum, even if they have crossed the border between ports of entry. “There are conventions that the U.S. is a party to that require that review. Texas is saying, ‘We don’t have to worry about that,’” Campbell Walker said. And Texas also plans to simply drop migrants at the U.S. southern border, regardless of their country of origin and whether Mexico will accept them. A blistering statement from the government of Mexico highlights the real world roadblocks Texas will face if it ever gets a chance to implement the law, while noting the Mexican government’s own plans to raise the issue in court. “Mexico categorically rejects any measure that allows state or local authorities to exercise immigration control, and to arrest and return nationals or foreigners to Mexican territory,” its ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement. “Mexico reiterates its legitimate right to protect the rights of its nationals in the United States and to determine its own policies regarding entry into its territory. Mexico recognizes the importance of a uniform migration policy and the bilateral efforts with the United States to ensure that migration is safe, orderly and respectful of human rights, and is not affected by state or local legislative decisions. In this regard, Mexico will not accept, under any circumstances, repatriations by the State of Texas.” Mexico went on to chastise Texas for passing legislation that could “give rise to hostile environments in which the migrant community is exposed to hate speech, discrimination and racial profiling.” Mexico submitted its own amicus brief with the 5th Circuit, arguing S.B. 4 violated its rights as a sovereign nation as well as the rights of the federal government. “It’s one thing to ask the Mexican government to accept Mexican citizens. It’s a whole other thing to ask them to clip citizens from any random country in the world. And that’s exactly what S.B. 4 does,” García Hernández said. “That’s the kind of thing that is very rare, historically, for a country to accept somebody else’s citizen, simply because the United States doesn’t want them in the United States. And that complication is true whether it’s the federal government or state government that’s making the request.” S.B. 4 carries stiff penalties for those presumed to have crossed the border, including six months in jail or two years or more for a second offense. But it’s sparked concern that anyone who can’t immediately prove they are a citizen could be arrested if there’s probable cause they crossed the border. “We have a plan B, which is to prepare to educate the community, if it becomes a law, on knowing your rights,” said Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens. “You have a right to remain silent and not answer any questions regarding your immigration status. You have the right to a lot; you have the right to an attorney if they want to deport you or want you to sign deportation documents.” Regardless of how Texas fares in its legal battle, García Hernández said the state has succeeded in one of its goals. “Even if ultimately, Texas loses the legal fight, they’re very clearly winning the political fight. By busing migrants to big cities controlled by Democrats all over the country, [Republican Texas Gov.] Greg Abbott has really shifted conversation about immigration policy and split Democrats from one another,” he said. That includes getting some big-city Democratic mayors to criticize Biden, and even shifting “the tone of the rhetoric that is coming from President Biden and as well as the policies that his administration is implementing.” For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Biden was planning executive action on the border. Now he’s gone silent.

A month ago, the White House was openly considering a string of executive actions to curb migration at the southern border. But no announcements were made. And now, immigration advocates who had been engaged with the Biden administration about the moves say they no longer appear imminent. Administration officials are still weighing new actions, including restrictions on asylum, particularly as border crossings are expected to surge in line with seasonal migration patterns later this spring, according to three people familiar with the administration’s thinking. But inside the White House, aides do not feel a sense of urgency like they did before, even as the issue of immigration remains a chief concern for voters. The administration’s change in posture is owed, in part, to the downtick in migration numbers following a record-breaking number of illegal crossings in December. There remain questions about whether any action taken by the White House would pass legal muster. But while internal conversations around policy moves have continued, Biden aides also note that media coverage is less intense than it was earlier this year. At border, Biden and Trump deliver competing messages SharePlay Video “They’re in that pretty classic mode of, nothing is on fire right now,” said an immigration policy advocate, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations about the administration’s border policy considerations. The administration could still move forward unilaterally in the weeks or months ahead, a White House official said, adding that no specific action that was previously under consideration has been confirmed or ruled out. But the elongated time frame reflects a newfound belief that the president now has some space to deal with the matter. The president’s team believes congressional Republicans’ rejection of a bipartisan border deal and the impeachment of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas allowed them to neutralize the political backlash Biden was facing and even reap some benefits in the polls. With border crossings down from their December highs, White House officials are keen on giving Biden’s recent border messaging blitz — that Republicans are using the issue for political gain — as much runway as possible. “[Biden’s] just very confident in that messaging,” said a person familiar with the administration’s thinking, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. “So I think they’re gonna keep trying to explain that to the public.” Immigration remains a delicate issue for the president and a tinderbox politically, as it is expected that migration to the southern border will surge again as the weather warms. The border drew widespread attention once again this week, as hundreds of migrants breached a barrier set up by the Texas National Guard in El Paso. Abbott: Texas will 'continue' to use authority to arrest migrants SharePlay Video Biden has called for tighter border security while blaming former President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for killing the bipartisan border deal. And while he hasn’t taken the executive actions that seemed likely to come after the deal collapsed, Biden has continued to call on Congress to act. “If we brought it up tomorrow, there’s enough Republicans and Democrats, an overwhelming number of Democrats and enough Republicans to make it become law,” Biden said during an interview with Univision Radio last week. “I’m going to continue to push for it.” While the new spending package included an increase in detention capacity and funding for more border patrol agents and technology, there is no evidence that congressional Republicans are seriously interested in reengaging in talks around changes to immigration laws. And that, in turn, has left the White House weighing the merits of what, if any, actions they should take. Any specific policy would be tricky to execute, not just because it could face legal challenges, but also because it will likely face steep backlash from progressives and the immigration advocacy community. Reports that the Biden administration was considering using the same statute the Trump administration employed to aggressively shape the immigration system quickly sparked weeks of pushback and even internal resistance. There was also concern that the policy could be blocked by the courts. The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel was reviewing the proposed executive order last month to see if it could sustain legal challenges, a roadblock that has reportedly frustrated the president. MOST READ 1461133610 Trump calls on Republicans to challenge DeSantis’ lone Florida supporter in Congress NBC’s McDaniel mess threatens to explode Why Chuck Todd’s Scorcher Against NBC Matters Ronna McDaniel said the quiet part out loud on NBC They hold the key to Senate control — but they’d rather talk about Montana and Ohio Overshadowing it all is the election ahead. The administration has tried to tout tough border restrictions by coupling them with policies that might soften the blow for the immigration advocacy community and Democratic allies. Like the Obama administration did in 2012 with the launch of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Biden administration officials are also examining whether there’s an action they could take for a different group of undocumented people who have long resided in the United States, according to the three people familiar with the administration’s planning. One idea that has been floated among administration officials is opening access to the cancellation of removal program for people who have lived in the U.S. for over 10 years and have citizen or resident relatives who would “suffer” if they were deported. If specific requirements are met and an immigration judge approves cancellation of removal, a migrant is able to obtain a green card. People board buses. LIVE | NEW YORK Blue states open 2024 election year with migrant crisis escalating BY EMILY NGO, DANIEL HAN AND SHIA KAPOS | JANUARY 03, 2024 05:00 AM Administration officials are also discussing ways they can further support state and local officials managing the influx of new arrivals, as Republican governors are expected to continue busing migrants to Democratic-led cities this year. The delay in action from the administration has left some immigration advocates hopeful that the White House will ultimately abandon plans to curtail asylum altogether. But the expectation remains that the administration will charge ahead with efforts to crack down on the border once another surge complicates the picture for the president. “I do think that in a heartbeat, if they felt like they needed to do something because of the images of too many people coming or whatever they were afraid of, they would do it,” said one of the people familiar with the administration’s planning. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Daily eBriefs - March 22, 2024

Immigration Law Where the Board of Immigration Appeals expressly adopted the immigration judge’s reasons for finding that internal relocation was safe and reasonable, it also adopted the IJ’s flawed relocation analysis; the BIA compounded its mistake by failing to conduct a reasoned analysis of the asylum-seeker’s individualized situation to determine if he could safely relocate to another area of his native country. Singh v. Garland - filed March 22, 2024 Cite as 2024 S.O.S. 22-211 Full text click here >http://sos.metnews.com/sos.cgi?0324//22-211

USCIS Reopens Field Office in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the reopening of an international field office in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The Tegucigalpa Field Office will focus on increasing refugee processing capacity and helping reunite individuals with their family members already in the United States. “Reopening the Tegucigalpa Field Office establishes USCIS’ presence and expertise in a critical location in the Western Hemisphere and is part of our commitment to the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to facilitate safe and orderly lawful pathways and meet our humanitarian mission,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “USCIS is dedicated to fairness, integrity, and respect for all we serve, and our renewed presence in Honduras is part of an effort to expand USCIS’ footprint outside the United States to more effectively support that mission.” The Tegucigalpa Field Office will be located within the U.S. Embassy in Honduras. USCIS staff will assume responsibility for agency workloads currently handled by the U.S. Department of State Consular Section. These include interviews and processing for Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, fingerprinting beneficiaries of T nonimmigrant applications and U nonimmigrant and VAWA petitions, and essential fraud detection activities, including document verification, site visits, and interviews. Additionally, reopening the USCIS Tegucigalpa Field Office will help support the U.S. government’s effort to resettle refugees from the Americas, as outlined in the June 2022 Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection. Services at the office in Tegucigalpa will be available only by appointment. USCIS will update its International Immigration Offices webpage to include information about the field office, its services, and appointments. USCIS’ renewed presence in Honduras is part of an effort to restore its footprint outside the United States to meet its workload needs and the needs of USCIS partners. The opening of the field office in Tegucigalpa makes it the ninth USCIS international field office. Currently, there are international field offices in Beijing, China; Guangzhou, China; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Havana, Cuba; Mexico City, Mexico; Nairobi, Kenya; New Delhi, India; and San Salvador, El Salvador.

USCIS Extends Initial Registration Period for FY 2025 H-1B Cap

USCIS has extended the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap. The initial registration period, which opened at noon Eastern on March 6, 2024, and was originally scheduled to run through noon Eastern on March 22, 2024, will now run through noon Eastern on March 25, 2024. USCIS is aware of a temporary system outage experienced by some registrants, and is extending the registration period to provide additional time due to this issue. During this period, prospective petitioners and their representatives, if applicable, must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary. USCIS still intends to notify selected registrants by March 31, 2024. On Feb. 28, 2024, we launched new myUSCIS organizational accounts that allow multiple people within an organization, as well as their legal representatives, to collaborate on and prepare H-1B registrations, H-1B petitions, and any associated Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service. A new organizational account is required to participate in the H-1B Electronic Registration Process. For additional information and resources, please review updated information on the Organizational Accounts Frequently Asked Questions page. To help guide organizations and legal representatives through the new process, we launched our Tech Talks sessions in February 2024. During these sessions, individuals can ask questions about the organizational accounts and online filing of Form I-129 for H-1B petitions. USCIS encourages all individuals involved in the H-1B registration and petition filing process to attend these sessions. Additional information and dates are available on the Upcoming National Engagements page.

USCIS Updates Policy Guidance Clarifying Expedite Requests

USCIS is updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify how we consider expedite requests related to government interests and requests related to emergencies or urgent humanitarian situations, including travel-related requests. This update also clarifies how to make an expedite request and explains how we process expedite requests. Government Interests This update clarifies that we may expedite cases identified as urgent by federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local governments of the United States because they involve public interest, public safety, national interest, or national security interests. This update clarifies that when an expedite request is made by a federal government agency or department based on government interests, we generally defer to that agency or department’s assessment. Travel-Related Requests We issue several types of travel documents. This update clarifies that we will consider expediting Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, for benefit requestors in the United States when they have a pressing or critical need to leave the United States, whether the need to travel relates to an unplanned or planned event, such as a professional, academic, or personal commitment. When the need is related to a planned event, we consider whether: The applicant timely filed Form I-131; and Processing times would prevent us from issuing the travel document by the planned date of departure. Submission and Processing of Expedite Requests This update also clarifies how to make an expedite request, including how requestors can use USCIS online tools with secure messaging, such as submitting their expedite request and uploading evidence to support their expedite request if they have a USCIS online account. This update explains how we process expedite requests by clarifying that we will generally respond to benefit requestors who submit their request through the USCIS Contact Center to inform them when we have made a decision on their expedite request. This guidance is effective immediately and is controlling and supersedes any related prior guidance. For more information, see the Policy Alert, the newly updated Expedite Requests page, and the new Interested Government Agency page. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

The $7 trillion boost to the US economy from immigration has downsides too By Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN

The US economy defied forecast after forecast predicting an imminent recession over the past two years. Instead, it grew beyond belief. A boom in immigration was part of the recipe, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a “60 Minutes” interview on CBS last month. But stricter measures could be coming to curb immigration after the Supreme Court announced Tuesday it is temporarily allowing Texas to enforce a controversial law that allows state officials to arrest and detain people they suspect of entering the country illegally. (A federal appeals court late Tuesday night put Texas’ controversial law back on hold.) Congress is also resuming its fight on immigration this week against the backdrop of a looming partial government shutdown. Republican lawmakers want more funds for securing the border. Democrats, meanwhile, want to give many migrants a faster path to citizenship. Often absent from their bickering is the economic impact of immigration. At a time when a record number of migrants have crossed into the country, the economic implications carry even more weight. By and large, it’s difficult to make the case that higher rates of immigration are completely a win-win. But it’s equally difficult to make the case that it’s a lose-lose situation. A $7 trillion boost to the economy On the surface, the math is pretty simple. “More workers means more output, and that in turn leads to additional tax revenue,” Phillip Swagel, director of the Congressional Budget Office, told reporters last month after the agency released a new report on the economic outlook. The report included a special section on immigration and its impact on the economy. While not all migrants, such as children or the infirm, will or even can find jobs, a large portion of recent and future expected migrants are believed to be between 25 and 54 years old, the CBO report said. People in that age range are considered part of the prime-age working population. FILE - A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer looks on during an operation in Escondido, Calif., July 8, 2019. Data broker LexisNexis Risk Solutions allegedly violated Illinois law by collecting and combining extensive personal information and selling it to third parties including federal immigration authorities, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, by immigration advocates. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File) ICE draft plan would release thousands of immigrants in order to cover budget shortfall Federal authorities encountered more than 2.5 million migrants crossing the US-Mexico border last year, according to Department of Homeland Security estimates. That contributed to net immigration of 3.3 million people into the US in 2023, well above the 900,000 annual average from 2010 to 2019, according to the CBO. The agency’s estimates consider both people with and without prior authorization to enter the US. Because of immigration trends, the US is on pace to have 1.7 million more people in its pool of workers this year compared with what the CBO estimated last year. By 2033, the CBO now estimates that the pool will have 5.2 million workers more than it estimated last year. As a result, the nation’s gross domestic product — a measure of an economy’s size — will grow by an additional $7 trillion over the next decade, the nonpartisan agency projects. Inflation-adjusted GDP is set to add 0.2 percentage points on average every year because of greater immigration. The federal government will benefit from that growth, which will lift tax revenue collections by $1 trillion, according to the CBO. A strain on state and local governments’ resources Non-US citizens typically do not qualify for social welfare programs like Social Security and unemployment insurance. At the same time, migrants who are legally authorized to work in the US make contributions to the programs via payroll deductions. But when it comes to programs like public education, where beneficiaries do not need to be citizens, the surge in immigration can have negative impacts at the state and local level. That helps explain why refugees, asylum-seekers and their immediate families contributed an estimated net $37.5 billion to the federal government between 2005 and 2019, according to a report released last month by the Department of Health and Human Services. However, they cost state and local governments an estimated net of $21.4 billion, according to the report. State and local governments incur higher costs because they fund the majority of public schools across the country, the report said. Additionally, 21% of refugees and asylees received food assistance at some point during the 15-year period, compared with 15% of the overall US population, according to the report. Housing assistance rates had a similarly large difference between the migrant group and the overall US population. An answer to labor shortages The number of US job openings exceeds the number of unemployed people looking for work by more than 2 million, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. When the economy was reopening after the pandemic shut down businesses, the number of job openings per unemployed person was much higher than it is currently. That drove employers to increase wages but, as a result, contributed to higher inflation. Immigrants have been playing a crucial role in easing those shortages, Tara Watson, director of the Center for Economic Security and Opportunity at the Brookings Institution, told CNN. Immigrants are poised to become even more necessary in the US labor market as more baby boomers enter retirement and fertility rates decline, said Watson, who co-authored the book “The Border Within: The Economics of Immigration in an Age of Fear.” Depressed wage growth The CBO’s report said the increase in the population from immigration “will put downward pressure on average real wages in the near term.” Real wages are what people earn after accounting for inflation. Part of the reason is immigrants tend to work in sectors that pay lower wages to begin with, which puts downward pressure on wages overall, the CBO notes. After 2027, the agency predicts the trend will “partially reverse” as migrant workers acquire more advanced skills. But, on average, real wages will be lower by 2034 than they otherwise would have been if not for current immigration trends, the report projected. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Top Latina advocates decry Trump’s ‘not people’ comments

A coalition of advocacy, labor and civil rights groups led by Latinas is condemning former President Trump’s escalating rhetoric against immigrants, arguing words like his contribute to the incitement of hate crimes. In a joint statement Wednesday, the Latina leaders sought to shake off the normalization of language that’s become part of the mainstream political discourse over the past decade — in large part because of Trump’s political successes. “Trump’s continuous use of language that devalues the humanity of immigrants is a threat to our democracy and the core of who we are as a nation. This is the same rhetoric that he used to summon a violent mob on January 6 and then recklessly directed them to attack the U.S. Capitol,” said Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice, a progressive immigration policy group. “It’s also the same dehumanization of immigrants that has inspired domestic terrorist attacks like the mass murders at an El Paso Walmart, Buffalo grocery store, and a Pittsburgh synagogue. We cannot become numb to the fact that a major candidate for president relies on lies and dehumanizing immigrants and calls to violence as the bedrock of his campaign.” Cárdenas was joined by a who’s who of Latina political leadership, including Lorella Praeli, co-president of Community Change Action; Bruna Sollod, senior political director at United We Dream Action; Kica Matos, president of the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund; Maria Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of Voto Latino; and Rocio Sáenz, executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). ADVERTISING The six Latinas were joined by Lindsay Schubiner, director of programs at Western States Strategies, the political arm of the Western States Center, an anti-hate nonprofit. The seven women released the joint statement in response to Trump’s speech over the weekend, where he claimed that if he didn’t get elected, “it’s going to be a blood bath for the country,” while speaking about the auto industry. Trump also reiterated his false claims that some countries in the Western Hemisphere are emptying prisons and mental hospitals and sending the former inmates on the migrant trail. “I don’t know if you call them ‘people,’ in some cases,” Trump said in Ohio. “They’re not people, in my opinion.” He also referred to some migrants as “animals.” “Trump’s abhorrent and dehumanizing words against immigrants are a clear preview of what we can expect should he return to power: extreme, barbaric treatment of immigrants along with anyone suspected of being an immigrant,” said Matos. The Trump campaign is not denying the former president’s intent to dehumanize certain categories of immigrants — it’s doubling down. “President Trump was referring to violent illegal criminals, savage murderers like the one who brutally slaughtered Laken Riley, and MS-13 Gang Members — and most Americans would agree these vicious monsters do not deserve to be humanized,” Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung told The Hill in an email. Republicans, spurred by Trump, have raised Riley’s slaying as a political banner, using the individual crime to make a case against a broader swath of immigrants. Trump’s willingness to challenge societal norms on immigration rhetoric — already part of the core of his political career — has ballooned as it’s become clear that border security is President Biden’s most obvious political liability. “It is appalling that Joe Biden cares more about illegal immigrant criminals than American citizens and spends more time apologizing for calling them illegal than apologizing to Americans for the damage they are inflicting on our country,” wrote Cheung. “Biden allows illegals to invade our border, uses hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to fly them around the country, and releases them from custody after they commit more crimes. President Trump will secure the southern border and deport illegal criminals to protect ALL American citizens.” That language — rife with decontextualized claims and at times outright falsehoods — is precisely the point, according to the seven women. “Dehumanizing and violent rhetoric is deeply dangerous — for our communities from El Paso to Pittsburgh to Buffalo, and for our democracy,” said Schubiner, referring to the three bigotry-driven mass murders that collectively claimed 54 lives. “Trump has led the normalization of bigotry and violence in our politics, but each and every one of our leaders has the responsibility to push back vocally. Trump’s words are a threat to immigrant communities, and they are a threat to the electoral process. We must take him at his word, and take action so that his vision does not become reality.” The group of advocates holds significant sway in Latino communities, including some that could prove decisive in November. “Our members, many of whom are immigrants, work across all sectors of the economy. They’re the essential janitors who clean the buildings we work in, the doctors and nurses who take care of us when we’re sick, and the home care workers who help our aging loved ones and those with disabilities,” said Sáenz, whose SEIU is a key component of voter mobilization efforts in swing states like Nevada. “Come November, hard working Americans — Black, brown, white, immigrant — will take their demands for good union jobs from the strike lines to the ballot box in 2024 and will do everything in our power to keep Trump and MAGA Republicans from having the last word on who they consider to be ‘people’. We will use our anger and frustration to make real change and elect leaders who will keep all families safe.” Trump’s enemies are as fired up by his immigration rhetoric as his most ardent supporters. Democratic political strategists are looking to magnify the dangers behind Trump’s message — though perhaps not the message itself — to energize voters ahead of an election between two unpopular candidates. “A second term would embolden the MAGA right to continue threatening immigrants and migrants even more than what we experienced in his first term,” said Praeli. “The only way we can stop the fear-mongering is by turning out to vote and choosing the direction we want our country to take. A multiracial democracy is possible — and it’s on us to build it.” According to Sollod, whose group is the country’s largest immigrant-led youth organization, multiracial democracy would be at risk in a second Trump presidency. “We cannot afford to lose this country and ourselves to this white nationalist playbook, nor can we normalize the racist discrimination, inhumane surveillance, racial profiling, harassment, and detention that our loved ones are experiencing in places like Texas and Florida,” said Sollod. “We call on all people and elected officials across the country to reject these dangerous, white supremacist positions that pose an existential threat to the lives of immigrants and Black and brown people in this country.” And Kumar, whose organization is a power player in Latino politics, pointed to Trump’s immigration rhetoric as a liability before a broader electorate. “Americans are clear on his threat. That’s why we collectively beat him at the ballot box. We rejected his fear-mongering, rage, and chaos. We will do it again. The twice-impeached, four-times indicted former president has no future in our multicultural America,” said Kumar. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.

Trump and Biden keep blaming each other. But voters want solutions, not chaos at border.

The legal wrangling this week over a Texas law that would grant state and local authorities the ability to arrest and deport people who’ve illegally crossed the border is illustrative of a simple fact: Under the Biden administration, illegal border crossings have skyrocketed. As soon as he took office, President Joe Biden unraveled the majority of the measures former President Donald Trump had put in place to curb encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border. That has left border states like Texas struggling to handle the burdens that come with the flood of migrants entering the country illegally. While border enforcement and deportations fall under federal jurisdiction, Texas officials have argued that Biden’s failures have left them with no other choice. They say the law is necessary to combat the “deadly consequences of the federal government’s inability or unwillingness to protect the border.” It’s not just Texas and other border states that are pleading for more help. Cities around America are struggling to keep up with migrants who are seeking refuge in large numbers. Biden, Trump visit border on same day as polls show voter concern over immigration Chicago, for instance, has started to evict migrants, thousands of whom are in city-run shelters. New York, Denver and other cities are in similar situations. And voters want solutions. VP's bad look:Kamala Harris' abortion clinic visit won't make people like her more. Plus, it's cringe. Stop the blame game and get something done Americans are increasingly worried about what’s happening at the border, and immigration has skyrocketed to the top of voters’ concerns leading up to the 2024 presidential election. While Biden has considered issuing an executive order to slow border crossings – a move he could make anytime he wanted – he seems content to do nothing. He’d rather blame Trump for allegedly sabotaging a bipartisan deal in the Senate that would have tightened border security and sent aid to Ukraine and Israel. And Trump certainly doesn’t want Biden to get any sort of political win on migration ahead of the November election. Even so, Biden fully owns the immigration mess, which has gotten much worse under his watch. Biden at the border:Playing catch-up on immigration: Biden chases Trump to the Mexico border A new poll raises warnings for both Biden and Trump. The Immigration Hub, an organization that advocates for fair reform, last week released the results of a survey conducted by the Global Strategy Group. The poll surveyed 1,200 likely voters in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It found that 43% say immigration is one of their top issues, second only to inflation. The vast majority of voters say they support investing in more border security while also allowing for more pathways to citizenship for immigrants who’ve lived and worked in the United States for years. That’s why 65% said they thought Congress should have passed the border bill that Republicans blocked. In other words, these voters are open to compromise – something our elected officials don’t seem to understand anymore. A replay of 2016 Trump rhetoric? Trump is looking to harness Biden’s bungling of the border as a top campaign issue. And as he likes to do, he’s playing up the fear factor about who is entering the country illegally. It sounds almost identical to his rhetoric leading up to the 2016 election. Last weekend at a rally in Ohio, Trump referred to some migrants as “not people” and as “animals.” The news media and Democrats jumped all over the comments, but it should be noted that Trump was not talking about all immigrants who are in the United States illegally. He was rather speaking specifically about those who are violent and referenced the Venezuelan migrant charged in the brutal killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. Regardless of the often-vulgar language that Trump uses, he’s right that the Biden administration has no clue about who is entering the country illegally every day. As this new poll illustrates, however, most people don't see immigration or migrants in simplistic terms. Voters want nuanced solutions on border security and on pathways to citizenship. And neither Trump nor Biden is offering that. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.