The report documents the growth of immigrant detention, inhumane conditions, poor quality of health care, and difficulty of obtaining parole.
Justice-Free Zones: U.S. Immigration Detention Under the Trump Administration
Month: April 2020
In ICE Detention, Forced to Pay for Soap
Published by The Nation on April 30, 2020.
An investigation reveals private detention centers’ practice of charging for basic hygiene—a potential public health threat in the coronavirus era.
Modeling COVID-19 and impacts on U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities, 2020
Published by the Government Accountability Project on April 27, 2020.
Study finds “that 72% of individuals are expected to be infected by day 90 under the optimistic scenario, while nearly 100% of individuals are expected to be infected by day 90 under a more pessimistic scenario.”
Expelling Asylum Seekers is Not the Answer: U.S. Border Policy in the Time of COVID-19
Published by Refugees International on April 27, 2020.
A brief making a legal argument against the Centers for Disease Control Rule and Order closing the border to asylum seekers on public health grounds.
Trump’s immigration crackdown is creating new coronavirus hotspots
Published by Business Insider via World Politics Review on April 25, 2020.
Four coronavirus “hotspots” that the Trump administration’s border and migration policies risk creating.
WOLA Comment on Interim CDC Rule Suspending Entry of People into the U.S.
Published by WOLA on April 23, 2020.
A public comment submitted on the CDC rule shutting the border to asylum seekers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
COVID-19 and the Remaking of U.S. Immigration Policy? Empirically Evaluating the Myth of Immigration and Disease
Published by the University of California San Diego US Immigration Policy Center on April 22, 2020.
This study finds no past relationship between a migrant’s documentation status at the border and a migrant’s infection with flu-like disease.
The Women Asked ICE for Soap. They Got Pepper-Sprayed Instead.
Published by Mother Jones on April 22, 2020.
A harrowing account, using testimonies from detained migrant women, of abuse amid COVID-19 fears in a privately run Louisiana ICE detention center.
The Long, Winding, and Painful Story of Asylum
Published by The Nation on April 20, 2020.
A view of the right to seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, and its recent dismantlement.
Coronavirus Border Expulsions: CDC’s Assault on Asylum Seekers and Unaccompanied Minors
Published by Just Security on April 13, 2020.
A thorough legal analysis, by Lucas Guttentag of Stanford University, of the Trump administration’s use of an old quarantine statute to shut down the right to seek asylum at the border.
There is No Public Health Rationale for a Categorical Ban on Asylum Seekers
Published by Just Security on April 17, 2020.
An analysis of the Trump administration’s claim that it can expel asylum seekers in the name of limiting the spread of COVID-19.
Re: Separation of Families via CBP Detention and Processing, and the Agency’s Refusal to Implement a Detainee Locator System
Published by ACLU San Diego and Imperial Counties and ACLU Border Rights on April 15, 2020.
A complaint from the ACLU Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties and ACLU Border Rights Center reports on CBP’s failure to implement a detainee locator system, which complicates efforts to reunify separated families.
Carta al gobierno de México: es imperativo proteger los derechos de personas migrantes durante la pandemia COVID-19
Publicado por WOLA y varias otras organizaciones el 15 de abril de 2020.
A research-based letter expressing concern about migrants’ rights and health in Mexico in light of the coronavirus emergency.
Podcast: “This is Patently Illegal”: The Undermining of Asylum at the U.S.-Mexico Border
Published by WOLA on April 14, 2020.
An interview about the asylum process, and how the Trump administration has eviscerated it, with Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council.
COVID-19 Reveals the Full Trump Immigration Agenda, and Puts Lives Directly at Risk
Published by Brújula Ciudadana on April 13, 2020.
An analysis by me, in English and Spanish, of how the Trump administration’s coronavirus measures have not only put its whole immigration agenda in place, but are also threatening to spread the virus.
U.S. Deportations During Global Pandemic Risk Spreading COVID-19
Published by WOLA and other organizations on April 9, 2020.
A statement from numerous organizations expressing alarm at the expulsions of protection-seeking migrants at the border resulting from the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response.
Border Security: U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Management of a Temporary Facility in Texas Raised Concerns about Resources Used
Published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office on April 9, 2020.
GAO found that Customs and Border Protection wildly overspent on a tent facility to house apprehended migrants during late 2019. (Link at gao.gov)
Metering & COVID-19
The latest in a series of reports documenting the status of asylum seekers forced by metering to wait in Mexico for a chance to approach U.S. border ports of entry.
Letter from 13 Democratic Senators to DHS Inspector-General
Published by the U.S. Senate on April 8, 2020.
Raises concerns about allegations of CBP mistreatment of pregnant people in its custody. (Link at blumenthal.senate.gov)
U.S. Border Patrol’s Abuse and Mistreatment of [Redacted]
Published by ACLU San Diego and Imperial Counties and Jewish Family Service on April 8, 2020.
A complaint filed with the DHS Inspector-General about a February 2020 incident in which a Guatemalan woman gave birth unattended, in her pants, while awaiting processing in a San Diego Sector Border Patrol station. (Link at documentcloud.org)
What Happens If the Trump Administration Designates Drug Cartels as Terrorist Organizations?
Published by Lawfare on April 8, 2020.
This legal analysis posits that adding drug trafficking organizations to the U.S. terrorist list could complicate asylum claims for victims who were forced to pay extortion.
U.S. deportations during global pandemic risk spreading COVID-19, returning migrants and asylum seekers to danger and instability
Published by the Latin America Working Group on April 8, 2020.
A statement from 61 organizations objecting to the Trump administration’s harsh border, asylum, and deportation measures during the COVID-19 emergency.
Podcast: Beyond the Wall: Seeking Shelter in the Age of COVID-19
Published by WOLA on April 6, 2020.
An interview with Joanna Williams, Director of Education and Advocacy at the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Arizona/Sonora.
The Trump Administration’s COVID-19 Response at the Border Puts Us All At Risk
Published by WOLA on April 6, 2020.
Some of what the Trump administration is implementing at the border risks worsening the COVID-19 pandemic at home and exporting it to other countries.
“When can we really rest?”
Published by The California Sunday Magazine on April 2, 2020.
A look at the path that “extra-continental” U.S.-bound migrants take through coastal Colombia and Panama’s densely jungled Darién Gap, considered the most dangerous part of the entire journey.