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
13 NGO Reports in April 2020
Links to long-form information produced by non-governmental organizations (other than WOLA)
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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)