Published by the American Immigration Council on March 17, 2022.
A primer about the alternative programs frequently applied to asylum-seeking families apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Alternatives to Immigration Detention: An Overview
176 NGO Reports
Links to long-form information produced by non-governmental organizations (other than WOLA)
The State of Human Rights at the U.S. – Mexico Border
Published by the Border Network for Human Rights on February 22, 2022.
The latest of a series of “abuse documentation” reports with troubling findings about the behavior of some U.S. border law enforcement personnel in the El Paso sector, especially CBP officers working at ports of entry.
Metering Update: February 2022
Published by the University of Texas at Austin Strauss Center on February 22, 2022.
The latest in a series of updates detailing asylum waitlists and shelter capacity in Mexican border cities.
MPP as a Microcosm: What’s Wrong with Asylum at the Border and How to Fix It
Published by Refugees International on February 11, 2022.
Report from a visit to Remain in Mexico court hearings in El Paso in January 2022.
Homeland Security’s Embattled Watchdog Faces Probe
Published by the Project on Government Oversight on February 11, 2022.
A government Integrity Committee is investigating DHS’s Inspector General for accusations of ordering a “retaliatory” investigation of subordinates who criticized his management.
Stuck in Uncertainty and Exposed to Violence: The Impact of US and Mexican Migration Policies on Women Seeking Protection in 2021
Outlines 10 ways in which U.S. and Mexican migration policies are doing harm to women.
La caravana migrante en la Ciudad de México 12-22 Diciembre de 2021
Publicado por la Universidad Ibero el 31 de enero de 2022.
A memoir of a migrant caravan whose members walked from Tapachula to Mexico City in late 2021.
A Shameful Record: Biden Administration’s Use of Trump Policies Endangers People Seeking Asylum
Published by Human Rights First on January 13, 2022.
The organization’s latest accounting, with statistics and anecdotal examples, of human rights abuses against asylum seekers that have resulted from U.S. government policies or actions.
ICE Air Flights: December 2021 and Last 12 Months
Published by Witness at the Border on January 3, 2022.
Data about expulsion and deportation flights during the past year.
Mar Adentro: Migrantes y Náufragos en el Mar
Publicado por la Organización Internacional para la Migración el 20 de diciembre de 2021.
Maps some of the mostly short-hop maritime routes that migrants have been taking to avoid land-based interdiction efforts between Central America, Mexico, and the U.S.-Mexico border.
Metering Update: November 2021
Published by the University of Texas at Austin Strauss Center on December 1, 2021.
The latest in a series of updates detailing asylum waitlists and shelter capacity in Mexican border cities.
No Queda de Otra: An Exploration of the Root Causes of Forced Migration to the Southern Border
Published by Hope Border Institute in early December 2021.
Brings together the responses of dozens of migrants in Ciudad Juárez to the question, “What led you to leave your home?” (Español)
Charting a New Regional Course of Action: The Complex Motivations and Costs of Central American Migration
Explores the factors that drive people to migrate from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, along with the costs and economic implications of that migration.
Investing in Alternatives to Irregular Migration from Central America: Options to Expand U.S. Employment Pathways
Published by the Migration Policy Institute in November 2021.
Options for the U.S. government to build employment-based pathways for Central American migrants.
The psychological effects of forced family separation on asylum-seeking children and parents at the US-Mexico border: A qualitative analysis of medico-legal documents
Published by PLoS ONE on November 24, 2021.
Finds evidence of long-lasting mental disorders among migrants whose families were forcibly separated at the border during the Trump administration
Asylum Grant Rates Climb Under Biden
Published by TRAC Immigration on November 10, 2021.
Presents data showing that asylum grant rates increased from 2020 to 2021, though the pandemic brought a sharp decrease in overall decisions.
The Deadly Digital Border Wall
Published by Mijente, Just Futures Law, and No Border Wall Coalition on October 28, 2021.
Lays out concerns about tools used for “digital wall” surveillance, biometrics, and hacking and tracking of internet communications.
Request for congressional investigations and oversight hearings on the unlawful operation of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Critical Incident Teams (BPCITs)
Published by the Southern Border Communities Coalition on October 27, 2021.
Calls on Congress to look more deeply into the operations of secretive Border Patrol teams whose purpose appears to be to exonerate agents alleged to have committed serious human rights abuses.
“They Treat You Like You Are Worthless”: Internal DHS Reports of Abuses by US Border Officials
Published by Human Rights Watch on October 21, 2021.
Details examples of human rights abuse by CBP personnel, reported by migrants to asylum officers and uncovered by a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Footnotes include an annex with many results of the Freedom of Information Act production.
“Illegal and Inhumane”: Biden Administration Continues Embrace of Trump Title 42 Policy as Attacks on People Seeking Refuge Mount
Published by Human Rights First on October 21, 2021.
Among other findings is a count of “at least 7,647 kidnappings and other attacks on people blocked or expelled under Title 42 since President Biden took office.”
An Oversight Agenda for Customs and Border Protection: America’s Largest, Least Accountable Law Enforcement Agency
Published by the Project on Government Oversight on October 12, 2021.
Proposes “a bottom-up, good governance approach to reforms,” identifying six oversight needs that must be met to change CBP’s organizational culture.
Doubling Down on Deterrence: Access to Asylum Under Biden
A fact sheet summarizing U.S. and Mexican government policies that are blocking and expelling protection-seeking migrants.
Due Process Denied: CBP Abuses at the Border October 2020-July 2021
Lists numerous examples of abuse committed by CBP personnel in and around Nogales, Arizona.
CBP’s Vehicle Pursuit Policy and Border Patrol’s Deadly Pursuit of a Vehicle on August 3, 2021 near Las Cruces, New Mexico
Calls for reform of CBP’s vehicle pursuit policy after another in a long string of crashes, this one in New Mexico, kills two people.
Pushing Back Protection: How Offshoring and Externalization Imperil the Right to Asylum
Published by the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) and FWD.us on August 3, 2021.
Documents how the United States and other recipient governments have been steadily chipping away at the right to seek refuge for years.