Eri Silva
U.S. Border Conflicts
All coverage published by Brightwire
Migrant Caravan in the Mexican state of Veracruz, Nov. 17, 2021 (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
U.S. appeals court rejects Biden’s bid to end 'Remain in Mexico' policy
14 Dec 2021
A U.S. appeals court rejected the Biden administration's renewed attempt to end the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" immigration policy, a court opinion shows.
The court said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “claims the power to implement a massive policy reversal — affecting billions of dollars and countless people — simply by typing out a new Word document and posting it on the internet.”
The statement refers to a second memo the DHS sent in October attempting to maintain its abandonment of the policy despite an order for its reinstatement by the U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk.
Kacsmaryk had stated that the DHS did not follow administrative procedure to end the policy by failing to address the “benefits" of the policy and insufficient detention capacity.
The policy, officially called Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), requires asylum-seekers and migrants to wait in Mexico for hearings with a U.S. immigration court.
DHS agents accused of abusing asylum seekers, report says
22 Oct 2021
DHS officials were accused of misconduct and abuse toward asylum seekers in over 160 internal reports, according to a report by the Human Rights Watch, citing government documents.
Allegations include physical, sexual, and verbal abuse as well as harsh detention conditions, denial of medical care and discriminatory treatment at or near the border, the report says.
The report includes an internal report of 27 possible due process violations by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
CBP to reopen Texas border after its controversial removal of an encampment of mainly Haitian migrants
28 Sept 2021
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will partially reopen the Texas border crossing after Border Patrol cleared out a mass encampment of Haitian migrants present during recent weeks, AP News reported.
About 15,000 migrants were removed as of last Friday, of which 2,000 were returned to Haiti. Another 12,400 were allowed to stay in the US until their asylum cases are heard and the remaining are still being processed, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.
Border Patrol agents were criticized for chasing migrants on horseback and using horse reins for intimidation. Additionally, the US was criticized for repatriating Haitian migrants who hadn't lived in their home country for several years.
The White House said last week that Border Patrol officers in Del Rio, Texas will no longer use horse patrol, which was defended by Mayorkas.
CBP officers attempt to stop migrants as they cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, into Del Rio, Texas on Sept. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
CBP denounced for improperly withholding info from press by district judge
21 Oct 2021
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was denounced by a district judge for failing to provide sufficient explanations for denying requests for records made by the press, according to a court order.
The judge stated that CBP made "lackluster efforts to live up to its statutory obligations" in a lawsuit filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in 2018.
The association filed the suit after CBP denied a documents request relating to the agency's demand against Twitter.
CBP has demanded the social media side provide the identity of the person behind the @ALT_uscis Twitter account, which criticized the Trump administrations immigration policies.
DHS restarts CAM program for Central American migrants
15 Sep 2021
The US started accepting new applications for the Obama-era Central American Minors (CAM) program, a release by the US State Department shows.
The program allows children from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to apply for asylum from their home countries.
The Biden administration has already reopened about 1,400 of the 3,000 applications that were closed when the program was shut down during the Trump administration, Reuters reported, citing State Department deputy assistant secretary Marta Youth.
"The reopening of CAM coupled with eligibility expansion are components of President Biden's multi-pronged approach to address the challenges of irregular migration," the US State Department said.
CBP to outfit border patrol with body cameras
04 Aug 2021
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will deploy about 6,000 body cameras for agents and officers by year-end, a CBP release shows.
The cameras will be deployed in parts of Texas and New Mexico during the summer months then in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, Arizona, California and Vermont in the fall and winter, Reuters reported, citing three officials and government documents.
Video footage that could be used as evidence in a criminal case must be kept for up to 75 years while all other footage is destroyed within 180 days.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been urging CBP to adopt the cameras to help improve accountability for excessive use of force and institutional racism.
CBP bought 3,800 body cameras with cloud-based storage from Axon Enterprises in Sept 2020 for USD 13 million.
DHS did not give migrants the chance to reunite with their children, Inspector General report says
26 May 2021
The DHS and ICE did not "consistently" give migrant parents the chance to reunite with their children before deportation under the Trump administration, a report by the Inspector General said.
Starting in July 2017, ICE deported at least 348 parents who were separated from their children.
Some cases show the agencies ignoring requests from the parents to bring their children back with them while other cases show "significantly flawed" reports that provided parent approval to be separated.
A Haitian migrant child is carried across the Rio Grande from Del Rio, Texas, to return to Ciudad Acuna, Mexico on Sept. 20, 2021 to avoid deportation. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
ICE to no longer issue fines to undocumented immigrants who fail to leave US
26 April 2021
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rescinded a Trump-era policy that charged undocumented immigrants fines for failing to leave the US and canceled all existing fines under the policy, CNN reported.
"There is no indication that these penalties promoted compliance with non-citizens' departure obligations," said Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Former President Donald Trump issued an executive order in 2017 calling on DHS to "ensure the assessment and collection of all fines and penalties" against undocumented immigrants.
The order came under fire in 2018 when ICE began issuing fines for thousands of dollars, of which only around 1% were successfully collected, according to an ICE official.
Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras sign asylum agreements with US
30 Dec 2020
Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras have all signed the Asylum Cooperation Agreement (ACA) with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to a DHS release.
The ACA allows for the repatriation of certain asylum seekers from the US back to each of the ACA countries.
The DHS said that more than 71% of migrants apprehended at the US Southwest border in 2019 came from El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras.