Prepare for a new US immigration program under the Biden administration as US Customs and Border Protection said it saw 216,162 people trying to enter the US at its land border Southwest in December 2022, an 11% increase over the previous month. Here are the top immigration stories that have hit the headlines recently.
1: The Welcome Corps program is here
The Biden administration has announced the launch of a new immigration program: the Welcome Corps. The program, according to the US Department of State, is intended to complement the traditional US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) by allowing Americans to join others, in groups of at least five, to apply for the sponsoring a new refugee.
As part of this process, the group will need to raise $2,750 per refugee, pass background checks, and create a support plan. The State Department aims to recruit 10,000 Americans who can help 5,000 refugees in the first year of the program. The new initiative will be developed in two phases. Log on to https://welcomecorps.org/ to register as a sponsor.
2: More than 20,000 immigrants detained
The most recent data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) showed that as of January 15, 2023, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained 20,892 immigrants detained by ICE. The TRAC data also noted that 11,710 immigrants out of 20,892, or more than 56%, detained have no criminal record. Many more have only minor offenses, including moving violations.
Most of the detainees, 10,174, are in Texas. The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, had the most ICE detainees so far in fiscal year 2023, averaging 1,477 per day, followed by Louisiana at 4,833, Georgia at 1,824, and California with 1773.
3: Brooklyn Cruise Terminal will become a new aid center for immigrants
New York City is set to open a new aid center at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to provide temporary respite from the continuing influx of asylum seekers entering the city, officials say.
The new site is slated to serve approximately 1,000 asylum seekers, specifically single adult men, who will be transferred from another humanitarian aid center. It will also serve newly arrived single men, the mayor’s office said. The site of the cruise terminal will be the fifth Humanitarian Emergency Response and Aid Center to be opened in the city to manage the arrival of migrants, who have been transported by buses from other parts of the country in recent months. The center is expected to be operational until spring, when the terminal reopens to the public for the cruise season.
“With more than 41,000 asylum seekers arriving in New York City since last spring and nearly 28,000 asylum seekers currently in our care, our city is at a tipping point,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. On ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” Adams said, “This
it is a national problem and our national government, Congress and the White House must make a comprehensive immigration policy for the long term. But the White House must deal with the immediate emergency that we have now… And, frankly, immigrants must not be used as political pawns.”
4: Expansion of premium processing for EB-1 and EB-2 petitions Form I-140
UCSIS is implementing the final phase of the expansion of premium processing for Form I-140 or Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications.
Petitioners who wish to request expedited processing must file Form I-907, Request for Expedited Processing Service. Beginning January 30, USCIS will accept Form I-907 applications for all pending E13 multinational executives and managers and E21 NIW petitions and all initial E13 multinational executives and managers and E21 NIW petitions.
5: DHS changes strengthen efforts to hold unscrupulous employers accountable
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that non-citizen workers who are victims of or witnesses to workplace rights violations can now access a streamlined process for requesting deferred action. Deferred action protects noncitizen workers from threats of immigration-related retaliation by exploitative employers. Workers will be able to visit DHS.gov for additional information in English and Spanish, and to submit applications.
The writer is editor of NewsAmericasNow.com – The Black Immigrant Daily News.
