Supporters of streamlining green cards for immigrants with advanced degrees face limited options after their proposal faltered in defense negotiations on Capitol Hill this week. “It’s not looking good to me,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), who sponsored the measure, said Wednesday after an effort to attach it to an annual defense package came up short. The House Rules Committee on Tuesday deemed the proposal “out of order” as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7900). Many advocates say the measure — which would apply to immigrants with doctoral degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math — is critical to national security. A few other immigration-related amendments will advance to the House floor. One is a measure protecting “documented Dreamers” — to ensure dependents of foreign workers or green card applicants don’t age out of legal status. A proposal for the US to admit essential scientists and technical experts working on national security will also get a vote. Photographer: Jose Luis Magana/AFP via Getty Images Immigration rights supporters rally on the National Mall demanding citizenship for essential workers during a demonstration marking Mayday on May 1, 2021. The Rules Committee reviewed more than a thousand proposed amendments to the annual must-pass legislation to determine which ones could advance to the House floor. Many advocates viewed the defense policy bill as the best hope for moving ahead with the STEM immigration measure as other windows appear to close. The House included a similar measure in a sweeping competition bill (H.R. 4521), but lawmakers have struggled to secure its place in a final package, and overall negotiations on the legislation have stalled. STEM Immigration Pathway Gets Fresh Life in Defense Proposal Lofgren said she would push to attach a STEM immigration measure to “anything that’s possible,” but said she didn’t know what options remain. “We hope members across the aisle will work to pass this or an appropriately modified provision in a timely manner to help address the challenges faced by our national security critical industries,” Dan Correa, CEO of the Federation of American Scientists, said in a statement to Bloomberg Government. Documented DreamersRep. James Langevin (D-R.I.), a cosponsor of the STEM immigration amendment, said the measure would have bolstered national security and he was disappointed it didn’t advance. He said he would redouble his efforts to pass the narrower amendment to admit essential scientists and experts, which he sponsored.
“I am more determined than ever to ensure that my amendment to provide pathways to citizenship for the best foreign talent seeking to work in the US National Security Innovation Base — which has already passed the House twice — will once again pass the House and get signed into law,” Langevin said in a statement. Another key immigration NDAA amendment set for a floor vote is the documented Dreamers proposal from Rep. Deborah Ross (D-N.C.). Ross noted more than 200,000 of these young people face the risk of deportation if they stay in the US when they lose their legal status as dependents. As of April 1, 2022, Canada’s population was estimated to be nearly 39 million people. This is a population increase of nearly 128,000 people over three months from January 1. This marks the highest rate of growth in the first quarter of a year since 1990 and is a continuation of the high population growth rates seen before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020. This growth is most apparent in two Canadian provinces. Between January-March 2022 Ontario’s population surpassed 15 million people. Ontario is already Canada’s most populous province and home to Canada’s largest city. The province of New Brunswick is also experiencing an unprecedented growth in population as data shows the population now exceeds 800,000. During 2021-2022 fiscal year, 6,581 immigrants arrived in the province, and over 10,000 people moved to New Brunswick from Ontario. Nunavut, a territory in Canada’s north, also made record breaking gains by exceeding 40,000 people. Other provinces continued to experience steady growth. Of note, Nova Scotia saw a 0.4% increase and Prince Edward Island 0.8%. Growth Is Due to ImmigrationThese population gains are widely credited to immigration. In the first quarter of 2022, Canada welcomed 113,700 new immigrants, the largest number in any first quarter since quarterly data became available in 1946. These numbers mark an increase of 62% over the first quarter of 2021 and a 64% increase from the same period in 2020. Immigration Levels PlanCanada recognizes that it needs a robust immigration strategy to support the demands of the labour market. This is outlined in the 2022-2004 Immigration Levels Plan that shows Canada’s immigration targets for permanent residents in the coming years. Canada exceeded its 2021 immigration target by welcoming over 405,000 new permanent residents. In the last three months of 2021 alone, over 138,000 people obtained permanent resident status, which was an all-time quarterly high. In 2022, Canada is on track to meet its target of 431,645 new permanent residents and aims to welcome more than 451,000 a year by 2024. More Temporary Work Permit Holders Staying in CanadaThe Immigration Levels Plan targets are only for permanent residents. Each year Canada also issues an unlimited number of work permits to several thousand temporary workers. In the first quarter of 2022, over 28,000 temporary workers arrived in Canada.
A labour market study released earlier this week suggests that many new permanent residents arrive in Canada on a temporary work permit and use the experience they gain to eventually obtain permanent residence. Over the past decade, the number of work permit holders in Canada jumped from 111,000 to 770,000. Private Prison Industry Shifts Focus to Immigrant Detention Centers, Funding Immigration Hawks6/22/2022
Early in his term, President Joe Biden signed an executive order barring the Department of Justice from renewing existing contracts with for-profit prisons. Many activists and prison reform advocates hoped this signaled the beginning of the end of private prisons in America. But the private prison industry instead shifted focus to a different form of for-profit detainment: private immigration detention centers. This shift toward immigrant detention, which is now estimated to be a nearly $3 billion industry, comes at a time when for-profit prison companies have spent tens of thousands of dollars donating to politicians who support border security and immigration enforcement policies that would increase the number of detained immigrants in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facilities. The Turn to Immigration DetentionAs of June 2022, more than 24,000 immigrants are being detained by ICE and Border Patrol. However, these agencies do not have the necessary infrastructure to house those detainees. Instead, the Department of Homeland Security – which Biden’s executive order ban does not extend to – contracts this responsibility to private companies. As a result, 79% of detained immigrants are held in facilities that are privately owned or operated. Many immigrant rights activists contend that these private detention centers lack the necessary accountability and oversight to prevent abuse. Inadequate access to medical services and other alleged human rights abuses are well-documented in for-profit immigration detention centers. Some of the most egregious claims of medical abuse occurred at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga., owned by the private company LaSalle Corporations, where multiple detained immigrant women reportedly underwent forced hysterectomies and other invasive and unnecessary gynecological surgeries. Nevertheless, the federal government’s immigrant detainment policy has continued to be a boon for private prison companies including GEO Group and CoreCivic, the two biggest companies in the field. In an SEC filing from November 2021, GEO Group detailed how despite the loss of $125 million in contracts due to Biden’s executive order, “record increases in migrant flows at the U.S. border have acted as a tailwind” have more than made up for the profits lost. In the fiscal year 2021, GEO Group and CoreCivic grossed $551 million and $552 million respectively from contracts with ICE alone. Contracts with ICE now make up the majority of both GEO Group and CoreCivic’s annual revenue, constituting 36% for GEO Group and 30% for CoreCivic. ICE also started piloting “Alternative to Detention” programs that use electronic monitoring such as GPS ankle monitors to detain and surveil immigrants without formerly incarcerating them. Currently, there are an additional 266,000 immigrant detainees being monitored on such programs. More than 75% of these immigrants are monitored by GEO Group’s subsidiary electronic monitoring company BI Inc. after the company inked a five-year, $2.2 billion deal with the DHS in 2020. Private Prison Interests Boost Pro-border Security PoliticiansAs the the private prisons profit from immigrant detention, the private prison industry has also poured money into political contributions to Republican politicians at the federal level who advocate for increased border security and the expansion of interior immigration enforcement. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the overwhelming top recipient of private prison industry money for the 2022 election cycle at over $62,000, has been a longtime party leader on strengthening border security. In November 2021, Rubio was one of five senators who signed onto a ”Dear Colleague” letter saying they would not under any circumstances vote for a 2022 budget that did not allocate proper funding for border security and border patrol. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), the second biggest recipient of private prison industry money at almost $27,000, is also a staunch border security advocate. In 2021, Moran introduced an amendment to the proposed 2022 budget that would have created a reserve fund for the strengthening the enforcement of immigration laws within the United States’ borders by ICE agents. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), who have received $21,765 and $12,500 respectively from the private prison industry, are also noted immigration hawks who support ICE. McCarthy has made multiple visits to the U.S. southern border in the past two years, lambasting the surge in migrants and unaccompanied children as the “Biden border crisis.” The House Minority Leader most recently voted “no” on both the American Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, two bills that would have provided amnesty and a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children – also known as “DREAMers” – and undocumented immigrant farm workers. Fleischmann has used his position on the Congressional Homeland Security subcommittee to advocate for maintaining and expanding funding not only for ICE’s interior immigration enforcement programs, but also for the number of beds for detained immigrants. The private prison industry directly profits from these zero tolerance immigration policies. “ICE is beginning to implement their interior enforcement strategy,” GEO Group Senior Vice President and former ICE Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations David Venturella said in a 2017 shareholder conference call. “We’ll start to see the benefits of that through increased apprehensions and increased detention in the interior part of the United States, not necessarily along the Southern Border.” GEO Group and CoreCivic Give to Candidates Touting Immigration EnforcementWhile the numbers for prison industry money backing federal politicians are telling, GEO Group and CoreCivic have also given considerable amounts to several gubernatorial candidates who are staunch border security and immigration enforcement advocates.
Among current gubernatorial candidates, the largest recipient of GEO Group and CoreCivic money is Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s 2022 re-election campaign. Kemp has received over $25,000 from the two companies, $18,000 from CoreCivic and $7,000 from GEO Group. Cracking down on illegal immigration has been a central part of Kemp’s platform. In one of his 2018 campaign ads, Kemp stated that he would “round up criminal illegals” himself in his pickup truck. Kemp is one of 10 Republican governors in October 2021 who urged Biden to enact their 10-point immigration plan that called for the deployment of more Border Patrol and ICE agents nationwide as well as the end of “catch and release” programs that allow immigrants to enter the U.S. pending their immigration hearings. Additionally, Georgia is home to the CoreCivic-owned Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin County, the largest ICE detention center in the country. It houses on average over 1,080 detainees per day. There are also plans in place to expand the GEO Group-owned Folkston ICE Processing Center in Charlton County to nearly twice the size of the Stewart Detention Center facility. While Kemp has been an advocate for private prisons, Kemp’s opponent in the general election Stacey Abrams has instead vowed to end all state contracts with private prison companies. Other notable campaign contributions from GEO Group and CoreCivic include two other pro-ICE governors running for re-election in 2022: $5,000 to Idaho Gov. Brad Little and $2,500 to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt. Little and Stitt, like Kemp, are also among the 10 Republican governors who traveled to the U.S. border to express their support for the aforementioned Republican 10-point immigration plan that would increase the nation’s number of Border Patrol and ICE agents. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is restricting access to lawyers for immigrants at its detention centers, leaving them more vulnerable to longer detainment and even deportation, according to an exclusive American Civil Liberties Union report obtained by USA TODAY.
Immigrants detained in civil cases face "monumental barriers in finding and communicating with attorneys," which renders their right to legal representation "essentially meaningless," according to the report released Thursday. The ACLU study, "No Fighting Chance: ICE's Denial of Access to Counsel in U.S. Immigration Detention Centers," found hurdles to effective legal representation. They include: inadequate access to phone and video conference lines; lack of email and other electronic messaging; barriers to in-person attorney visits; and delayed mail. The cost of impeding contact between lawyers and immigrants, who have the right to representation in civil immigration proceedings, is steep, said Aditi Shah, who wrote the report with ACLU colleague Eunice Cho. "Barriers to access to counsel increase the likelihood of prolonged detention and deportation, which not only is in violation of detained immigrants' rights but it heightens the risk that they will face serious, avoidable injuries or even death while they're detained or after deportation," Shah said. People have the right to legal representation in civil immigration proceedings, but they must pay for it or find a lawyer who will perform the service without charge since it is not paid for by the government. Nearly four out of five detained immigrants don't have counsel, the report says. Legal representation makes a tremendous difference since immigrants who have lawyers are 10 times more likely to win their civil cases, according to a study cited in the report. Belor Mbema Mapudi Ngoma, who is at the Krome North Service Processing Center in Florida and has been in civil immigrant detention since July 2020, is trying to reopen a case in which he was ordered deported in October, but said he was finding it difficult to reach legal organizations willing to provide free services. Mapudi Ngoma relies on a list of phone numbers of legal services posted at the detention center but said some numbers aren't working and he can’t leave messages with some organizations because they require push-button access to voicemail or other services that he said aren't available via the detention center phone. As with many of those detained, the Democratic Republic of Congo native, who is representing himself in his immigration case, cannot afford to pay a lawyer and tries to call daily to find one that offers pro bono services from the options listed at the center. "I think ICE should do a better job of getting us access to a lawyer,” Mapudi Ngoma said in a recorded and monitored call Wednesday. He said he feels “anxious, stressed, depressed” and misses his two American-born children, whose mother died in 2017. The ACLU report, which the civil liberties organization says is the first comprehensive review of legal access for immigrants in detention, was researched in late 2021 and examines legal access at 173 out of 192 ICE facilities around the country. It also includes survey responses from 89 immigration lawyers and legal representatives on their experiences representing clients at 58 detention centers. The Home Office has canceled a chartered deportation flight to Iraq that was due to depart from the UK on Tuesday evening. Up to 30 Kurdish asylum seekers were facing deportation to northern Iraq in the first flight of its kind for a decade.
Dozens of Kurdish Iraqis had been detained in preparation for the flight. Many the Guardian spoke to were in a state of acute distress because they fear for their lives if they are returned to the country of their birth. The UK Foreign Office warns against all travel to Iraq and says there is “a high threat of kidnapping throughout the country including from both Daesh [Islamic State] and other terrorist and militia groups”. Home Office contractors involved with Tuesday’s deportation had to undergo special training to help them deal with the risk of dangers such as kidnap or hostage situations. This training is not required for the destinations of other recent Home Office deportation flights, such as Jamaica and Albania. The flight was scheduled to land in Erbil, northern Iraq, where the Kurdistan regional government is in control. It is understood that safety concerns played a part in the decision to cancel the flight. It is highly unusual for the Home Office to cancel charter flights. Some deportation flights have been known to take off with one or a few people on board. A Home Office spokesperson said they could not comment “for operational reasons” but a separate Home Office source pointed out that some of those due to be on the deportation flight have criminal convictions. Bella Sankey, the director of the charity Detention Action, said: “The cancellation of this cruel mass deportation will come as enormous relief to the fathers, mothers, children and grandchildren whose families would otherwise have been torn apart. |