IRTF Blog

With all the faults the U.S. immigration system has, one specific issue is often overlooked: the processing of stateless persons seeking protection in a world that is governed by nation-states and designed only to protect and ensure rights to those with a nationality. Moreover, anti-immigrant policies like Title 42 continue to deny the right to asylum to many people crossing the U.S. border, sending more migrants back on expulsion flights each month. And although the immigration court backlog is not getting smaller, immigration courts across the nation seem to order deportations at alarmingly high rates. Here is an overview of recent updates on U.S. immigration and what has been happening at the border!

This newsletter is all about numbers--from deportation proceedings filed, to ordered deportations, to expulsions and removal flights. But we are not just trying to overwhelm you with figures and percentages. These numbers tell stories. They paint us a picture of what immigration enforcement in the U.S. looks like right now, and with almost all numbers increasing significantly this will not be a pretty picture. The continuation of Title 42 and an overall shift in society towards xenophobia and the “replacement theory” have had a severe impact on pushbacks at the border and immigration enforcement throughout the country, including anywhere within the 100-mile “border zone,” where ⅔ of the US population resides. Let us give you an overview of recent updates on U.S. immigration and what has been happening at the border!
This newsletter is all about numbers--from deportation proceedings filed, to ordered deportations, to expulsions and removal flights. But we are not just trying to overwhelm you with figures and percentages. These numbers tell stories. They paint us a picture of what immigration enforcement in the U.S. looks like right now, and with almost all numbers increasing significantly this will not be a pretty picture. The continuation of Title 42 and an overall shift in society towards xenophobia and the “replacement theory” have had a severe impact on pushbacks at the border and immigration enforcement throughout the country, including anywhere within the 100-mile “border zone,” where ⅔ of the US population resides. Let us give you an overview of recent updates on U.S. immigration and what has been happening at the border!

In recent weeks, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have apprehended more than 13,000 migrants a day, according to the New York Times. Most are caught and either expelled immediately or put into overcrowded detention centers to await their immigration hearings, a process that can take several years. As the Biden administration has announced that it will end the use of a public health proclamation known as Title 42, and has started plans to reform the U.S. asylum system, some expect that the numbers of people coming to the border will rise in the coming months. But this argument, currently often used by politicians opposing immigration and the end of Title 42, does not mean that overhauling the asylum system is a mistake. It shows that it is long overdue. Let us give you an overview of recent updates on U.S. immigration and what has been happening at the southern border!

Every day there are thousands of people apprehended at the US southern border. Most of them are caught by either  Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and sent back or put in detention. It is hard to say which of these options is more dehumanizing: staying in an overcrowded, badly maintained detention center in the midst of a global health crisis for an infinite period of time, or being sent to Mexico–a country you may never have stepped foot in before–to await your immigration court proceedings for an unspecified period of time. And the Biden Administration? They have failed to keep their promises of President Biden’s first 100 days in office and have mostly been implementing measures so far that make conditions for migrants and asylum seekers even worse.