July 2014 Immigration News At a Glance

Written by Kara DeDonato

The surge of unaccompanied minors continues to be at the forefront of immigration news and is a primary focus of this month’s news digest. Additionally, the July Immigration News At a Glance takes a look at the breakdown of immigration reform on the federal level, the importance of immigrants in American culture in honor of the Fourth of July, and new developments in addressing immigrant needs in New York State and City.

Border surge crisis – refugee status for unaccompanied minors

Recent studies by the American Immigration Council and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (a brief description of which can be found here) seek to provide insight into the varied reasons why Central American children and teenagers continue to flee their home countries to relocate to the United States. Both studies identify organized crime, threats, and violence as a predominant driving force behind the mass migration of minors.

The UNHCR Report, Children on the Run, analyzes the reasons provided by 404 unaccompanied minors for leaving their countries of origin, focusing on Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. UNHCR also notes that the migration of unaccompanied minors from the latter three countries in particular has “doubled each year since 2011.”

Additionally, the past month saw an increase in the number of young women with children crossing the border. Articles in New York News, USA Today, and The New York Times highlight the dangerous trip young women make alone while pregnant or with small children. Immigrant mothers undertake the dangerous journey in the hopes of improving the lives and safety of their children.

The United Nations, led by UNHCR, has called for Central American immigrants fleeing the violence in their native countries to be treated as refugees. Articles, for example in The Associated Press, The Hill, and The Huffington Post discuss the UN’s call for such migrants to be treated as “refugees displaced by armed conflict.”

The United States government has thus far described the situation as a “humanitarian crisis” rather than a “refugee crisis.” President Obama has asked Congress for $3.7 billion in aid to address the humanitarian needs created by this mass migration. This Bloomberg video questions whether this amount will be sufficient, and ultimately concludes the funding alone cannot address the issue without greater consensus amongst Democrats and increased faith in the president from Republicans.

The one exception to this humanitarian classification may be Honduras – according to this New York Times article, the US administration is considering refugee status for children and young adults fleeing the violence in that country. A proposed plan, if approved, “would direct the government to screen thousands of children and youths in Honduras to see if they can enter the United States as refugees.” Interestingly, this plan arrived on the heels of the Honduran president’s comments that the US bears some responsibility for the exodus of Honduran youth due to the American appetite for drugs, which feeds the growth of cartels and gang violence. Major critics of the proposal claim that it redefines “the legal definition of a refugee.”

This Voice of America article discusses the question of ‘What determines who is really a refugee?’ and stresses that the underlying causes for each individual’s migration becomes the ultimate factor. The UNHCR Report referenced above indicates that identifying one sole reason behind each individual child’s migration may prove difficult – in most instances children identified several factors for leaving their home countries, including economic hardship and reuniting with family, in addition to gang violence.

Immigration reform

In early July, House speaker John Boehner announced to the president that a vote on immigration reform would not be scheduled before the Congress recess. Articles in Slate and The Wall Street Journal both cite varying reasons for the collapse of immigration reform: Republican failure – via the House GOP – to hold the vote; internal conflicts within the GOP; federal incompetence at the border; and lack of will on behalf of some Democrats.

Republicans, with a chance to secure a majority in the Senate during this fall’s midterm elections, are unlikely to take political stances that may alienate their most conservative constituents. On the other hand, many Democrats see lack of progress on immigration reform as an issue that will ultimately hurt Republicans, thereby decreasing the political capital of forging bipartisan efforts on immigration reform.

Without bipartisan cooperation on immigration reform in the House, President Obama has sworn to tackle the issue through the powers of his executive office. However, the avenues through which the president could create effective change on the issue remain unclear.

The Wall Street Journal article draws the important conclusion that “America’s economy and dynamism” will suffer the most from the collapse of immigration reform. The driving reason behind this conclusion is that “the U.S. has a labor shortage in the industries that immigrants are most likely to fill.”

This Forbes article expands on this point, elaborating on the role immigrants play in the economy. It cites a Brookings study that found that immigrants are “30% more likely to start a business compared to their U.S.-born counterparts.” Immigrants are also more likely to move into declining neighborhoods and turn them around. Cities – like Dayton, Ohio – that have adopted pro-immigration policies and mobilized resources to assist their immigrant populations have seen previously declining business districts and neighborhoods thrive. This illustrates a point made by Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Shannon O’Neil: while the federal government has not been effectively able to address the issue of immigration, “states and cities are leading the way.”

Independence Day – what it means to be an ‘American’

Countless articles, essays, and blog posts reflected on the idea of what it means to be an American in honor of July Fourth, Independence Day. Many of these touched on the fact that the United States is a nation of immigrants. This Dallas News article highlighted 120 immigrants who were granted citizenship on Independence Day. US Magistrate Judge Amos Mazzant described the administration of the Oath of Allegiance, given to new citizens, as the “favorite part of [his] job.”

Many articles, such as this one by immigration lawyer R. Mark Frey, referenced Garrison Kiellor’s 1988 essay “Lying on our backs, looking up at the stars,” in which he pondered upon the country’s founding and the celebration of July Fourth. Kiellor’s words on the immigrants who come to this country remain just as poignant today as when he first wrote them:

“Heroes, all of them – at least they’re my heroes, especially the new immigrants, especially the refugees… To give up your country is the hardest thing a person can do: to leave the old familiar places and ship out over the edge of the world to America and learn everything over again different that you learned as child… They are heroes who make an adventure on our behalf showing us by their struggles how precious beyond words freedom is…”

Zooming in on New York City immigration news

On July 10, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a bill to make the New York Municipal ID Program, which was approved by the New York City Council at the end of June, a reality. As explained in this New York Magazine article, the Municipal ID card will be available to anyone who provides proof of his/her identity and residence within the five boroughs.

A New York Times article on the same subject cites that the passing of the law “makes New York the largest municipality in the nation to introduce such a plan.” The new ID cards will help undocumented immigrants access such services as public libraries and enable them to get prescriptions for medication filled more easily. Discussions have been initiated with other institutions, such as banks, in the hopes that they will also accept Municipal ID cards.

The New York Civil Liberties Union has voiced concern that strong enough protection is not yet in place to maintain the privacy of Municipal ID applicants’ information.

In other news, New York City and New York State are confronting issues created by the child migration crisis. The New York Times reports that New York City has formed a task force in response to the pressing situation as Central American children seek help for their “deportation cases, health issues, school enrollment and other urgent needs.” The city is also working with the federal government to find suitable emergency shelters for children immigrants. The New York region is now host to at least five shelters with room for “several hundred children.”

The Mayor of Syracuse, Stephanie Miner, admirably stated: “We’re all part of the same human family. Syracuse will do whatever we can to help these children, while the law and politics work their way to some kind of permanent solution.” More on New York State’s rising to the challenge can be found here.

This Wall Street Journal article discusses additional action taken by the city and region. For instance, the New York Immigration Coalition is working to organize nonprofits that will serve the children who have already been placed in Jackson Heights, Sunset Park, and the south Bronx. Finding affordable representation for the large caseload of recent child immigrants will continue to present a challenge.