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Since January, 112 parents of children who were separated at the U.S.-Mexico Border during the Trump administration have been contacted, lawyers told a court on Friday. In a court filing on Wednesday, American Civil Liberties Union lawyers and the U.S. government said they contacted parents of 105 children. By Friday afternoon, the number had risen to 112. Government agencies did not have systems to track or reunite families when they took children away from their parents at the border. Still, U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw expressed his optimism as the Biden administration works with advocates, predicting they could bring the case “to a conclusion sooner rather than later.” The Guardian
Mexico Plans to Propose U.S. Labor Program
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he plans to propose a “Bracero” style immigrant labor program to President Joe Biden during a video call on Monday. This program allowed Mexicans to temporarily work in the U.S. to fulfill labor shortages during World War II. López Obrador believes the U.S. economy needs Mexican workers because of “their strength, their youth.” He would like permission for between 600,000 to 800,000 Mexican and Central American immigrants to work in the U.S. legally. “You (Americans) are going to need Mexican and Central American workers to produce, to grow,” said López Obrador. The Associated Press
13 Haitians Arrested in Florida
Immigration officials are planning to deport 13 Haitian nationals along with a U.S. citizen in Florida. Adam Hoffner of the U.S. Border Patrol Miami Sector said agents who were responding to “a maritime smuggling event” discovered seven Haitian males and six females and a U.S. citizen at Dania Beach at the Cozy Cove Marina, and they were taken into Border Patrol custody. The Biden administration has received criticism from the Haitian American community in Miami for not delivering his 2020 campaign promises to undo some of Trump’s immigration policies. VOA
Advocates Concerned About Increased Deportations of Black Immigrants
Immigration advocates are worried Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will have too much elbow room when it comes to deportation after a federal judge indefinitely blocked Biden’s 100-day pause. The ruling was announced Wednesday, but even before that, Biden issued a memo to ICE directing them to focus on deporting people who pose national security threats. The ACLU and other advocate called this a step back from Biden’s immigration promises, and were especially worried about the deportation of Black migrants. Over 900 Haitians were deported during February even as Biden shared his commitment to equality and racial justice. NewsOne
Report: U.S. Building Another Tent Facility to Deal with Border Overflow in Texas
U.S. border officials are getting ready to open another tent facility in South Texas to deal with the rapid increase of migrant families and children entering the U.S. in recent weeks, according to three Homeland Security officials. The temporary facility is supposed to open in the next few weeks. It’ll be in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Del Rio sector and will be much like the structure in Donna, Texas. One official said CBP may open additional sites in Arizona, though those plans are underdeveloped. Health and Human Services also recently reopened a temporary shelter to hold migrant teens who crossed the border alone. The Washington Post