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A joint human rights report based on over 110 in-person interviews and an electronic survey of over 1,200 asylum-seekers in Baja California revealed 492 cases of attacks or kidnappings of asylum seekers expelled under a public health law first invoked by the Trump administration during the pandemic. The victims described assault, kidnapping and rape in northern Mexico border towns in the months since President Joe Biden took office. Black asylum seekers were especially targeted, the report showed, as more than 60 percent of Haitian asylum seekers in Baja said they were victims of crimes. More than 150 of these asylum seekers reported interviewing for asylum in March and April, but none were given the chance to apply for asylum. The Intercept
In other federal immigration news…
Harris Meets With Foundation Heads About Border
Vice President Kamala Harris met with leaders of philanthropic groups to discuss aiding the Northern Triangle on Thursday. Leaders of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Open Society Foundations, the Foundation for a Just Society and the Seattle International Foundation were in attendance. Harris pointed out that the administration will meet with private-sector leaders to discuss the main causes of migration. “I don’t need to tell this group of experts that this is an issue that has been a long-standing issue, it is complex,” she said. “If it were easy, it would have been solved a long time ago.” Harris will meet with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei on Monday and representatives from Guatemalan community-based organizations on Tuesday. The Hill
Latino Lawmakers Push for Immigration Bill
Latino lawmakers urged Biden to support an effort to legalize some undocumented immigrants through the budget reconciliation process if the procedure is used for his infrastructure bill. Those who attended a private discussion with the president said he seemed open to the idea and that he restated his commitment to immigrants in the U.S. Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) said lawmakers are currently trying to collect bipartisan support for Biden’s infrastructure proposal. But if that fails, they’ll need to use a budget reconciliation agreement to pass it. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has also spoken to Biden about combatting food insecurity, poverty, violence and other things that may push Central American families to the U.S. CBS News
