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The Biden administration announced an operation Tuesday that will concentrate on disrupting criminal organizations, which includes human smugglers who falsified information to migrants about crossing the border. Earlier this year, the U.S. sent a campaign through social media and radios advertisements to discourage migrants from traveling across the border, but smugglers’ social media posts tried to convince them it was safe. One instance of smuggling was released in a video from Border Patrol last week, showing two young Ecuadorian sisters being dropped over a 14-foot-tall border fence in the desert. CNN
In other federal immigration news…
Biden Will Limit ICE Arrests in Courthouses
The Biden administration will begin issuing a policy that limits who Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection can arrest in courthouses. “Ensuring that individuals have access to the court advances the fair administration of justice, promotes safety for crime victims, and helps to guarantee equal protection under the law,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. With this new policy in place, ICE officers will only be able to make civil immigration arrests in or near a courthouse if it involves a national security matter, a risk of imminent death or harm to others.The Trump administration, ICE frequently made courthouse arrests. Many states and local policies have tried to keep ICE from making these arrests. BuzzFeed News
Advocates Demand Renewal of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti
Hundreds of immigration advocates, human rights activists and international nongovernmental organizations representatives called on the Biden administration to renew the Temporary Protected Status program for Haitians. TPS is issued to immigrants who can’t return home due to war, natural disasters or other unsafe conditions. It lets them receive a work permit and remain in the U.S. In 2017, former President Donald Trump announced that TPS for Haitians would end mid-2019. Biden has said during his 2020 campaign that he planned on renewing Haiti’s TPS designation, but has so far only issued designations for Venezuela, Myanmar and Syria. The Hill
