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Ju Hong is among thousands of people trying to obtain a work permit while also seeking to renew his protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. He’s been a DACA recipient since 2012, but his work permit expires in early July even though he applied for a renewal. Hong received a call from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services saying his DACA status was renewed, but he’s still waiting for his work permit. According to USCIS correspondence, about 13,000 DACA renewal cases were pending for more than four months, despite the agency recently informing Congress that most DACA renewal cases were completed quicker than that. CNN
In other national immigration news…
Asylum Seekers Get Second Chance After Being Turned Away by Trump
In December 2019, Elena arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border with her daughter after fleeing Honduras, where they received threatening messages from M-13 gang members who killed her husband. She was relieved when she made it to the border, but U.S. officials sent her and fellow asylum seekers to Guatemala. According to a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations report, “not one of the 945 asylum seekers transferred from the United States to Guatemala has been granted asylum.” But under the Biden administration’s new Asylum Cooperative Agreement, Elena and five plaintiffs will finally be allowed in the U.S. BuzzFeed News
Undocumented Oilfield Workers Struggle With Low Pay and Poor Conditions
Gladys Saucedo and her sons had to say goodbye to their father, Pedro Espinoza, as he left New Mexico for a second time to find an oil and gas industry job elsewhere. An undocumented immigrant from Mexico, Espinoza had to travel from their home in Hobbs to another oil-producing area in North Dakota in February after the industry busted in the Southwest. In both places, he faced low pay and poor conditions. Saucedo shared her concerns over worker conditions with Sen. Martin Heinrich (D), including lack of safety equipment and housing during his trips. Carlsbad Current-Argus
ICE Contract Renewed in Massachusetts
Massachusetts’ Barnstable County renewed a detention agreement with the Department of Homeland Security without any action on Sheriff James Cummings’ part. Barnstable County is part of DHS’s 287(g) program, which allows law enforcement officers to act as ICE agents. In previous years, Cummings had to renew the contract, but due to a Trump administration action, they’ll now only end if DHS or the county ends them. According to a recent analysis by the Cape Cod Coalition for Safe Communities, information posted on Cummings’ website that reports the demographics of and charges against people his office refers to ICE displays how the 287(g) program mainly affects Jamaican men. Provincetown Independent
Texas Land Commissioner Sues Government Over Border Wall Pause
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is suing the federal government for pausing construction of the southern border wall. The lawsuit asks the judge to annul President Joe Biden’s executive order halting construction. Bush argued that Biden overstepped his authority when halting a project Congress approved and partially funded. He also said the administration didn’t follow the standard procedure for adjusting federal policies. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) is also suing the government over the pause. In April, Brnovich accused the administration of not considering the environmental impact of stopping the wall construction. Yet environmental groups have argued for years about the ecological harm the construction has brought. Forbes
