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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered unaccompanied migrant children to be exempt from the U.S.’s ban on accepting asylum-seeking migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The total asylum ban was originally issued in October by the Trump administration, citing concerns over COVID-19’s spread in the U.S. But with vaccination rates increasing, the changes suggest the Biden administration will consider removing the asylum ban. A Justice Department attorney hinted at the CDC change during a court hearing on Tuesday in Fort Worth, which was part of a lawsuit from Texas to uphold the Trump ban. The Associated Press
In other national immigration news…
孰真孰假？对特朗普关于移民的言论的事实核查
Chicago Immigration Activists Remain Hopeful For DACA’s Future
When Luis Rodriguez’s friend showed him her new authorized work permit, he figured his would be in the mail soon, seeing as he had applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status a few months prior. But that all changed when a Texas judge suspended new DACA applications last week. “It’s not the end and we can fight,” Rodriguez, a Chicago-area activist, said with high spirits. He plans on pressuring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a sponsor of the DREAM Act, to pass immigration reform. Rodriguez is one of thousands of Dreamers who are trying to continue their education, but would face a financial struggle without DACA opening them up to aid. Chicago Sun Times
Texas Residents Wait for Border to Reopen to Return to Work
Rogelio Martinez, who lives outside of Chihuahua City, Mexico, is fully vaccinated and waiting for the border to reopen so he can go back to work in Midland, Texas. Even though Mexico is ramping up vaccinations, senior Mexican officials said he and other Mexican residents will have to wait another month or longer before they can return to work and visit family across the border. Land border crossings have been closed to most Mexicans since March 2020. The border is set to reopen July 21, but that date is dependent on Mexico’s COVID-19 vaccination and case rates. U.S. authorities set a goal of at least 70% vaccination rates at border areas before reopening. Some officials predicted it’ll be a few more weeks before the border is reopened. The Dallas Morning News
Short Film Shows Family Dealing With Deportation
Luciela is a short film, featured in the 2021 PBS Short Film Festival, that follows a Mexican American s6-year-old girl who comes to the realization that her father won’t be around to celebrate her favorite holiday. Every Fourth of July, the girl’s father would always throw a huge party with fireworks to light up the skies of Lincoln Heights, California. But this year is different since her father was deported. But still, that wasn’t going to stop the girl from enjoying the holiday and celebrating it in her father’s memory. PBS Short Film Festival 2021
Texas and Florida Governors Meet at Southern Border
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) at his border security briefing at the Del Rio International Airport in Del Rio, Texas last week. Abbott recently requested federal assistance at the border, and DeSantis responded by deploying about 58 Florida law enforcement officers, a plane and five shallow water boats. Abbott has long blamed President Joe Biden for the recent rise in border crossings. He launched a state operation to catch undocumented border crossers and reported that about 50,000 migrants were apprehended and 2,000 detained. KXAN
