fbpx Yuma Sector Border Patrol Housing Record Number of Migrants - Documented
 

Yuma Sector Border Patrol Housing Record Number of Migrants

Plus: Government watchdog inspecting Fort Bliss facility holding migrant children, judge blocks Texas order to pull over migrant transporters

This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here.

Yuma, Arizona’s Border Patrol sector is holding 2,500 migrants as of Tuesday, a record high. Special Operations Supervisor Vincent Dulesky said the migrants are waiting to be processed at the patrol’s Yuma, Wellton and Blythe patrol stations, as well as a temporary facility created to help with the overflow. From Friday through Monday morning, agents apprehended 1,921 migrants who crossed into the U.S. in the Yuma sector outside of designated entry ports. Yuma sector agents apprehended almost 60,000 migrants from 60 countries so far throughout the 2021 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Associated Press 

In other national immigration news…

Government Watchdog Reviews Fort Bliss Facility

On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general announced a review into the Fort Bliss facility housing unaccompanied migrant children. Fort Bliss is one of the many emergency sites the Biden administration set up to deal with overcrowding at border facilities. According to HHS, only five of those sites remain open as of late July. The largest of the sites is Fort Bliss, with about 10,000 beds. Attorneys who visited the site before compared it to “warehousing” children, and reported many acted depressed. In a complaint filed last week, a whistleblower said children told him “they felt like they were in prison.” CNN 

Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Texas Gov.’s Order

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone established a temporary block on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order mandating state troopers pull over drivers transporting migrants “who pose a risk of carrying COVID-19.” The order will be barred while a lawsuit against the order continues to develop. Cardone has to decide if Texas’ plan is constitutional. Abbott claimed the order was necessary to prevent the virus from spreading throughout the state. But migrant advocates say the order would disarray federal immigration efforts and allow troopers to racially profile individuals. U.S. attorneys argued the order would also impede on the federal government’s ability to transport migrants between facilities. The Texas Tribune 

New Poll: Majority of California Voters Support VISION ACT

A new poll from the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at University of California San Diego revealed California voters overwhelmingly support the VISION ACT. The proposed bill would ensure that once a California immigrant is released from state prison or local jail, they aren’t transferred to an ICE detention center, making them incapable of returning to their families and communities. Of those who participated in the poll, 67% support or strongly support ending transfers to ICE. Meanwhile 80% of respondents — including 76% of conservatives and 54% of registered Republican voters — agree or strongly agree that regardless of what country a person is born in, they should be released from prison or jail after finishing their sentences. Deanna Garcia for Documented.

Illinois Moves to End Immigration Detention

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed a law that will terminate immigration detention and restrict local law enforcement’s ability to collaborate with federal immigration authorities. Any current contracts must end by January 2022 and new arrangements aren’t allowed under the law. ICE says it has agreements with three counties’ jails, which are holding about 260 immigrant detainees. Immigrant rights activists are pushing for detainees to be released and say incarcerating individuals while they’re waiting for immigration proceedings is inhumane. Some local leaders meanwhile contend they’ll lose revenue if the jails are closed. NBC Chicago

SEE MORE STORIES
Early Arrival Newsletter
Receive a roundup of all immigration news, and the latest policy news, in New York, nationwide, and from Washington, in your inbox 3x per week.
info@documentedny.com
Documented Advertising
Solutions
pitches@documentedny.com