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A lawyer for families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border said migrants whose children were taken under the zero tolerance policy haven’t yet reached a settlement with the U.S. government. Attorney Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union didn’t discuss how conversations with U.S. government officials are going nor confirm a reported settlement proposal of hundreds of thousands of dollars. He did say there was a possibility of a trial, which would include the migrant parents as witnesses if there is no agreement to end the lawsuit. “All I can say is there’s no deal on the table and we have no timeframe necessarily,” Gelernt said. The Associated Press
In other federal immigration news…
Afghan Evacuees Resettled from Virginia Site
The Biden administration announced it has stopped housing Afghan evacuees at one of the military sites it opened in the summer. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the last group of Afghan families left the U.S. Army post in Fort Lee, Virginia, to be resettled in U.S. communities this week. As of Wednesday, 45,000 Afghan evacuees remained at seven temporary housing sites in Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Virginia and Wisconsin. Although there is no official deadline for when the government plans to have all evacuees relocated, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Congress the Biden administration is aiming to finish resettlement operations between December and February. CBS News
Migrants Don’t Get Notice to Appear Papers Anymore
Mayorkas told U.S. senators Tuesday that DHS stopped sending migrants into the U.S. with only paperwork that tells them to report to an ICE office. As the Biden administration continues to expel migrants under Title 42, some are released in the U.S. with a “notice to appear” in court. The document instructs migrants to appear before an immigration judge on a specific date to start the deportation process. But to move migrants out of facilities faster this year, U.S. Border Patrol started releasing migrants without this document. According to Mayorkas, CBP issued 94,581 notices from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, noting that the practice was “discontinued.” CNN
