This summary was featured in Documented’s Early Arrival newsletter. You can subscribe to receive it in your inbox three times per week here.
The alternative to detention known as the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program launched in 2004, allowing some immigrants to go home rather than remain in immigration jail. But the program is hampered by fundamental flaws, according to participants, lawyers, sponsors, and employees of BI, the private contractor tracking the whereabouts of participants, including through ankle bracelets. Immigrants reported bruising, overheating and shocks from the monitors, and other difficulties when wearing them. The ISAP structure is also reportedly as flawed as the tools it relies inhibit the ultimate goal of the program: transitioning out of it. The Guardian
In other national immigration news…
ICE Possibly Violated Constitution With Surveillance Program
While conducting a surveillance program, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents obtained millions of people’s financial records and fed the information to a database accessed by local and federal law enforcement agencies. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security inspector general requesting an investigation into whether the practice violated the U.S. Constitution. There are concerns about the government surveilling people because they used money transfer methods or platforms popular in low-income and immigrant communities that are less likely to have access to banks. If the program was in fact unconstitutional, it could also jeopardize criminal cases that used its data as evidence. BuzzFeed News
CBP Investigating Apparent Smuggling of Haitian Migrants
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is investigating what appears to be one of the largest human smuggling attempts off U.S. shores in years after a boat packed with 356 Haitian migrants ran aground in the Florida Keys. More than 150 passengers jumped from the boat, attempting to swim to shore. They were rescued and the U.S. Border Patrol detained them. The other 198 remained onboard and were taken into custody by the U.S. Coast Guard. No fatalities were reported, unlike an incident in January when a migrant boat capsized, leaving only one known survivor, one person dead, 38 people missing. In the days that followed, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted 191 Haitian migrants aboard an overloaded sailing vessel that was believed to be headed for Florida. Reuters
Fatal Accident at Georgia Poultry Plant Fuels Call for Immigrant Worker Protections
Six poultry processing workers died in Gainesville, Georgia, when nitrogen gas, used to preserve chicken, leaked into a factory room and suffocated them. Five of the six people killed were Mexican, as were many people that survived the incident. Some were reluctant to accept medical aid or speak to federal investigators because they or their family members are undocumented. Investigators found the accident was preventable, and advocates are urging federal labor and homeland security officials to work together more often to grant temporary protection from deportation to undocumented workers who cooperate with investigators. The Center for Public Integrity
Mariel Boatlift: The Mass Emigration of Cubans to the United States
📍 Documented Original
The latest addition to Documented’s Glossary — a resource guide full of information on the U.S. immigration system — is a detailed explanation of Mariel boatlift. It’s the name commonly given to the exodus of Cubans that migrated to the United States following an announcement by communist leader Fidel Castro. Most Cubans who came to the U.S. in the Mariel boatlift settled in the Miami area and later obtained their legal residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. Documented took a deep dive into the boatlift’s history.
