Immigration and the Southern Border

[phkrause]

Wall Street Is Banking On Trump’s Immigration Crackdown

Private equity firms now hold contracts at nearly two-thirds of the country’s 90 federally designated immigration detention facilities, according to new research shared with The Lever — meaning opaque, unaccountable, and profit-gouging Wall Street interests are set to make hundreds of millions of dollars detaining and surveilling the country’s immigrants.

https://www.levernews.com/wall-street-is-banking-on-trumps-immigration-crackdown/

ps:Isn't that interesting??

[bonnie1962]

43 minutes ago, phkrause said:

Wall Street Is Banking On Trump’s Immigration Crackdown

 

https://www.levernews.com/wall-street-is-banking-on-trumps-immigration-crackdown/

ps:Isn't that interesting??

PS: isnt it interesting this is and has been taking place under Biden/Harris watchful eye

And you would suggest what for the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants??

 

[phkrause]

Mass deportations

Mexico hopes to strike a deal with President-elect Donald Trump to limit the number of third-country deportees it could receive from the US, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday. Faced with the prospect of mass deportations across the US-Mexico border, Sheinbaum is setting up meetings with the governors of Mexican border states to "agree on how to receive our compatriots." "We hope [mass deportations] don't happen, but if they do, we will be ready to receive them," she added. Since 2022, US Customs and Border Protection have recorded a yearly average of over 500,000 encounters with migrants from Central American nations, such as El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Thousands of encounters have also involved migrants from Venezuela, Cuba and China, among others.

[phkrause]

🇲🇽 Mexico's migrant crackdown

Mexico has intercepted nearly 1 million migrants this year — a record high, Noticias Telemundo's Marina E. Franco writes for Axios.

• Why it matters: President-elect Trump has threatened new tariffs to force Mexico to stop the flow of U.S.-bound migrants. Increasingly, the country is already doing just that.

📊 By the numbers: The number of encounters in Mexico of people without visas or migration permits reached about 925,000 from January to August.

• The U.S. Border Patrol registered about 1.5 million encounters in fiscal year 2024 — 25% fewer than in the previous year.

Go deeper.

 

📊 Path to asylum narrows for Latinos

Data: TRAC. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals Approval rates for asylum seekers in the U.S. are dropping dramatically in the run-up to the second Trump administration, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. Why it matters: It's become particularly difficult for Latin American immigrants to get asylum. The decrease reflects the Biden administration's new restrictions on asylum, and likely the anticipation of President-elect Trump's impending crackdown on immigration. New data also show that immigrants from Eastern Europe and Asia are far more likely to be granted asylum than those from Central and South America. Keep reading. ps:I guess they will say they didn't see this coming?????

[phkrause]

Immigration

President Joe Biden is facing mounting pressure from Democratic lawmakers and allies to extend protections to immigrants in the US amid party fears over Donald Trump's promise of mass deportations. Lawmaker requests include extending a form of humanitarian relief known as Temporary Protected Status and making more immigrants eligible for it, expediting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewals and getting a resolution for individuals with pending asylum cases. A Democratic Senate aide described the White House as "receptive" in private calls with senators. This comes as Trump's incoming "border czar" says he is working on a plan to use 1,400 acres offered by Texas officials to build deportation facilities. 

[phkrause]

Editorial: Trump’s immigrant crackdown will hurt Florida most

It’s like 2017 all over again when it comes to Donald Trump and his threats about ending Temporary Protected Status.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/12/09/trumps-immigrant-crackdown-will-hurt-florida-most-editorial/?

[phkrause]

Immigrants and allies at U.S. Capitol urge Biden to act before Trump deportations begin

WASHINGTON — In the crucial last month before President Joe Biden leaves office, immigrants and allies on Tuesday urged the president to offer protections for immigrant communities before Donald Trump is inaugurated.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/12/17/dc/immigrants-and-allies-at-u-s-capitol-urge-biden-to-act-before-trump-deportations-begin/?

[phkrause]

Immigration crackdown

President-elect Donald Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan said Wednesday that plans are underway to deport undocumented immigrants on a large scale and that he'll need funding from Congress to do so. In a CNN interview, Homan said he will need a minimum of 100,000 beds to detain undocumented immigrants — more than doubling the 40,000 detention beds ICE is currently funded for — and needs more ICE agents to carry out Trump's mass deportation promises. Homan also said the incoming administration plans to construct new deportation facilities in large metropolitan areas and bring back mass worksite immigration raids — a potentially significant development for some industries that rely on undocumented immigrants' labor.

[phkrause]

Deportations hit 10-year high

A woman wears a Santa hat as she takes a selfie next to the border wall separating Mexico and the U.S. in Tijuana. Photo: Gregory Bull/AP U.S. deportations rose last year to the highest level in a decade, Axios' Sareen Habeshian writes from ICE's annual report. The report showed a 90% jump in deportations from 2023, a dramatic increase in President Biden's final full year in office. 🧮 By the numbers: 271,484 people were deported to 192 countries in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. Of those deported, 88,763 (about 33%) faced charges or convictions for criminal activity, according to ICE.   Deportations President Joe Biden carried out the highest level of deportations since 2014, according to a newly released annual report. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported 271,484 immigrants last fiscal year, and around 32% of those were people with criminal histories, the report reveals. Former President Barack Obama deported around 400,000 in one year, but a large number of those were recent border crossers. President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to make mass deportation a cornerstone of his incoming administration, faces a steeper challenge in targeting those already in the country with limited resources and personnel.

[phkrause]

Immigration agency deports highest numbers since 2014, aided by more flights

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported more than 270,000 people to 192 countries over a recent 12-month period, the highest annual tally in a decade, according to a report released Thursday that illustrates some of the financial and operational challenges that President-elect Donald Trump will face to carry out his pledge of mass deportations.

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-deportations-trump-mexico-ice-e09b2f8b9eb5e91ebc8f143748f0021a?

ps:So Biden has deported more people than trump?? And who was the president in 2014? He also had more deported than trump?? Wow I keep hearing from some that trump deported so many!!!!! Well ain't that something!!

[phkrause]

🥩 Deportation crosshairs

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Getty Images

Many in the meatpacking industry were happy to see Donald Trump reelected — but are also fearful it won't be able to operate without the workers he may try to deport. Why it matters: Meatpacking, more than almost any other industry in this country, relies on foreign-born labor, whether documented or not. It would face critical challenges if those workers disappeared due to mass deportations, Axios' Ben Berkowitz, Alayna Alvarez, Worth Sparkman and Zachery Eanes report. Yet meat-related interests overwhelmingly supported Trump financially in 2024, knowing the potential risks to their business. 🔎 Zoom in: One oft-cited estimate suggests that 30% to 50% of all laborers in the meatpacking industry are undocumented. Producers will dispute that, but no one disagrees that the industry relies on migrant labor. "This is a decision by the industry. It's a wink and a nod — this is how they can keep labor costs down," says Debbie Berkowitz, a fellow at the Kalmanovitz Initiative at Georgetown and former OSHA chief of staff. Zoom out: Trump's team has said their deportation program would (first) target criminals (though an Axios review found that to be a relatively small number.) The transition, asked about any plans for undocumented meatpacking workers, reiterated its intent to target "illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers" in a statement to Axios. 👀 But those who work with undocumented laborers say the mere sight of deportations could have a domino effect. That could be enough to tip the industry into crisis, as workers flee or stop showing up to work, even if plants aren't being raided. Another industry at risk is home health and long-term care, both of which rely on a substantial number of immigrants and undocumented workers, Axios' Tina Reed writes. Between 2021 and 2031, the long-term care sector will need to fill 9.3 million openings as demand grows and workers exit the field, according to PHI, a research group that studies care workers. The American Immigration Council estimates more than a third of home health aides in the U.S. are immigrants. In California, New York and New Jersey, at least 40% of the caregiving workforce is estimated to be foreign-born. More on meatpacking ... More on caregivers.

[phkrause]

Immigration drives nation’s population growth

A recent immigration surge brought newcomers to every state this year, helping to offset a continued drop in U.S. births while contributing to a national upswing of about 3.3 million new residents, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/12/21/immigration-drives-nations-population-growth/?

[phkrause]

Immigration

A significant number of Senate Democrats voted with Republicans on Thursday to advance a GOP-led bill to require the detention of undocumented migrants charged with certain crimes — a key step that puts the legislation on the verge of passage. The result of the vote comes as Democrats are under pressure to show they will act on immigration in the wake of an election cycle where Republicans attacked the party as weak on the border. Notably, migrant crossings at the US-Mexico border remain at their lowest levels since 2020, according to US Customs and Border Patrol data. The numbers have fallen drastically following executive action taken by President Biden over the summer. In November — when Trump won the election — CBP recorded around 46,000 border encounters, the lowest number in nearly five years.

[phkrause]

🚔 Emergency cash warning

Speaking of immigration: Federal immigration officials warned Congress the Laken Riley Act could force them to release tens of thousands of immigrants if it doesn't come with emergency funding attached.

Why it matters: The bill requiring the detention of undocumented immigrants accused of certain nonviolent crimes received stunning bipartisan support in Congress this week.

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent details to congressional offices in December on what it would need to enforce the Laken Riley Act if it became law, according to a copy of the report we obtained.
• The agency identified more than 60,000 undocumented immigrants who would meet the criteria requiring detainment in the bill.
• ICE currently has funding for 42,000 detention beds. They already have 39,000 immigrants in custody, as of December, with 62% of them required to be detained by law.

Between the lines: The Laken Riley Act does not include money for enforcing the new detention requirements.

• ICE said it would need more than $3.2 billion in extra funds for the 2025 fiscal year if the bill became law, according to the document.
• The money would go toward an additional 64,000 beds — bringing the total to more than 100,000 — as well as hiring more law enforcement officers.

What they're saying: "We're prepared to give ICE the resources it needs to properly enforce federal law and protect American families, both through the appropriations and reconciliation processes," Sean Ross, deputy chief of staff for Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), told Axios.

• Britt introduced the legislation in the Senate.

— Stephen Neukam and Stef Kight

[phkrause]

Immigration

Anti-immigrant state officials and federal judges would have new power to dictate immigration enforcement — including whether to detain individual migrants — under a GOP bill that has passed the House and is moving forward in the Senate with bipartisan support. The Laken Riley Act aims to overturn Supreme Court precedent and give states such as Texas the ability to bring the types of immigration lawsuits against the federal government that have been rejected by the courts, including conservative judges, legal experts say. But it would go further, also authorizing state attorneys general to sue to overturn the decisions to release individual immigrants — and even to obtain wide-reaching sanctions on a foreign country for refusing to accept a national eligible for removal.

[phkrause]

Driver in Texas migrant smuggling run that led to the deaths of 53 people pleads guilty

A Texas truck driver charged in the deaths of 53 migrants who rode in a sweltering tractor-trailer with no air conditioning pleaded guilty Thursday over the 2022 tragedy that became the nation’s deadliest smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border.

https://apnews.com/article/texas-migrant-deaths-smuggling-9b99a40b763ac8f60161b83c271dd653?

[phkrause]

Why My Memories of Being Taken From My Mom at the Border Came Flooding Back

I don’t really know what happened to me in 2018 or how it really affected me. I was 10 then, when I was separated from my mother at the border. 

https://theintercept.com/2025/01/19/trump-immigration-family-separation-memories/?

[phkrause]

Immigration officers are operating with a new sense of mission. Now, ‘nobody gets a free pass’

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — A week into Donald Trump’s second presidency and his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, federal officers are operating with a new sense of mission, knowing that “nobody gets a free pass anymore.”

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-trump-border-security-enforcement-ice-cb40a6a7e2d94582aa0774be47a8ab36?

[phkrause]

New Jersey governor didn’t actually invite an immigrant to live in his home, spokesperson says

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sparked Republican outrage over recent comments suggesting he and the state’s first lady offered an immigrant with uncertain immigration status the opportunity to stay at their home, but he didn’t actually make the offer and the person never moved in, his spokesperson said Tuesday.

https://apnews.com/article/jersey-governor-murphy-immigrant-house-58c255cfa8c62c07f06b4ce7242e8225?

[phkrause]

📉 Charted: Darién Gap traffic plummets

Data: Migración Panama. Chart: Axios Visuals The number of migrants trying to travel through the dangerous jungles of the Darién Gap to get from Colombia into Panama has fallen dramatically in recent months to the lowest levels since the pandemic, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. The number of migrants illegally crossing the U.S. southern border plummeted in February to its lowest level in decades. Why it matters: The decline is the latest sign that fewer migrants from South America are risking the treacherous, 2,600-mile journey north to the U.S. border in the early days of President Trump's immigration crackdown. 🧮 By the numbers: Only 408 migrants traveled northward through the Darién Gap in February, according to Migración Panama, an agency in Panama that keeps track of migration in the region. That's the fewest in a month since November 2020, when 365 traveled the path during the pandemic. Nearly 82,000 people traveled through the Darién Gap in August 2023.

[phkrause]

He was tortured in Turkey. Then he faced a US immigration judge who almost never grants asylum

Harrowing story of ‘ES’, fleeing persecution to seek safety in US, shines light on judges who grant claims at exceptionally low rates – or not at all

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/06/turkey-us-immigration-asylum-denial

[phkrause]

Immigration

In an effort to apprehend more undocumented migrants, federal agents have started visiting courthouses, waiting for people to show up for their legal proceedings and then arresting them. CNN has confirmed at least 12 ICE arrests on or near courthouse grounds since January. During one detention in a New Hampshire court, the agents who tackled and arrested a Venezuelan man also knocked over a bystander walking with a cane. People who have been arrested during courthouse stings have had a wide range of charges against them, from misdemeanors to violent felonies. Legal experts and immigration advocates say such arrests disrupt judicial processes and may intimidate people from attending court hearings. The Department of Homeland Security defended ICE’s actions as a tactical approach to catching criminals.

[phkrause]

An Agency Tasked With Protecting Immigrant Children Is Becoming an Enforcement Arm, Current and Former Staffers Say

The Office of Refugee Resettlement’s welfare mission appears to be undergoing a stark transformation as President Donald Trump seeks to ramp up deportation numbers, current and former officials told ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.

https://www.propublica.org/article/office-of-refugee-resettlement-immigration-enforcement-trump?

[phkrause]

Immigration judge grants bond to Massachusetts teen arrested on his way to volleyball practice

An immigration judge on Thursday granted bond to a Massachusetts high school student who was arrested on his way to volleyball practice last weekend. Marcelo Gomes da Silva, 18, who came to the U.S. from Brazil at age 7, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Saturday. Read More.

[phkrause]

Many Americans are witnessing immigration arrests for the first time and reacting

More Americans are witnessing people being hauled off as they shop, exercise at the gym, dine out and otherwise go about their daily lives as President Donald Trump’s administration aggressively works to increase immigration arrests. As the raids touch the lives of people who aren’t immigrants themselves, many Americans are rushing out to record the actions on their phones and launch impromptu protests. Read more.