Insights from Bush Institute immigration expert Laura Collins
Migration is still happening in the Western Hemisphere (and worldwide), and other countries are shouldering the burden to provide safety, security, and opportunity to the displaced. While the United States touts low border encounters, Mexico is processing three to four times as many asylum seekers than previously. Mexico is an important partner in U.S. immigration enforcement, and in the past it could count on U.S. funding – routed indirectly through the United Nations – to help. But with the foreign assistance cuts, that funding may not return in the near future.
During a time when the U.S. is less willing to welcome the displaced, our country can still lead on humanitarian migration. America can be a lawful society and a welcoming society at the same time. U.S. leaders can work with allies to find final points of resettlement for refugees and asylum seekers, so they can restart their lives. And our leaders must respect the rule of law and follow legal procedures to ensure due process, something many of these migrants were seeking when they took the dangerous journey to the U.S. in the first place.
America is safer and stronger when migrants can settle in places of freedom and opportunity. It is in our best interest to continue to lean into regional solutions that emphasize this, supporting our friends and allies in the shared goal of a more prosperous and secure hemisphere.
Figure of The Month
10,000
That’s the estimated number of undocumented Irish who live, work, and pay taxes in the United States, according to the Irish government.
Data Dive
- The Pentagon is deploying an additional 3,000 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, increasing the total number of military personnel in the region to approximately 9,000.
- Immigration enforcement is expensive: ICE is reportedly $2 billion short for this fiscal year, according to Axios. And that’s just what it costs the U.S. government — this analysis doesn’t include potentially damaging costs to the broader economy from removing foreign-born workers.
What I’m Reading
- Immigration enforcement is in the news constantly lately with stories from people taken into custody when entering or reentering the U.S. — often with valid U.S. visas or green cards.
- A proposed U.S. travel ban has made headlines, and it looks more extensive than the ban during the first Trump Administration. Citizens of up to 43 countries could be impacted.
- ProPublica talked to migrants, most of whom are originally from Asian countries, who were removed to Panama by the United States recently. The article explores the complex issues here, including the role of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) — which traditionally receives 40% of its donated funds from the U.S. — the cuts the organization experienced during the foreign assistance freeze; and whether the U.S. violated American immigration laws in removing these people without providing them the opportunity to request asylum.
- Three Florida Republicans are advocating for Venezuelans on Temporary Protected Status (TPS), POLITICO reports. These Venezuelans, who may face removals this spring when their status begins to expire, would be forced to return to a country ruled by a dictator with an economy in shambles, conditions that justify continued TPS validity.
- The Trump Administration has suspended military deportation flights due to their high costs. While the cost is an excellent reason to return to chartered aircraft, maintaining a good relationship with our Latin American neighbors is another. “Adding to costs, the C-17s haven’t been using Mexico’s airspace, which can add several hours to flights destined for Central and South America. Mexico and some other countries in Latin America haven’t allowed the military flights to land and have instead sent their own aircraft or arranged for deportees to travel on commercial flights.”
- For The El Paso Times, Jeff Abbott visited the Guatemalan Migrant Reception Center to speak with recent deportees, some of whom have been pursuing asylum cases or other legal statuses in the U.S. for years. The center was built with USAID funds and opened in 2020.
- Idaho lawmakers have proposed the nation’s first year-round agricultural guest worker program to tackle the state’s farm labor shortage. While the bill faces major legal and logistical hurdles, it wouldn’t be necessary if Congress tackled the legal migration reforms needed to ensure our economy, including farmers and ranchers, have the workforce to fill open jobs.
- The Trump Administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to remove hundreds of Venezuelan migrants with suspected ties to the Tren de Aragua gang. These suspected gang members, other Venezuelans removed under regular immigration law, and some Salvadorans suspected of being members of MS-13 arrived in El Salvador despite a federal court order and were imprisoned. This New York Times timeline gives a useful rundown of the facts of this developing story.
Bush Institute Insights
- In my latest piece, I explain what President Donald Trump’s proposed immigration “gold card” is and how it differs from the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program already in place in the U.S.
- Last month, I wrote about the impact of the recent U.S. pause on immigration applications, particularly on migrants with Temporary Protected Status and asylum seekers in the parole program.
