The border between the United States and Mexico reopened for non-essential travel on Monday, something many residents of both countries have been eagerly awaiting. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the border to be closed on March 21 of 2020 to only travel deemed essential. Any travelers over the age of 18 who are not citizens of the US must have either physical or digital proof that they have received vaccination against the virus; US citizens are exempt from the vaccination requirement. In addition, the process of 'metering', a policy set by the Trump administration that limited the number of migrants that could be allowed entry into the US per day, has been lifted by Homeland Security. The metering policy was highly criticized for turning away migrants seeking asylum and for increasing the number of illegal border crossings, since migrants turned away were more likely to seek out alternate ways into the US. However, another policy, Title 42, which gives border agents the power to expel migrants who have traveled through countries with COVID-19 infections without their asylum requests being processed, is still in place.
Source: CBS 4 Local, Roll Call, The Hill
https://cbs4local.com/news/local/cbp-gives-guidance-for-upcoming-border-reopening-to-non-essential-travel-11-02-2021
https://www.rollcall.com/2021/11/03/biden-administration-rescinds-trump-era-metering-at-border/
https://thehill.com/latino/579889-biden-administration-formally-ends-metering-policy-at-us-mexico-border?rl=1
With the reinstatement of the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as 'Remain in Mexico', many immigration lawyers are refusing to allow their agencies to be listed as options for pro-bono aid. The policy forces migrants who are waiting for their asylum cases to be processed to stay in Mexico until the case is decided. The pro-bono list would be given to immigrants when showing up to their hearings; however, with the implementation of the policy, advocacy agencies are often too full to take on new cases, and so the immigrants cannot find help. Having a lawyer greatly increases a migrant's chances of winning their case, but only around 10 percent of over 70,000 people forced to wait in Mexico have representation. While in Mexico, migrants are housed in temporary camps and are easy victims for rape, assaults, kidnappings, and extortion. Many agencies have stated that they will still be providing pro-bono aid to as many immigrants as they can, but refuse to work with the Biden administration on a policy that is, according to one lawyer, "illegal and inhumane".
Source: Buzzfeed News
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adolfoflores/immigration-attorneys-mpp-pro-bono-list
Tens of thousands of migrants will be sent court documents beginning this week, instructing them to appear for deportation proceedings. Border officials have been issuing 'notices to report', which simply tell immigrants to visit an ICE office, instead of 'notices to appear', which would set the immigrant up with a court date before a judge. The notices to appear require far less processing time, allowing agents to process more people per day. Since the migrants were never given a court date, they were never placed into removal proceedings; the court documents are being sent to every migrant who never received a notice to appear so that they can have a date for their hearing. Immigration advocates are questioning this move, since there is little guarantee that the addresses migrants gave upon entry are the same address they are currently living in, and if the paperwork does not get to the migrant, they can be penalized for missing the assigned court date. Advocates also cite the millions of cases in backlog already in the immigration system.
Source: CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-to-send-deportation-case-notices-to-78000-migrants-who-were-not-fully-processed/
The United States Congress has passed President Biden's $1.2 million dollar infrastructure bill, which is expected to be signed into law this week. The bill includes provisions to allocate billions of dollars to improving transportation, including roads, airports, railways, ports, and public transit, as well as support for electric vehicles; public utilities, such as power grids, internet, and water; safety improvements for vehicles and pedestrians; and environmental protections, like cleaning up oil fields, slowing climate change, and dealing with natural disasters. Now that this bill has passed, Congress is turning its attention to the Build Back Better agenda, which Democrats are hoping will contain some kind of immigration reform, even if the sweeping changes they originally planned do not happen with this bill. The current structure of the Build Back Better plan will be, according to President Biden, “[p]roviding long-awaited relief to millions through reconciliation, and making enhancements to reduce backlogs, expand legal representation, and make the asylum system and border processing more efficient and humane.”
Source: Investopedia, AP News
https://www.investopedia.com/here-s-what-s-in-the-usd1-trillion-infrastructure-bill-passed-by-the-senate-5196817
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-business-broadband-internet-congress-d89d6bb1b39cd9c67ae9fc91f5eb4c0d