More Than A Magazine, A Movement
The U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission—a binational effort established to address health concerns in border communities—was defunded by the Trump administration in 2017.
As COVID-19 has had a devastating impact in border cities, the need for Congress or the Biden administration to reestablish the commission is more clear than ever.
Pistone designed and founded an entirely online educational program called Villanova Interdisciplinary Immigration Studies Training for Advocates (VIISTA). The program is designed to meet the demand for immigrant representatives by taking advantage of a long-standing facet of immigration law that allows non-lawyers approved by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to represent migrants in immigration court. Called “accredited representatives,” these non-lawyers work at DOJ recognized organizations—such as faith-based or immigrant advocacy groups—who are permitted to provide low-cost legal representation to migrants under federal regulations.
Due to the dual negative impact of regressive policies as well as COVID-19, the U.S. is currently on track to see the lowest enrollment of new international students since World War II, with much of this lost talent being diverted to the U.K., Canada and Australia.
Yet it is exactly times like these, with growing nationalism and xenophobia, that underscore why America needs to keep its minds and doors open, where American students also learn from their international classmates.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will avoid the arrest or detainment of individuals who are pregnant, postpartum or nursing, according to new guidance released on July 1.
This country, including our physical infrastructure, was designed by and for white, able-bodied, cis-gendered men. Today’s infrastructure package without an investment in paid leave, health care, child care and support for families is not infrastructure.
Being a member of the LGBTQ community is punishable by life in prison in countries such as Uganda, making the acceptance of refugees and role of LGBTQ resettlement programs in countries such as the U.S. essential.
By restoring the courts’ authority to manage their own caseload, the Biden administration can quickly remove cases from the backlog while still ensuring fairness for asylum-seeking families.
A spate of recent articles notes that, rather than an anticipated COVID-19 baby boom, demographers are predicting a “baby bust.” One such article in this magazine argues that this is a good thing—for the climate, the environment, and women’s empowerment.
Not so fast.
On one hand, the Department of Homeland Security recognizes the needs of vulnerable children who need protection, while also aggressively continuing their efforts to secure deportation orders against them. Reconciling these two opposing positions seems impossible. And it is.
Although President Biden has promised to restore humanity to our asylum system, many of his predecessor’s cruelest policies remain in effect, placing vulnerable women and families at risk of deportation to the very dangers they have fled. Trump’s racist, misogynist legacy includes a series of restrictive Justice Department rulings that have made it extremely difficult for people fleeing gender-based violence to win asylum protection.
