The top asylum official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will be reassigned, according to five current and former DHS officials, as reported by Politico. According to the sources, the official, Asylum Division Chief John Lafferty, will become deputy director of the Potomac Service Center in Arlington, Va., beginning Sept. 10, which many may see as a demotion.
Add Ecuador to a growing list of South American countries beginning to close or significantly restrict mass migration spilling over their borders, a tragic consequence of the chaos and corruption that has plunged over 90% of Venezuela's population into poverty. It is estimated that by the end of this year, over 5 million Venezuelens will have fled their homeland.
The number of aliens caught crossing the southwest border continued a sharp decline in August, according to preliminary figures obtained by Politico. U.S. Border Patrol arrested roughly 51,000 migrants in August, a 30 percent drop from the previous month. Although it is commonplace to see a dip in arrests at the southern border during the hot summer months, the Trump Administration insists the latest figures signal that recent bilateral agreements between the governments of Guatemala, Mexico, and the U.S. may be reducing the number of border crossers.
According to a new lawsuit, companies producing more than 90% of America's chicken have conspired to depress wages for a largely immigrant workforce in some of the nation's most dangerous jobs. The lawsuit filed last week is mostly based on interviews with former employees and claims the conspiracy among 18 companies, their subsidiaries, affiliates, and two consulting firms to depress immigrant wages continues to this day.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is releasing more than 200 border crossers and illegal aliens a day at the current catch and release rates, according to federal data. After a soaring decline of illegal aliens in the past few months DHS officials seem to have stabilized the catch and release of illegal aliens at a rate of releasing about 208 a day.
A number of media outlets are reporting that the Trump administration has ended the "medical deferred action" program, which will result in the removal of thousands of illegal aliens living in the country who are receiving life-saving medical treatment. However, the reports misrepresent the policy change and exaggerate the impacts.
The Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, has filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Trump Administration's plan to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), as reported by KRLD Radio. AG Paxton says 12 other states have signed onto his brief. The brief says only Congress has the authority to grant lawful status to an entire class of aliens.
According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, Federal agencies must work harder to prevent Indian and Chinese college graduates fraudulently getting work visas and jobs which are needed by their U.S. counterparts. The report hides most details of the GAO's investigation, partly because the profits from white-collar labor trafficking cause routine and widespread fraud.
Brazil is making it easier for the United States to deport unauthorized Brazilians by asking U.S. airlines to board deportees even when they have no valid passports, following pressure from the Trump administration, three Brazilian government sources said.