The transfer of arriving immigrant minors to South Florida shelters is taxing the services of local agencies serving immigrants. BY ALFONSO CHARDY The crisis of the thousands of unaccompanied children crossing the Mexican border is being felt across the United States, with Miami one of 10 cities where children are being sent for immigration proceedings as border shelters fill up. …
FLORIDA IMMIGRANTS DECRY DETENTION QUOTA – SUN SENTINEL
March 22, 2014|By William E. Gibson, Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — Every day, hundreds of immigrants suspected of living in the country illegally are held behind bars in Florida, part of a controversial crackdown that helps fill a federal detention-bed quota. Critics call the quota a boondoggle that benefits privately run prisons and spreads anguish through immigrant communities. Defenders say it …
SECURING BORDER DOESN’T JUSTIFY ABUSE – THE MIAMI HERALD
BY CHERYL LITTLE The March 22 Miami Herald article Questions about death of Mexican teen linger was yet another reminder of the growing number of immigrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border. A recent independent review found that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents have stepped in the path of cars in order to justify shooting at passengers and have opened …
MIAMI IMMIGRANT RIGHTS GROUP TO HOST ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER WITH HOPES FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM
Posted on Sat, Mar. 01, 2014 By Alfonso Chardy [email protected] Every year for the last 15, the Miami immigrant rights organization Americans for Immigrant Justice, formerly Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, has held an annual awards dinner to celebrate accomplishments helping immigrants and honoring those who help its cause. This year’s event starting at 6 p.m. March 6 at the Hotel …
MIAMI-DADE PLANS TO STOP PAYING FOR FEDERAL IMMIGRATION DETENTIONS
BY PATRICIA MAZZEI [email protected] Fed up with underwriting the nation’s broken federal immigration system, Miami-Dade County plans to stop paying the cost of temporarily housing undocumented immigrants in its jails. The dramatic shift in policy comes at a time when the cash-strapped county is coping with a tight budget, but some county commissioners say they are also calling attention to …
CHERYL LITTLE, OTHERS RECOGNIZED FOR WORK ADVOCATING FOR CHILDREN
BY CARLI TEPROFF [email protected] Donning traditional denim dresses and scarves to cover their hair, seven young girls cradled their arms, stomped their feet and proudly welcomed the harvest. Their joyous dance was a way to connect with their Haitian roots and to thank a woman they say has fought hard to give them the freedom to be in the United …
MIAMI HERALD: IMMIGRATION BACKLOG FRUSTRATES YOUNG APPLICANTS
Thursday will mark the anniversary of a federal program that has benefited numerous undocumented immigrants who arrived in this country as children. Called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the program allows them to legally work and stay here temporarily without fear of deportation. There is a hitch, however. Martin Enrique mailed his forms nine days after U.S. Citizenship and …
FIFTY YEARS LATER, WE HAVE A DREAM
Today Americans for Immigrant Justice commemorates the historic 1963 March on Washington. Fifty years later, the unforgettable words of the Rev. Martin Luther King continue to move us today, just as fifty years ago they galvanized millions to demand full equality for all Americans. Rev. King’s dream also inspired our friend and DREAMer extraordinaire, Gaby Pacheco. In 2010, Gaby and …
ABUSE AT THE BORDER? IMMIGRANTS AND LEGAL GROUPS ALLEGE HARSH TREATMENT
JULY 31, 2013 Illegal entry from Mexico into the US may be down overall, but the South Texas Rio Grande Valley is its own story. That stretch of border is closest to Central America, where extreme levels of violence and poverty are pushing people out. An unprecedented number of migrants are now being intercepted by Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol. …
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY NOT OBLIGATED TO HONOR DETAINER REQUESTS FROM ICE
For years, Miami-Dade taxpayers have been subsidizing the jailing of undocumented immigrants by Secure Communities, a federal program of U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE). Among those jailed immigrants are victims of domestic violence and people whose charges had been dismissed. We applaud the M-D County Attorney, who rightly concluded that compliance with ICE requests to hold such immigrants are “voluntary …