Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, May 30, 2023 "Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday pledged to challenge a long-standing interpretation of the U.S. Constitution in an attempt to end birthright...
In the July 4, 2004 issue of Bender's Immigration Bulletin I published this essay . As we head into the long weekend...and an even longer 2024 election cycle in which immigration will loom large....
In this one-hour webinar, four experts explain what will happen next at the border. Essential viewing! Watch the recording here .
Senate Joint Economic Committee, Dec. 14, 2022 "As the United States continues its recovery from the pandemic recession, immigrant workers are essential to the continued growth of the labor force...
Muzaffar Chishti, Kathleen Bush-Joseph, MPI, May 25, 2023 "U.S. border enforcement finds itself in an uncertain new era now that the pandemic-era Title 42 border expulsions policy has been lifted...
UCLA MPP, May 2023
"Over 70 years since its inception, a provision under an appropriations bill that the 95thUnited States Congress passed has allowed immigrant workers in detention centers to earnjust $1 a day. Working alongside our client, the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice(CCIJ), we bring forth the experiences of detained immigrant labor strikers under theVoluntary Work Program. Our research aims to investigate living conditions, workingconditions, and the ongoing labor strike in two ICE immigrant detention centers operated bythe private detention corporation known as the GEO Group (GEO). Based on our findings, wepresent several policy options and recommend specific policy solutions aimed at improvingconditions for detained immigrants.We first provide background information on the relevant entities and stakeholders, as well ashistorical context and implications of the existing wage practices in private immigrantdetention. To support this research, we conducted a thorough review of the academicliterature on detention conditions, interviewed detained immigrants, and analyzed financialaccount data. In addition, we examined internal records, which included both grievancessubmitted by detainees and write-ups issued by detention officers.We found that all interviewees mentioned poor food quality and living conditions.Interviewees discussed the lack of proper cleaning and sanitation equipment in their workingconditions. Regarding the strike, many described the retaliation by GEO employees, resultingin additional write-ups and denying access to the commissary. We also found overarchingthemes beyond the sections, such as financial hardship or overall mistreatment by GEO staff.These overarching themes helped form the structure and topics of our research sections.The patterns that arose from our research allowed us to draft five policy options that eitherthe state of California or the federal government could implement to benefit detainedimmigrant workers. We evaluated the options based on four criteria: improving livingconditions, improving working conditions, financial feasibility, and political feasibility. Ourpolicy evaluation concludes that our highest priority recommendation is to implement “FairPay and Protections: Application of $15.50 California State Minimum-Wage and LaborProtections.”