Tag: Undocumented

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In Guatemala, Harris Tells Undocumented to Keep Away From U.S. Border

Kamala Harris dio un mensaje claro en Guatemala: ‘no vengan’

GUATEMALA CITY – During her first trip abroad as Vice President, Kamala Harris said the United States would step up its investigation into corruption and human trafficking in Guatemala while sending a clear, blunt message to undocumented migrants hoping to reach the United States: “Don’t ! Come.”

Ms. Harris issued the warning during a trip that was an early but crucial test for a Vice President currently in charge of the complex challenge of breaking a cycle of migration from Central America into a region plagued by corruption, violence and poverty invested.

While President Biden campaigned to lift some of the Trump administration’s border restrictions and allow migrants to seek asylum at the U.S. border, Ms. Harris reinforced the White House’s current stance that most of those crossing the border should , would be turned away and would instead need to find legal recourse or protection in the vicinity of their home country.

In discussions about corruption with the Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei, who was criticized for his political agenda and the persecution of corruption fighters, she did not shy away from harsh language.

“We will try to eradicate corruption wherever it exists,” said Harris, adding that the government will support an anti-corruption unit in the attorney general’s office in Guatemala that has been criticized by Mr Giammattei. “That was one of our highest priorities in terms of focus that we set here after the President asked me to take on this topic of focus on this region.”

Mrs Harris, whose own ambitions for the presidency are clear, has been tapped by Mr Biden to invest in Central America to deter the weak from the dangerous journey north. Mr Biden was criticized by Republicans and some moderate Democrats during the early months of his tenure for the rising number of unaccompanied minors converting along the US-Mexico border.

But the Biden administration has continued to use a Trump-era rule to reject most adult migrants, sparking backlash from human rights groups.

Rachel Schmidtke, the Latin America attorney for Refugees International, an immigrant-friendly group, said in a statement Monday that the organization was concerned.

The Vice President’s top aides have tried to differentiate her role from the political landmine of border management, instead saying her focus is on working with overseas governments to strengthen the Central American economy and create more opportunities for people who are now To flee to the United States see states as their best option.

Ms. Harris announced new steps in the effort on Monday. The Biden government will deploy homeland security officers to Guatemala’s northern and southern borders to train local officials – a tactic similar to previous governments’ migration deterrence tactic. The State Department and Justice Department will also set up a task force to investigate corruption cases linked to Guatemala and the United States while training Guatemalan prosecutors.

“We had a very frank conversation about the importance of an independent judiciary,” said Ms. Harris. “We had a conversation about the importance of a strong civil society.”

For his part, Mr Giammattei described the allegations against him as “misinformation”.

He also said that during a meeting with Ms. Harris, he again asked the Biden government to temporarily exempt some Guatemalans from deportation by providing safeguards that normally apply to those fleeing natural disasters or war, and referring to hurricanes who hit Central America last year. When he questioned Ms. Harris in front of reporters on the matter, she did not respond directly.

The Biden administration also outlined a $ 48 million investment in entrepreneurship programs, affordable housing and agricultural businesses in Guatemala, part of a four-year plan of $ 4 billion to invest in the region. Ms. Harris last month announced the commitment of a dozen private companies, including Mastercard and Microsoft, to develop the Central American economy.

But hanging over these programs is how to ensure that US aid goes to those who need it most, not just the contractors recruited by the United States or Guatemalan officials.

In 2019, Guatemala identified a United Nations-backed anti-corruption body called Cicig, which worked with Guatemalan prosecutors to bring cases of corruption but was also accused by conservatives in the country of having a political agenda.

Ricardo Zúñiga, Mr Biden’s special envoy for Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, described such independent anti-corruption bodies as “very successful efforts”. However, Ms. Harris’ team did not say that Guatemala needed an independent body to investigate corruption.

“The point is that there is no specific model,” said Mr. Zúñiga. “It’s about supporting the people within government or within the institutions, mainly judicial authorities, who have the will and the ability to move these cases forward.”

Ms. Harris made a point in her opening remarks to focus on encouraging potential migrants to stay closer to their homes while they apply for entry into the United States and await responses. Days beforehand, their top assistants announced that they would be building a new center in Guatemala where people in Central America can find out about asylum protection or refugee status instead of traveling to the US border.

“Most people don’t want to leave the place where they grew up. Your grandmother. The place where they prayed. The place where their language is spoken is familiar to their culture, ”said Ms. Harris. “And when they leave, there are usually two reasons: either they are fleeing damage or they simply cannot meet their basic needs.”

In Chex Abajo, a mountain village 255 miles from Guatemala City, where Ms. Harris was speaking, Nicolás Ajanel Juarez said that despite promises made by various American presidents, his community was unable to cater for such necessities.

The village of indigenous corn farmers embodies the daunting task the Vice President faces. Mr. Juárez, a member of the local leadership, said many of the 600 residents watched their homes blow away in two cyclones. Profits from corn harvests are no longer reliable as climate change has prolonged the dry season.

Many families in the village depend on remittances from relatives in the United States. Those whose standard of living has been raised by US wages have larger cement and iron houses marked with stars and American flags. The main street in the village is called Ohio because of the many migrants who have found work in landscaping in the state.

Mr Juárez, who crossed the border three times in the past two decades, said migration to the United States will continue until community members have stable jobs.

“It would be best if aid could come direct rather than through the government because it will be lost there,” Juárez said against the music played for a nearby ceremony commemorating a member of the community who lived in two years ago entered the United States and died. “Politicians don’t know because they don’t come here to see people’s needs with their own eyes.”

After meeting with Mr. Giammattei, Ms. Harris met a group of women who have organized development programs for indigenous communities or organized training courses for those looking to acquire business skills.

Before that, however, she recognized the symbolic weight of being the first female vice president and making Guatemala her first overseas destination in that office. While a group of protesters with signs against Ms. Harris’ visit stood near an entrance to the military airport, a number of families, including many women, stood by another fence hoping to catch a glimpse of the Air Force II landing in To catch Guatemala.

“As far as I can influence because of my gender and the fact that I am the first, I welcome that,” said Ms. Harris, adding, “You may be the first to do it, but make sure you do it is not. “the last.”

Pedro Pablo Solares contributed the coverage from Guatemala City.

Categories
Politics

White Home to Permit Undocumented College students Entry to Pandemic Support

White House to Allow Undocumented Students Access to Pandemic Aid

The Biden Administration Early Tuesday it announced an ordinance would be enacted to allow undocumented students access to some of the $ 36 billion in emergency aid that goes to colleges. This is a disconnect from the Trump-era decision to ban these students – even among the nationwide protected known as dreamers. from access to previous funding rounds.

“The pandemic has not discriminated against the students,” Miguel Cardona, the education minister, told reporters during a phone call on Monday that previewed the government’s plans. “We know the final rule will include all students, and we want to make sure that all students have access to funds to get them back on track.”

The decision is a 180-degree lynchpin in attempts by Trump administration officials to prevent most immigrant students from accessing relief supplies. Last June, Betsy DeVos, Donald J. Trump’s Education Secretary, issued an emergency rule banning international undocumented students – including tens of thousands of so-called dreamers protected under the Deferred Action on Child Arrivals program – Access to an earlier round of over $ 6 billion in emergency funds. This decision was quickly made by legal challenges.

Biden administrative officer for months considered whether the emergency benefits should be extended to undocumented students who are not entitled to other forms of study allowance. Under current welfare laws, undocumented immigrants are still largely ineligible to receive money from federal programs. including funds from the $ 1.9 trillion pandemic relief package signed by President Biden on March 11.

On Monday evening, an education spokeswoman who was not empowered to explain the planning publicly stated that the administration had the authority to allocate funds to undocumented students through the $ 2.2 trillion Emergency Fund for Higher Education under the CARES Act distribute Former President Trump signed in March last year, and Congress “did not draw sharp lines on who is a student” when determining who could get money from this fund.

Existing admission requirements for the fund “make it clear that the emergency financial aid can support all students who are or were enrolled at a university during the national COVID-19 emergency, and it is up to the institution to distribute the funds to the students on most in need, “said the spokeswoman in a statement. (Last year, Ms. DeVos relied on a similarly vague definition to create the Trump-era rule.)

Mr. Cardona previewed the decision to reporters and phrased it for convenience: “What she’s doing is really simplifying the definition of a student. This makes it easier for colleges to manage the program and get money into students’ hands sooner. ”

About half of the $ 36 billion allocated for colleges will go directly to students, Cardona said, and about $ 10 billion will be given to community colleges.

Aside from direct grants to individual students, the funds will be used to strengthen academic support services, purchase laptops, and expand mental health programs. All students, including those who have not previously applied for formal federal grants, are now eligible for grants, according to the Department of Education.

Categories
World News

Entitled to Vaccines, Undocumented Immigrants in U.Okay. Battle for Entry

Entitled to Vaccines, Undocumented Immigrants in U.K. Struggle for Access

LONDON – In early February, the UK government announced that anyone living in the country, regardless of their immigration status, could get a coronavirus vaccine for free. Public health experts praised the decision, which is necessary to keep everyone safe while others sound the alarm over the prospect of non-citizens jumping ahead of legitimate Britons.

“Nobody’s going to get their vaccination out of line,” said Edward Argar, a UK health minister, in an interview. The disease, he added, was “looking for victims, not worrying about immigration status”.

As in much of the world, the virus has devastated immigrant communities in the UK, many of whom tend to the bulk of frontline grocery and home care workers. Many immigrants also live in overcrowded multi-generation homes where older family members were exposed during the pandemic. The government’s so-called vaccine amnesty should encourage those without legal status to come forward and get vaccinated.

But more than a month after the announcement, many undocumented immigrants said they continued to fear that asking for a vaccine could risk arrest or deportation. Others said they have been denied registration at local medical offices, which often ask for ID or proof of address – although neither is required for access to primary care.

The most common response, however, was confusion or confusion about what services were available – the lasting effects of years of “hostile environment” policies aimed at forcing illegitimate people to leave the country by blocking their access to jobs. Bank accounts and free medical care.

“It’s all very good to say, ‘Anyone can get a vaccine,” said Phil Murwill, director of services at Doctors of the World UK, preventing people from getting access to any type of care, and we are seeing it now. “

External estimates suggest that the number of undocumented immigrants in Britain ranges from 800,000 to 1.2 million, or just under 2 percent of the population. (The UK government has not estimated the size of this population since 2005, when it was estimated at 430,000.) It is a significant group that includes many vulnerable workers and one that epidemiologists refer to as a vaccination campaign – which so far is the Case was Almost half of the population needs at least one dose if Britain is to safely end the pandemic.

This month Ghie Ghie and Weng, two undocumented domestic workers from the Philippines, walked arm in arm to the Science Museum in London, one of more than 1,500 vaccination centers across the country. (Like other undocumented individuals interviewed for this article, the women asked to be identified only by their first name for fear of arrest.) Ghie Ghie had gotten her first shot of the vaccine last weekend and was hoping Weng might get hers .

Both women, ages 40 and 51, were younger than the eligible age groups but had booked an appointment online in the Health and Social Worker category, which the government calls “Doctors, Nurses, Midwives, Paramedics, Social Workers, Nurses” defined and other health and social care workers on the front lines. “(As of last week, people aged 50 and over are eligible in England.)

There was no reference to housework and they hoped no one would ask for it. Other domestic workers they knew had been turned away at vaccination centers that required proof of employment.

Updated

March 30, 2021, 9:52 a.m. ET

“My employer was concerned; She kept asking me to get my vaccine, ”said Ghie Ghie, who looks after four children, three of whom are back in school. “But they wouldn’t write me a letter, they don’t want to interfere. They ask you to do it, but they don’t support you. “

Efforts are being made in the United States to prioritize vaccination of those who work mainly by undocumented immigrants such as farm work. However, the UK has not expanded the category of social workers to include domestic workers, a Department of Health and Social Affairs spokesman confirmed in an email.

“We care for children, the elderly and the disabled,” said Marissa Begonia, founder of the Voice of Domestic Workers. “It’s not a lie. We are social workers by our definition. “

Weng works part-time for two families and travels between households every week. “I want to get my vaccine in case the government demands it, so I can show that I am not putting anyone at risk,” she said while waiting in line at the vaccine center. She reappeared about 30 minutes later, proudly clutching the card stating that she had received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

In 2018, the Home Office, the government ministry responsible for immigration, officially withdrew a data-sharing agreement that used patient information from the National Health Service to track down people believed to be in violation of immigration regulations. (Data is still exchanged for deportation cases involving serious crimes.) The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs has stated that people who undergo vaccination, test or treatment against the coronavirus would not be subject to an immigration check.

However, there are still cases of the two authorities sharing patient information, most common among undocumented immigrants with an unpaid medical debt of £ 500 (about $ 690) over a period of more than two months. Basic care, including treatment by a general practitioner, is free, but secondary care – hospital visits, operations, maternal care – is not.

Those who work for undocumented immigrants say that this hybrid health system only adds to the confusion about the benefits of undocumented immigrants. “The government must stop all billing and data sharing if it wants to prioritize the broadest possible access to public health,” said Zoe Gardner, policy advisor to the Joint Council on Immigrant Welfare.

When Huseyin, a 30-year-old undocumented cook, found out he could see a family doctor for free and eventually get a vaccine, he said he tried to register immediately. That was three months ago.

He said a family clinic in London asked for a valid passport or ID card before turning him away. A few weeks later he moved to Brighton, England to get a full time job in a restaurant. He tried a local doctor again there but was falsely informed that he needed an NHS number to register with them.

“The NHS guide says nothing about documentation, but nobody teaches you when you are in medical school about a patient’s right to see a family doctor,” said Dr. Elizabeth Bates, an Associate General Practitioner in the West Midlands. “That the NHS is there for everyone is something that many Britons are very proud of, but even some doctors fail to understand that their practice has these guidelines that prevent people from registering.”

Huseyin is now receiving help with registration from Doctors of the World UK, a nonprofit that works to ensure that people with uncertain immigrant status have access to health care. However, he is young and is unlikely to be asked about a vaccine for months.

“I want the vaccine to protect me and my community,” he said. “We’re everywhere – in shops, restaurants, factories, hotels. Undocumented people are everywhere. “