Top Democrats warn President Biden not to restart family detention

Democrats in both the House and the Senate have sent letters to President Biden warning him against restarting the practice of detaining migrant families who cross the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization. The senators argued that family detention is “ineffective and impractical as an immigration management tool,” while House Democrats urged the administration to instead invest more in case management programs that would allow migrant families to pursue their immigration cases outside of detention.

U.S. and Canada reach an agreement that allows each country to turn back asylum seekers crossing the border without authorization

President Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new “Safe Third Country” agreement that would give each country authority to turn away migrants who cross the northern border between ports of entry. The previous agreement gave the countries authority to turn away migrants who arrived at ports of entry. “Safe third country” agreements stem from a 1996 law that creates an exception to asylum rights, allowing the US to deport people to a third country that would provide the opportunity to those individuals to seek asylum in that country.

A lawsuit filed by state Attorneys General could end new parole programs

Attorneys General from 20 Republican-led states have filed a lawsuit to end the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole program which allows up to 30,000 individuals per month from Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela to enter the U.S. with a qualified sponsor. Since its implementation, the program has been effective in reducing the number of encounters with Border Patrol agents. According to Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy director of the American Immigration Council, “From December to February, irregular crossings dropped 97.5%, while port of entry arrivals rose 175%.”