tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/us-immigration-11855/articlesUS immigration – The Conversation2024-03-28T12:51:11Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2207592024-03-28T12:51:11Z2024-03-28T12:51:11ZTweaking US trade policy could hold the key to reducing migration from Central America<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584593/original/file-20240326-28-qixbyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C53%2C2995%2C1940&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Employees at the K.P. Textil textile plant in Guatemala City.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/workers-wear-face-masks-as-a-preventive-measure-against-the-news-photo/1226220586?adppopup=true">Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Small changes to U.S. trade policy <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4376016">could significantly reduce the number of migrants</a> arriving at the southern border, according to our peer-reviewed study, which was recently published in The World Economy.</p>
<p>Our research delved into the effectiveness of existing trade agreements in creating jobs in migrant-sending countries, with a focus on Central America. We analyzed the impact that the <a href="https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/cafta-dr-dominican-republic-central-america-fta">Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement</a>, or CAFTA-DR, has had on apparel exports and jobs since being ratified by the U.S. and six countries – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic – from 2005 to 2009.</p>
<p>CAFTA-DR was aimed at encouraging trade and investment ties. But restrictive provisions, particularly its <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/roi_e/roi_info_e.htm">rules of origin</a>, have hindered the region’s ability to benefit fully from the agreement. Under a “triple transformation” clause, only garments assembled in one of the countries from fabrics and constituent fibers originating from the region qualify for free-trade benefits.</p>
<p>This significantly limits the scope for trade expansion because of the limited range of fabrics produced in the region compared with the global market. For example, it means that <a href="https://sourcingjournal.com/denim/denim-mills/global-denim-market-105089/">many modern fabrics</a>, like the kinds used in some stretchy jeans, do not qualify.</p>
<p>Loosening the rules to allow for new fabrics would not only attract investment and create more jobs for Central Americans, it could also reduce immigration from the region by as much as 67%, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4376016">according to our estimates</a>. </p>
<p><iframe id="zk9rV" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/zk9rV/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>At present, about <a href="https://www.hinrichfoundation.com/research/article/ftas/central-american-emigration/">500,000 people work in the apparel industry</a> in Central America. It is labor-intensive, and expanding exports would increase employment. Our research shows that loosening the rules of origin to include new fabrics from outside the region would create about 120,000 direct jobs. </p>
<p>If a stronger relationship between exports and employment is assumed, this figure could even rise to about 257,500 jobs, our figures show. </p>
<p>And these jobs would be boosted by additional indirect employment around the expanding factories in Central America needed to accommodate the increased trade.</p>
<p>If would-be migrants in Central America instead chose the new apparel jobs in their home countries, we estimate that migration from Central America to the U.S. could fall by 30% to 67%.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>The migration crisis has taken <a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-border-immigration-election-c37b1596ecf27d208e94bef592e7e616">center stage in U.S. political discourse</a>, with Republicans in Congress holding up legislation, including aid to Ukraine, over their demands that tougher border security measures be included as part of any package.</p>
<p>In December 2023, the number of U.S. Border Patrol encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/15/migrant-encounters-at-the-us-mexico-border-hit-a-record-high-at-the-end-of-2023/">hit a record high</a> of almost 250,000, and it <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-releases-january-2024-monthly-update">remained high</a> during the first few months of 2024.</p>
<p>While human rights violations, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3825251">security issues</a> <a href="https://knowledgehub.transparency.org/assets/uploads/helpdesk/Literature_review_corruption_and_migrations.pdf">and corruption</a> in migrant-sending countries are often cited as driving factors, in many cases, immigrants are <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/09/08/migrants-work-permits-adams-asylum">seeking job opportunities</a> that are unavailable in their home countries. </p>
<p>But despite the increased political attention on immigration, trade policy – which could be used to address the scarcity of secure, well-paying jobs in Central American countries with heavy migrant outflows – has largely been absent from either party’s strategy to address the “root causes” of migration.</p>
<p>We believe addressing the root causes of the current border crisis requires creating good jobs in migrant-sending countries. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>We looked only at one industry – apparel – in Central America and the Dominican Republic, a Caribbean nation.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10290-014-0188-3">Academic reviews suggest</a> that as many as half of all trade agreements have no significant effect on trade flows, and only about one-quarter of them increase trade. In fact, trade agreements may even create barriers to trade by adding additional clauses that are complicated or too restrictive.</p>
<p>The key question is how to make all trade agreements more effective at creating jobs in migrant-sending countries. Identifying and relaxing barriers within trade agreements is, we believe, an important first step toward reducing emigration. </p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take on interesting academic work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220759/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>In 2021, the Mosbacher Institute received funding for Bush School student research from the American Apparel and Footwear Association while Raymond Robertson was the director. The AAFA provided neither funding nor any other form of support, including any direct or indirect support, for the research described in this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kaleb Girma Abreha does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Relaxing ‘rules of origin’ restrictions in an existing trade deal could add tens of thousands of jobs in Central America.Raymond Robertson, Professor of Economics and Government, Texas A&M UniversityKaleb Girma Abreha, Assistant Research Scientist, Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics, and Public Policy, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2254222024-03-13T12:41:26Z2024-03-13T12:41:26ZWhat is the Darien Gap? And why are more migrants risking this Latin American route to get to the US?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581331/original/file-20240312-22-hvlt6g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C140%2C3347%2C2084&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Migrants wade through the Tuquesa River as they traverse the Darien Gap.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PanamaMigrants/2c51a3fc202e44459d50d668897f80eb/photo?Query=Darien%20Gap&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=288&currentItemNo=62">AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Much of the discussion over illegal immigration to the U.S. has in recent weeks <a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-latin-america-venezuela-ukraine-mexico-712d00c90114568fe8a1b5c9e26fdadd">moved its focus south to the Darien Gap</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>This treacherous route that spans parts of Central and South America has seen an increasing number of people attempting to pass on their way to claiming asylum in the U.S.</em></p>
<p><em>To explore the reasons why, The Conversation turned to Sara McKinnon, an <a href="https://commarts.wisc.edu/staff/mckinnon-sara/">immigration scholar at University of Wisconsin-Madison</a>, who knows the region well and has interviewed people who have traversed the jungle crossing.</em></p>
<h2>Where is the Darien Gap?</h2>
<p>The Darien Gap is a stretch of densely forested jungle across northern Colombia and southern Panama. Roughly 60 miles (97 kilometers) across, the terrain is muddy, wet and unstable.</p>
<p><iframe id="QA5lJ" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/QA5lJ/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>No paved roads exist in the Darien Gap. Yet despite this, it has become a major route for global human migration.</p>
<p>Depending on how much they can pay, people must walk anywhere from <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/dari%C3%A9n-gap-migration-crossroads">four to 10 days</a> up and down mountains, over fast-flowing rivers and through mud, carrying everything they have – and often carrying children who are too young to walk – to make it through the pass. Those who make it through then take buses through most of Central America and make their way north through Mexico to the U.S. border zone.</p>
<p>Cellphone service stops once people enter the dense forest; migrants rely on the paid “guides” and fellow migrants to make it through. </p>
<p>In the decade prior to 2021, <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/dari%C3%A9n-gap-migration-crossroads">10,000 people annually</a> took this route on their way north to seek residence in the United States and Canada. </p>
<p>Then, in 2021, the Panamanian government documented <a href="https://www.iom.int/news/number-migrants-who-embarked-dangerous-darien-gap-route-nearly-doubled-2022">133,000 crossings</a>, a dramatic increase in human movement in such a volatile stretch of land. In 2023, more than <a href="https://www.datosabiertos.gob.pa/dataset/migracion-irregulares-en-transito-por-darien-por-pais-2023">half a million people</a> transited through this part of the Isthmus of Panama.</p>
<h2>Why is it so dangerous?</h2>
<p>The route, and really the entire trajectory that people take when they migrate from South America to North America, is controlled by criminal organizations that <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/immigration-crisis-migrant-smuggling-darien-gap-cfb40940">make millions, if not billions of dollars</a>, annually in the human migration economy.</p>
<p>It is impossible to cross this stretch of land without the help of a smuggler, or guide, because the criminal organizations who control the territory demand payment for passage.</p>
<p>Payment does not, however, assure safe passage. Sometimes the very people paid to facilitate the journey extort migrants for more money. There are also <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/andes/colombia-central-america/102-bottleneck-americas-crime-and-migration">reports of armed groups</a> ambushing those in transit to seize their belongings and steal what money they may have stowed away and sewn into clothing seams.</p>
<p>Extortion and kidnapping are common occurrences, and the medical aid charity Doctors Without Borders recently reported a surge in instances of <a href="https://www.msf.org/lack-action-sees-sharp-rise-sexual-violence-people-transiting-darien-gap-panama">mass sexual assault</a> in which hundreds of people have been captured, assaulted and raped – often in front of family members. In December 2023, one person was sexually assaulted <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/feb/05/darien-gap-sexual-attacks-panama-colombia-migrants">every 3½ hours</a> while crossing, according to Doctors Without Borders.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/crossing-darien-gap-migrants-risk-death-journey-us">extreme nature of the swamplike jungle</a> also makes the journey dangerous.</p>
<p>The paths can be very muddy, especially in the rainy season. In mountainous sections, it is often necessary to climb over steep rocks, or cling to a rope to not slip and fall off a cliff. </p>
<p>The Missing Migrant Project reported <a href="https://missingmigrants.iom.int/sites/g/files/tmzbdl601/files/publication/file/MMP%20Americas%20briefing%202022%20-%20ES_3.pdf">141 known deaths</a> in the Darien Gap in 2023, which is likely a fraction of the actual number due to the challenges in reporting and recovering bodies.</p>
<p>Many of the people I interviewed who had made the journey talked about seeing bodies along the path covered in mud, likely the result of slipping or falling to their death. </p>
<p>Fellow migrants left markers close to the bodies, such as pieces of fabric tied to a tree, and took photos of the dead in the hopes that this evidence might someday help recover the bodies.</p>
<p>The rivers are also dangerous. Flash floods and rushing rapids mean that many people are swept away and drown in the muddy waters. Bruises, cuts, animal bites and fractures are common. The high humidity and heat each day, combined with a lack of clean drinking water, mean that many fall sick with symptoms of severe dehydration. </p>
<p>Vector-borne, water-borne and fungal-related illnesses are <a href="https://www.unocha.org/news/migration-through-darien-jungle-7-things-know-about-perilous-trek">also quite common</a>.</p>
<h2>What is behind the recent surge in crossings?</h2>
<p>Violence, insecurity and instability in their home countries cause many people to move. They may move to elsewhere in their region. But when the level of violence and insecurity is similar in that country, they keep moving to find a safer place to live.</p>
<p>Options for legally allowed immigration are increasingly limited for those in low-income countries. For example, when governments implement travel visa restrictions for certain nationalities, it impacts the options available to the people of that country for movement. </p>
<p>In 2021, with pressure from the United States, Mexico started requiring <a href="https://www.wola.org/analysis/mexico-restrictive-visa-policy-limits-venezuelans-ability-flee-us/">Venezuelans traveling to Mexico to carry travel visas</a>. This meant that Venezuelans hoping to seek asylum in the United States could no longer first fly to Mexico as a tourist and then present themselves at the border to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent to express their fear of returning to their home country.</p>
<p>Venezuelans had to find another route to move, and for many, that was and continues to be irregular transit through the Darien Gap without travel documents. </p>
<h2>Who is making the journey?</h2>
<p>In 2023, of the 520,085 people who moved through the region, <a href="https://www.migracion.gob.pa/images/img2023/pdf/IRREGULARES_X_DARIEN_2023.pdf">Venezuelans counted for over half at 328,650</a>. But the total also included 56,422 Haitians, 25,565 Chinese, 4,267 Afghans, 2,252 Nepali, 1,636 Cameroonians and 1,124 Angolans.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child is hoisted onto an adult's shoulders as a woman and man wade through water." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581334/original/file-20240312-28-i0czkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581334/original/file-20240312-28-i0czkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581334/original/file-20240312-28-i0czkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581334/original/file-20240312-28-i0czkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581334/original/file-20240312-28-i0czkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581334/original/file-20240312-28-i0czkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581334/original/file-20240312-28-i0czkw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Haitian migrants wade through water as they cross the Darien Gap.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/YEMigration/4294f14f09a24ca0beeba0b14dc0120f/photo?Query=Darien%20Gap&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=288&currentItemNo=95">AP Photo/Ivan Valencia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Human migration in the Americas is a global phenomenon.</p>
<p>It is also increasingly gender and age diverse, as <a href="https://www.migracion.gob.pa/images/img2023/pdf/IRREGULARES_X_DARIEN_2023.pdf">figures from the Panamanian government</a> show. Adult men made up just over half of those moving through the Darien Gap in 2023, and adult women counted for 26% of the population. </p>
<p>Children under 18 constituted 20% of those crossing, with half of those children under the age of 5. Parents may be carrying children for long stretches of the journey, or children may have to walk even though they are tired. The stress and fatigue add to the likelihood of injury along the way. </p>
<h2>How have authorities responded?</h2>
<p>The travel visa restrictions of many governments has only pushed more people to attempt this dangerous route. Governments have also been lukewarm to the presence of humanitarian groups who assist migrants in transit. On March 7, 2024, <a href="https://www.msf.org/msf-forced-suspend-medical-care-people-move-panama">Doctors Without Borders reported</a> that the Panamanian government would no longer permit the organization to provide medical support to those in transit through the Darien Gap. This reduced access to health care will certainly mean a more dangerous passage.</p>
<p>In May 2022, countries across the Americas jointly announced the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/10/fact-sheet-the-los-angeles-declaration-on-migration-and-protection-u-s-government-and-foreign-partner-deliverables/">Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection </a> to improve regional coordination to manage migration.</p>
<p>Through this, the U.S. government implemented a series of <a href="https://migrationamericas.commarts.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2087/2023/09/MIAP-Policy-Report-0923-1.pdf">new legal programs to move to the U.S.</a> and <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2023/04/27/fact-sheet-us-government-announces-sweeping-new-actions-manage-regional-migration">application processing offices</a> in South American and Central American countries that give people the opportunity to apply for U.S. refugee resettlement, humanitarian parole and family reunification, and have the visas processed while waiting abroad. </p>
<p>But these programs are not available to people of all nationalities. And some of the programs also require official documents like passports, a requirement that excludes many of those who make their way through the Darien Gap.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara McKinnon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>More than half a million people made the treacherous crossing in 2023 – far higher than in previous years.Sara McKinnon, Professor of Rhetoric, Politics & Culture, University of Wisconsin-MadisonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2235302024-03-11T12:28:23Z2024-03-11T12:28:23ZChinese migration to US is nothing new – but the reasons for recent surge at Southern border are<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580813/original/file-20240309-22-nrn6pj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C21%2C7232%2C4807&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Chinese migrants wait for a boat after having walked across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/PanamaMigrants/2ba0353fc214442d94948cdd54d7139b/photo?Query=chinese%20migrants&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=195&currentItemNo=4">AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The brief closure of the Darien Gap – a perilous 66-mile jungle journey linking South American and Central America – in February 2024 temporarily halted <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/28/world/americas/migrants-darien-gap-arrests.html">one of the Western Hemisphere’s busiest migration routes</a>. It also highlighted its importance to a small but growing group of people that depend on that pass to make it to the U.S.: <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese-migrants-fastest-growing-group-us-mexico-border-60-minutes-transcript">Chinese migrants</a>.</p>
<p>While a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/12/22/1221006083/immigration-border-election-presidential#:%7E:text=">record 2.5 million migrants</a> were detained at the United States’ southwestern land border in 2023, <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Chinese-migrants-flock-to-U.S.-Mexico-border-on-economic-pressures">only about 37,000 were from China</a>.</p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://history.umbc.edu/facultystaff/full-time/meredith-oyen/">scholar of migration and China</a>. What I find most remarkable in these figures is the speed with which the number of Chinese migrants is growing. Nearly 10 times as many Chinese migrants crossed the southern border in 2023 as in 2022. In December 2023 alone, U.S. Border Patrol officials reported <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/02/15/migrant-encounters-at-the-us-mexico-border-hit-a-record-high-at-the-end-of-2023/">encounters with about 6,000 Chinese migrants</a>, in contrast to the 900 they reported a year earlier in December 2022.</p>
<p>The dramatic uptick is the result of a confluence of factors that range from a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-economy-property-adb-791934f7f9b83de455e8f8aa7178b628">slowing Chinese economy</a> and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/04/china/china-two-sessions-xi-jinping-economic-challenges-intl-hnk/index.html">tightening political control</a> by President Xi Jinping to the <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/chinese-migrants-use-social-media-tips-on-trek-to-us-mexico-border-/7071743.html">easy access to online information</a> on Chinese social media about how to make the trip.</p>
<h2>Middle-class migrants</h2>
<p>Journalists reporting from the border have generalized that Chinese migrants <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/24/us/politics/china-migrants-us-border.html">come largely from</a> <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese-migrants-fastest-growing-group-us-mexico-border-60-minutes-transcript/">the self-employed middle class</a>. They are not rich enough to use education or work opportunities as a means of entry, but they can <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/03/business/darien-gap-china-immigration.html">afford to fly across the world</a>.</p>
<p>According to a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/migrants-find-tips-chinese-version-tiktok-long-trek-us-mexico-border-2023-04-28/">report from Reuters</a>, in many cases those attempting to make the crossing are small-business owners who saw irreparable damage to their primary or sole source of income due to <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/what-is-china-s-zero-covid-policy-/6854291.html">China’s “zero COVID” policies</a>. The migrants are women, men and, in some cases, children accompanying parents from all over China.</p>
<p><iframe id="QA5lJ" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/QA5lJ/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Chinese nationals have <a href="https://reimaginingmigration.org/chinese-immigrants-to-the-us-past-and-present">long made the journey to the United States</a> seeking economic opportunity or political freedom. Based on <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-border-mexico-chinese-migrants-60-minutes/">recent media interviews with migrants</a> coming by way of South America and the U.S.’s southern border, the increase in numbers seems driven by two factors.</p>
<p>First, the most common path for immigration for Chinese nationals is through a <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/chinese-immigrants-united-states">student visa or H1-B visa</a> for skilled workers. But <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/business/china-travel-coronavirus.html">travel restrictions</a> during the early months of the pandemic temporarily stalled migration from China. Immigrant visas are out of reach for many Chinese nationals without family or vocation-based preferences, and tourist visas require a personal interview with a U.S. consulate to gauge the likelihood of the traveler returning to China. </p>
<h2>Social media tutorials</h2>
<p>Second, with the legal routes for immigration difficult to follow, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/migrants-find-tips-chinese-version-tiktok-long-trek-us-mexico-border-2023-04-28/">social media accounts have outlined alternatives</a> for Chinese who feel an urgent need to emigrate. Accounts on Douyin, the TikTok clone available in mainland China, document locations open for visa-free travel by Chinese passport holders. On TikTok itself, migrants could find information on where to cross the border, as well as information about transportation and smugglers, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/us-border-crisis/article-13141787/chinese-migrants-snakeheads-gangs-cartel-flights-border.html">commonly known as “snakeheads</a>,” who are experienced with bringing migrants on the journey north.</p>
<p>With virtual private networks, immigrants can also gather information from U.S. apps such as X, YouTube, Facebook and other sites that are otherwise blocked by Chinese censors.</p>
<p>Inspired by social media posts that both <a href="https://news.creaders.net/us/2024/01/16/2690015.html">offer practical guides and celebrate the journey</a>, thousands of Chinese migrants have been flying to Ecuador, which <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/which-countries-can-chinese-passport-holders-visit-without-visa-2024-01-29/">allows visa-free travel for Chinese citizens</a>, and then making their way over land to the U.S.-Mexican border.</p>
<p>This journey involves trekking through the Darien Gap, which despite its <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/10/how-treacherous-darien-gap-became-migration-crossroads-americas">notoriety as a dangerous crossing</a> has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/08/americas/china-us-migrants-illegal-crossings-intl-hnk-dst/index.html">become an increasingly common route</a> for migrants from Venezuela, Colombia and all over the world.</p>
<p>In addition to information about crossing the Darien Gap, these social media posts highlight the best places to cross the border. This has led to a large share of Chinese asylum seekers <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese-migrants-fastest-growing-group-us-mexico-border-60-minutes-transcript/">following the same path</a> to Mexico’s Baja California to cross the border near San Diego.</p>
<h2>Chinese migration to US is nothing new</h2>
<p>The rapid increase in numbers and the ease of accessing information via social media on their smartphones are new innovations. But there is a longer history of Chinese migration to the U.S. over the southern border – and at the hands of smugglers.</p>
<p>From 1882 to 1943, the United States <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/chinese-exclusion-act">banned all immigration</a> by male Chinese laborers and most Chinese women. A combination of economic competition and racist concerns about Chinese culture and assimilability ensured that the Chinese would be the first ethnic group to enter the United States illegally.</p>
<p>With legal options for arrival eliminated, some Chinese migrants took advantage of the relative ease of movement between the U.S. and Mexico during those years. While some migrants adopted Mexican names and spoke enough Spanish to pass as migrant workers, others used <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/2700784">borrowed identities or paperwork</a> from Chinese people with a right of entry, like U.S.-born citizens. Similarly to what we are seeing today, it was middle- and working-class Chinese who more frequently turned to illegal means. Those with money and education were able to circumvent the law by arriving as students or members of the merchant class, both exceptions to the exclusion law.</p>
<p>Though these Chinese exclusion laws officially ended in 1943, restrictions on migration from Asia continued until Congress revised U.S. immigration law in the <a href="https://immigrationhistory.org/item/hart-celler-act/">Hart-Celler Act in 1965</a>. New priorities for immigrant visas that stressed vocational skills as well as family reunification, alongside then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s policies of “reform and opening,” <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/china-development-transformed-migration">helped many Chinese migrants</a> make their way legally to the U.S. in the 1980s and 1990s.</p>
<p>Even after the restrictive immigration laws ended, Chinese migrants without the education or family connections often needed for U.S. visas continued to take dangerous routes with the help of “snakeheads.” </p>
<p>One notorious incident occurred in 1993, when a ship called the Golden Venture <a href="https://www.mocanyc.org/collections/stories/golden-venture/">ran aground near New York</a>, resulting in the drowning deaths of 10 Chinese migrants and the arrest and conviction of the snakeheads attempting to smuggle hundreds of Chinese migrants into the United States.</p>
<h2>Existing tensions</h2>
<p>Though there is plenty of precedent for Chinese migrants arriving without documentation, Chinese asylum seekers have better odds of success than many of the other migrants making the dangerous journey north. </p>
<p>An estimated <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1107366/download">55% of Chinese asylum seekers are successful</a> in making their claims, often citing political oppression and lack of religious freedom in China as motivations. By contrast, only 29% of Venezuelans seeking asylum in the U.S. have their claim granted, and the number is even lower for Colombians, at 19%.</p>
<p>The new halt on the migratory highway from the south has affected thousands of new migrants seeking refuge in the U.S. But the mix of push factors from their home country and encouragement on social media means that Chinese migrants will continue to seek routes to America.</p>
<p>And with both migration and the perceived threat from China likely to be features of the upcoming U.S. election, there is a risk that increased Chinese migration could become politicized, leaning further into existing tensions between Washington and Beijing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223530/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Meredith Oyen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A gloomier economic outlook in China and tightening state control have combined with the influence of social media in encouraging migration.Meredith Oyen, Associate Professor of History and Asian Studies, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2230722024-02-13T13:21:23Z2024-02-13T13:21:23ZImmigration reform has always been tough, and rarely happens in election years - 4 things to know<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575094/original/file-20240212-24-rrmn75.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Migrants cross the border from Mexico into Texas on Feb. 6, 2024. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/migrants-cross-the-border-to-usa-through-gate-36-and-to-be-news-photo/1983631787?adppopup=true">Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Immigration is already a major polarizing issue in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Arrests for <a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-crossings-mexico-biden-18ac91ef502e0c5433f74de6cc629b32">illegal border crossings</a> from Mexico reached an all-time high in December 2023, and cities like New York and Chicago are struggling to provide housing and basic services for tens of thousands of <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/04/texas-migrants-new-york-bus-companies-lawsuit/#:%7E:text=As%20of%20Dec.,33%2C600%20migrants%20to%20New%20York.">migrants arriving from Texas</a>. </p>
<p>In early February 2024, a group of senators <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-unveils-118-billion-bipartisan-bill-tighten-border-security-aid-2024-02-04/">proposed new immigration legislation</a> that would have slowed the migrant influx at the border. The bill would have made it harder for migrants to both apply for and receive asylum, which is the legal right to stay in the U.S. because of fear of persecution if they return back home. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-deal-rejected-lankford-immigration-045fdf42d42b26270ee1f5f73e8bc1b0">But the bill</a>, like others proposed in recent years, quickly faltered after Republicans opposed it. </p>
<p>This is far from the first time that Democrats and Republicans have failed to pass legislation that was intended to improve the country’s immigration system. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Y1qVRfUAAAAJ&hl=en">scholar of immigration and refugee policy</a>. Here are four key reasons why meaningful immigration policy change has been so difficult to achieve – and why it remains a pipe dream:</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575096/original/file-20240212-20-e4zl2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People wearing dark clothing and jackets reach for and hold bags of bread." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575096/original/file-20240212-20-e4zl2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575096/original/file-20240212-20-e4zl2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575096/original/file-20240212-20-e4zl2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575096/original/file-20240212-20-e4zl2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575096/original/file-20240212-20-e4zl2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575096/original/file-20240212-20-e4zl2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575096/original/file-20240212-20-e4zl2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Newly arrived migrants receive a meal from a church in Manhattan on Jan. 24, 2024. According to New York Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, 172,400 migrants have arrived in the city since the spring of 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-mostly-newly-arrived-migrants-receive-an-afternoon-news-photo/1958071905?adppopup=true">Spencer Platt/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. Immigration reform has always been hard</h2>
<p>The U.S. has faced major roadblocks every time it has tried to achieve immigration reform. </p>
<p>For decades after World War II, presidents, lawmakers and activists tried and failed to revamp the nation’s immigration system to remove <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/erika-lee/america-for-americans/9781541672598/?lens=basic-books">racist quotas based on national origin</a>, set in the 1920s, that restricted all but northern and western Europeans from immigrating to the U.S. </p>
<p>Change finally came in 1965, when Congress passed the <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/laws-and-policy/legislation/immigration-and-nationality-act">Immigration and Nationality Act</a>. This required extensive negotiations. The final bipartisan bargain <a href="https://www.npr.org/2015/10/03/445339838/the-unintended-consequences-of-the-1965-immigration-act">removed racist quotas but appeased those who wanted to restrict immigration</a> by prioritizing new immigrants’ connections to family already in the country – a preference that lawmakers thought would favor Europeans.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691088051/dividing-lines">last big immigration reform</a> happened in 1986, when Congress passed the <a href="https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/irca">Immigration Reform and Control Act</a>. Year after year, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Congressional bills to address the porous border with Mexico and the undocumented immigrant population living in the country went nowhere. After many false starts, an uneasy Left-Right majority finally agreed in 1986 on a package that sanctioned employers who hired undocumented immigrants, provided legal status to roughly 3 million undocumented migrants, created a new farmworker program, and increased border security resources.</p>
<p>For almost four decades, Washington has been stuck in neutral on this issue.</p>
<h2>2. The US is more polarized on immigration than ever before</h2>
<p>Americans have been at odds over how to handle immigration since the nation’s founding. But partisan and ideological polarization over border control and immigrants’ rights <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/R/bo221112082.html">is greater today</a> than any other time.</p>
<p>Over the past 20 years, <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-politics-of-immigration-9780190235307?cc=us&lang=en&">Democratic and Republican voters</a> and politicians alike became more firmly <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/R/bo28424644.html">aligned with rival</a> pro- and anti-immigration rights movements.</p>
<p>In 2008, 46% of Republicans and 39% of Democrats said they thought immigration to the U.S. <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/395882/immigration-views-remain-mixed-highly-partisan.aspx">should be decreased</a>. In 2023, GOP support for decreased immigration soared to 73%, compared with just 18% of Democrats who said they wanted that. Today, Republicans are almost three times as likely as Democrats to see unauthorized immigration as a very big national problem – <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/06/21/inflation-health-costs-partisan-cooperation-among-the-nations-top-problems/">70% versus 25%</a>.</p>
<p>Despite growing polarization, leaders from both parties have tried a few times in recent decades to work together on bipartisan reform. </p>
<p>In 2006, former President George W. Bush, a Republican, joined Senators Edward Kennedy, a Democrat, John McCain, a member of the GOP, and other lawmakers in a coalition that pushed for comprehensive immigration reform. Like the 1986 reform, their proposal included stronger border security measures, a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants and a new, expansive program for employers to legally host foreign workers. </p>
<p>Right-wing pundits and anti-immigrant activists vigorously mobilized <a href="https://cis.org/Historical-Overview-Immigration-Policy">against the legislation,</a> and the GOP-controlled House of Representatives killed the bill.</p>
<p>In 2013, a <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/06/24/getting-to-maybe">bipartisan group of politicians called the “Gang of Eight”</a> spearheaded a new reform. Their bill reflected a familiar package: a new path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, more work visas for skilled foreign immigrants, and a guest worker program. The <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/immigration-bill-2013-senate-passes-093530">Senate passed the legislation</a>, but the <a href="https://www.salon.com/2007/06/26/immigration_22/">measure then died</a> in the House. The Republican majority there refused to vote on what they considered an amnesty bill.</p>
<p>Partisan warfare over immigration reached a fevered pitch during the Donald Trump presidency. Liberals, for example, rallied against Trump’s <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/01/a-weekend-of-protest-against-trumps-immigration-ban/514953/">ban on immigrants from some Muslim countries</a>, and conservatives fretted over <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/donald-trump-the-migrant-caravan-and-a-manufactured-crisis-at-the-us-border">caravans of migrants crossing into the country</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575364/original/file-20240213-30-wm3195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Kyrsten Sinema wears a red dress and red framed glasses and gestures with her hands, while people stand around her and hold out phones and tape recorders." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575364/original/file-20240213-30-wm3195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575364/original/file-20240213-30-wm3195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575364/original/file-20240213-30-wm3195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575364/original/file-20240213-30-wm3195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575364/original/file-20240213-30-wm3195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575364/original/file-20240213-30-wm3195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575364/original/file-20240213-30-wm3195.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">US Senator Kyrsten Sinema, one of the co-sponsors of the Senate bi-partisan border and immigration bill, speaks to reporters in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2024.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sen-kyrsten-sinema-speaks-to-reporters-at-the-u-s-capitol-news-photo/1988744214?adppopup=true">Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. There’s little bipartisan agreement over what the problem actually is</h2>
<p>Most Americans generally agree that the nation’s immigration system is broken. Yet different political groups cannot agree on what exactly is wrong and how to solve it.</p>
<p>For some Republicans, including former Trump, the problem is lax border control and permissive policies that allow dangerous migrants to enter and stay in the country. Right-wing politicians and commentators, like Tucker Carlson, have exploited these anxieties, warning that large-scale immigration will <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/15/us/replacement-theory-shooting-tucker-carlson.html">“replace” white Americans</a>. Their solution is to militarize the nation’s borders, deport undocumented immigrants living in the country, and make it harder for people to legally stay in the country. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.hoover.org/research/mobility-socialism-how-anti-immigration-politics-advances-socialism-and-impedes-capitalism">There are also conservatives</a> who think immigration is consistent with the principles of individual liberty, entrepreneurship and national economic growth. They support more visas for highly skilled newcomers, especially those with strong science and technology backgrounds.</p>
<p>Democrats <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/09/08/republicans-and-democrats-have-different-top-priorities-for-u-s-immigration-policy/">aligned with the immigrant rights</a> movement believe that the country is obliged to address the humanitarian needs of migrants seeking asylum at the southern border. They argue that millions of undocumented people <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520287266/lives-in-limbo">living in the shadows</a> of American life creates an undemocratic caste system, and they think this can be solved by creating pathways for most undocumented immigrants to get legal permanent residency. </p>
<p>Moderate Democrats <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2024/02/07/kyrsten-sinema-border-bill-impact-arizona-election/72509061007/">advocate tougher restrictions to address migrant surges</a> that overwhelm Border Patrol agents and other officials along the U.S.-Mexican border. Their solutions include hiring thousands of new immigration officers, strengthening physical and technological barriers along the border, and making the asylum program more efficient. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575097/original/file-20240212-16-pkh45o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Joe Biden wears dark sunglasses and a suit and walks, in front of men in green uniforms, along a large fence. The sun shines through it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575097/original/file-20240212-16-pkh45o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575097/original/file-20240212-16-pkh45o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575097/original/file-20240212-16-pkh45o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575097/original/file-20240212-16-pkh45o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575097/original/file-20240212-16-pkh45o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575097/original/file-20240212-16-pkh45o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575097/original/file-20240212-16-pkh45o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">President Joe Biden walks along the U.S.-Mexico border fence in January 2023 in El Paso, Texas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-joe-biden-walks-along-the-us-mexico-border-fence-news-photo/1246095870?adppopup=true">Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Immigration reform is especially messy in a presidential election year</h2>
<p>Presidential election years are fertile ground for politicking on immigrants and borders, but not lasting policy reform.</p>
<p>In 2021, President Joe Biden and his supporters introduced an <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2024/02/07/kyrsten-sinema-border-bill-impact-arizona-election/72509061007/">immigration bill</a> that would offer a pathway to legal residency for nearly all undocumented immigrants. But the measure never gained the 60 votes necessary to win passage in the Senate. </p>
<p>Now, Biden finds himself <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4394262-biden-approval-rating-on-handling-immigration-reaches-all-time-low-poll/">underwater with voters, including Democrats, on immigration</a> and the perceived chaos at the border. </p>
<p>Eager to protect themselves in the 2024 election and to alleviate the headaches that migrant surges at the border present, Biden and other top Democrats temporarily set aside past blueprints for legalizing undocumented people and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senate-unveils-118-billion-bipartisan-bill-tighten-border-security-aid-2024-02-04/">joined Republican negotiators</a> in advancing one of the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/border-deal-to-cut-illegal-immigration-is-released-after-months-of-talks-26a66211">toughest border security measures</a> in decades. This bill, which the Senate introduced on Feb. 5, 2024, would have dedicated US$20.2 billion to strengthen border security, and it would have made it much harder for immigrants to apply for or receive asylum. </p>
<p>Republican border hawks had long demanded more restrictive immigration rules. But they did not embrace this deal. When Trump eviscerated the legislation, intent on keeping problems at the border as a campaign issue, Republican members of Congress lined up to quickly kill the legislation.</p>
<p>The death of the bipartisan Senate border deal is a triumph of election-year grandstanding over governing. Yet its demise also reflects a much longer trend of ideological conflict and partisan warfare that has made congressional gridlock on immigration reform a defining feature of contemporary American politics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223072/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Tichenor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Immigration reform has always been hard to accomplish. As the U.S. enters an election year, bipartisan reform now appears out of reach.Daniel Tichenor, Professor of Political Science, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2207412024-01-19T13:41:25Z2024-01-19T13:41:25ZThe US is struggling to handle an immigration surge – here’s how Europe is dealing with its own influx<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570216/original/file-20240118-29-pkmecl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Workers from the Spanish nonprofit Open Waters rescue 178 migrants from different countries, off the coast of Italy in September 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/migrants-of-different-14-nationalities-are-rescued-by-the-news-photo/1698787922?adppopup=true">Jose Colon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As record-high numbers of <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1924-law-slammed-door-immigrants-and-politicians-who-pushed-it-back-open-180974910/">undocumented migrants</a> cross the United States-Mexico border illegally, one key question is how the U.S. got into this situation, and what lessons can be learned from how other countries respond to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/us/border-eagle-pass-ambulance-workers.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-us-immigration&variant=show&region=MAIN_CONTENT_1&block=storyline_top_links_recirc">border security</a> and immigration problems. </p>
<p>Having worked <a href="https://fletcher.tufts.edu/people/faculty/tara-sonenshine">both inside the U.S. government</a> and in the private sector, I have observed the growing importance of welcoming foreign citizens to one’s country for <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/immigrants-contribute-greatly-to-us-economy-despite-administrations-public-charge-rule">improving economic growth</a>, scientific advancement, labor supply and cultural awareness. </p>
<p>But migrants entering and staying in the U.S. without visas or proper documentation can create problems – for the <a href="https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/press-release/immigrants-overwhelmingly-say-they-and-their-children-are-better-off-in-the-us-but-many-also-report-substantial-discrimination-and-challenges-a-new-kff-los-angeles-times-survey-reveals/">migrants themselves</a>, and for overtaxed governments that lack the ability to quickly process asylum cases in <a href="https://www.gao.gov/blog/u.s.-immigration-courts-see-significant-and-growing-backlog#:%7E:text=This%20backlog%20has%20more%20than,immigration%20judges%20and%20court%20staff.">immigration courts</a>, for example, or to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/17/nyregion/migrants-shelter-snow-nyc.html">provide temporary shelter</a> and other basic services for large numbers of arriving migrants. These strains are happening now in many places in the U.S.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570214/original/file-20240118-27-na6vez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white photo shows a large crowd of people, mostly men wearing hats, crowded on the second story of a small boat, which is coked." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570214/original/file-20240118-27-na6vez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570214/original/file-20240118-27-na6vez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570214/original/file-20240118-27-na6vez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570214/original/file-20240118-27-na6vez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570214/original/file-20240118-27-na6vez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570214/original/file-20240118-27-na6vez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570214/original/file-20240118-27-na6vez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Immigrants arrive at Ellis Island in 1923, one year before Congress reformed immigration laws in the U.S., making it harder to enter the country.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/immigrants-arriving-at-ellis-island-aboard-the-machigonne-news-photo/171811445?adppopup=true">Underwood & Underwood/Underwood Archives/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>U.S. immigration trends</h2>
<p>In 1924, after decades of the U.S. welcoming foreign-born citizens to its shores, Congress passed the Immigration Act, <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act#:%7E:text=The%20Immigration%20Act%20of%201924%20limited%20the%20number%20of%20immigrants,of%20the%201890%20national%20census">restricting the numbers</a> and types of people who could legally enter and stay in the U.S. </p>
<p>That legislation ushered in even more xenophobia and division in the U.S. over the ethnic origins of immigrants – cutting <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/1924-law-slammed-door-immigrants-and-politicians-who-pushed-it-back-open-180974910">off large-scale immigration</a>, especially from <a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1921-1936/immigration-act">Europe and Asia</a>, until jobs needed to be filled – and there weren’t enough people in the U.S. to fill them. </p>
<p>In the 1960s, immigration laws were reformed again, ushering in waves of immigration from Asia because the U.S. needed people to work at unfilled jobs.</p>
<p>Today, once again, some U.S. politicians are pushing for new ways to <a href="https://theconversation.com/republicans-are-pushing-for-drastic-asylum-changes-an-immigration-law-scholar-breaks-down-the-proposal-219173">restrict immigration</a>. Much of their work focuses on making it harder for migrants to get asylum – meaning legal permission to remain in the U.S. if they have a legitimate fear of persecution in their home countries. </p>
<p>Overall, U.S. border officials encountered more than 1.1 million people <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/cbp-enforcement-statistics">illegally crossing</a> the U.S. border from April 2022 through March 2023 – a sharp rise from previous years, when the number of people illegally crossing each year hovered at less than 300,000. </p>
<p>U.S. authorities are now <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2023/12/29/immigrants-ice-border-deportations-2023/#">stepping up deportations</a>, quickly sending more undocumented people back to their home countries.</p>
<h2>A shifting response to immigration</h2>
<p>Globally, <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e1cabc36-d050-4674-a16c-fff60c548174">international migration to rich countries</a> reached an all-time high in 2022. </p>
<p>So, how do other countries, including Canada and Germany, respond to migrants crossing their borders without a visa or proper documentation? </p>
<p>One answer has been to reform their <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-worlds-biggest-economies-cautiously-open-their-doors-to-more-foreign-workers-664c3549">immigration systems</a> to make deportation easier.</p>
<p>Germany, for example, has been wrestling with increases in <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-illegal-immigration-set-to-exceed-record-high/a-67175099">undocumented immigration</a>. </p>
<p>Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-immigration-policy-whats-changing-in-2024/a-67753472">at the end of 2023</a> that he supports <a href="https://www.bmi.bund.de/EN/topics/migration/illegal-entry/illegal-entry-node.html">large-scale deportations</a> for migrants who are rejected for asylum. </p>
<p>Germany deported close to 8,000 people, many of them fleeing the war in Ukraine, in the first part of 2023. In total, an estimated <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-illegal-immigration-set-to-exceed-record-high/a-67175099#:%7E:text=Police%20data%20shows%20that%2092%2C119,that%20illegally%20entered%20in%202016.">92,119 immigrants entered</a> Germany illegally from January through September 2023. </p>
<p>New German <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/german-immigration-policy-whats-changing-in-2024/a-67753472#:%7E:text=A%20reform%2C%20dubbed%20the%20Repatriation,their%20property%2C%20such%20as%20phones">government reforms</a> will increase that figure and no longer require officials to announce deportations in advance. </p>
<p>Italy, which is also battling a huge influx of undocumented <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/what-lies-behind-italys-immigration-crisis-2023-09-13/">migrants from North Africa,</a> recently <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italy-pass-tougher-measures-deter-migrant-arrivals-2023-09-18/">doubled the amount</a> of time that it can detain undocumented migrants, rising from three months to at least six months. This decision is seen as an <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230918-italy-extends-detention-period-to-deter-migrant-crossings-after-lampedusa-surge">effort to deter more migrants</a> from illegally entering Italy. </p>
<p>In November 2023, Italy signed an agreement <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/07/europe/italy-albania-migrant-refugee-deal/index.html">to build two new immigration detention centers</a> across the Adriatic Sea in Albania. </p>
<p>This allows Italy to skirt a European Union policy that requires its member countries to consider and process all <a href="https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/common-european-asylum-system/country-responsible-asylum-application-dublin-regulation_en">asylum applicants’ requests</a> within a year of their arrival. Since Albania is not part of the European Union, it could quickly deport the migrants that Italy sends there. </p>
<p>In December 2023, the European Union’s 27 countries also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/20/world/europe/eu-migration-asylum.html">voted on a major overhaul of asylum laws</a>. These changes will make it easier for countries to deport migrants who fail to get asylum. They also direct the European Union to give money to countries that allow more asylum seekers to stay in those countries. </p>
<h2>Other approaches</h2>
<p>Right now, Italy and Greece bear much of the brunt of migration in the EU.</p>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/greece-wants-eu-to-slap-sanctions-on-countries-that-won-t-accept-return-of-illegal-migrants/7297844.html">31,000 undocumented migrants</a>, mainly from Syria, crossed into Greece in 2023, up from 18,000 undocumented people who entered the country in 2022.</p>
<p>The parliament in Greece is considering new laws that would enable the country to issue tens of thousands of undocumented migrants <a href="https://apnews.com/article/greece-migrants-residence-work-permits-0851a9592f1811487d1fde49a63be5ae">residence and work permits</a> to address labor shortages. </p>
<p>Greece is also pushing the European Union to slap economic sanctions on countries, like Pakistan, that refuse to take back the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/migration-greece-deportations-eu-f4964595a5d9554cea7999df9f882795">undocumented migrants that Greece</a> deports to their home countries.</p>
<p>Closer to home, Canada is also experiencing a surge of undocumented migration into Quebec and other places, prompting some Canadians to <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-dramatic-shift-in-canadian-public-opinion-about-immigration-levels-219193">feel growing anxiety</a>, in part because of perceptions that the sudden population growth is also raising the country’s already-high housing costs. Canada <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/deportations-surge-as-regularization-stalls-for-the-undocumented/article_05fb6e0a-9461-11ee-8601-b3de32d91e09.html">deported 7,232 undocumented people</a> in the first six months of 2023 – a rise compared to the 7,635 deportations Canada carried out in the entire year of 2021.</p>
<p>Canada also announced in December 2023 that it is planning to allow people who entered the country with valid, short-term visas, and who continue living in Canada after these visas expire, to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-create-citizenship-path-undocumented-immigrants-globe-mail-2023-12-14/">apply for permanent residency</a>. This would mainly affect foreign students and temporary workers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570218/original/file-20240118-23-1y6fq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a grey uniform and a black police vest speaks to a small group of people who wear jackets and have suitcases as they approach him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570218/original/file-20240118-23-1y6fq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570218/original/file-20240118-23-1y6fq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570218/original/file-20240118-23-1y6fq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570218/original/file-20240118-23-1y6fq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570218/original/file-20240118-23-1y6fq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570218/original/file-20240118-23-1y6fq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570218/original/file-20240118-23-1y6fq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Canadian officer speaks to migrants as they arrive in Quebec in March 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-officer-speaks-to-migrants-as-they-arrive-at-the-roxham-news-photo/1247840460?adppopup=true">Sebastien St-Jean/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>An uncertain way ahead</h2>
<p>Back in the U.S., the fight over immigration continues, with Republicans eager to crack down and Democrats who generally want to avoid harsh new standards that could lead to more deportations and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-seek-restrain-new-immigration-powers-fearing-abuse-trump-rcna13031">mass roundups</a> of undocumented immigrants. </p>
<p>Traditionally, Democrats have been supportive of immigration and the rights of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. </p>
<p>But the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-immigration-border-plan-voters-senate-negotiations-rcna12515">wave of migrants</a> who arrive in cities like New York and <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/chicago-leaders-demand-help-from-white-house-to-deal-with-surge-of-migrants-in-city">Chicago without any money</a>, jobs or places to live is severely straining city governments’ capacity and budgets. Local leaders like New York Mayor Eric Adams are pleading with the federal government to help with a crisis that, as Adams said in September 2023, has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/nyregion/adams-migrants-destroy-nyc.html">no clear end</a> in sight.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220741/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tara Sonenshine does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Germany and Italy are among the countries that are looking for ways to handle rises in undocumented migration and, in many cases, are making it harder for people to remain in their countries.Tara Sonenshine, Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice in Public Diplomacy, Tufts UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2191732024-01-10T13:32:59Z2024-01-10T13:32:59ZRepublicans are pushing for drastic asylum changes – an immigration law scholar breaks down the proposal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568299/original/file-20240108-23-1ap3d1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Migrants cross through a gap in the U.S.-Mexico border fence on Dec. 22, 2023, in Jacumba Hot Springs, Calif.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/migrants-cross-through-a-gap-in-the-us-mexico-border-fence-news-photo/1876398355?adppopup=true">Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is bipartisan agreement for the need for immigration reform and stark disagreement on what that reform should be. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/01/13/monthly-encounters-with-migrants-at-u-s-mexico-border-remain-near-record-highs/">rise in illegal</a> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/what-republicans-democrats-want-do-us-mexico-border-security-2024-01-08/">border crossings since 2020</a> has applied significant pressure for changing under what conditions someone can apply for asylum. This government system is designed to provide life-saving relief for noncitizens afraid of returning to their home countries. </p>
<p>Undocumented migrants entering the United States have few plausible options to legally stay in the country. For many migrants fleeing their countries due to violence, war, government collapse, natural disasters or any personal threats that could harm them, the only legal pathway of immigrating to the U.S. is by receiving asylum. </p>
<p>Conservative Republicans in Congress are now <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4387973-shutdown-risk-grows-with-gops-border-fury/">proposing legal changes</a> that would make it harder for most applicants to get asylum. </p>
<p>The Republicans’ plan is <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4390204-5-things-to-know-about-border-bill-hr2-gop-shutdown-threats/">similar to</a> both a similar rule that the Department of Homeland Security adopted in 2019 and a policy that President Joe Biden is trying to push through. </p>
<p>I am an <a href="https://gould.usc.edu/faculty/profile/jean-lantz-reisz/">immigration professor</a> and teach asylum law. I believe it’s important to understand what sets Republicans’ proposed law apart from previous iterations. </p>
<p>The president cannot change the law, but Congress can. If these lawmakers succeed in changing federal asylum law, the law would override the court decisions striking down previous versions. Because Congress has broad power over immigration, the new laws would likely be upheld if challenged in court.</p>
<p>Still, currently, <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/refugees-and-asylees-united-states">most people who seek asylum </a> do not receive permission to stay in the country, and they are deported. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568300/original/file-20240108-29-cd4px2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People are seen standing in a desert on a grey day with a white SUV nearby." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568300/original/file-20240108-29-cd4px2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568300/original/file-20240108-29-cd4px2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568300/original/file-20240108-29-cd4px2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568300/original/file-20240108-29-cd4px2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568300/original/file-20240108-29-cd4px2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568300/original/file-20240108-29-cd4px2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568300/original/file-20240108-29-cd4px2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Migrants wait to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents near the U.S.-Mexico border in Jacumba Hot Springs, Calif.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/migrants-wait-to-be-processed-by-the-u-s-border-patrol-news-photo/1876398361?adppopup=true">Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Understanding asylum</h2>
<p>Currently, any noncitizen, including someone who already lives in the U.S. or who entered the country without a visa – <a href="https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1158&num=0&edition=prelim">can apply for asylum</a>. This is true regardless of the person’s legal immigration status. </p>
<p>A person can ask the U.S. government for asylum only once they are in the country or at the border – and they must ask for asylum within a year of arriving in the U.S. </p>
<p>Applying for asylum is a complicated process that could take several years. Undocumented migrants <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/supreme-court-says-detained-immigrants-not-entitled-to-bond-hearing">often apply for asylum</a> while they are detained in an immigration detention center. </p>
<p>Overall, asylum applicants <a href="https://www.usa.gov/asylum">will need to prove</a> that they face severe harm in their home country from their government or someone their government cannot control, like an armed militia group. This potential severe harm must trace back to their race, religion, political opinion, nationality or some characteristic they cannot, or should not have to, change.</p>
<p>Asylum seekers first make their case to a U.S. government asylum officer, who judges the veracity of their claim in an interview. </p>
<p>If migrants pass this <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-and-asylum/asylum/questions-and-answers-credible-fear-screening">first interview</a>, the migrant is allowed to seek asylum before an immigration judge. </p>
<p>At this stage, asylum seekers will need to show extensive evidence of events and other conditions that place them in severe danger if they are deported. Getting this proof is very difficult for asylum seekers, who typically require the help of an attorney to <a href="https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/396/">complete this application process</a>. </p>
<p>Even if an applicant meets all of the requirements to get asylum, a judge still has the discretion to decide whether or not this person should receive it. </p>
<p>Judges then give some migrants asylum, allowing them to apply for U.S. green cards, which are the documents that give someone <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/brochures/USCIS_Welcomes_Refugees_and_Asylees.pdf">legal permission to remain</a> in the U.S. They can then lawfully work, receive certain government benefits and eventually apply for citizenship. </p>
<h2>A backlog</h2>
<p>As a result of the rising number of undocumented migrants crossing into the U.S. – increasingly from <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-11/2023_0818_plcy_refugees_and_asylees_fy2022.pdf">places with widespread government instability</a> and violence, like Venezuela and Honduras – asylum requests are also on the rise.</p>
<p>Asylum cases in immigration court more than tripled <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-11/2023_0818_plcy_refugees_and_asylees_fy2022.pdf">between 2021 and 2022</a>, rising from 63,074 to 238,841. And the <a href="https://trac.syr.edu/reports/705/">asylum case numbers continue to grow</a>. </p>
<p>This rise in asylum applications is then coupled with a growing backlog of asylum cases in immigration court. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://trac.syr.edu/reports/734/">3 million cases</a> still waiting to go before a judge in immigration courts – 1 million of these are asylum cases. In comparison, the average number of backlogged <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Refugees_Asylees_2016_0.pdf">asylum cases</a> from 2012 through 2016 consistently remained below 200,000. </p>
<p>Consequently, people seeking asylum typically <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-migrants-us-asylum-process-legal-limbo/">now wait an average of four years</a> before they have an asylum hearing in court – and, in many cases, may wait longer for a decision that they have appealed. </p>
<p>An asylum seeker may, in some cases, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2023/09/01/new-york-businesses-give-immigrant-work-permits-to-asylum-seekers/?sh=58b60afb4219">apply for a work permit</a> if they must wait more than six months for a decision.</p>
<h2>Republican plan</h2>
<p>Conservative House Republicans are now <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-threaten-government-shutdown-immigration-deal-democrats-rcna132534">threatening a government shutdown</a> that could happen as early as Jan. 19, 2024. They also have blocked more foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel, and are using their power over this aid as leverage for changing asylum laws. </p>
<p>Biden, meanwhile, wants Congress to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/what-republicans-democrats-want-do-us-mexico-border-security-2024-01-08/">approve nearly US$14 billion</a> to pay for more border security agents, as well as asylum officers and immigration judges. </p>
<p>Republicans have rejected Biden’s proposal and instead <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/2?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22hr2%22%7D&s=3&r=1">want new laws</a> that would deny asylum to any migrant who passed through a third country while traveling to the U.S., or who did not enter the U.S. at an official port of entry along a border. </p>
<p>These changes target the fact that most migrants who cross into the U.S. without documentation – and apply for asylum – come from countries other than Mexico. But these people, coming from countries like Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba, first pass through Mexico on their way to the U.S. Approximately 71% of the over <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/11/12/1212058889/migrants-u-s-southern-border-historic-numbers-why">2.4 million</a> people who were apprehended at the southern border in 2023 traveled through Mexico, but were not <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/border-numbers-fy2023">Mexican citizens</a>. </p>
<p>If this proposed law is passed, these migrants would no longer have a court consider their asylum applications. </p>
<p>Instead, they would not be allowed to apply for asylum. They would be immediately deported back to their own countries. </p>
<p>Democrats have opposed the changes when they were proposed as part of a bill in May 2023, but some <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/what-republicans-democrats-want-do-us-mexico-border-security-2024-01-08/">Democrats are more open</a> to asylum restrictions and may compromise to reach a deal. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568301/original/file-20240108-109125-esu3dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People walk along white walls that wrap in a circular manner. The people carry backpacks, children and wear jackets." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568301/original/file-20240108-109125-esu3dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568301/original/file-20240108-109125-esu3dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568301/original/file-20240108-109125-esu3dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568301/original/file-20240108-109125-esu3dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568301/original/file-20240108-109125-esu3dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568301/original/file-20240108-109125-esu3dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568301/original/file-20240108-109125-esu3dh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ukrainians who were seeking asylum arrive at the U.S. port of entry in Tijuana, Mexico, in April 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ukrainians-who-are-seeking-asylum-walk-at-the-el-chaparral-news-photo/1390002303?adppopup=true">Mario Tama/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Not the first go-around</h2>
<p>The proposed change that would deny asylum to those who have traveled through a third country is identical to a Department of Homeland Security rule that the agency adopted under former president <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/asylum-ban-trump-administration-blocked-by-judge-today-2019-07-24/">Donald Trump’s administration in 2019</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/25/politics/biden-asylum-court-ruling/index.html">Biden has proposed a similar policy</a>, with exceptions for a migrant who obtained special permission to enter the U.S., or who was denied asylum in another country. The <a href="https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2020/03/05/19-56417.pdf">Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals</a> struck down Trump’s rule in 2020 because it violated current asylum law that permits anyone to seek asylum, regardless of how they enter the U.S. </p>
<p>The president cannot change the law. </p>
<p>A federal district court <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/25/texas-biden-asylum-rule-california-judge/">struck down Biden’s policy</a> in July 2023 on the same basis. Biden has appealed <a href="https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/cases-of-interest/east-bay-sanctuary-covenant-v-joseph-biden/">that decision</a>. </p>
<p>Republicans are proposing other laws to make it harder to receive asylum. One change would require asylum seekers to present a large amount of evidence proving their fear of persecution during their first interview with a government asylum officer – not later, when they go before a judge. The law would also end programs that allow migrants to stay with sponsors in the U.S. while seeking asylum. </p>
<p>In summary, the proposed changes would make it almost impossible for a migrant entering through the U.S.-Mexico border to get asylum, even if that migrant has a legitimate fear of returning to his or her home country.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219173/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jean Lantz Reisz receives funding from Los Angeles City and County. </span></em></p>A GOP proposal would make it nearly impossible for most migrants now crossing the US border to gain asylum and the right to remain in the country.Jean Lantz Reisz, Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Co-Director, USC Immigration Clinic, University of Southern CaliforniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2149282023-11-05T13:01:57Z2023-11-05T13:01:57ZUnpacking Elon Musk’s convoluted U.S.-Mexico border visit<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557510/original/file-20231103-17-agxdj5.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C67%2C680%2C438&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Elon Musk and Texas congressman Tony Gonzales stand in front of a group of South American migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/TonyGonzales4TX/status/1708142923626209519">(Twitter/Tony Gonzales)</a></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/unpacking-elon-musks-convoluted-us-mexico-border-visit" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>In late September, Elon Musk, the tech billionaire behind Tesla and SpaceX, set the internet ablaze with his visit to the Texas-Mexico border to provide what he called an “<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/why-did-elon-musk-visit-texas-mexico-border-and-what-did-he-say-about-the-migrants/articleshow/104034433.cms?from=mdr">unfiltered</a>” perspective on the border crisis as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/migrants-cross-into-texas-undeterred-by-razor-wire-or-new-asylum-rules-2023-09-28/">thousands of migrants</a>, mostly from Venezuela, crossed the Rio Grande River.</p>
<p><a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1707565081750290910?s=20">In a video at Eagle Pass, Texas</a>, Musk calls for a “greatly expanded legal immigration system” that would welcome “hard-working and honest” people and “<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1707525800830828619?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1707525800830828619%7Ctwgr%5E3df67ff84fb408e2c51eceefcad89b5db37b30d0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailysignal.com%2F2023%2F09%2F29%2Felon-musk-visits-eagle-pass-livestreams-real-story-of-whats-happening-at-southern-border%2F">not let anyone in the country who is breaking the law</a>.”</p>
<p>Many were quick to highlight the absurdity of the world’s richest person, who is himself an immigrant, standing before a group of other immigrants calling for stricter policies. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1708283629665927576"}"></div></p>
<h2>Pro-immigrant but anti-asylum?</h2>
<p>Musk’s position on immigration appears convoluted. On the one hand, he says he is “<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1707525800830828619?s=20">extremely pro-immigrant</a>,” given he is an immigrant to the United States himself. This also makes sense from the perspective of his businesses, which rely on <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7z5px/twitter-employees-on-visas-cant-just-quit">highly skilled migrant workers</a>.</p>
<p>While Musk said he supports legal immigration, he said the U.S. should “not be allowing people in the country if they are breaking the law.” A day before his visit to the border, Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1707146779894951982?s=20">tweeted</a> support for a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-trump-wall-us-mexico-border-2023-9">Trump-style wall</a> to securitize the border. He implied that asylum seekers were entering without evidence to support their claims and they could “literally Google to know exactly what to say” to border officers.</p>
<p>Musk’s peddling of right wing anti-refugee rhetoric isn’t surprising, but the misinformation shared in Musk’s self-proclaimed “unfiltered” video may inadvertently bolster border militarization, increased repatriations and the criminalization of vulnerable asylum seekers. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1707565081750290910"}"></div></p>
<p>For example, during Musk’s border visit, congressman Tony Gonzales shares an anecdote about an asylum seeker he saw that had teardrop tattoos on their face. Musk calls this person a “serial murderer and proud of it” and made the leap that America has become the place people “go to escape the law.” </p>
<p>This kind of language plays into tropes that paint immigrants as dangerous and criminal. However, research has demonstrated that immigrants are not more likely to commit crimes. <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/u-s-citizens-most-likely-to-commit-crimes-than-immigrants/">Research from 2022</a> found U.S. citizens are more than two times more likely to be arrested for a violent crime than undocumented immigrants. </p>
<p>In the video, Gonzales claimed there has been zero repatriation. However, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-border-doesnt-need-elon-musks-citizen-journalism">3.6 million people who have crossed into the U.S. illegally have been repatriated</a> since Biden took office. Soon after Musk’s visit, Biden announced that the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/us-resume-direct-deportation-flights-venezuelan-migrants-rcna119107">U.S. was resuming direct repatriation flights for Venezuelans</a> who unlawfully cross the border and have no legal basis to stay. </p>
<h2>An open border for all of Earth?</h2>
<p>The most troubling and sensationalist claim that Musk makes is that the U.S. southern border is an “<a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1707565081750290910?s=20">open border for all of earth…an open border to 8 billion</a>.” Not only is this statement far from the truth, it plays into tropes that immigrants and refugees from the Global South are invading western countries. </p>
<p>It’s a dramatic misconception of the realities of global migration and displacement. The vast majority of refugees are hosted by countries in the Global South. </p>
<p>For example, displacement from <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-venezuela-refugee-crisis-us-border-policies/?fbclid=IwAR0qEfobBJ98gamFou7F0KpdQMo0XvcXivdfeccOs5NGC6-22oxyYbNnplI">Venezuela is now the largest refugee crisis</a> in the world, outpacing refugees from Ukraine and Syria. Of the <a href="https://www.r4v.info/es/refugiadosymigrantes">7.7 million displaced</a>, 85 per cent have moved to neighbouring Latin American countries. Only around <a href="https://www.r4v.info/es/refugiadosymigrantes">700,000 are in the U.S. under temporary protection status</a>, which is only nine per cent of the total displaced population. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1707146779894951982"}"></div></p>
<p>The claim that the U.S. border is open “for all of earth” is plainly wrong, and gives the U.S. credit for what has been a Latin American-led humanitarian response to the Venezuelan crisis. </p>
<p>Musk has been criticized for meddling in international affairs, most recently the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/21/23415242/elon-musk-starlink-ukraine-dod-twitter-david-sacks-russia">Ukraine war</a>. He has <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1576969255031296000?">tweeted a peace proposal</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/03/19/elon-musk-ukraine-starlink/">provided</a> then <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/07/ukraine-rips-musk-disrupting-sneak-attack-russian-navy.html">shut off Starlink’s satellite</a> network over Crimea and <a href="https://twitter.com/panoparker/status/1318157559266762752">seemingly supported</a> a U.S.-backed coup in Bolivia.</p>
<p>And we are seeing the implications for his misinformation at the border impact the lives of people seeking asylum in the U.S. being portrayed as “serial murderers” and “breaking the law.” As Musk wades into yet another political issue, it is crucial for the public to get their information from credible news sources and research, not billionaires on Twitter.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214928/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yvonne Su does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Elon Musk’s visit to the U.S.-Mexico border played into false tropes that paint asylum seekers as dangerous criminals.Yvonne Su, Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity Studies, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2106522023-08-04T12:28:16Z2023-08-04T12:28:16ZBiden’s answer to Mexican border crisis might slow crossings but is not winning support<p>President Joe Biden has been negotiating a new deal with Mexico in the hope of mediating the long-running immigration crisis on the US southern border.</p>
<p>There is no doubt that Mexico has played a role in reducing migrant numbers on the US border since changes began in May when COVID-19 restrictions, known as Title 42, had come to an end. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/biden-admin-says-new-immigration-policy-slashed-number-migrants-rcna90261">According</a> to Customs and Border Protection, border crossings from Mexico to the United States have recently fallen from 10,000 a day to approximately 3,500 a day.</p>
<p>Title 42 had been in place since March 2020 when the Trump administration <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/cbp-chief-defends-rapid-border-expulsions-unauthorized-crossing/story?id=72223995">acted</a> to reduce crossings, ostensibly to stop the possibility of COVID-19 coming into the country through its border with Mexico.</p>
<p>Under the new <a href="https://apnews.com/article/border-immigration-biden-mexico-a0b8f4730521d90fd5ea305e2f2cbc5e">arrangement</a>, the Mexican government has changed its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/05/us-mexico-border-immigration-deal">approach</a>. During the pandemic crisis, it had agreed to accept non-Mexican migrants deported from the US that would otherwise have been transported back to their country of origin.</p>
<h2>Mexico’s role</h2>
<p>Mexico is now also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/09/world/americas/border-mexico-us-migrants.html">transporting</a> migrants from central and southern America to Mexico’s southern region (away from the US border), and making it more difficult for non-Mexican migrants to get documentation that would allow them to travel to the Mexico-American border. </p>
<p>Under direction from Mexico’s federal government, migration offices in southern Mexico that issued temporary transportation visas have been closed, and there is a restriction on documentation that allows migrants and refugees to travel and stay in Mexico.</p>
<p>Critics of the Mexican government <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-04-20/mexico-president-lopez-obrador-advice-us-moral-decay">suggest</a> that the White House will refrain from questioning President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s domestic policies, which some civil liberties groups have labelled undemocratic, as a quid pro quo for the deal. </p>
<p>Earlier this year, Biden had <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/21/politics/asylum-policy-biden-administration/index.html">announced</a> his intention of implementing the asylum ineligibility rule, a policy that made undocumented migrants crossing the southern border ineligible for asylum if they had not tried to claim asylum in a country that they passed through on their way to the US.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-government-is-challenging-texass-buoys-in-the-rio-grande-heres-why-these-kinds-of-border-blockades-wind-up-complicating-immigration-enforcement-210517">Federal government is challenging Texas's buoys in the Rio Grande – here’s why these kinds of border blockades wind up complicating immigration enforcement</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But immigration advocacy groups have been critical about Biden’s policy. Alex Miller, director of the advocacy group Immigration Justice Campaign, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/immigrant-advocates-oppose-biden-policy-jim-jordan-likes-rcna72264">called</a> the changes “a stark reversal of the administration’s stated commitment to restoring access to asylum”.</p>
<p>The American Civil Liberties Union <a href="https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/biden-must-reverse-plans-to-revive-deadly-trump-era-asylum-bans">said</a> that Biden needed to “immediately change course and make good on its pledge to ensure the most vulnerable have access to refuge”.</p>
<p>Former Mexican foreign secretary and López Obrador’s political opponent Jorge Castañeda <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-04-20/mexico-president-lopez-obrador-advice-us-moral-decay">said</a> that the Mexican president had got a “very good deal from both Biden and Trump, basically for doing their dirty work on immigration”. </p>
<p>In an effort to gain public support, the Biden administration has already <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/biden-admin-says-new-immigration-policy-slashed-number-migrants-rcna90261">claimed</a> that the policy is working by publicising the reduced numbers of migrant applications.</p>
<p>But Biden’s policy is now under threat after a federal judge in San Francisco <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/judge-rules-biden-immigration-policy-calling-invalid-rcna96272?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma&taid=64c037ff1dc5750001428f55&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter">ruled</a> in July that the administration’s limits on those who can apply for asylum at the southern border was “substantially and procedurally invalid”.</p>
<p>Although the US Justice Department <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-asylum-restrictions-judge-rejects-border-crossings/">indicated</a> it would appeal, the ruling is yet another problem for Biden’s immigration policy, an area that is likely to be at the centre of the Republican attacks in next year’s presidential elections.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/25/judge-blocks-biden-administration-asylum-rule">legal decision</a> threatens to end the asylum ineligibility rule. </p>
<p>Former Democrat Representative for Texas 16th congressional district Beto O’Rourke <a href="https://twitter.com/BetoORourke/status/1683948032440639490">tweeted</a> that the ruling was “the right decision”.</p>
<p>Both immigration advocates and those calling for stricter guidelines have attacked the Biden administration’s immigration policy since the president took office.</p>
<p>In July, the Republican-led House committee on oversight and accountability <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-green-democrats-manipulate-facts-to-cover-up-biden-border-crisis%EF%BF%BC/">accused</a> Biden of creating “the worst border crisis in American history” and that there were “historically high levels of illegal border crossings”.</p>
<p>Republican committee co-chairmen James Comer and Mark E. Green added that Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, had “ignited a national security and humanitarian catastrophe at the border”.</p>
<p>Some journalists <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/12/title-42-end-republicans-migrant-politics-biden-00096666">think</a> immigration is Biden’s “no-win political mess”. The southern border has long been a problem for presidents. Former president Donald Trump <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBW8mTHDgvk">promised</a> to build a wall along the border.</p>
<p>Vice President Kamala Harris, who was tasked with finding a solution to the border crisis, has been the subject of much <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/25/kamala-harris-migrant-buses-christmas-eve-texas">Republican criticism</a>.</p>
<p>Presidential hopeful and governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, also criticised Biden before Title 42 expired. As DeSantis signed into law a bill that funded the transportation of migrants to other states, he <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/desantis-signs-immigration-bill-slams-biden-title-42-is-set-to-expire/">claimed</a> that Biden “was sitting around doing nothing of importance or nothing of note while the American people suffer”.</p>
<p>Whether the supreme court upholds the San Francisco ruling or not, the White House seems to be in a no-win position.</p>
<h2>Immigration attitudes</h2>
<p>Recent <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/06/21/inflation-health-costs-partisan-cooperation-among-the-nations-top-problems/">polls</a> show that significantly more Americans that identified as Republicans (70%) felt that immigration was a major problem than Democrats (25%). Inflation (65%), affordable healthcare (64%) and partisanship (61%) are thought by all parties as the top national problems and outweigh illegal immigration (47%).</p>
<p>The border crisis is unlikely to cost Biden the election, but it will remain a thorn in the administration’s side beyond 2024. As the administration’s efforts to deal with inflation start to bring <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/paul-krugman-bidenomics-us-economy-inflation-recession-joe-biden-president-2023-6#:%7E:text=Inflation%20has%20fallen%20to%20just,inflation%20down%2C%22%20Krugman%20said.">success</a>, and with <a href="https://americanindependent.com/economy-jobs-report-unemployment-joe-biden-bureau-labor-statistics/">record</a> job creation numbers, Biden’s team seems to be confident of getting a second term next year.</p>
<p>However, what should concern them is that despite these economic improvements, <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-approval-rating/">polls</a> show that his 41.4% approval rating is still just below that of Donald Trump (42%) at the same stage of his presidency.</p>
<p>Biden needs to ensure that the southern border crisis does not dominate the headlines and become the major issue of the next election. While America’s relationship with its southern neighbour is transforming as Mexico becomes a more willing partner, it is forcing Biden to renege on campaign promises and face attacks from both the political left and right.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210652/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dafydd Townley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>US president Joe Biden is getting flak from both Democrats and Republicans over his border deal with Mexico aimed at reducing immigration.Dafydd Townley, Teaching Fellow in International Security, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2065612023-08-01T12:26:31Z2023-08-01T12:26:31ZFrom Chinatowns to ethnoburbs and beyond, where Chinese people settle reflects changing wealth levels and political climates<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539837/original/file-20230727-25-lyreav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1998&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">San Francisco has the oldest and largest Chinatown in the U.S.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/NewChinatown/1d94fd84eccd46e7bf0deccf90b93f77">Eric Risberg/AP Photo</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The origins, demographics and settlement patterns of the <a href="https://en.unesco.org/courier/2021-4/overseas-chinese-long-history">approximately 60 million people</a> worldwide who make up the Chinese diaspora, including immigrants and their descendants, are becoming increasingly diverse. Illustrating this diversity are two mass shootings during the 2023 Lunar New Year in California’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/monterey-park-a-pioneering-asian-american-suburb-shaken-by-the-tragedy-of-a-mass-shooting-198373">Monterey Park</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/29/1152389441/half-moon-bay-shooting-motive-repair-bill">Half Moon Bay</a>, communities that include Chinese immigrants ranging from middle- to upper-middle-class residents to farmworkers.</p>
<p>We <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YX2aPagAAAAJ&hl=en">are researchers</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UijrqwIAAAAJ&hl=en">who study</a> international migration. One of us <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098984871">coined the term “ethnoburb</a>” to describe suburban communities that have mixed racial and socioeconomic groups.</p>
<p>Ethnoburbs defy the traditional assumption that Chinese immigrants arrive poor and have to settle in urban Chinatowns before earning enough money to move to the suburbs. Instead, educated and wealthy Chinese immigrants arriving in the past few decades have settled in upper middle- to upper-class neighborhoods. Meanwhile, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soy061">Chinese immigrants working low-wage jobs</a> have increasingly settled in rural areas and cities that aren’t considered gateways to the U.S. And <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt16nzfbd">Chinese restaurateurs</a> are scattered across urban and rural areas in many countries. </p>
<p>The evolution of these communities involves a two-way integration process, with newer and older generations of immigrants, as well as long-term non-Chinese residents, adjusting to one another. Shifting Chinese immigrant settlement patterns reflect the changing profile of Chinese immigrants and the effects of globalization and geopolitics.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XvBVj4qov_I?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">About half of the victims of the January 2023 Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay shootings in California were Chinese.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Changing Chinatowns</h2>
<p>Large-scale emigration out of China’s Guangdong province <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/china-development-transformed-migration">started in the 19th century</a>, propelled by poverty and oppression at home and promising opportunities abroad, such as the gold rush in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S., and railroad construction in North America.</p>
<p>Chinatowns – inner-city, compact Chinese residential and commercial quarters – represent the prototypical <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/227240">ethnic enclave</a>, a geographic area with high concentrations of a particular ethnic group. The <a href="https://www.pbs.org/kqed/chinatown/resourceguide/index.html">first Chinatown in the U.S.</a> emerged in San Francisco in 1848 as a gateway and transnational hub for Chinese immigrants.</p>
<p>When the initial gold rush and railroad construction jobs ran dry and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-forgotten-history-of-the-purging-of-chinese-from-america">anti-Chinese racism</a> became rampant, Chinatowns soon became refuges for Chinese immigrants to shield themselves from the harsh reality of legal exclusion and racist violence. A number of Chinatowns were displaced in the name of <a href="https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/ethnoburb-the-new-ethnic-community-in-urban-america/">urban development</a> or <a href="https://laist.com/news/la-history/destruction-las-original-chinatown-led-to-one-we-have-today">because of violence</a>.</p>
<p>From the 19th to mid-20th centuries, racist legislation like the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/White-Australia-Policy">White Australia Policy</a> and the Chinese Exclusion Acts <a href="https://parks.canada.ca/culture/designation/evenement-event/exclusion-chinois-chinese">in Canada</a> and <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/chinese-exclusion-act#">the U.S.</a> severely curbed Chinese immigration, causing Chinatowns to dwindle or disappear altogether.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539832/original/file-20230727-79144-2y87qu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="View of Chinese storefronts, with a large apartment building in the background and cars in the foreground" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539832/original/file-20230727-79144-2y87qu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539832/original/file-20230727-79144-2y87qu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539832/original/file-20230727-79144-2y87qu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539832/original/file-20230727-79144-2y87qu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539832/original/file-20230727-79144-2y87qu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539832/original/file-20230727-79144-2y87qu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539832/original/file-20230727-79144-2y87qu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While some Chinatowns have become tourist attractions, others, like that of Washington, D.C., have experienced gentrification and shrinking Chinese communities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wei Li</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since the repeal of those policies, the fate of Chinatowns in different locations has varied dramatically. Some, such as those in <a href="https://www.nps.gov/places/new-york-chinatown-and-little-italy-historic-district.htm">New York</a> and <a href="http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/history/">San Francisco</a>, became prime tourist attractions and gateways for new immigrants working low-wage jobs. Most have experienced gentrification and international investment from Asia. </p>
<p>This has led to shrinking Chinese communities and business districts in cities like <a href="https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/perspectives-on-history/december-2017/the-rise-and-fall-of-dcs-chinatown">Washington, D.C.</a>, while other Chinatowns, like those in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-04/chinatown-history-versus-modernity-odyssey/102356524">Melbourne</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/sydneys-chinatown-is-much-more-of-a-modern-bridge-to-asia-than-a-historic-enclave-94482">Sydney</a> in Australia, have expanded into thriving neighborhoods. Some intentionally developed Chinatowns, like the one <a href="https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/chinatown-las-vegas">Las Vegas</a> opened in 1995, are commercial plazas with mostly restaurants and shops.</p>
<h2>Emergence of ethnoburbs</h2>
<p>Another type of immigrant community has been emerging since the 1960s as a result of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvvn6b1">changing immigration policies</a>: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098984871">ethnoburbs</a>. These are suburban settlements with multiethnic residential and business areas, where a single ethnic group may not necessarily constitute a majority.</p>
<p>To attract highly skilled and well-educated immigrants, a number of countries instituted point systems that evaluate an applicant’s education, professional experience and language proficiency, among other qualifications. Meanwhile, economic growth in their countries of origin allowed wealthy immigrants to settle directly in the suburbs rather than urban Chinatowns.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098984871">shifting geographic center</a> of Chinese settlement in Los Angeles County showcases the development of an ethnoburb. The first half of the 20th century witnessed slow southward movement away from downtown, largely due to Chinese residents’ moving out of Chinatown. Then, during the second half of the century, the center moved steadily eastward as large numbers of new Chinese immigrants directly settled in the suburban San Gabriel Valley, signifying the emergence of an ethnoburb.</p>
<p>Because of the diverse local industries and demographics of immigrants around the world, each ethnoburb evolves in different ways. For example, ethnoburbs in <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvvn6b1">Silicon Valley</a> emerged with high-tech industries attracting skilled and affluent Asian Americans who are highly politically involved. And unlike the predominantly Chinese ethnoburb in San Gabriel Valley, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-super-diverse-ethnoburbs-90926">Sydney’s “super-diverse ethnoburb”</a> is characterized by multiple different ethnic groups from various countries of origin. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cNRYdW_hr5s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">San Gabriel Valley, a cluster of ethnoburbs in Los Angeles County, is known for its broad array of Chinese cuisine.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Ethnoburbs are different from Chinatowns</h2>
<p>Ethnoburbs coexist with Chinatowns in many countries, but they <a href="https://doi.org/10.4000/cybergeo.1018">differ from ethnic enclaves</a> not only in their location but also in terms of their ethnic concentration and class differences. Residents in ethnoburbs are more racially and socioeconomically diverse, suggesting greater potential for racial tensions and class conflicts than traditional ethnic enclaves. For example, the growing presence of wealthy Asians in Arcadia, California, fueled <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-arcadia-immigration-architecture-20140511-story.html">increasing housing prices and a McMansion boom</a> that concerned local residents. </p>
<p>However, unlike the self-contained communities in ethnic enclaves, residents in ethnoburbs are more likely to interact with other groups, which makes it easier for them to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvvn6b1">forge economic ties and build political alliances</a>. For instance, Asian Americans in Silicon Valley have established business councils and parent associations made up of different Asian ethnicities and exhibit higher political awareness and engagement.</p>
<p>Many ethnoburbs have supplanted Chinatowns as the commercial and cultural centers of contemporary Chinese diasporas.</p>
<p>Obviously, not all Chinese people live in Chinatowns or ethnoburbs. Many live in other locations, and they’re not always surrounded by other Chinese people. Geographers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1099-1220(199812)4:4%3C281::aid-ijpg108%3E3.0.co;2-o">coined the term “heterolocalism”</a> to describe immigrants and minorities who live in areas with less ethnic diversity but are still able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0038022920956737">retain their cultural identity</a>.</p>
<h2>Geopolitics and integration</h2>
<p>Changing political climates may also lead to shifting trends in immigration. </p>
<p>Recent decades have seen increasing <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/anti-asian-hate-crimes-increased-339-percent-nationwide-last-year-repo-rcna14282">anti-Asian hate</a> amid rising geopolitical tensions with the People’s Republic of China, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The long-term effects of these trends on Chinese diasporas are unclear. But many are already experiencing the backlash and face racial violence.</p>
<p>In the U.S., <a href="https://www.committee100.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/C100-Lee-Li-White-Paper-FINAL-FINAL-10.28.pdf">Chinese scientists</a> are facing racial profiling, Chinese business owners have had their <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/smashed-windows-racist-graffiti-vandals-target-asian-americans-amid-coronavirus-n1180556">properties vandalized</a> and many Chinese Americans have been <a href="https://stopaapihate.org/2022/07/20/year-2-report/">violently attacked</a>. States have <a href="https://www.quorum.us/spreadsheet/external/KscrjHCRzvqUdRtMcgpX/">passed or proposed laws</a> that bar or restrict citizens of China from purchasing properties. These laws resemble 20th-century <a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/86722/with-new-alien-land-laws-asian-immigrants-are-once-again-targeted-by-real-estate-bans/">U.S. Alien Land Laws</a> that prohibited Asian immigrants from owning land. Anti-Chinese violence is also happening in other places like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2021.100232">Canada</a> and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/12/covid-19-fueling-anti-asian-racism-and-xenophobia-worldwide">Europe</a>.</p>
<p>We hope that ethnoburbs will not become, like historical Chinatowns, the only refuge for Chinese immigrants to live. Learning from history’s mistakes is key to building a fair and just society for all, the Chinese diaspora included.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206561/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wei Li receives funding from US National Science Foundation, Canadian Government, Fulbright. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yining Tan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Chinatowns once served as gateways for early Chinese immigrants. But the suburbs are the center of cultural and commercial life for new immigrants and later generations.Wei Li, Professor of Asian Pacific American Studies, Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State UniversityYining Tan, Assistant Professor of Practice, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2065672023-06-30T12:37:59Z2023-06-30T12:37:59Z3 myths about immigration in America<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533017/original/file-20230620-16-augfut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1168%2C307%2C3950%2C2713&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A family of Syrian refugees arrive at their new home in Bloomfield, Mich., in 2015.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-haji-khalif-family-arrives-at-their-new-home-on-july-24-news-photo/632671648?adppopup=true">Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The U.S. is – and long has been – <a href="https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2021/09/01/america-cultural-pluralism-horace-kallen-alain-locke/ideas/essay/">a pluralistic society</a> that contains large immigrant communities. </p>
<p>Yet migration is an actively debated but poorly understood topic, and much of the conventional thinking and political rhetoric about migration <a href="https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/spring-2011/ten-myths-about-immigration">are based on myths</a>, <a href="https://www.socialstudies.org/system/files/publications/articles/se_8206348.pdf">rather than facts</a>.</p>
<p>For these reasons, migration policies and strategies for easing <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/psychology/biological-psychology/acculturation-personal-journey-across-cultures?format=PB&isbn=9781108731096">acculturation</a> – which refers to the psychological process of assimilating to a new culture – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019330">usually end up being ineffective</a>.</p>
<p>I often work with immigrant populations <a href="https://thecouplesclinic.com/our-staff/april-ilkmen/">in my job</a> as a family therapist and as an acculturation scholar. </p>
<p>Here are a few of the most common misconceptions I come across in my work.</p>
<h2>1. Immigrants don’t want to learn English</h2>
<p>The U.S. is home to more international migrants than any other country, and more than the next four countries – Germany, Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United Kingdom – combined, <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/undesa_pd_2020_international_migration_highlights.pdf">according to 2020 data</a> from the U.N. Population Division. While the U.S. population represents about 5% of the total world population, <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states">close to 20% of all global migrants</a> reside there.</p>
<p>An overwhelming number of these immigrants are learning English, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1478210315579547">despite public perception to the contrary</a>.</p>
<p>Immigrants and their children learn English today <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/DAED_a_00217">at the same rate</a> as Italians, Germans and Eastern Europeans who emigrated in the early 19th century.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2022/acs/acs-50.pdf">According to U.S. Census data</a>, immigrant adults report having better English skills <a href="https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024609320391">the longer they’ve lived in the U.S.</a> And from 2009 to 2019, the percentage who could speak English “very well” <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/05/23/u-s-undocumented-immigrants-are-more-proficient-in-english-more-educated-than-a-decade-ago/">increased from 57% to 62%</a> among first-generation immigrants. </p>
<h2>2. Immigrants are uneducated</h2>
<p>Contrary to popular belief that immigrants moving to the U.S. <a href="https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/immigration/study-destroys-myth-of-uneducated-immigrants/">have minimal education</a>, many of them are well educated. </p>
<p>Over the past five years, 48% of arriving immigrants have been classified as highly skilled – that is, <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/mpi-brain-waste-analysis-june2021-final.pdf">they have a bachelor’s degree or graduate degree</a>. By comparison, only 33% of those born in the U.S. <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2022/educational-attainment.html">hold a bachelor’s degree or higher</a>. </p>
<p>Moreover, the pursuit of higher education is valued and encouraged in immigrant communities, particularly those that arrived from collectivist societies, which are commonplace in the countries of South Asia. Immigrants from these places tend to prioritize <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2017.00056">the virtue of the learning process</a> and the joy that comes from attaining an educational milestone. </p>
<p>That doesn’t mean highly educated immigrants can easily slide into high-paying jobs. Many of them find themselves working in menial jobs that don’t require a degree, <a href="https://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2823&context=capstone">and underemployment among highly educated immigrants</a> remains a key issue in the U.S. today. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People waving U.S. flags." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533015/original/file-20230620-21-8lo1cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533015/original/file-20230620-21-8lo1cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533015/original/file-20230620-21-8lo1cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533015/original/file-20230620-21-8lo1cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533015/original/file-20230620-21-8lo1cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533015/original/file-20230620-21-8lo1cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533015/original/file-20230620-21-8lo1cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A crowd celebrates after being sworn in as U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony in 2007 in California.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/immigrants-wave-flags-after-being-sworn-in-as-u-s-citizens-news-photo/75710241?adppopup=true">David McNew/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. The best way to adapt is to embrace US culture</h2>
<p>For decades, acculturation studies have highlighted the importance of immigrants’ embracing American culture. Policymakers, therapists and educators who offered services to immigrants adhered to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.79.1.49">a narrow understanding of acculturation</a>, which encouraged immigrants to adapt to their host country by severing themselves from the culture of their homelands. </p>
<p>Then, in 1987, psychologist John Berry proposed <a href="https://doi.org/10.22329/csw.v9i1.5762">an acculturation model</a> outlining new strategies. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.07.013">According to Berry</a>, immigrants should strive to retain elements of their original cultural identity while also adopting a new cultural identity that folds in American culture and values.</p>
<p>Today, Berry’s model is the most commonly used to understand acculturation. </p>
<p>However, although the model acknowledges that acculturation strategies may evolve over time, it doesn’t take into account the emerging forms of <a href="https://www.studysmarter.us/explanations/human-geography/population-geography/transnational-migration/">transnational immigration</a>, which refers to immigrants who live in another country but also maintain strong ties to their home country. </p>
<p>Technological advances have made it far <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.04.004">easier for immigrants to maintain ties with their original culture</a>. There are also U.S. cities, neighborhoods and towns where immigrant communities <a href="https://backgroundchecks.org/cities-largest-immigrant-population.html">are the demographic majority</a> – places like Hialeah, Florida, where Cubans and Cuban Americans <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/hialeah-fl-population">make up 73% of the population</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0096144214563509">parts of the Detroit metro area</a>, which has growing numbers of Indian immigrants. </p>
<p>For immigrants living in these “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0096144214563509">immigrant islands</a>,” there’s less of an obligation to undergo a transformative process of acculturation, whether it’s by <a href="https://theconversation.com/jewish-americans-changed-their-names-but-not-at-ellis-island-96152">Americanizing foreign names</a> or not teaching children their home country’s language.</p>
<p>Still, many immigrants nonetheless feel pressured to downplay their backgrounds. While conducting interviews with members of the Turkish community in Chicago, I spoke with many people who admitted that they weren’t comfortable flaunting their Turkish culture. This didn’t surprise me. Immigrants are often exposed to new sets of prejudices and biases, and they fear not being able to access services such as medical care and education.</p>
<p>This fear reinforces the urge to assimilate into the dominant culture’s values – which, in America, <a href="https://www.up.edu/iss/advising-services/american-values.html">includes individualist principles</a> like independence – and suppress their own cultural values, such as being family-oriented. It’s essentially <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2332649214561306">a strategy of self-protection</a>.</p>
<p>In my work, I found that immigrants who engaged in what’s called “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017393">cultural innocuousness</a>” – behaving in ways that may soften their ethnic and cultural expression – had the hardest time adapting to their new home.</p>
<p>For those reasons, it is crucial for social workers, therapists, teachers and policymakers who work with immigrant families to focus on the tensions among acculturation, ethnic identity and well-being.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206567/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>April Nisan Ilkmen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The US is home to more international migrants than any other country. But even though immigration is an actively debated topic, immigrants are poorly understood.April Nisan Ilkmen, PhD Candidate in Couple and Family Therapy, Adler UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2053432023-05-11T17:41:54Z2023-05-11T17:41:54ZDespite the end of Title 42, restrictions on asylum seekers are expected to continue under Biden administration<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525473/original/file-20230510-18887-a0x73r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C143%2C3940%2C2514&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Venezuelan asylum-seeker carries his daughter before they cross the Rio Grande into Brownsville, Texas. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/venezuelan-asylum-seeker-jehan-carlo-ramirez-carries-his-news-photo/1245788787?adppopup=true">Veronica G. Cardenas/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A Trump administration immigration order, Title 42, that allowed U.S. border officials to quickly expel migrants at the U.S. southern border – <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-keeps-title-42-border-expulsions-indefinitely-grants-gop-led-petition/">with no exceptions for asylum-seekers</a> – expires May 11, 2023. But its legacy of restricting asylum petitions may continue as President Joe Biden takes steps to reduce the flow of illegal immigration to the country.</p>
<p>Officially called <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2010-title42/html/USCODE-2010-title42-chap6A.htm">Title 42 of the U.S. Code</a>, the little-known law was written in 1944 to prevent the spread of influenza and allow authorities to bar entry to foreigners deemed to be at risk of spreading the disease.</p>
<p>In March 2020, on the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, then-President <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/29/immigration-title-42-biden/">Donald Trump invoked the law</a> to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>While the Trump administration was reluctant to impose federal lockdowns or mask mandates at the start of the pandemic, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2020/08/26/fact-check-and-review-of-trump-immigration-policy/?sh=2688d3be56c0">it was aggressive</a> in its use of Title 42 to close the border to many migrants, including people fleeing from persecution and planning to apply for asylum. </p>
<p>As written, <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2010-title42/html/USCODE-2010-title42-chap6A.htm">Title 42 of the U.S. Code</a> allows for the “suspension of entries and imports from designated places to prevent spread of communicable diseases.” </p>
<p>In practice, the law enabled U.S. law enforcement officers to immediately deny entry to asylum-seekers and other migrants.</p>
<p>Trump and his advisers used this law <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/03/us/coronavirus-immigration-stephen-miller-public-health.html">to advance their goal of restricting</a> the number of new immigrants.</p>
<p>In fact, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15/politics/title-42-migrants/index.html">ruled in November 2022</a> that the Trump administration’s implementation of Title 42 was “arbitrary and capricious” and blamed the CDC for failing to come up with reasonable alternatives.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://www.american.edu/cas/faculty/ernesto.cfm">immigration researcher and expert on international borders</a>, I have followed border crossing trends and the effects of Title 42 since it went into effect. </p>
<p>By itself, the end of Title 42 will not weaken border security, as many <a href="https://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/investigative-commentary-signs-show-border-panic-is-overblown-politically-motivated/article_e34e0904-2b8a-5dcb-a558-7000d7ac3748.html">conservative politicians and commentators</a> have claimed. Nor, in my view, will it mean that the U.S. has open borders – despite the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/07/us/title-42-border-migrants.html">recent surge</a> of asylum-seekers at the U.S. southern border. </p>
<h2>More than a million migrants expelled</h2>
<p>During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/04/27/key-facts-about-title-42-the-pandemic-policy-that-has-reshaped-immigration-enforcement-at-u-s-mexico-border/#">around 51% of the people</a> encountered at the border were immediately expelled or put into removal proceedings as a result of Title 42. </p>
<p>U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters">over 1 million people</a> were denied entry under Title 42 alone in each of the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years.</p>
<p>After being sent back, many often tried to enter again and, as a result, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-number-of-encounters-at-the-southern-u-s-border-does-not-mean-what-the-gop-says-it-means-191144">inflated the counts of border encounters</a>. Others were <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Title_8_of_the_United_States_Code">expelled under Title 8</a>, which will continue to be used to deport people after taking their information. </p>
<p>For its part, the Biden administration expected the end of Title 42 and has already dispatched <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/02/politics/us-troops-border-migrant-surge/index.html">1,500 active-duty troops</a> to the U.S.-Mexico border to help shut down illegal border crossings. In addition, Biden’s <a href="https://www.state.gov/u-s-government-announces-sweeping-new-actions-to-manage-regional-migration/">new plan</a> would make any asylum claim ineligible unless migrants first applied in another country they had passed through.</p>
<h2>The number of border encounters may decline without Title 42</h2>
<p>In my view, after some months, the lifting of Title 42 will actually result in a decrease in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-number-of-encounters-at-the-southern-u-s-border-does-not-mean-what-the-gop-says-it-means-191144">official number of encounters</a> at the U.S. southern border because fewer people will be asking for asylum there and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/22/immigration-border-biden-trump/">counted multiple times</a>. </p>
<p>As a result, the bottleneck created by the pandemic border closure to asylum-seekers will eventually ease.</p>
<p>What is critical to understand is that the end of Title 42 in itself does not change the root causes of migration. </p>
<p>Political and economic conditions in Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela have forced many families to flee to the U.S., as has the widespread, <a href="https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/why-the-central-america-crisis-is-so-persistent/">unchecked organized crime</a> in certain regions of Mexico and Central America.</p>
<p>But recent measures established by the Biden administration suggest that people will face more – not fewer – difficulties in obtaining asylum in the U.S. after the end of Title 42. People now have to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbp-one-app-us-border-asylum-biden/">get an appointment</a> using the CBP One app and may also need to apply and be denied asylum at one of the safe countries they pass through on the way to the United States. </p>
<p>As partisan debate over immigration policy rages on, it is important to remember that Title 42 was originally designed to prevent the spread of a highly contagious disease – not to deny people their legal right to make a claim for asylum in the U.S.</p>
<p><em>This <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-trump-era-law-used-to-restrict-immigration-is-nearing-its-end-despite-gop-warnings-of-a-looming-crisis-at-the-southern-border-194971">article relied on reporting originally published</a> on Dec. 15, 2022.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205343/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ernesto Castañeda does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Title 42 has triggered criticisms from immigration advocates and public health experts. But the end of the controversial policy may mean fewer asylum seekers crossing the US border.Ernesto Castañeda, Associate Professor of Sociology, American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2033852023-04-27T12:31:14Z2023-04-27T12:31:14ZLatino youth struggle with sense of belonging in school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522700/original/file-20230424-24-wqebnb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C50%2C6709%2C4376&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Feelings of isolation can affect academic outcomes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teenage-girl-talks-during-support-group-meeting-royalty-free-image/1098429460?phrase=latino%20high%20school%20students&adppopup=true">SDI Productions via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Latino youth in middle and high school have a <a href="https://www.immigrantednextsophiarodriguezphd.com/our-projects/Immigrant-youth-belonging-in-community-school-and-district-partnerships-to-reduce-inequality">lower sense of belonging at school and in the community overall</a> when compared with white peers. That is a key finding from my analysis, which is currently under review and based on surveys with students in midsize districts – one urban and one suburban – on the East Coast. I also found that being a language learner is associated with lower school belonging.</p>
<p>To measure belonging, I analyzed a 40-question survey that included questions about belonging at school, in after-school programs and in the community. Students reported that the reasons for feeling a lack of belonging stem from negative experiences at school, few trusting adult-student relationships and little affirmation from school of students’ Latino identity. Latino youths, especially those from immigrant households and nonnative English speakers, report lower sense of belonging.</p>
<p>One Latina middle schooler explained: “I am from two places, El Salvador and Honduras, but I mostly use Hispanic, or I say I am from Honduras.” This teen is proud of her identity but feels it is rare to see someone like her and worries about being accepted in school because of her multicultural identity.</p>
<p>Some young people worry about racial discrimination and <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/how-fear-immigration-enforcement-affects-mental-health-latino-youth">immigration policies</a> that affect their families. One Latina youth stated: “I get worried sometimes we might get deported,” demonstrating her isolation.</p>
<p>Belonging <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.1993.9943831">generally relates to feeling accepted</a>, included, respected and supported. My research found that Latino youths with lower sense of belonging report feeling unimportant in school, have negative or unsupportive interactions with adults, and have just one or no adults to ask for help. In my research, “I don’t feel like I belong” was a common phrase from youths. Even before the pandemic, adolescents broadly were reporting feelings of isolation and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/12/health/covid-teenagers-mental-health.html">negative mental health effects</a>.</p>
<p>Latino youths in this project also reported higher belonging if they are connected to peers with similar ethnic or immigrant family identities. Additionally, Latino youths tend to have stronger relationships with adults outside of school – such as in their community or at after-school programs – than in school. This is often because of the <a href="https://youthrex.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Designing-Culturally-Responsive-Organized-After-School-Activities-2017.pdf">diversity in those out-of-school settings</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, community spaces, such as <a href="http://www.youthcirculations.com/blog/2019/1/9/a-space-to-belong-newcomer-migrant-youth-in-hartford">public libraries</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2017.1322970">after-school programs</a>, foster belonging and affirm identities and cultures. Frequently, these community spaces also connect Latino immigrant youths and their families to important resources, such as access to immigration attorneys, social workers and counselors, or scholarship information.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Latino students <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2022/10/11/latino-student-population-us-schools/10426950002/">make up nearly 30%</a> of U.S. public schools students. If school leaders are to improve academic outcomes and lessen negative <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/immigration-enforcement-mental-health-latino-students_final.pdf">mental health effects</a> for Latino youths, belonging has to be part of the process.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E2o4gPSRqMU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">“The Faces of Deportation | How an ICE Raid in Mississippi Upended a Family’s Future” by Rolling Stone.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Prior research has already demonstrated how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.1993.9943831">academic outcomes</a> are connected to belonging. Young people need to feel safe, respected and supported in order to succeed in school. </p>
<p>Relationships are critical for belonging. They must be <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/her/article-abstract/67/1/1/31679/A-Social-Capital-Framework-for-Understanding-the?redirectedFrom=fulltext">focused on helping students succeed</a> and include mutual respect with adults to affirm who they are. Otherwise, the resulting lower belonging can lead to <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/coj/status-dropout-rates">less engagement with academics</a> and lower <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-005-8950-4">graduation rates</a>. These <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-021-02662-2">effects of low belonging</a> limit youths’ future opportunities, such as by lowering their chances of going to college.</p>
<p>With a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/02/03/u-s-hispanic-population-continued-its-geographic-spread-in-the-2010s/">steadily rising</a> Latino population across the U.S., many Latino students are from immigrant backgrounds and face language and economic barriers. It’s critical for educators to <a href="https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/23/02/harvard-edcast-what-do-immigrant-students-need-it-isnt-just-ell">cultivate supportive relationships</a> and affirm these students’ ethnic and immigrant identities. </p>
<h2>What other research is being done and what’s next?</h2>
<p>New research explores how to <a href="https://theimagineproject.org/trauma-informed-schools/">improve school environments</a> and make them <a href="https://ginwright.medium.com/the-future-of-healing-shifting-from-trauma-informed-care-to-healing-centered-engagement-634f557ce69c">more responsive</a> to Latino youths’ needs. As such, schools should honor identities and cultures. </p>
<p>This can happen through improving <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/016146812012201203">educator awareness</a> and training about <a href="https://immigrationinitiative.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/EdBrief-Climate-1.2-copy.pdf">how immigration affects students’ lives and families</a>, reducing <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/12/15/u-s-public-school-students-often-go-to-schools-where-at-least-half-of-their-peers-are-the-same-race-or-ethnicity/">segregation</a> in schools and <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429331435-21/critical-literacy-race-yolanda-sealey-ruiz">bias toward nonwhite students</a>, and <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/1221014362">valuing students’ cultures</a>.</p>
<p>Schools can also partner with community-based organizations, since research shows these organizations are where young people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-012-9558-y">have a higher sense of belonging</a> and more positive adult-student relationships.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203385/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophia Rodriguez receives funding from William T. Grant Foundation. </span></em></p>Latino youths often feel more at home in after-school programs and in the community than they do in school. A sociologist explores why.Sophia Rodriguez, Assistant Professor of Urban Education and Policy, University of MarylandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2028962023-04-01T11:14:25Z2023-04-01T11:14:25ZMigrant deaths in Mexico put spotlight on US policy that shifted immigration enforcement south<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518815/original/file-20230331-135-vcnrl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C40%2C6659%2C4426&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mourners gather outside a detention center in Ciudad Juarez.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/march-2023-mexico-ciudad-juarez-people-mourn-and-demand-news-photo/1249814159?adppopup=true">David Peinado/picture alliance via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The fire-related <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mexico-president-assigns-blame-migrant-tragedy-98273746">deaths of at least 39 migrants</a> in a detention facility in Ciudad Juarez, just across the U.S. border with Mexico, will likely be found to have had several contributing factors.</p>
<p>There was the immediate cause of the blaze, the mattresses apparently <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11912087/Fire-killed-39-people-migrant-center-caused-protesters-lighting-mattresses.html">set alight by desperate men</a> in the center to protest their imminent deportation. And then there is the apparent role of guards, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/29/video-shows-guards-walking-away-during-fire-that-killed-38-migrants-00089415">seen on video walking away</a> from the blaze.</p>
<p>But as an <a href="https://law.ucdavis.edu/people/raquel-aldana">expert on immigration policy</a>, I believe there is another part of the tragedy that can’t be overlooked: the decadeslong immigration enforcement policies of the U.S. and Mexican governments that have seen the number of <a href="https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/americas/mexico">people kept in such facilities skyrocket</a>. </p>
<p>In the aftermath of the fire, Felipe González Morales, the United Nations special rapporteur for human rights of migrants, <a href="https://twitter.com/UNSR_Migration/status/1640721437282426880">commented on Twitter</a> that the “extensive use of immigration detention leads to tragedies like this one.”</p>
<p>And the United States is a big part of that “extensive use” on both sides of the border.</p>
<h2>Lengthy stays and fear of deportation</h2>
<p>Today Mexico maintains a very large detention system. It <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/deadly-fire-spurs-scrutiny-of-mexican-immigration-detention-centers-382ebcae">comprises several dozen short- and long-term detention centers</a>, housing <a href="https://sjmmexico.org/estadistica-migratoria/">more than 300,000 people</a> in 2021.</p>
<p>By comparison, the U.S. immigration detention system is the world’s largest. It <a href="https://immigrationforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Immigration-Detention-Factsheet_FINAL.pdf">maintains 131 facilities</a> comprised of government-owned Service Processing Centers, privately run Contract Detention Facilities, and a variety of other detention facilities, including prisons.</p>
<p>Mexico <a href="https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/immigration-detention-in-mexico-between-the-united-states-and-central-america">has laws in place that are supposed to guarantee</a> that migrants in detention only endure brief stays and are afforded due process, such as access to lawyers and interpreters. The law also states that they should have adequate conditions, including access to education and health care.</p>
<p>But in reality, what migrants often face at these detention centers is <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/overcrowding-abuse-seen-mexico-migrant-detention-center-n1018231">poor sanitary conditions, overcrowding</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/30/1166947456/ciudad-juarez-detention-fire-conditions-migrants-treatment">lengthy stays and despair</a> over the near certainty of deportation. </p>
<p>The fire in Ciudad Juárez was started after the migrants – men from Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela, El Salvador, Colombia and Ecuador – learned that they were to be <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-fire-migrant-facility-dead-eea0b6efafd77f9868ef27ed1cf572b3">sent back to those nations</a>, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-03-28/mexico-border-dozens-dead-migrant-center-fire">according to</a> Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Deportation would have ended their hopes of asylum in the U.S.</p>
<h2>US immigration enforcement shifts south</h2>
<p>Why Mexico was doing the deporting, not the U.S., has a great deal to do with how the two nations have collaborated to control illegal migration headed to the U.S., especially since the turn of the century. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001, U.S. authorities increasingly viewed <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/two-decades-after-sept-11-immigration-national-security">immigration as a security issue</a> – a pivot that affected not only U.S. domestic legislation on immigration but its bilateral relations with Mexico. </p>
<p>In 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderón joined efforts with President George W. Bush <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10578/19">on the Merida Initiative</a> to wage a war on drugs in Mexico, build a “21st Century U.S.-Mexican border” and shift immigration enforcement into Mexican territory.</p>
<p>These efforts, supported by <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/15/us-has-spent-billions-trying-fix-mexicos-drug-war-its-not-working/">massive U.S. funding</a>, continue today.</p>
<p>With this money, Mexico established <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10578/19">naval bases on its rivers, security cordons and drone surveillance</a>. It also set up mobile highway checkpoints and biometric screening at migrant detention centers, all with the goal of detecting, detaining and deporting largely <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10578/19">Central American migrants attempting to reach the United States</a>.</p>
<p>The intent was to shift U.S. immigration enforcement south of the border. In that respect, the policy has been successful. Figures from the Guatemalan Institute of Migration show that of the 171,882 U.S.-bound migrants <a href="https://www.bloomberglinea.com/english/number-of-central-american-migrants-deported-from-us-rose-by-over-300-in-2022/">deported to the Northern Triangle region of Central America – El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala –</a> in 2022, Mexico sent back 92,718, compared to the U.S.’s 78,433.</p>
<h2>Prevention through deterrence is not working</h2>
<p>Mexico’s detentions and deportations have done little to stop the flow of migrants entering the country en route to the U.S.</p>
<p>Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin estimate that from 2018 to 2021, an <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11151">annual average of 377,000 migrants</a> entered Mexico from the Northern Triangle region. The vast majority were headed to the U.S. to escape violence, drought, natural disasters, corruption and extreme poverty.</p>
<p>Migrants are passing through Mexico in the thousands from multiple other countries as well, fleeing conditions in countries such as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/15/politics/migrants-yuma-arizona-mexico-border/index.html">Haiti and Venezuela</a>, as <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/record-number-of-african-migrants-coming-to-mexican-border">well as African nations</a>. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, recent years have seen a toughening of border enforcement policies targeting asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. This started under the Trump administration but has been continued by President Joe Biden <a href="https://joebiden.com/immigration/">despite the Democrat’s campaign promises</a> of a more “humane” immigration system. </p>
<p>Since 2019, Washington has adopted a <a href="https://theconversation.com/bidens-border-crackdown-explained-a-refugee-law-expert-looks-at-the-legality-and-impact-of-new-asylum-rule-200501">series of policies</a> that have either forced migrants presenting themselves at the U.S. southern border to apply for asylum while remaining in Mexico or expelled them back to their countries of origin.</p>
<p>This has created a bottleneck of hundreds of thousands of migrants at Mexico’s border towns and swelled the numbers entering detention facilities in Mexico.</p>
<p>By 2021, the number of immigration detainees in such centers had reached 307,679, <a href="https://sjmmexico.org/estadistica-migratoria/">nearly double what it had been</a> in 2019.</p>
<p>As a result, many centers, including the one implicated in the fire, have <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/overcrowding-and-abuse-witnessed-at-mexico-migrant-detention-center">suffered from overcrowding and deterioration conditions</a>. <a href="https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/immigration-detention-in-mexico-between-the-united-states-and-central-america">A 2021 report by the immigration research center Global Detention Project</a> extensively documented how the conditions and practices of Mexico’s immigration centers had led to widespread protest by detained migrants. Rioting and protests have become more common, with incidents taking place at facilities in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-fire-migrant-facility-dead-eea0b6efafd77f9868ef27ed1cf572b3">Tijuana and the southern city of Tapachula</a> in recent months.</p>
<h2>No end in sight</h2>
<p>The tragedy in Ciudad Juárez is unlikely to affect the steady flow of migrants entering Mexico in the hope of making it north of the border. For many, the options to take a different path to safety in the U.S. are simply not there. </p>
<p>Only a few can apply for refugee status in the U.S. from abroad, and the waits are long. Biden’s “<a href="https://www.uscis.gov/forms/explore-my-options/humanitarian-parole">humanitarian parole</a>” program – which allows entry to the U.S. for up to 30,000 people a month – is only an option for those living in a handful of nations. It is also being challenged in court. And for the lucky few who manage to file for U.S. asylum, denial rates remain high – <a href="https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/667/">63% in 2021</a> – while immigration court backlogs mean that fewer cases are being decided. <a href="https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/667/">Only 8,349 asylum seekers</a> were actually granted asylum by U.S. immigration judges in 2021.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/bidens-border-crackdown-explained-a-refugee-law-expert-looks-at-the-legality-and-impact-of-new-asylum-rule-200501">incoming “transit ban</a>” will mean anyone seeking asylum at the U.S. southern border from May 11, 2023 without having first applied for asylum en route, will be rapidly deported, many to Mexico.</p>
<p>The likelihood is the policy will only worsen the migrant processing bottleneck in Mexico, and add pressure on the country’s already volatile detention facility system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202896/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raquel Aldana does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>‘Extensive use’ of detention led to tragic fire, according to the UN special rapporteur for migrant rights. US-Mexico policy has fueled the growth.Raquel Aldana, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Diversity and Professor of Law, University of California, DavisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2005012023-02-23T20:13:17Z2023-02-23T20:13:17ZBiden’s border crackdown explained – a refugee law expert looks at the legality and impact of new asylum rule<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512026/original/file-20230223-26-ranwy5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C134%2C6000%2C3853&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Seeking shelter and asylum on the US-Mexico border.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/USAsylumPayingForASponsor/3a0ca617af9d4b468b65c0db1880250e/photo?Query=US%20mexico%20border&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=12461&currentItemNo=8">AP Photo/Gregory Bull)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Anticipating a potential surge of migrants at the southern border, the Biden administration on Feb. 21, 2023, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/us/biden-asylum-rules.html">announced a crackdown</a> on those seeking asylum after unlawfully entering the U.S.</em></p>
<p><em>The proposed rule change – which would see the rapid deportation of anyone who had not first applied for asylum en route to the U.S. – has been <a href="https://www.aila.org/advo-media/press-releases/2023/aila-condemns-biden-administrations-push">condemned by immigration rights groups</a>, which claim it runs counter to the “humane immigration system” that Joe Biden <a href="https://joebiden.com/immigration/#">promised while campaigning</a> for the White House.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation asked Karen Musalo, <a href="https://cgrs.uchastings.edu/about/bio/karen-musalo#:%7E:text=Professor%20Karen%20Musalo%2C%20Bank%20of,at%20UC%20Law%20San%20Francisco.">an expert on refugee law</a> at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, to explain what the new rule entails, what its impact will be and why it is so controversial.</em></p>
<h2>What is the new policy?</h2>
<p>The Biden administration’s <a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-03718.pdf">new rule</a> – which is set to come into force on May 11 – will bar from asylum all non-Mexican migrants who arrive at the southern U.S. border without having first sought and been denied asylum in at least one of the countries they passed through on their journey.</p>
<p>The only migrants exempted from this rule are those who use a U.S. government app, <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/about/mobile-apps-directory/cbpone">CBP One</a>, to make an appointment to apply for asylum at an official port of entry. All others will be subject to a presumption of ineligibility unless they can demonstrate “exceptionally compelling circumstances,” such as a medical emergency – which they will have to prove during a rapid <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/primer-expedited-removal">screening process</a> in a border holding cell.</p>
<p>The policy – which immigrant rights <a href="https://justiceactioncenter.org/jac-condemns-bidens-plans-to-revive-trump-era-asylum-ban/">advocates</a>, <a href="https://www.menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/press/menendez-booker-lujan-padilla-joint-statement-on-biden-administrations-proposed-asylum-transit-ban-rule">congressional</a> <a href="https://www.menendez.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_president_biden_on_the_administrations_border_policies.pdf">leaders</a> and <a href="https://www.interfaithimmigration.org/2023/02/22/as-biden-moves-forward-with-asylum-ban-faith-groups-and-advocates-gathered-to-demand-restored-access-to-asylum/">faith groups</a> are calling an “asylum ban” or “transit ban” – is almost identical to one implemented by the Trump administration in 2019. The Trump-era rule was later <a href="https://www.aclu.org/cases/east-bay-v-barr">struck down</a> by the courts as unlawful.</p>
<h2>Why is the new rule being proposed now?</h2>
<p>The Biden administration is concerned that the expiration of a pandemic-era rule will lead to <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/03/17/biden-border-mexico-migrants-title-42">greater numbers of immigrants</a> at the southern border.</p>
<p>In March 2020, the Trump administration totally closed the border to asylum seekers in a <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-is-title-42-and-what-does-it-mean-for-immigration-at-the-southern-border">policy referred to as Title 42</a>. It justified the closure as necessary to protect public health during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, these health concerns were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2200274">just a pretext</a>; it has been <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/top-cdc-scientist-said-covid-era-health-policy-used-to-expel-migrants-unfairly-stigmatized-them/">well documented</a> that high-level officials in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cdc-official-told-congress-migrant-expulsion-policy-not-needed-to-contain-covid/">were opposed</a> to the policy and acceded only under <a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-pandemics-public-health-new-york-health-4ef0c6c5263815a26f8aa17f6ea490ae">intense White House pressure</a>.</p>
<p>Turning away all asylum seekers in this way was totally unprecedented, and <a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/70192/the-trump-administrations-indefensible-legal-defense-of-its-asylum-ban/">inconsistent with</a> U.S. domestic and international legal obligations.</p>
<p>Biden <a href="https://joebiden.com/immigration/">campaigned on promises</a> to restore a humane asylum system. But on assuming the presidency <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/165439/biden-title-42-trump-migrant-expulsion-mexico">he continued</a> Title 42 and even <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/title-42-block-nicaraguans-cubans-haitians-rcna64418">expanded it</a> to include individuals from additional countries.</p>
<p>Immigration rights advocates <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-united-states-covid-government-and-politics-32251064466f9ed6b51e55c1bbd18680">brought successful legal challenges</a> to terminate the policy, while attorneys general of Republican-led states <a href="https://litigationtracker.justiceactioncenter.org/cases/arizona-v-cdc-az-title-42-termination-district-court">sued to keep it in place</a>. Finally, in January 2023, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/30/us/politics/biden-covid-public-health-emergency.html">announced</a> that on May 11 it would end the coronavirus health emergency, which had provided the legal authority for the border closure.</p>
<p>This means Title 42 also comes to an end on May 11. Unwilling to restore access to asylum as had existed for 40 years before former President Donald Trump’s border closure, the Biden administration proposed the new rule.</p>
<h2>Is the policy legal?</h2>
<p>In 2019, the Trump administration proposed a rule very similar to that put forth by Biden, prohibiting asylum for migrants who did not first apply in countries of transit. The <a href="https://casetext.com/case/covenant-v-trump-2">courts struck</a> <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6981578/East-Bay-2020-07-06.pdf">down the policy</a> for violating the 1980 Refugee Act, which guarantees the right of all migrants who reach the United States to apply for asylum.</p>
<p>A bipartisan Congress passed the Refugee Act to bring the U.S. into compliance with its international obligations under the U.N.’s <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/1951-refugee-convention.html">1951 Refugee Convention</a> and its 1967 Protocol, which prohibit returning refugees to any country where their lives or freedom would be threatened.</p>
<p>In striking down the Trump-era rule, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6981578/East-Bay-2020-07-06.pdf">pointed out</a> that the Refugee Act is very specific about the circumstances under which the government can deny asylum for failure to apply in a transit country. Under the act’s “safe third country” provision, that can happen only if the transit country is safe and has both a robust asylum system and a formal treaty with the United States agreeing to safe third-country status. The court found the Trump administration lacked all three conditions for imposing such a ban.</p>
<p>The Biden rule is somewhat different from Trump’s. It does not apply to individuals who schedule an asylum appointment at ports of entry through the CBP One app. </p>
<p>But this does not make the policy lawful. The Refugee Act expressly permits asylum seekers to access protection anywhere along the border – not just at ports of entry. And it does not require appointments to be made in advance.</p>
<p>In addition, CBP One has been plagued with <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-tech/u-s-border-protection-app-causes-tech-headaches-for-asylum-seekers/">significant technical</a> problems, preventing many from even making appointments, and has raised serious equity and <a href="https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-markey-calls-on-dhs-to-ditch-mobile-app-riddled-with-glitches-privacy-problems-for-asylum-seekers">privacy concerns</a>.</p>
<p>And more importantly, there is no getting around the fact that most countries of transit neither are safe for migrants nor have functioning asylum systems. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A girl holds her stuffed animal high above the water as migrants wade across a river." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512079/original/file-20230223-16-gzvo89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512079/original/file-20230223-16-gzvo89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512079/original/file-20230223-16-gzvo89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512079/original/file-20230223-16-gzvo89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512079/original/file-20230223-16-gzvo89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512079/original/file-20230223-16-gzvo89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512079/original/file-20230223-16-gzvo89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Migrants wade across the Rio Grande from Texas to Mexico to avoid deportation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ExodustoAmerica-AsylumBan/389eb605e83b414fb1a7ba7d554742b2/photo?Query=US%20deporting%20asylum&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=244&currentItemNo=2">AP Photo/Felix Marquez</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. southern border pass through Mexico, which is <a href="https://humanrightsfirst.org/library/human-rights-stain-public-health-farce/">notoriously</a> <a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/mexico/">dangerous</a> for migrants, and countries such as <a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/nicaragua/">Nicaragua</a>, <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47083">El Salvador</a>, <a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/guatemala/">Guatemala</a> and <a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/honduras/">Honduras</a>, which are similarly unsafe and do not have <a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/84977/bidens-embrace-of-trumps-transit-ban-violates-us-legal-and-moral-refugee-obligations/">anything approaching functioning asylum systems</a>.</p>
<p>Costa Rica, the one transit country in the region with an <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/country/costa-rica/freedom-world/2022">admirable human rights record</a> and an established asylum system, is currently receiving 10 times the number of asylum seekers as the United States on a per capita basis, and its system is <a href="https://reporting.unhcr.org/costarica#:%7E:text=Costa%20Rica%20has%20ranked%20among,from%20January%20to%20mid%2D2022">completely overwhelmed</a>. To expect Costa Rica to do more, and take in the refugees the U.S. turns away, is not reasonable or fair.</p>
<h2>What will be the policy’s impact?</h2>
<p>This rule will deny thousands of migrants fleeing persecution their right to seek asylum at the United States’ southern border. They will be returned to Mexico, where <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/06/mexico-asylum-seekers-face-abuses-southern-border">human rights organizations have documented</a> high levels of violence and exploitation of migrants, or deported to their home countries.</p>
<p>Beyond the individual human impact, the implementation of this rule will send the wrong signal to other countries that have – like the United States – ratified international refugee treaties and passed laws committing to protect those fleeing persecution.</p>
<p>The message is that flouting legal obligations is acceptable, as is the outsourcing of refugee protection to smaller countries with far less resources. The exodus of refugees from Ukraine and <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/03/26/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-united-efforts-of-the-free-world-to-support-the-people-of-ukraine/">U.S. efforts to encourage European countries</a> to accept those fleeing the conflict underscore the importance of encouraging nations to take in refugees. Leading by bad example will only undermine that principle.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200501/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Musalo receives funding from National Science Foundation in the past.
I am a full-time law professor and director of the law school's Center for Gender & Refugee Studies.</span></em></p>With the expiration of a pandemic-era restriction, the Biden administration is set to impose a new rule to curtail immigration at the US-Mexico border.Karen Musalo, Professor of International Law, University of California College of the Law, San FranciscoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1949712022-12-15T18:55:30Z2022-12-15T18:55:30ZA Trump-era law used to restrict immigration is nearing its end despite GOP warnings of a looming crisis at the Southern border<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500788/original/file-20221213-22736-oz0t5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2137%2C77%2C5211%2C4825&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hundreds of asylum-seekers gather on the banks of the Rio Grande to enter the U.S. on Dec. 12, 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/hundreds-of-migrants-who-left-shelters-in-juarez-yesterday-news-photo/1245569901?phrase=mexico%20immigration&adppopup=true">Jose Zamora/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A key component of the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies is currently set to expire on Dec. 21, 2022.</p>
<p>Officially called <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2010-title42/html/USCODE-2010-title42-chap6A.htm">Title 42 of the U.S. Code</a>, the little-known law was established initially in 1944 to prevent the spread of influenza and allow authorities to bar entry to foreigners deemed to be at risk of spreading the disease. </p>
<p>In March 2020, on the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, then-President <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/29/immigration-title-42-biden/">Donald Trump invoked the law</a> to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>But Trump and his advisers had another <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/03/us/coronavirus-immigration-stephen-miller-public-health.html">goal</a> as well – closing the U.S.-Mexico border and restricting the number of new immigrants.</p>
<p>Indeed, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15/politics/title-42-migrants/index.html">ruled in November 2022</a> that the Trump administration’s implementation of Title 42 was “arbitrary and capricious,” blamed the CDC for failing to come up with reasonable alternatives and reluctantly extended the November expiration date to Dec. 21 to allow the Biden administration to prepare for the increase in cases filed by asylum-seekers.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://www.american.edu/cas/faculty/ernesto.cfm">immigration researcher and expert on international borders</a>, I have followed border crossing trends and the effects of Title 42. </p>
<p>In my view, the end of Title 42 will not weaken border security. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/desantis-abbott-using-open-border-myth-to-justify-moving-migrants-rcna48844">Nor will it mean that the U.S. has “open borders</a>” or that we will have a crisis in border states, as many conservative politicians and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/rise-migrants-border-title-42s-future-remains-unclear/story?id=95156907">commentators</a> claim. </p>
<h2>More than a million migrants expelled</h2>
<p>While the Trump administration was reluctant to impose federal lockdowns or mask mandates at the start of the pandemic, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2020/08/26/fact-check-and-review-of-trump-immigration-policy/?sh=2688d3be56c0">it was aggressive</a> in its use of Title 42 to close the border to people fleeing from persecution who have the legal right to make their asylum claims. </p>
<p>As written, <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2010-title42/html/USCODE-2010-title42-chap6A.htm">Title 42 of the U.S. Code</a> allows for the “suspension of entries and imports from designated places to prevent spread of communicable diseases.” </p>
<p>In practice, the law enabled U.S. law enforcement officers to immediately deny entry to asylum-seekers and other migrants.</p>
<p>During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/04/27/key-facts-about-title-42-the-pandemic-policy-that-has-reshaped-immigration-enforcement-at-u-s-mexico-border/#">around 51% of the people</a> encountered at the border were immediately expelled or put into deportation proceedings as a result of Title 42. </p>
<p>U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that over <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters">1 million people</a> were denied entry under Title 42 alone in each of the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years.</p>
<p>In October 2022 alone there were more than <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters">204,000 encounters</a> along the U.S. southern border and over 78,400 expulsions under Title 42, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.</p>
<p>After being sent back, asylum-seekers and migrants often try to enter more than once and are counted separately each time by the authorities. This <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-number-of-encounters-at-the-southern-u-s-border-does-not-mean-what-the-gop-says-it-means-191144">inflates the counts</a> of encounters at the border significantly.</p>
<h2>The number of border encounters may decline without Title 42</h2>
<p>In the short term, I would expect to see that the end of Title 42 will mean an increase in the number of asylum applications being processed, and the federal government has said it is prepared for a surge. </p>
<p>In fact, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mayorkas-maintains-dhs-plan-title-42-end-despite-fears-new-migrant-wave-southern-border">Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas</a> has said repeatedly that he has a six-point plan in place to cope with the expected immediate surge in numbers when Title 42 is lifted.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Thousands of people are lined up near a concrete barrier." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500798/original/file-20221213-21230-fa7efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500798/original/file-20221213-21230-fa7efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500798/original/file-20221213-21230-fa7efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500798/original/file-20221213-21230-fa7efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500798/original/file-20221213-21230-fa7efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500798/original/file-20221213-21230-fa7efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500798/original/file-20221213-21230-fa7efg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Migrants traveling in a caravan of more than 1,000 people wait in 2022 at the U.S.-Mexico border to file for political asylum in the U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/migrants-travelling-in-a-caravan-of-more-than-a-thousand-news-photo/1245562490?phrase=mexico%20immigration&adppopup=true">Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In my view, after some months, the lifting of Title 42 will actually result in a decrease in the official number of border “<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-number-of-encounters-at-the-southern-u-s-border-does-not-mean-what-the-gop-says-it-means-191144">encounters</a>,” because fewer people will be <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/22/immigration-border-biden-trump/">counted multiple times</a> and the traffic jam created by the border closure to asylum-seekers will eventually ease.</p>
<p>Both Republicans and a few Democrats want to keep Title 42 in place, at least temporarily, to stem the flow of migrants across the U.S. border.</p>
<p>For example, Sens. John Cornyn, Republican from Texas, and Joe Manchin, Democrat from West Virginia, and Texas Reps. Tony Gonzales, a Republican, and Henry Cuéllar, a Democrat – among others – have appealed to President Joe Biden <a href="https://thehill.com/latino/3773715-bipartisan-lawmakers-call-on-biden-to-extend-title-42/">to extend Title 42</a>.</p>
<p>What these lawmakers do not say is that Title 42 was originally designed to prevent the spread of a highly contagious disease – not to deny people their legal right to make a claim for asylum in the U.S.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194971/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ernesto Castañeda does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Title 42 has triggered criticisms from immigration advocates and public health experts. But some still want to keep it in place and delay accepting asylum-seekers.Ernesto Castañeda, Associate Professor of Sociology, American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1925482022-12-12T13:36:16Z2022-12-12T13:36:16ZDo accents disappear?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499828/original/file-20221208-14190-uu5no9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C352%2C6079%2C2821&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Speech patterns.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/diverse-cultures-international-communication-royalty-free-image/1390317952?phrase=language&adppopup=true">Bobboz via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In Boston, there are <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/boston-accent-endangered-growing-population-language-expert-marjorie-feinstein-whittaker-david-wade/">reports of people pronouncing the letter “r</a>.” Down in Tennessee, people are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMggeVfS6j8">noticing a lack of a Southern drawl</a>. And Texans have <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/are-texans-losing-their-distinctive-twang/">long worried about losing their distinctive twang</a>.</p>
<p>Indeed, around the United States, communities are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/03/health/regional-american-accents-wellness/index.html#:%7E:text=What%20I%20came%20to%20find,at%20a%20very%20slow%20pace.&text=The%20significance%20of%20evolving%20accents,used%20to%20in%20the%20past.">voicing a common anxiety</a>: Are Americans losing their accents?</p>
<p>The fear of accent loss often emerges within communities that face demographic and technological changes. But on an individual level “losing one’s accent” is also part of a profit-driven industry, with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0004">accent reduction services</a> promising professional and personal benefits to clients who change their speech by ironing out any regionalisms or foreign pronunciations.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rLwbzGyC6t4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Boston has one of the most famous – and often-parodied – American accents.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But is it really possible to lose one’s accent? <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=FKWfqK0AAAAJ&hl=en">Linguistic researchers</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7wvy13gAAAAJ&hl=en">like us</a> suggest the answer is complicated — no one becomes truly “accentless,” but accents can and do change over time.</p>
<p>To us, what’s more interesting is why so many people believe they can lose their accent – and why there are such differing opinions about why this may be a good or bad thing.</p>
<h2>Is there a ‘standard’ accent?</h2>
<p>It’s best to think of an accent as a distinct, systematic, rule-governed way of speaking, including sound features such as intonation, stress and pronunciation.</p>
<p>Accent is not a synonym for dialect, but it’s related. Dialect is an umbrella term for the way a community pronounces words (phonology), creates words (morphology), and orders words (syntax).</p>
<p>Accent is the phonological part of a dialect. For example, when it comes to the Boston dialect, a key feature of its accent is <a href="https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=pwpl">r-deletion, or r-dropping</a>. This occurs most frequently after certain vowels, so that a phrase like “far apart” could be pronounced like “fah apaht,” with the “r” sound vocalizing, or turning into a vowel. This results in a longer vowel pronunciation in each word.</p>
<p>Many people believe that there is a single standard way of speaking in each country, and that this perceived standard is inherently the best form of speech. However, linguists often point out that the concept of a standard accent is better understood as <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/mono/10.4324/9780203348802-5/standard-language-myth-rosina-lippi-green">an idealization rather than a reality</a>. In other words, no one speaks “standard English”; rather, it is an imagined way of using language that exists only in grammar and style books.</p>
<p>One reason linguists agree there is no one true standard is that, through the years, there have been multiple supposed standards, such as <a href="https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/network-standard">Received Pronunciation in the U.K. and Network Standard in the U.S.</a> – think of a newsreader’s cadence in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amgzdqbdsHQ">1950s BBC newsreel</a>, or Kent Brockman’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4jWAwUb63c">on “The Simpsons</a>.”</p>
<p>The idea of a standard changes over time and place. There has never been a single standard that’s been fully agreed upon – and broadcast outlets across the spectrum have never consistently held to those standards anyway.</p>
<p>Even so, this idea of a standard accent is powerful. An episode of NPR’s podcast “Code Switch” tells the story of <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/636442508">Deion Broxton</a>, who in recent years applied for jobs as a broadcasting reporter but was repeatedly turned down because of his Baltimore accent.</p>
<p>Many other workplace and educational environments similarly perpetuate the idea that nonstandard accents are less appropriate, or even inappropriate, in certain professional spaces. Scholars have found that Southern U.S. accent features are more accepted in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023121999161">government, law and service-oriented workplaces than in the technology sector</a>. The acceptability of nonstandard accents may correlate with differences in class and culture, with newer or higher-prestige industries expecting more standard speech in the workplace.</p>
<h2>What is accent leveling?</h2>
<p>The pressure to sound standard is one force that can lead to what linguists describe as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/flin.1998.32.1-2.35">dialect leveling</a>” or “accent leveling.” This occurs when there is a loss of diverse features among regional language varieties. For example, if a U.S. Southerner feels social or economic pressure to shift from pronouncing the word “right” with one vowel – sounding like “raht” – to make it sound like “ra-eeyt” with a diphthong (two vowel sounds), they may be diminishing their use of <a href="https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/united-states-of-accents-southern-american-english">a common marker for Southern speech</a>. This is technically not accent loss, but rather accent change. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UcxByX6rh24?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A guide to U.S. accents.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But accent leveling can also be motivated by language contact, when people with multiple dialects come into regular interaction because of migration and other demographic mobility. Areas that have in recent decades experienced high levels of immigration have often pointed to the mixing of different languages and accents as driving the loss of traditional, distinctive speech patterns.</p>
<p>Although modern conveniences such as cars, highway systems and the internet make moving and interacting across distances easier than ever before, accent leveling due to human geography is not new. As the U.S. South became more industrial in the late 19th century, and people moved into bigger communities, <a href="https://benjamins.com/catalog/veaw.g18.24bai">an accent leveling occurred</a>, resulting in some of the features we now say are distinctly Southern. We see this in, for example, the <a href="https://www.acelinguist.com/2020/01/the-pin-pen-merger.html">pin/pen merger</a>. Before 1875, vowels before nasal sounds like “m” and “n” in words such as “pin” and “pen” were pronounced differently. But some Southern speakers in the late 19th century began to pronounce “pen” and “pin” identically, with this merger generally spreading throughout Southern American English in the first half of the 20th century.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://benjamins.com/catalog/veaw.g18.24bai">similar trajectory occurred</a> with other Southern accent features, such as the shifting of the diphthong in “right” to a single vowel sound closer to “raht” and <a href="https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1815&context=pwpl">the spread of Southern drawl</a> – with lengthening of vowels, in which words such as “that” are pronounced more like “thaa-uht.”</p>
<p>As long as humans continue moving and time keeps passing, accent change will continue happening, too.</p>
<h2>Why people fear accent loss</h2>
<p>Many people fear accent loss because <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1360780418816335">language is intimately tied to identity</a>. But when considering the connection between language and identity, it is worth distinguishing genuine concerns about dialect loss from more irrational fears about language change. </p>
<p>In a broader sense, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119147282.ch3">the spread of American English on a global scale</a>, and its economic and social effects, can lead to the loss of local identities, traditions and languages. There are similar concerns about loss of regional accents in the U.S.</p>
<p>Linguists argue that <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/417058">dialect death should be taken seriously</a>. It results in the loss of diverse cultures and intellectual traditions. Because language is so important to identity, some communities around the world have made deliberate efforts to <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/ijsl.2005.2005.175-176.193/html">revitalize dialects</a> that have been dying, such as the rural Valdres dialect of Norwegian. This variety experienced a resurgence thanks to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1395.2012.01116.x">a dialect popularity contest</a> held by a radio network in Norway.</p>
<p>Similarly, in the U.S. there have been efforts to revitalize particular dialects of Indigenous languages, such as the <a href="https://shareok.org/handle/11244/44895">Skiri and South Band dialects of the Pawnee language in Oklahoma</a>, and to embrace varieties such as <a href="https://www.routledge.com/African-American-English-Structure-History-and-Use/Mufwene-Rickford-Bailey-Baugh/p/book/9780367760687">African American English</a>.</p>
<p>The successes of language revitalization and maintenance can be applauded without suggesting that all types of language change must be resisted. There is a difference between powerful social and economic forces compelling a shift in one’s accent and the natural shifting of language due to regular interactions among people from different backgrounds and regions. </p>
<h2>Embracing accents, embracing change</h2>
<p>When people talk of “accent loss,” it is always good to explore the shifting demographics of the area to question whether the accent is truly being lost, whether it is changing or whether it is being maintained alongside many other accents new to the region.</p>
<p>For example, when students at our school, Kennesaw State University in Georgia, were <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZRQA0zpqmY">recently asked why the Southern accent was changing</a>, several noted the number of people from the North who are moving to the Atlanta metro area. </p>
<p>When people move from one region to another, our desire to communicate effectively can lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444318159.ch10">accommodating one another’s accent</a>, producing slight shifts in how we speak and at times even adopting features of one another’s accents. </p>
<p>With time, these shifts become normalized, and new accent features can emerge. </p>
<p>But such accent evolution isn’t something that should cause concern.</p>
<p>Linguistic accommodation allows for better communication among individuals and groups from different geographic locations and across different spaces and cultures – a thing to celebrate and not automatically fear.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192548/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many people fear the disappearance of the unique way some communities speak. But accent loss is a complicated notion and embracing both language variation and change can be an important social goal.Chris C. Palmer, Professor of English, Kennesaw State UniversityMichelle Devereaux, Associate Professor of English Education, Kennesaw State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1911442022-11-08T13:41:12Z2022-11-08T13:41:12ZWhy the number of encounters at the southern U.S. border does not mean what the GOP says it means<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493683/original/file-20221106-17-k0ir0r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=220%2C649%2C7958%2C4807&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Groups of migrants wait for food donations in San Antonio on Sept. 19, 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/groups-of-migrants-wait-outside-the-migrant-resource-center-news-photo/1243364846?phrase=desantis%20martha%27s%20vineyard&adppopup=true">Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Like many other Republican candidates and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6314870295112">conservative talk show hosts</a>, Kari Lake is using the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/white-u-s-immigration-policy">racially tinged issue of immigration</a> to fuel turnout in her gubernatorial campaign in Arizona. The <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/10/21/us-mexico-border-security-immigration-issues-election-2022/10462644002/">former television anchor</a> has boldly proclaimed that on <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/10/26/arizona-gop-governor-candidate-declare-an-invasion-lah-dnt-ac360-vpx.cnn">her first day</a> as governor, she would declare the state under “invasion.” </p>
<p>Lake is not the only conservative politician to speak in hyperbolic terms about immigration during the midterm campaign season. <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/operation-lone-star-buses-more-than-10000-migrants-to-sanctuary-cities">Texas Governor Greg Abbott</a>, outgoing <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/10/17/duceys-migrant-bus-policy-divides-immigrant-aid-organizations/">Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/02/us/migrants-marthas-vineyard-desantis-texas.html">Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis</a> have sent migrants on buses or planes to mostly cities in the Northeast, most notably New York and Washington D.C., to draw attention to what they perceive as a crisis – and to appeal to their political base.</p>
<p>In a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/graham-cruz-tell-mayorkas-notice-possible-impeachment-border-crisis">U.S. Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina</a> described his efforts to combat the crisis as a “dereliction of duty” and possible grounds for his impeachment. </p>
<p>“These astronomically high numbers are due in no small part to the political decision to rescind a number of President Trump’s policies that were stemming the flow of illegal aliens and illicit drugs across the southern border,” Cruz and Graham’s letter said.</p>
<p>Indeed, the numbers that were used to support their claims were <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1571528473448849408">tweeted</a> in September 2022 by Cruz, who said that 4.2 million “illegal aliens” had crossed the border since the inauguration of President Joe Biden in 2021. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://gop.com/rapid-response/dems-finally-its-a-border-crisis/">Republican National Committee</a> says that number, which it claims represents “a crisis of Democrats’ making,” breaks down to about 2 million so far each year.</p>
<p>As midterms approached, citing these numbers had become commonplace – and misleading.
As <a href="https://www.american.edu/cas/faculty/ernesto.cfm">an immigration researcher and expert on international borders</a>, I have followed the figures that purport to track the number of immigrants crossing the border for years. I am worried that the figures cited are being repeated without providing an adequate explanation.</p>
<p>These numbers represent encounters, not the number of individuals who have come across the border. It’s a misleading and inaccurate way of describing the number of people coming into the U.S. </p>
<h2>The meaning of encounters</h2>
<p>For decades, <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/">U.S. Customs and Border Protection</a> has released the number of arrests at the United States-Mexico border. But that changed two years ago as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and new agreements signed with the Mexican government. </p>
<p>In March 2020, the federal agency announced that it would add another category to the total number of apprehensions – the number of expulsions.</p>
<p>The combined statistics were then called “encounters.”</p>
<p>According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there were a total of around 4,450,240 <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters">encounters</a> from January 2021 to October 2022. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man with a graying beard dressed in a business suit is seen talking with the American flag in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493689/original/file-20221106-52298-1wxfw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493689/original/file-20221106-52298-1wxfw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493689/original/file-20221106-52298-1wxfw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493689/original/file-20221106-52298-1wxfw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493689/original/file-20221106-52298-1wxfw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493689/original/file-20221106-52298-1wxfw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493689/original/file-20221106-52298-1wxfw0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas talks about immigration at the southern border on June 22, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sen-ted-cruz-speaks-at-a-press-conference-at-the-u-s-news-photo/1404492193?phrase=ted%20cruz%20immigration&adppopup=true">Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But an “encounter” does not mean a single person or a first attempt to enter.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/reporting-terminology-definitions">Department of Homeland Security</a> defines an encounter as a noncitizen who is declared to be inadmissible for not having a U.S. passport, green card or visa. But “encounters” also includes the people who are allowed to stay in the U.S. as they apply for asylum or a humanitarian visa for reasons such as political persecution or fleeing human trafficking.</p>
<p>Migrants and asylum seekers often try to enter multiple <a href="https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/may/17/tom-nelson/re-crossings-border-not-only-factor-ongoing-border/">times</a> and are counted separately each time. </p>
<p>For example, in August 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-releases-august-2022-monthly-operational-update">revealed that</a> over 22% of encounters are people who had at least one prior encounter in the previous 12 months. </p>
<p>The report further reveals that only 36% percent of the encounters with people from Mexico and northern Central America are unique encounters – and only 35% percent for those from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. </p>
<p>It is hard to know, with the current counting system, just how many unique individuals interacted with agents at the border. What is certain is that because of multiple counts of the same individuals, the total number is less than the 4.2 million new undocumented immigrants that <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1567897390656503810?s=20&t=3HFZWIWi22QM1AECgkeX6w">Cruz</a> claims have entered the U.S. since the start of the Biden administration. </p>
<h2>Impact of COVID-19 on migration</h2>
<p>In addition to counting the same people multiple times, the number of total encounters overestimates the number of individuals because of another reason: the huge number of expulsions that are used in counting the total number of encounters. </p>
<p>Enacted in 2020 to reduce the spread of COVID-19, “Title 42” – a provision of U.S. public health law – allows U.S. law enforcement officers to immediately deny entry to asylum seekers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A white man dressed in navy blue suit with a white shirt and red tie hugs a smiling woman on stage." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482834/original/file-20220905-18-mgnuue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482834/original/file-20220905-18-mgnuue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482834/original/file-20220905-18-mgnuue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482834/original/file-20220905-18-mgnuue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482834/original/file-20220905-18-mgnuue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482834/original/file-20220905-18-mgnuue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482834/original/file-20220905-18-mgnuue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former President Donald Trump embraces Kari Lake, the Arizona GOP candidate for governor, at a rally on July 22, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/former-president-donald-trump-embraces-republican-candidate-news-photo/1410394562?adppopup=true">Mario Tama/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Under Title 42, around <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/04/27/key-facts-about-title-42-the-pandemic-policy-that-has-reshaped-immigration-enforcement-at-u-s-mexico-border/#">51% of the people</a> encountered are immediately expelled or put into deportation proceedings. After being sent back, some may try again to have their asylum cases heard, and are counted one more time as “encountered.” </p>
<p>According to the Biden administration, <a href="https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/new-border-patrol-data-reignites-republican-criticism-of-bidens-immigration-policies-southern-border-cbp-mexico-central-america-nicaragua-venezuela-honduras-title-42">1.3 million people</a> were expelled last year. Among the total encounters, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reported that over <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters">1 million people</a> were denied entry under Title 42 alone in each of the last two fiscal years. </p>
<p>The large numbers of expulsions clearly show that the U.S. does not have <a href="https://twitter.com/EliseStefanik/status/1526169590841106432">open borders</a>, as frequently proclaimed by conservative politicians. </p>
<p>Statistics are important, but understanding the meaning of those numbers and their context is even more valuable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191144/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ernesto Castañeda does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some Republicans have claimed that a crisis exists on the US southern border. But federal immigration statistics tell a different story about the GOP’s overblown numbers.Ernesto Castañeda, Associate Professor of Sociology, American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1926792022-11-03T12:01:40Z2022-11-03T12:01:40ZThe GOP made gains among Latino voters in 2020 but Democrats remain the party of choice for upcoming midterms<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492844/original/file-20221101-16-7jev3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C194%2C4797%2C3003&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">President Joe Biden arrives for a reception to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at the White House on September 30, 2022 .</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-joe-biden-arrives-for-a-reception-to-celebrate-news-photo/1429136188?phrase=hispanic%20voters%20biden%20%20us&adppopup=true">Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2022/06/14/a-brief-statistical-portrait-of-u-s-hispanics/">second largest U.S. demographic group</a>, Latinos are a significant political force that could determine the elections in the key midterm battleground states of <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/2022/10/24/republicans-and-democrats-court-arizonas-latino-voters/">Arizona</a>, <a href="https://www.cpr.org/2022/09/12/colorado-elections-2022-latino-voters/">Colorado</a> and <a href="https://time.com/6223787/nevada-senate-race-adam-laxalt-catherine-cortez-masto/">Nevada</a>.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, the anticipated impact of Latino voters has forced <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/10/24/1130451390/midterms-biden-democrats-republicans-latino-voters">Democrats</a> and <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/21/texas-republican-democrat-hispanic-voters/">Republicans</a> to develop messages that not only resonate but also drive turnout on Election Day. </p>
<p>That is easier said than done. </p>
<p>Latino voters represent a diverse group of countries of origin, native languages, cultural values, education and personal characteristics. As with any demographic group, voting patterns are informed by <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/16/key-facts-about-u-s-hispanics/">individual experiences</a>. </p>
<p>One thing is clear. Latino voters are <a href="https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/latino-vote-analysis-2020-presidential-election">turning out in record numbers</a>. </p>
<p>In 2020, Latinos cast an estimated 16.6 million votes, <a href="https://latino.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Election-2020-Report-1.19.pdf">an increase of 30.9%</a> over their turnout in the 2016 presidential election.</p>
<p>If Latino communities are to be adequately represented in our democracy, then the complexity of those communities needs to be understood. </p>
<h2>The majority of Latinos still vote democratic</h2>
<p>As <a href="https://faculty.utk.edu/Mary.Held/">a licensed social worker</a> among Latino immigrant communities, I have seen how many have endured heightened discrimination against their families and communities since the election of Donald Trump in 2016. I also have seen how these experience shape their mental well being and political decision-making. </p>
<p>Under the Trump Administration, workplace raids, immigrant detentions and family separations at the border instilled <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7183143/">a deep fear and trauma</a> among many Latino immigrant communities.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953622004786?via%3Dihub">In one study</a>, for instance, researchers found that stress associated with Trump-era policies – and continued under the Biden Administration – correlated with poorer mental health status among Latino adults. </p>
<p>A majority of Latinos — an estimated 63% — <a href="https://www.vox.com/21551025/latino-national-vote-biden-trump-2020-florida-texas">supported President Joe Biden</a> in 2020. But there was <a href="https://catalist.us/wh-national/">about an 8 percentage-point</a> swing toward Trump compared to 2016. Based on exit polling data, a <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22436307/catalist-equis-2020-latino-vote-trump-biden-florida-texas">higher percentage of Latino voters</a> – 32% – cast their ballot for Trump in 2020 than the 29% that did in 2016. </p>
<p>How did Trump, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-anti-immigrant-invasion-rhetoric-was-echoed-el-paso-ncna1039286">with his anti-immigrant and anti-Mexican rhetoric</a>, garner increased support from Latino voters?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of people are waving campaign flags as they cheer for their political candidiates." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492840/original/file-20221101-22-4atxo6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492840/original/file-20221101-22-4atxo6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492840/original/file-20221101-22-4atxo6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492840/original/file-20221101-22-4atxo6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492840/original/file-20221101-22-4atxo6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492840/original/file-20221101-22-4atxo6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492840/original/file-20221101-22-4atxo6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People cheer at a campaign event for two Latino Republican candidates in Texas on October 10, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-cheer-at-a-campaign-event-for-republican-monica-de-news-photo/1244186727?phrase=latino%20voters%20us%20election%202022&adppopup=true">Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One reason may be that immigration policies only affect <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/269365/origin-of-illegal-immigrants-in-the-us/">a subset of Latinos</a>, most notably Mexicans, followed by Salvadorans, Guatemalans and Hondurans. Other Latino subgroups have fewer undocumented members or have clearer advantages for documented U.S. entry. As a result, immigration issues are less relevant to either of these voting groups.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.estado.pr.gov/en/category/foreigners/">Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens</a> who are not required to navigate the immigration system when entering the country. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/history/latin-american-history/cuban-privilege-making-immigrant-inequality-america?format=HB&isbn=9781108830614#contentsTabAnchor">Cubans are another Latino subgroup</a> that has special access to citizenship pathways not afforded to other immigrants. </p>
<p>Pew Research Center data suggests that <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/10/02/most-cuban-american-voters-identify-as-republican-in-2020/">55% of Cuban Americans plan on or lean toward voting Republican</a> in the midterm elections, compared to 24% of Mexican Americans and 22% of Puerto Ricans. </p>
<p>On the national level, Cuban Americans have less influence on elections as they represent only 4% of all Latinos and are mainly concentrated in Florida. </p>
<p>But in Florida, <a href="https://latino.ucla.edu/research/15-facts-latinos-florida/">28% of Latinos are Cuban</a>, and as a result, getting the Cuban American vote may be essential to winning. In 2020, for instance, the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/04/biden-miami-cubans-election-2020-433999">Cuban American vote played a significant role</a> in Trump winning the state over Joe Biden.</p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-09-20/biden-latino-support-midterms-blind-spot">approval of Biden</a> varies by origin, with <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/cuban-americans-disapprove-biden-issues-new-arrivals-poll-finds-rcna53829">most Cuban Americans disapproving of Biden’s overall performance as president</a>, while just about half of Mexican Americans and Puerto Rican voters disapprove of his performance.</p>
<h2>Significant factors shaping Latino voters</h2>
<p>A key factor is religion. </p>
<p>About 48% of <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/racial-and-ethnic-composition/latino/">Latinos report being Catholic</a>, with 16% identifying as Evangelical. While <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/15/8-facts-about-catholics-and-politics-in-the-u-s/">about half</a> of the general Catholic population self-describe as Republican or Republican-leaning, most Catholic Latinos – about 59% – <a href="https://www.ncronline.org/news/politics/latino-vote-not-monolithic-though-catholic-latinos-lean-democratic-say-panelists">lean toward Democratic candidates</a>. </p>
<p>Conversely, 50% of Evangelical <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-no-one-latino-vote-religion-and-geography-add-to-voters-diversity-191721">Latinos lean toward a Republican</a> vote in the midterms.</p>
<p>As a key issue among religious voters, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2022/09/29/most-latinos-say-democrats-care-about-them-and-work-hard-for-their-vote-far-fewer-say-so-of-gop/">most Latinos believe abortion should be legal</a> in some situations.</p>
<p>Another distinction among Latinos relates to whether being Hispanic or Latino is an important part of their identity. </p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2022/09/29/latinos-and-the-2022-midterm-elections/">the Pew Research Center</a>, those who do indicate the Latino identity as important or very important are more likely (60%) to vote Democratic than those who place less importance on their Latino identity (45%).</p>
<h2>Common issues that outweigh Latino partisanship</h2>
<p>Not surprisingly, the top issues among Latino voters vary by political affiliation or leaning, though some common issues arose on each side. </p>
<p>A top priority across <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2022/09/29/latinos-and-the-2022-midterm-elections/">Latino voters is the economy</a>, as indicated by 90% of Republican-leaning and 75% of Democratic-leaning Latinos.</p>
<p>Also of high importance is education, with 72% of Democratic-leaning and 66% of Republican-leaning Latinos highlighting this issue. </p>
<p>Among Latino voters who report leaning Democratic, other top issues of concern included health care – 80% – and gun policy – 71%. Republican-leaning Latinos further identified violent crime – 76% – and immigration –63% – as key issues.</p>
<p>As a broad group, Latinos believe that <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2022/09/29/most-latinos-say-democrats-care-about-them-and-work-hard-for-their-vote-far-fewer-say-so-of-gop/">Democrats care more about their needs</a> and work to earn their votes. </p>
<p>This belief aligns with the historical pattern of Latinos more frequently voting for Democratic candidates.</p>
<p>Yet, as with any diverse demographic group, Latino voters are weighing important issues with views and values that are informed by their own backgrounds, experiences and belief systems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192679/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mary Lehman Held works for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She receives funding from Fahs Beck Fund and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She is affiliated with Mental Health America of the MidSouth, Catholic Charities of Tennessee, and Serving Immigrants. </span></em></p>The complexity of the Latino community needs to be understood in order for the US’ second largest ethnic group to be adequately represented in our democracy.Mary Lehman Held, Associate Professor of Social Work, University of TennesseeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1896062022-10-21T12:39:19Z2022-10-21T12:39:19ZWhen Filipino parents in the US encourage their children to talk about their feelings and promote cultural pride, their children’s mental health improves<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/490156/original/file-20221017-12084-g3xky2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C57%2C5472%2C3579&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Filipino Americans are less likely to seek mental health help than average Americans.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/filipino-family-royalty-free-image/1013981132">LPETTET/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Immigrant families in the U.S. are extremely resilient. Yet some immigrant parents struggle to raise children who can thrive in their new country’s culture. Whether they are dealing with a language barrier or economic challenges, immigrants who bring their kids to the U.S. – or who become parents after arriving – face unique challenges American-born parents don’t.</p>
<p>I see this often in my work as a general pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. As the daughter of immigrants from the Philippines, I partner with parents, grandparents and key leaders and organizations in my community to evaluate and implement programs that optimize parent-child relationships in families of Filipino descent. </p>
<p>Filipinos are the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/04/29/key-facts-about-asian-americans/">third-largest Asian American subgroup</a> in the United States.</p>
<p>Filipino American young people face challenges similar to those faced by all kids in the U.S. today, including increasing <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-63867-009">suicidal behavior, depression and anxiety</a>.</p>
<p>But people of Filipino heritage are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00127-020-01937-2">less likely than the general population</a> of the U.S. to seek mental health help. Over the past decade, the Filipino community in Southern California has mobilized to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000240">improve its young people’s mental health</a> – in the process creating the <a href="https://filipinofamilyhealth.com">Filipino Family Health Initiative</a> to meet those needs. As part of its efforts, the initiative offers parenting workshops, in which our team of health and mental health providers teach adults to build stronger parent-child relationships during the kids’ school-age years. </p>
<p>When working with Filipino parents, we encourage them to use positive parenting strategies while also focusing on the strengths of our Filipino upbringing.</p>
<p>After participating in these workshops, parents report <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000342">less parenting stress and fewer child behavior problems</a> and increased use of praise with their children, compared with parents who have not completed the workshops. In addition, the children of these parents report <a href="https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/6b6576a4-a4ac-4c32-8b74-0fa6b3fdbc0d/AAP%20Poster_FINAL_9_13_22-1.png/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:1240,cg:true">fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression</a>.</p>
<h2>Encourage kids to talk about feelings</h2>
<p>Research is clear: When kids are able to talk with their family about their feelings, they are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3007">more likely to feel</a> that family members stand by them during difficult times. This is an example of a positive childhood experience that leads to healthier adult relationships and fewer mental health problems in the future. </p>
<p>But as in many cultures, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036479">Filipino families don’t often talk</a> about their feelings. This is likely related to <a href="https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2022-03-17/how-hiya-kapwa-and-other-cultural-values-play-a-role-in-filipino-american-mental-health">shame and stigma</a>. Parents who can do this can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3007">promote their kids’ emotional well-being</a> as children, and into their adult lives.</p>
<p>This could start with <a href="https://incredibleyears.com/programs/parent/advance-curriculum/">validating their feelings</a> and acknowledging that their emotions are real. For example, children can benefit from hearing adults say to them, “I can see that you are very upset. That must have been hard for you, and I can see you are making an effort to try again.”</p>
<h2>Teach kids about their unique culture</h2>
<p>Many immigrant communities are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.12.1.1">pressured to assimilate</a> into U.S. culture. At times, this can give kids an impression that they should be ashamed, or would be left out, if they embraced their heritage.</p>
<p>For Filipinos, this feeling can be made worse by the Philippines’ history of being colonized, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines/Sports-and-recreation#ref214501">first by the Spanish and then by the U.S. itself</a>. Many Filipino youths in the U.S. are not raised to celebrate their own history and culture, for reasons that include racism, discrimination and <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F1099-9809.14.2.118">colonial mentality</a>. They therefore do not learn about what makes Filipino culture unique and beautiful. Those with less cultural pride can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.14.2.118">at risk of having lower self-esteem</a> and poorer mental health.</p>
<p>Parents can foster cultural pride and help young people participate in community traditions and activities that highlight their heritage. For instance, in August 2022, I watched the movie “<a href="https://www.universalpictures.com/movies/easter-sunday">Easter Sunday</a>” with my children and other family members on the big screen. </p>
<p>It is the <a href="https://thefilipinochronicle.com/2022/08/19/easter-sunday-makes-history-as-the-first-filipino-film-produced-by-major-hollywood-studio/">first Filipino film</a> from a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jo-koy-easter-sunday-steven-spielberg-filipino-1235191835/">major Hollywood studio</a>. Produced by Steven Spielberg’s company Amblin Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures, “Easter Sunday” stars several Filipino American actors – including comedian Jo Koy and Rodney To, an actor and professor in the USC School of Dramatic Arts – playing their own ethnicity. </p>
<p>Watching this movie felt like home for me and my family, because it reflected our experiences growing up in an immigrant family. In addition, given that October is Filipino American History Month, attending events that celebrate Filipino American contributions to the U.S. and Filipino culture are ways to promote ethnic pride.</p>
<h2>Celebrate the strengths of your culture</h2>
<p>The Filipino community in the U.S. has a lot to be proud of. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01418">One in four of us</a> are essential health care workers, for instance. During the pandemic, workers both in health care and in other fields have mobilized and volunteered countless hours to raise awareness about the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01418">disproportionate share of Filipino health care workers who died from COVID-19</a>, and about the need for <a href="https://www.tayohelp.com/hc/en-us">culturally specific support</a> for the Filipino community during the pandemic and beyond.</p>
<p>That’s just one way many Filipino Americans express the <a href="https://jefmenguin.com/bayanihan/">Filipino cultural value of “bayanihan</a>,” meaning helping others without expecting anything in return. Parents can teach this value by pointing out examples when it is done and by modeling it in their own behavior. </p>
<p>Parenting is the hardest job I know. While parents can’t control everything that happens to our children, we can influence and be responsible for our relationships with them and commit to continuous improvement.</p>
<p>We can start by learning positive parenting strategies, such as encouraging our kids to talk about their feelings and helping our kids to learn about and value our culture. By focusing on creating safe havens and positive environments within our homes, we have the power to foster open communication within our families and <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/aap0000240">promote a sense of identity and self-worth</a> within our young people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189606/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joyce Javier has received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), USC Keck School of
Medicine Bridge Funds & COVID-19 Research Fund. This research was also funded by grant K23HD071942 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, grants UL1TR001855 and
UL1TR000130 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Science of the US National Institutes of Health, and a Community Access to Child Health grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health, RWJF, or AAP.</span></em></p>Workshops that focus on the needs of one particular immigrant community improve mental health for parents and kids and provide an example for other programs to follow.Joyce Javier, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, University of Southern CaliforniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1903152022-10-11T12:17:32Z2022-10-11T12:17:32ZYoung immigrants are looking to social media to engage in politics and elections – even if they are not eligible to vote<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488360/original/file-20221005-23-lqzury.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Immigrant advocates protest near the U.S. Capitol on June 15, 2022 </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/immigration-advocates-rally-to-urge-congress-to-pass-permanent-for-picture-id1241326933">Drew Angerer/Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Immigrants’ political power is on the rise in the United States. </p>
<p>The number of eligible immigrant voters nearly doubled from about 12 million in 2000 to more than <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2020/02/26/naturalized-citizens-make-up-record-one-in-ten-u-s-eligible-voters-in-2020/">23 million</a> in 2020. </p>
<p>Immigrant voters <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2020/02/26/u-s-immigrants-are-rising-in-number-but-just-half-are-eligible-to-vote/">tend to be older</a> than U.S.-born voters, but immigrants ages 18 to 37 still made up 20% of all immigrant voters in 2020.</p>
<p>We are a team of scholars and students across disciplines and universities researching immigrant youths’ civic development – and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118x221103890">we think it’s</a> important to recognize that young immigrants are also playing a key role in galvanizing older immigrants to vote, primarily by connecting with them via social media. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118x221103890">Our research</a> shows that online sites and apps like Twitter are key for young immigrants – both people who were born outside of the U.S. and those who are second-generation immigrants – as ways to engage in politics. Many young immigrants use social media to follow news in their local communities, as well as in their countries of origin. They also use it to organize protests and encourage others to vote.</p>
<p>This is true even when these young people are not eligible to vote because of their immigration status. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A screenshot from a social made page shows a young female user who posted the words, 'A vote for Trump is a vote against my family, my friends, health care, LGBTQ plus people, people of color, undocumented immigrants, the poor, climate, etc. Vote for Biden friends. Vote trump out." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484724/original/file-20220914-9055-moa09n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484724/original/file-20220914-9055-moa09n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=137&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484724/original/file-20220914-9055-moa09n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=137&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484724/original/file-20220914-9055-moa09n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=137&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484724/original/file-20220914-9055-moa09n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=172&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484724/original/file-20220914-9055-moa09n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=172&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484724/original/file-20220914-9055-moa09n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=172&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Young immigrants have been found to use social media to galvanize others in their community to vote.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sara Wilf, Elena Maker Castro and Tania Quiles.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A key issue</h2>
<p>Immigration is a core issue for many voters in the upcoming midterm elections. An August 2022 <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/08/23/midterm-election-preferences-voter-engagement-views-of-campaign-issues/">Pew Research poll</a> found that nearly 50% of registered voters reported immigration was “very important” to them in the November 2022 election.</p>
<p>Some Republican politicians, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and others who are also up for re-election, have focused on immigration in their <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/15/politics/desantis-gop-base-migrants-massachusetts/index.html">campaigns</a> by pointing to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/number-migrants-crossing-border-hits-another-record-surges-migration-n-rcna34030">record numbers</a> of migrants crossing the U.S. border. Republican politicians have also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/us/desantis-florida-migrants-marthas-vineyard.html">relocated thousands</a> of migrants to liberal places like Washington, D.C., New York and Massachusetts over the past several months.</p>
<p>President Joe Biden’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/fact-sheet-president-biden-sends-immigration-bill-to-congress-as-part-of-his-commitment-to-modernize-our-immigration-system/">plan to revamp</a> the country’s immigration system and provide a path for about 11 million undocumented residents to gain citizenship, meanwhile, remains <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1177/text">stalled in Congress</a>. </p>
<p>Over the past several years, though, young immigrants – people ages 18 to 23 who were born in other countries, or whose parents were – have helped lead national movements to provide a conditional path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants, resulting in the 2021 passage of the <a href="https://iamerica.org/daca#final%20daca%20rule">DREAM Act</a>. This policy <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/dream-act-overview">gives millions</a> of undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children the right to stay in the country. </p>
<p>The DREAMer movement <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.311">relied heavily</a> on social media to spread information and encourage people to take action. Based on immigrant youths’ prior successes mobilizing their communities for political change, we believe that their online political engagement could have implications for the 2022 midterms.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1323706101217415168"}"></div></p>
<h2>Mobilizing others</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118x221103890">research study</a> in 2020 explored how immigrant youth ages 18 to 23 used social media to participate in politics. We took 2,300 screenshots of political tweets from January through November 2020, drawing from a sample of 32 young immigrants’ public Twitter feeds that we found through national immigrant youth networks, like <a href="https://unitedwedream.org">United We Dream</a>. </p>
<p>Based on the content of their Twitter profiles and posts, we were confident that they were all actual immigrant youth residing in the U.S. We then contacted all of them through Twitter about the study, and the majority confirmed their age and immigrant status. We went on to analyze the screenshots to identify trends in how youth were politically engaged online. </p>
<p>We also conducted interviews with 11 people from the sample, further confirming that we had recruited youth whose Twitter profiles accurately represented their real identities. Several indicated either in their Twitter profiles and tweets or in the interviews that they were not eligible to vote due to their documentation status.</p>
<p>We found that young immigrants use Twitter to educate their followers about political issues and processes in the U.S. and abroad – and to share both online and in-person opportunities to protest or vote.</p>
<p>These young people appeared to intentionally target their ethnic and regional communities in their social media outreach. </p>
<p>For example, some youth <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118x221103890">in our June 2022 study</a> called on their followers to translate educational resources on racial justice into different languages to share with their families. </p>
<p>Others provided voter registration guides in multiple languages, alerted followers about political candidates who shared an ethnic or regional identity, or encouraged particular ethnic communities – such as South Asians – to vote. </p>
<p>In interviews, youth also described bringing political conversations from their phones to the dinner table and discussing news they had read online with their parents. </p>
<p>Some participants also shared that they posted on social media with the explicit intention of shifting their family members’ political views. </p>
<p>One person we interviewed in 2020 who had ancestry in the Philippines and Belize noted that he “realized the importance of educating people and having those difficult conversations,” particularly with his family and friends. </p>
<p>Valeria, a college senior originally from Puerto Rico, also explained how Facebook was “the family social media platform” where she raised awareness about political issues. </p>
<p>“The way that I kind of look at it is at least I’m planting a seed, right? I’m planting an idea, at least I’m helping others, at least hear what’s going on,” said Valeria, who also asked to use a pseudonym, in a 2020 interview with our team that was featured in the 2022 study.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A screenshot from a social media page shows a user named Amit Jani encouraging voters who are Asian or Pacifc Islanders to attend an online call for Joe Biden's election" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484723/original/file-20220914-11002-48cwta.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484723/original/file-20220914-11002-48cwta.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484723/original/file-20220914-11002-48cwta.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484723/original/file-20220914-11002-48cwta.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484723/original/file-20220914-11002-48cwta.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484723/original/file-20220914-11002-48cwta.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484723/original/file-20220914-11002-48cwta.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A screenshot from the authors’ study shows a Tweet from a young immigrant in 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sara Wilf, Elena Maker Castro and Tania Quiles</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>From online to offline engagement</h2>
<p>Immigrant youths’ online political engagement reflects larger trends in the U.S. </p>
<p>Approximately 46% of U.S. teens today use the internet “almost constantly,” <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/">compared with</a> just 24% who said the same in 2014. </p>
<p>Alongside this surge in internet use, more young people are using social media to educate others about social and political topics, hold politicians accountable and provide their followers with opportunities to take action through climate and political movements like <a href="https://fridaysforfuture.org">Fridays for Future</a> and <a href="https://blacklivesmatter.com">Black Lives Matter</a>.</p>
<p>Online political engagement has important consequences for offline political behaviors. </p>
<p>Indeed, nearly a quarter of U.S. adults report that they have <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/10/15/23-of-users-in-us-say-social-media-led-them-to-change-views-on-issue-some-cite-black-lives-matter/">changed their views</a> on a political issue because of social media. Online political engagement has also been shown to result in more young people participating <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118x.2013.871318">in protests</a> and encouraging people <a href="https://doi.org/10.3386/w28849">to vote</a>. </p>
<p>Our findings align with <a href="https://www.amacad.org/sites/default/files/publication/downloads/Democratic-Citizenship_Immigrants-Civic-Political-Engagement.pdf">prior research</a> showing that immigrant youth are politically educating and mobilizing their families and community members. </p>
<p>A survey of people who were allowed to stay in the U.S. because of the DREAM Act prior to the 2020 elections found that <a href="https://unitedwedream.org/resources/amid-changes-to-the-daca-program-and-covid-19-daca-recipients-are-fired-up-and-civically-engaged/">nearly 95%</a> of them were planning to encourage family and friends to vote. </p>
<p>Immigrant youths’ online political engagement has several potential implications for the 2022 midterm elections. </p>
<p>First, as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118x221103890">our 2022 study</a> found, immigrant youth are using social media to influence their parents’ opinions on political issues like racial justice and teach them how to register to vote. </p>
<p>Because of the large impact immigrant voters may have on the 2022 midterms, <a href="https://www.azmirror.com/blog/new-voter-bloc-of-naturalized-citizens-might-swing-arizona-midterms/">particularly in swing states</a>, immigrant youths’ online political engagement could play a role in shaping the elections’ outcome. </p>
<p><em>Ph.D. students <a href="https://luskin.ucla.edu/person/bethany-murray">Bethany Murray</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=E9L2f3AAAAAJ&hl=en">J. Abigail Saavedra</a> and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lamont-Bryant">Lamont Bryant</a>, as well as three undergraduate students, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Kedar-Garzon-Gupta-2229185643">Kedar Garzón Gupta</a>, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaime-garcia-0a1893196/?trk=public_profile_browsemap_profile-result-card_result-card_full-click">Jaime Garcia</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aditir19/">Aditi Rudra</a>, and UCLA Professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=xA4XsTcAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Laura Wray-Lake</a> are all members of the team that carried out research for the study highlighted in this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190315/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Wilf receives funding from the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute for a research study related to this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elena Maker Castro receives funding from the UCLA Bedari Kindness Institute for a research study related to this article. Elena also receives funding from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities to support her graduate research career. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Taina B Quiles receives funding from the Ford Foundation to support her graduate research career. </span></em></p>The number of immigrant voters is on the rise – and research shows that for young immigrants, social media is where they are primarily wading into politics.Sara Wilf, PhD student in social welfare, University of California, Los AngelesElena Maker Castro, Doctoral Candidate, University of California, Los AngelesTaina Quiles, PhD candidate, University of VirginiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1887812022-09-05T12:21:16Z2022-09-05T12:21:16ZLegal work-related immigration has fallen by a third since 2020, contributing to US labor shortages<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482152/original/file-20220831-4878-9hc3o7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=269%2C122%2C7909%2C4709&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The reduction in foreign-born workers is weighing on the economy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/visitors-at-the-92-ft-long-immigrantsareessential-art-news-photo/1345035892">Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Working Families</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With Americans having <a href="https://theconversation.com/expanding-opportunities-for-women-and-economic-uncertainty-are-both-factors-in-declining-us-fertility-rates-162494">fewer children</a> and the nation’s labor force <a href="https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/gray-future-america-shifting-demographics-implications-immigration-reform">getting older</a>, many <a href="https://www.industryweek.com/talent/education-training/article/21248937/to-address-labor-shortages-manufacturers-must-become-talent-creators">employers in manufacturing</a>, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/03/tech-companies-banks-overstaffed-while-airlines-hotels-need-workers.html">aviation</a> and other industries are having trouble finding enough workers.</p>
<p>The gap between the demand for labor and its supply was <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/18/18270916/labor-shortage-workers-us">already forming in 2017</a>. By 2018, the U.S. economy had increasingly more <a href="https://www.bls.gov/jlt/#data">job openings</a> than unemployed workers. That <a href="https://www.richmondfed.org/publications/research/economic_brief/2022/eb_22-12">gap has widened during the COVID-19 pandemic</a> as more people <a href="https://theconversation.com/brains-are-bad-at-big-numbers-making-it-impossible-to-grasp-what-a-million-covid-19-deaths-really-means-179081">have died</a>, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-millions-of-older-americans-are-retiring-early-in-the-wake-of-the-pandemic">retired early</a> or simply <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2021/12/14/labor-market-exits-and-entrances-are-elevated-who-is-coming-back/">dropped out of the job market</a>.</p>
<p>By July 2022, as the pandemic’s effects on the workplace were easing, the U.S. had <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm">11.2 million job openings</a> but only <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm">5.7 million unemployed workers</a> who might fill them.</p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/jose-ivan-rodriguez-sanchez">scholar of immigration and economics</a> who researches a trend that’s driving labor shortages: <a href="https://www.economicmodeling.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/DD2_Bridging_The_Gap_Final.pdf">declining numbers of immigrants allowed to legally work</a> in the U.S. When I study these numbers, I see an important opportunity to resolve labor shortages that are <a href="https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2022/08/03/demographic-dilemma-slowing-population-growth-not-pandemic-root-us-worker">wreaking economic havoc</a>.</p>
<p><iframe id="C3lAE" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/C3lAE/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Work visas</h2>
<p>An estimated <a href="https://econofact.org/the-decline-in-u-s-net-migration">45 million people</a> living in the United States, roughly 14% of the population, were born elsewhere. About <a href="https://econofact.org/immigrant-earnings-and-out-migration-from-the-united-states">one in six U.S. workers is an immigrant</a>.</p>
<p>Some of these foreign-born workers are legally employed on a temporary basis with <a href="https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/insights/legal/b/thought-leadership/posts/the-three-ways-non-u-s-citizens-can-legally-live-and-work-in-the-united-states">an array of visas</a> that make it possible to obtain jobs that run the gamut from software designers to apple pickers.</p>
<p>In some cases, these employees can obtain <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-for-employment-based-immigrants">legal permanent residency</a> – often called “a green card.” Some temporary work visas last longer than 12 months, so the <a href="https://uploads.fas.org/2020/10/Temporary-Work-Visa-Holders-2020.pdf">number of workers with authorization is higher</a> than the number of visas issued in that year. <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/h-1b-specialty-occupations">H-1B visas</a>, which require a high level of education for fields like computer programming, last three years and can be <a href="https://www.immi-usa.com/h1b-visa/h1b-visa-extension/">renewed for another three</a>. </p>
<p>The government issued a <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/nonimmigrant-visa-statistics.html">record 813,330 temporary employment-based visas in 2019</a>. The total fell by about a third to 566,000 in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic got underway, and the numbers were basically flat in 2021 at 566,001 – the first year of Joe Biden’s presidency.</p>
<p>Of course it’s important that the government not issue visas in such a way that <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/08/04/541321716/fact-check-have-low-skilled-immigrants-taken-american-jobs">foreign workers depress wages</a> or lead to the dismissal of gainfully employed Americans.</p>
<p>These lower wages could occur in the short run, but <a href="https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2016/1/27/the-effects-of-immigration-on-the-united-states-economy">most empirical studies</a> show there are long-term benefits in terms of what native-born people earn when immigration rises.</p>
<p><iframe id="ehMmX" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ehMmX/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Taking a bite out of the economy</h2>
<p>The sharp reduction in the number of temporary visas for foreign-born workers in 2020 and 2021 harmed the U.S. economy. Based on my own calculations, the total cost was around <a href="https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/immigrants-in-strategic-sectors-of-the-us-economy-and-americas-labor-shortage-crisis">0.4% per year of total gross domestic product</a> – at least $82 billion per year in 2020 and 2021.</p>
<p>Immigration restrictions affected far more people, however, including those who were unable to obtain a green card because of the closure of embassies and consulates. All told, these policies resulted in an estimated <a href="https://globalmigration.ucdavis.edu/news/giovanni-peri-and-reem-zaiour-econofact-and-marketwatch">2 million fewer working-age immigrants</a> in the U.S. in 2020 and 2021. </p>
<p>Including those additional losses nearly triples the economic cost of U.S. immigration restrictions to about <a href="https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/immigrants-in-strategic-sectors-of-the-us-economy-and-americas-labor-shortage-crisis">1.1% per year of U.S. GDP</a>.</p>
<p>Unless the U.S. reverses course and issues more work-related visas, I estimate that the worker shortage will double to over 4 million by 2030. My calculations also suggest this will <a href="https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/immigrants-in-strategic-sectors-of-the-us-economy-and-americas-labor-shortage-crisis">shave about 4.3% off of GDP</a>, on average, annually for the next eight years. Adding that all up, that would amount to about $9 trillion in lost economic output. </p>
<h2>Labor shortages</h2>
<p>Labor shortages are especially severe today in certain industries that rely heavily on immigrants as employees.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/immigrants-in-strategic-sectors-of-the-us-economy-and-americas-labor-shortage-crisis">in 2020 foreign-born workers accounted</a> for 39% of the farming, fishing and forestry workforce, 30% of all people employed in construction and extraction, 26% of everyone working in computer science and mathematics and 22% in health care support.</p>
<p>As a result, <a href="https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/immigration/employment-based-immigration/how-immigration-affects-u-s-business-and-tech-industries.html">these industries are facing unprecedented challenges</a> in trying to find workers to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-jobs-workers-labor-shortage/">fill open jobs</a>.</p>
<p>If these labor shortages continue, I’m certain that they will keep hurting job markets, supply chains and productivity as <a href="https://www.uschamber.com/workforce/how-fixing-our-worker-shortage-can-fight-inflation">companies have to pay their employees more</a> and then increase prices due in part to those <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/labor-shortage-is-vexing-challenge-for-u-s-economy-11660469401">higher labor costs</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CIVPART">labor force participation rate</a>, which measures the number of people in the job market as a percentage of the total working-age population, has been hovering around the lowest levels seen since the 1970s as more U.S. workers drop out of the job market. After plunging to 60% in 2020, it bounced back partially. The rate stood at 62.2% in July 2022.</p>
<p><iframe id="klrk3" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/klrk3/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Feasible fix</h2>
<p>Of course, there are other factors besides a lack of foreign-born visas issued that are responsible for the shortage of workers.</p>
<p>But none are easy to resolve. It’s hard for the government to increase the share of <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/labor-force-nonparticipation-trends-causes-and-policy-solutions/">adults who are working</a>, and there’s little that can be done in the short term about the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/number-of-people-75-and-older-in-the-labor-force-is-expected-to-grow-96-5-percent-by-2030.ht">country’s aging workforce</a> – the result of a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2022/20220524.htm">long-term fertility decline</a>.</p>
<p>Even if the <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2014/11/20/four-realities-about-executive-actions-moving-beyond-the-rhetoric-of-immigration-reform/">political hurdles can be high</a>, I believe boosting the number of immigrants allowed to legally work in the United States is an important way that the authorities can ease labor shortages.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jose Ivan Rodriguez-Sanchez receives funding from the Charles Koch Foundation. He is affiliated with Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. </span></em></p>The immigration decline over the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic led to an annual 1.1% GDP reduction, an economist estimates.Jose Ivan Rodriguez-Sanchez, Research Scholar of Economics, Rice UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1881272022-08-03T18:06:22Z2022-08-03T18:06:22ZNancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit sparked international tension, but isn’t likely to shake up her popularity with Chinese American voters at home in San Francisco<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477461/original/file-20220803-14-r0xjbm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her delegation leave Taipei on August 3, 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-and-her-5member-congress-delegation-depart-picture-id1242283734?s=2048x2048">Taiwanese Foreign Ministry/Handout/Andalou Agency via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-nancy-pelosis-visit-to-taiwan-puts-the-white-house-in-delicate-straits-of-diplomacy-with-china-188116">visit to Taipei</a>, Taiwan, prompted warnings and threats from the Chinese government, but it is unlikely to upset her Taiwanese American and Chinese American constituents in San Francisco.</em></p>
<p><em>Pelosi left Taiwan on Aug. 3, 2022, after a whirlwind 24-hour trip, during which she <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/02/world/pelosi-taiwan#pelosi-taiwan">met with lawmakers</a> and Tsai Ing-wen, president of Taiwan. While Pelosi defended her trip <a href="https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/8222-3">by writing that</a> it shows the United States’ “commitment to democracy,” China responded with <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/03/pelosi-departs-taiwan-as-furious-china-holds-military-drills.html">military drills</a> and <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220803-how-is-china-punishing-taiwan-for-the-pelosi-visit">threats of future punishment</a> for the U.S. and Taiwan.</em></p>
<p><em>Taiwan, an island off the coast of China, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-59900139">considers itself</a> an independent country – while China maintains that it is a <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-is-part-china-beijing-tells-us-2022-04-20/">breakaway province</a> it wants to again officially oversee.</em></p>
<p><em>Some experts called Pelosi’s trip reckless, threatening U.S.-China relations – but she won’t necessarily need to answer to <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/elections/article/SF-neighborhoods-where-Pelosi-got-least-votes-17226501.php">her voting base</a> in San Francisco, where there are 187,000 Chinese and Taiwanese Americans. Asian American studies scholar <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=U2OFos4AAAAJ&hl=en">Jonathan H.X. Lee</a> in San Francisco explains why many voters in this community are not intensely invested in the escalating political tensions in the South China region. Here are four key points to keep in mind.</em></p>
<h2>This is unlikely to turn voters away from Pelosi</h2>
<p>For many Chinese Americans it is just not an issue that’s really on their radar. <a href="https://bancroft.berkeley.edu/collections/chinese-immigration-to-the-united-states-1884-1944/timeline.html">Most are</a> second- and third-generation Chinese Americans, and maybe sometimes even fourth-generation. They don’t have a lot of deep connections or nationalist kind of connections to mainland China. </p>
<p>If you were to ask a group of Chinese American college students about Taiwan, the majority would probably reflect the general kind of understanding that the general American public would have, which is not very much. They don’t know the history of Taiwan <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/why-relations-between-china-and-taiwan-are-so-tense">breaking off from China</a> in 1949. So the reason this doesn’t register with Chinese American voters in San Francisco is that this geopolitical issue is just not on their list of major issues. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477463/original/file-20220803-11-gxlkvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People wear masks and hats and appear to protest in the streets, holding signs that say stop Asian hate." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477463/original/file-20220803-11-gxlkvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477463/original/file-20220803-11-gxlkvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477463/original/file-20220803-11-gxlkvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477463/original/file-20220803-11-gxlkvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477463/original/file-20220803-11-gxlkvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477463/original/file-20220803-11-gxlkvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477463/original/file-20220803-11-gxlkvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Demonstrators listen to speakers during a march protesting Asian hate crimes and actions in San Francisco in March 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/william-guo-left-francis-kwok-henry-lei-right-all-of-alameda-and-a-picture-id1309485284?s=2048x2048">Ray Chavez/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Other priorities for voters</h2>
<p>I know that the leadership in Taiwan and people in Taiwan <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/03/nancy-pelosi-taiwan-visit-reaction/">are loving this visit</a> by Pelosi. So in terms of her approval with Taiwanese American voters, this will do a lot, because it really reaffirms the <a href="https://www.fpri.org/article/2022/05/believe-biden-when-he-says-america-will-defend-taiwan/">United States’ commitment to Taiwan’s sovereignty</a>, which Taiwanese Americans care about.</p>
<p>But currently, the <a href="https://apiavote.org/policy-and-research/asian-american-voter-survey/">major political issue</a> on many Chinese Americans’ and Taiwanese Americans’ minds would be <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/anti-asian-hate-crimes-increased-339-percent-nationwide-last-year-repo-rcna14282">anti-Chinese and anti-Asian hate</a> that has occurred since the start of this global pandemic – fanned by former president Donald Trump, who racialized the pandemic by using terms like “<a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2021/03/420081/trumps-chinese-virus-tweet-linked-rise-anti-asian-hashtags-twitter">China virus</a>,” the “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-53173436">kung flu</a>” and so on. Inflation and economic issues are also a serious concern. </p>
<h2>Chinese Americans aren’t a homogeneous voting bloc</h2>
<p>Chinese American is an umbrella category that at times has its function. So in my research and in my discussions with Taiwanese foreign students, when they come to the U.S. they find themselves sometimes coming to the conclusion that it’s easier for them to just say, “I’m Chinese,” because they speak Mandarin. If they say they’re Taiwanese, they would be required to then explain. </p>
<p>Something that I hear them say quite often is, “I’m from Taiwan.” And then the person, not knowing anything about Taiwan versus China, says, “Oh, I love Thai food” – meaning food from Thailand, a totally different country. There’s that level of unawareness.</p>
<p>The Taiwanese American identity is a very unique identity within the Chinese American community. It <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/taiwanese-us-insist-identity-not-political-choice-must-census-option-rcna2225">says very clearly</a> that these people inherently support Taiwan’s geopolitical sovereignty. It is, in essence, a very nationalistic identity, not just a cultural one. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=pcLQCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=info:iKhXum4cN3IJ:scholar.google.com&ots=Y5fzZ-m7mA&sig=tU2dNgTdHNKJRPKqqr21vGsNLx0#v=onepage&q&f=false">Chinese Americans are less nationalistic</a>, because we’re not identifying with mainland China. Rather, we are identifying as members of a community that is linked to Chinese heritage, so it becomes more cultural, more linguistic.</p>
<p>Second- and third-generation Chinese Americans, especially, have lost some of the skills or don’t have some of the skills that help maintain a very strong cultural link, such as <a href="https://dailynorthwestern.com/2018/10/22/opinion/the-spectrum-im-still-chinese-even-if-i-cant-speak-the-language/">not speaking Mandarin or Cantonese</a>, or many of the other dialects of China. </p>
<p>And if anything, Chinese Americans are critics of China, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/china-and-tibet">in terms of</a> human rights, <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/chinas-tibet-policy-the-aftermath-last-springs-unrest">Tibet and</a> child labor issues. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477498/original/file-20220803-19-jcyz9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A white woman in a beige pantsuit and blue face mask stands next to a middle-aged Asian woman also wearing a pantsuit. Both wave their hands." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477498/original/file-20220803-19-jcyz9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477498/original/file-20220803-19-jcyz9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477498/original/file-20220803-19-jcyz9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477498/original/file-20220803-19-jcyz9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477498/original/file-20220803-19-jcyz9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477498/original/file-20220803-19-jcyz9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477498/original/file-20220803-19-jcyz9p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi poses with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei on Aug. 3, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/speaker-of-the-us-house-of-representatives-nancy-pelosi-left-poses-picture-id1412590000?s=2048x2048">Handout/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The overall political effect</h2>
<p>Taking a step back and looking at the history of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/01/nancy-pelosi-taiwan-china/">U.S. officials going</a> to Taiwan reveals that <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3584189-gingrich-china-threats-over-pelosi-taiwan-visit-a-bluff/">nothing has really</a> materialized from the <a href="https://theconversation.com/rethinking-the-us-china-fight-does-china-really-threaten-american-power-abroad-148672">threats from China</a>. In terms of retaliation, there has always been very strong, public kind of speech about how they disapprove, and maybe some strong threats. But nothing came of those threats, and relations quickly normalized. And I think that’s going to be the case here, too.</p>
<p>I think the question of whether or not it will affect her <a href="https://pelosi.house.gov/about/our-district">constituents in San Francisco</a> is a very interesting question. And I think it’s exciting, because it reveals the diversity in terms of understanding Chinese Americans versus Taiwanese Americans. </p>
<p>The majority of Chinese Americans and Taiwanese Americans vote Democratic, so if Pelosi went or didn’t go, I don’t think it’s going have a huge effect. Because they’re <a href="https://theconversation.com/asian-americans-political-preferences-have-flipped-from-red-to-blue-145577">going to still vote blue</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188127/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan H. X. Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While Chinese American voters are not a homogeneous group, many people who have ancestral ties to the region are unlikely to question their support for Nancy Pelosi just because of her Taiwan trip.Jonathan H. X. Lee, Professor of Asian American Studies, San Francisco State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1860162022-06-30T20:54:22Z2022-06-30T20:54:22ZSupreme Court’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ ruling puts immigration policy in the hands of voters – as long as elected presidents follow the rules<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471942/original/file-20220630-5543-xzeo13.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C41%2C5574%2C3663&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A migrant from Haiti waits with others at a clinic for migrants in Tijuana, Mexico.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SupremeCourtAsylumWaitinginMexico/14efcaea327c43fdbc163c1c38b84b70/photo?Query=%22remain%20in%20mexico%22&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=129&currentItemNo=0">AP Photo/Gregory Bull</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/slipopinion/21">very last decision of its latest term</a>, the Supreme Court released a major ruling that not only <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/30/us/politics/biden-remain-in-mexico-scotus.html">clears a barrier</a> to ending a signature policy of the Trump administration but also signals that the future of immigration policy is in the hands of the electorate.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/21-954">Biden v. Texas</a>, the Supreme Court rejected an effort to prevent the current president’s rollback of a Trump-era policy that requires asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. southern land border to be returned to Mexico while their claims were being processed. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21-954_7l48.pdf">5-4 decision</a> means that the case will be returned to the lower courts. But it also makes clear that whoever is control of the White House has the power to change directions in immigration policy – even drastic reversals of policy. It follows that presidents can do the same in other substantive legal areas as well, such as civil rights and environmental protection.</p>
<h2>The rights (and wrongs) of remain</h2>
<p>The issue in Biden v. Texas was whether the Biden administration could <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/migrant-protection-protocols">dismantle a Trump administration policy</a> formally known as <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/archive/migrant-protection-protocols-trump-administration">Migrant Protection Protocols</a> but widely referred to as the “Remain in Mexico” policy.</p>
<p>As part of an array of immigration enforcement measures, the Trump administration <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/12/20/secretary-nielsen-announces-historic-action-confront-illegal-immigration">announced the policy in late 2018</a> in response to numbers of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border.</p>
<p>But the Migrant Protection Protocols <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/22/remain-in-mexico-migrant-suicide-attempt">came under scrutiny</a> amid concerns over the <a href="https://www.americanoversight.org/investigation/conditions-in-migrant-detention-centers">safety and conditions</a> to which asylum seekers were subjected in camps under the supervision of Mexican authorities. Human Rights Watch <a href="https://www.hrw.org/tag/remain-mexico">found the policy</a> sent “asylum seekers to face risks of kidnapping, extortion, rape, and other abuses in Mexico” while also violating “their right to seek asylum in the United States.”</p>
<p>Yet an attempt by the Biden administration to eliminate the protocols was <a href="https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/21/21-10806-CV1.pdf">barred by the U.S. Court of Appeals</a> for the Fifth Circuit. The circuit judges found that the Biden administration had violated immigration law requiring the detention of asylum seekers.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court rejected this ruling. In a <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21-954_7l48.pdf">majority opinion</a> written by Chief Justice John Roberts – joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Brett Kavanaugh – the court held that the Biden administration’s decision to terminate the Migrant Protection Protocols did not violate federal immigration law. The state of Texas had argued that ending the “Remain in Mexico” policy violated a provision that every asylum seeker entering the country be returned or detained. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21-954_7l48.pdf#page=34">his dissent</a>, Justice Samuel Alito argued that the statute requires mandatory detention of migrants at the border. Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21-954_7l48.pdf#page=53">dissent expressed</a> the view that the Supreme Court lacked the jurisdiction and that the case should be remanded back to the lower courts.</p>
<h2>Avoid the arbitrary, cease the capricious</h2>
<p>The Supreme Court’s decision means the case will be sent back to the lower court to decide, but with the removal of a major legal obstacle preventing Biden from ending the “Remain in Mexico” policy. The Supreme Court held that the immigration law does not require mandatory detention of all asylum seekers while their claims are being decided.</p>
<p>But moreover, the court made clear that the president has the discretion to change direction in immigration policy and continue, or end, policies of the previous president.</p>
<p>That might seem self-evident. But it comes after another 5-4 decision penned by Chief Justice Roberts – 2020’s <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/18-587_5ifl.pdf">Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California</a>, which held that a president could not act irrationally in changing immigration policy.</p>
<p>In that decision, the Supreme Court <a href="https://theconversation.com/supreme-court-ruling-on-dreamers-sends-a-clear-message-to-the-white-house-you-have-to-tell-the-truth-141099">found that the Trump administration had acted in an arbitrary and capricious fashion</a> in rescinding the Obama administration’s <a href="https://www.ice.gov/daca">Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals</a> – or DACA – policy. That policy provided limited legal status and work authorization to undocumented migrants who came to the country as children, so-called Dreamers.</p>
<p>In the court’s view, the Trump administration had not adequately considered the interests of the migrant children in deciding to rescind the policy and had given inconsistent reasons about the basis for the rescission.</p>
<p>That ruling provided fuel for states to challenge the Biden administration when it attempted to roll back some Trump-era policies. For example, Arizona, along with other states, challenged Biden’s attempt to abandon a proposed rule change by the previous administration that would tighten the requirements on low- and moderate-income noncitizens seeking to come to the U.S. Although the Supreme Court initially accepted review of the case, it ultimately <a href="https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2022/06/breaking-news-suprme-court-dismisses-state-efforts-to-defend-trump-administrations-proposed-public-c.html">dismissed the appeal and declined to decide the merits</a>.</p>
<p>In the end, the Supreme Court’s decision in Biden v. Texas stands for the simple proposition that presidential elections matter when it comes to government policy. As long as an incumbent administration follows the rules – including rational deliberation of the policy choices in front of it – it can, the Supreme Court has said, change immigration policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186016/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Johnson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the last decision of the term, the Supreme Court cleared a barrier for the Biden administration to end a Trump-era policy returning asylum seekers arriving in the US to camps in Mexico.Kevin Johnson, Dean and Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies, University of California, DavisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1845222022-06-13T12:29:32Z2022-06-13T12:29:32ZImmigrants are only 3.5% of people worldwide – and their negative impact is often exaggerated, in the U.S. and around the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467598/original/file-20220607-20-e7lvii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6700%2C4463&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Academic research plays an important role in helping dispel myths and misconceptions about migration.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-participate-in-a-special-memorial-day-naturalization-news-photo/1241038894">Spencer Platt/Getty Images News via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>-<em><a href="https://www.american.edu/cas/faculty/ernesto.cfm">Ernesto Castañeda</a> is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at American University and the Director of the <a href="https://www.ernestocastaneda.com/immigrationlab.html">Immigration Lab</a>. Castañeda explains why immigration is an important force counteracting population decline in the U.S. and why that matters to the economy and America’s global power. Below are highlights from an interview with The Conversation. Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.</em></p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kG48oLHTxz0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Ernesto Castañeda speaks about his work studying immigration and migration.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>What do you study?</strong></p>
<p>I direct the Immigration Lab where we conduct research around migration – in all its aspects. For example, emigration – people leaving their countries of origin; or internal migration – people moving within a country. There are millions of people living in a different province or state than where they were born, such as in China or the U.S. We also study international migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, people that cross borders looking for economic opportunities or trying to reunite with family.</p>
<p>We have studied refugees from Central America in Washington D.C., as well as from Afghanistan. We have also compared immigrants from Latin America in New York and those from North Africa in European <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-cities-help-immigrants-feel-at-home-4-charts-97501">cities</a>. I’ve been studying migration since 2003, so almost 20 years.</p>
<p><strong>Immigration is a hot topic now. How different are they than when you started studying it 20 years ago?</strong></p>
<p>It’s funny because in the media we always highlight the new things, and there are indeed new twists and turns, new characters. But the story, the dynamics, the human drama, the structural issues are basically the same. So, the more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s why it’s easier to understand new crises, because immigration researchers have seen something similar happening in the past.</p>
<p><strong>How politicized is immigration?</strong></p>
<p>Immigration is something that has been with us for a long, long time. It’s something that is going to keep happening. It’s something that no one state can fully stop forever. But unfortunately, since as long as I can remember, it is something that has been politicized. There are a lot of misunderstandings by people in the public. Especially because politicians have, for a long time and in different places, used this topic for their short-term political advantage. So it’s something that is recurrent. Nonetheless, when I meet immigrants every day, the realities of their lives and what they are going through are very different from what you hear from the mouths of politicians and from a lot of media outlets.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://american.academia.edu/ErnestoCastaneda">research</a> has tried to understand what happened in the past and what’s going on right now in the streets in order to try to improve our understanding about immigration. If you look at all types of data, there are way more <a href="https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/immigrants-to-the-u-s-create-more-jobs-than-they-take">opportunities</a> born of migration than problems.</p>
<p><strong>The latest census shows that if it wasn’t for immigration, the US population would actually be in decline. So there’s a lot on the line as far as available workers, yes?</strong> </p>
<p>Yes, although some people think that the decline of immigration is not a bad thing, especially if it means maintaining a white majority. Yet immigration is not about a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/08/a-deadly-ideology-how-the-great-replacement-theory-went-mainstream">great replacement</a>” conspiracy but about the maintenance of a successful trajectory of economic growth, cultural vibrancy, scientific and technical innovation. In the economic system that we live in, one of the main ways that the economy keeps growing is by bringing in new labor. Cultural differences disappear across time and family generations. Furthermore, we are talking about changes around the edges. The great majority, over 80%, of the U.S. population has been and will likely continue to be U.S.-born.</p>
<p>Early in the pandemic, people were scared, and rightly so. It made sense to reduce air travel, border crossings and refugee resettlement. In the last couple of years, because of Title 42, which allows the government to prohibit the entry of persons who potentially pose a health risk at ports of entry, even asylum seekers have been sent back to Mexico and made to wait there. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, just in the U.S., we have lost over a million people because of COVID-19. People are also worried about inflation. But inflation has also been made worse by COVID deaths, people staying out of the workforce and by declining immigration, all resulting in a scarcity of workers. </p>
<p>So in the last couple of years we’ve seen an important decrease in migration while American couples have on average two children, keeping the population <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/12/us-population-grew-in-2021-slowest-rate-since-founding-of-the-nation.html">barely growing</a>. So, the current population will not grow without immigration. Declining population growth also means a decrease in economic growth and the influence of the U.S. abroad. If this occurs, then you’d have to be ready to make less money and spend more in goods and services. I don’t think we’re ready for that to be the norm. If we stop taking immigrants in, innovations, population and economic growth will take place in a different part of the globe.</p>
<p><strong>In your almost 20 years of research, what’s one thing that would surprise someone who is not in the field you’re studying?</strong></p>
<p>It’s important for everyone to know that most people do not want to leave their hometown. Most people want to stick around because that’s where their loved ones, family members and friends are. It is the place they know, and they have an attachment to the place. It takes a lot – like an invasion, hunger, a great educational or professional opportunity – to want to leave your home.</p>
<p>Another thing that’s important to know is that <a href="https://www.un.org/en/desa/international-migration-2020-highlights">only around 3.5% of the world</a> population lives in a different country than where they were born. There are as many people moving within China as through international borders. So, international migration is a very important phenomenon for immigrants themselves – we’re talking about the futures of many individuals and families. But in terms of the global population, it’s a very small proportion. And this is not because of immigration deterrence and border fences.</p>
<p>So we’re talking about an exception. Unfortunately, politicians and people make it sound like it’s the main problem. </p>
<p>People may think that immigrants are more likely to commit crime, yet it is the opposite. Immigrants are much <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/9/3/24/htm">less likely</a> to commit any crimes than the U.S.-born. They are also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27013329/">less likely to use drugs</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498585651/Building-Walls-Excluding-Latin-People-in-the-United-States">border wall</a> is a monument to intolerance and racism that actively stigmatizes people in the area. Anti-immigrant policies and speech are driven by national politics, scapegoating, misinformation, and dramatic images about caravans, border camps, and border crossers without providing the full context and actual descriptions of reality. There are a lot of myths around migration, but when you look at the data qualitatively, quantitatively, in different societies, in different periods, it is almost the opposite from what people think. That is why academic research on immigration is very important to rectify the story.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184522/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ernesto Castañeda has received funding from NIH, NSF, and American University. </span></em></p>A sociologist shares what his research has taught him about migration.Ernesto Castañeda, Associate Professor of Sociology, American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1846112022-06-09T12:42:15Z2022-06-09T12:42:15ZMigration to the US is on the rise again – but it’s unlikely to be fully addressed during the Summit of the Americas, or anytime soon<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467814/original/file-20220608-19-3keq8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Migrants from Latin America are traveling through Mexico as part of a caravan heading to the U.S. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/migrants-from-latin-america-taking-part-in-a-caravan-towards-the-picture-id1241163983?s=2048x2048">Isaac Guzman/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>An estimated <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-61685118">6,000 Latin American migrants</a> are traveling together through Mexico to reach the U.S. by foot and car, marking the largest caravan yet in 2022 of migrants traveling to the U.S. border. </p>
<p>Their journey coincides with the ninth <a href="https://www.as-coa.org/articles/what-you-need-know-about-ninth-summit-americas">Summit of the Americas</a>, a regional meeting of country leaders from North, South and Central America that happens about once every three years. This forum grants political leaders an opportunity to discuss regional issues, like democracy and trade agreements, as a group. This year, the summit is taking place in Los Angeles and runs June 8-10. </p>
<p>Migration is a major issue that attendees, including President Joe Biden, will take up during the meeting, following calls for regional leaders to address the growing problems associated with it. </p>
<p>“These are countries collapsing from poverty and violence,” <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/6/us-bound-migrant-caravan-leaves-southern-mexico">caravan organizer Luis Garcia Villagran said</a> recently. “We strongly urge those who attend the summit … to look at what is happening, and what could happen even more often in Mexico if something is not done soon.” </p>
<p>As <a href="https://havel.fiu.edu/about-us/people/jack-maguire/">a migration expert</a> who has spent five years researching undocumented immigrants and other immigrants with different kinds of legal protection in the U.S., I think it is important to understand what the Biden administration has done to address migration, and how this has affected U.S. foreign relations with Latin American countries.</p>
<p>Here are three points that can help make sense of migration trends along the U.S.-Mexico border and their influence on regional politics.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467820/original/file-20220608-22-9m4bcx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Antony Blinken is pictured at a long table with other men in suits, sitting in front of flags from Latin America." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467820/original/file-20220608-22-9m4bcx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467820/original/file-20220608-22-9m4bcx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467820/original/file-20220608-22-9m4bcx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467820/original/file-20220608-22-9m4bcx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467820/original/file-20220608-22-9m4bcx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467820/original/file-20220608-22-9m4bcx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467820/original/file-20220608-22-9m4bcx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the Summit of the Americas meeting on June 8, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/secretary-of-state-antony-blinken-speaks-at-the-summit-of-the-of-picture-id1241179042?s=2048x2048">Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why is migration a hot topic during the Summit of the Americas?</h2>
<p>Migration across South, Central and North America is on the rise – and has a significant effect on almost every country in the Western Hemisphere. These effects range from the money that migrants send back to their families in their country of origin to the role they play in labor markets. </p>
<p>Migration in the Americas has dramatically increased over the past decade due to <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/01/13/latin-america-alarming-reversal-basic-freedoms">deteriorating</a> political, economic and humanitarian conditions in several countries, particularly in <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2021/country-chapters/venezuela">Venezuela</a>, <a href="https://www.unrefugees.org/emergencies/central-america/">El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras</a> and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/haiti">Haiti</a>.</p>
<p>High rates of crime, corruption, poverty, environmental degradation and violence all influence people’s decisions to migrate. The power of drug cartels, which can <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/juan-orlando-hern%C3%A1ndez-former-president-honduras-indicted-drug-trafficking">be embedded</a> in government institutions like the police, also plays a key role in prompting migration. </p>
<h2>What’s the latest on migration to the US?</h2>
<p>The rate of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border into the U.S. has grown at <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters?language_content_entity=en">a faster pace</a> during the Biden administration than in recent years under the Trump administration. </p>
<p>Immigration officials encountered <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-encounters?language_content_entity=en">more than 1.7 million migrants</a> along the U.S. border in 2021, three times the number they reported in 2020. </p>
<p>Government agencies have reported encountering more than 1.2 million migrants along the border in 2022. However, this number is being <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/guide-title-42-expulsions-border">inflated</a>, because migrants often make repeated attempts to cross the border. Every “encounter” is recorded as a separate incident, even if the migrant had previously been apprehended and deported.</p>
<p>One significant reason for the uptick in migration is the COVID-19 pandemic, which initially caused a brief lull in migration in 2020. But the pandemic’s social and economic aftershocks <a href="https://www.hopeborder.org/noquedadeotra">worsened already-fragile</a> living conditions for many people in the Americas, pushing them to migrate. </p>
<p>Most of the migrants now arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border are from <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/2021-migration-us-mexico-border">four countries</a>: Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. </p>
<p>But the countries of origin of migrants entering the U.S. have <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/evolving-and-diversifying-nature-migration-us-mexico-border">changed</a> over the past decade. Now, large numbers of migrants from other countries like Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela – as well as <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharysmith/2022/04/18/over-3000-ukrainians-encountered-at-us-mexico-border-in-march-amid-migration-surge/?sh=694e209776ed">migrants from Ukraine</a> fleeing the war – routinely try to cross into the U.S. from Mexico. </p>
<h2>What’s happened to migration under Biden?</h2>
<p>During his presidential campaign in 2020, Biden <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/biden-vowed-to-fix-americas-immigration-system-heres-what-he-achieved-in-his-first-year">pledged to undo</a> former President Donald Trump’s immigration actions, and to adopt a more humane approach. Shortly after Biden took office in January 2021, he stopped construction on the U.S.-Mexico border wall and ended travel bans on people from specific countries. </p>
<p>The Biden administration has tried to keep its commitments to voters and immigrants’ rights activists, while also <a href="https://thehill.com/latino/600074-biden-budget-accelerates-shift-from-trump-policies-on-immigration/">increasing spending </a> on the Border Patrol and other government agencies focused on tracking, apprehending and processing migrants once they cross the border.</p>
<p>The Biden administration has attempted, but failed, due to <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/migrant-protection-protocols">court</a> <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/20/judge-blocks-biden-administration-from-lifting-title-42-border-policy-00034195">rulings</a>, to lift asylum restrictions that the Trump administration implemented. </p>
<p>One of these asylum restrictions is an obscure public health order <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/guide-title-42-expulsions-border">called Title 42</a> that was enacted in March 2020, ostensibly to curb the spread of COVID-19 into the U.S. This allows migration enforcement to rapidly deport migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, without allowing them to access their legal right to apply for asylum to stay in the U.S.</p>
<p>Over <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/guide-title-42-expulsions-border">1.8 million</a> deportations have taken place under Title 42. However, that number <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/guide-title-42-expulsions-border">does not </a>reflect the total number of individual people deported since 2020, as the same people crossing the border multiple times drives up the total number of reported deportations.</p>
<p>A second asylum restriction was a Trump-era program that requires asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed. In December 2021, the U.S. and Mexico announced <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/12/02/immigrants-remain-in-mexico-policy-restart-asylum/">they would restart</a> that program in compliance with a <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/migrant-protection-protocols">U.S. court order</a>that blocked the Biden administration’s attempt to end it.</p>
<p>The Biden administration is also trying to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/biden-border-migrants-expulsion-flights/2021/08/06/1acd2762-f6f5-11eb-83e7-06a8a299c310_story.html">increase</a> cooperation with <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexican-president-says-discussed-labor-migration-with-us-official-2022-03-14/">Mexican</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/apr/12/biden-migration-security-deal-mexico-guatemala-honduras">Central American</a> authorities to stop migrants before they reach the United States. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467821/original/file-20220608-26-adtwu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Customs and Border Protection pick up truck is shown in front of the US-Mexico border wall. A man stands next to the wall." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467821/original/file-20220608-26-adtwu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467821/original/file-20220608-26-adtwu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467821/original/file-20220608-26-adtwu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467821/original/file-20220608-26-adtwu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467821/original/file-20220608-26-adtwu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467821/original/file-20220608-26-adtwu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467821/original/file-20220608-26-adtwu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A U.S. Border Patrol agent walks nearby a border wall between the United States and Mexico in Yuma, Arizona, on June 1, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/border-patrol-agent-walks-between-a-gap-along-the-border-wall-between-picture-id1241135212?s=2048x2048">Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What, if anything, could come out of this meeting?</h2>
<p>On June 7, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/7/us-begins-summit-of-the-america-week-with-funds-to-stem-migration">announced $1.9 billion </a> in commitments from companies to provide jobs for people in Mexico, Central and South America – and to potentially dissuade them from migrating to the U.S. </p>
<p>Migration is set to be the focus of discussions at this forum on June 10. </p>
<p>But the meeting, so far, has mostly attracted public attention because the U.S. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/us-excludes-cuba-venezuela-nicaragua-americas-summit-sources-2022-06-06/">did not invite</a> the autocratic leaders of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba to the event, citing human rights concerns. In response, the presidents of Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala are boycotting the forum. </p>
<p>Some experts have criticized the U.S. for <a href="https://twitter.com/RichardHaass/status/1534139107504541696">not bringing a clear immigration</a> policy proposal to the table at the meeting.</p>
<p>Regardless of any outcome regarding immigration during this Summit of the Americas, migration to the U.S. will continue. </p>
<p>The conditions driving migrants to the U.S. – like violence, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-climate-change-is-driving-emigration-from-central-america-121525">climate change</a> and limited work opportunities – are simply too big to solve through any one agreement or set of policy decisions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184611/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Maguire does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The US is convening Latin American countries in Los Angeles this week to discuss major regional issues. An expert explains 3 key things to know about one top concern – migration.Jack Maguire, Ph. D Candidate, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.