Links to long-form information about U.S. border governance and migration
From ‘Pause’ to ‘Reverse’: What Lies Ahead for Stopping Trump’s Border Wall and Fixing the Damage
Published by WOLA on February 10, 2021.
The state of wall-building and funding, and options for the Biden administration to cease all construction and repair at least some of the damage.
Podcast: Biden Confronts Trump’s Disastrous Legacy on Immigration
Published by World Politics Review on February 10, 2021.
A panoramic view of the new Biden administration’s proposed changes to border and migration policies, and the challenges they face in the near term.
To Reverse Trump’s Disastrous Legacy in Latin America, Here Are Key Actions the Biden Administration Should Take in its First Year
Published by WOLA on January 22, 2021.
This compendium of recommendations includes an extensive “migration and border policy” section.
How Biden Can Overcome Obstacles to Reversing Trump’s Disastrous Migration Policies
Published by WOLA on December 9, 2020.
Even if a “wave” of migration happens in early 2021, the new Biden administration can handle it with minimal drama while phasing out the Trump administration’s harsh anti-asylum policies.
Mexico Has a Major Role to Play in Undoing Trump’s Disastrous Migration Policies
Published by WOLA on December 2, 2020.
Recommendations to assist Mexico’s asylum system, reduce migrant detention in Mexico, and help Mexico make its approach to migration more rights-respecting.
Podcast: The Transition: A Rational, Region-Wide Approach to Migration
Published by WOLA on November 23, 2020.
Taking stock of the region’s “new normal” of heavy migration flows, and the administrative and policy shifts that the Biden administration—and governments and international organizations regionwide—must undergo.
Biden might need years to reverse Trump’s immigration policies on DACA, asylum, family separation, ICE raids, private detention and more
Published by USA Today on November 12, 2020.
A policy-by-policy overview of what it would take for the Biden administration to undo the Trump administration’s hardline border and migration policies.
A New Way Forward: Strengthening the Protection Landscape in Mexico
Published by Refugees International on November 12, 2020.
How Mexico can improve its asylum system and other provisions for a fast-rising number of protection-seeking migrants.
The El Paso Experiment: A Public Defender’s Lonely Fight Against Family Separation
Published by The Intercept on November 1, 2020.
A public defender in El Paso ran up against the Trump administration’s early rollout of its family separation policy.
A Monument to Stupidity: The Trauma of Trump’s Border Wall
Published by The Intercept on October 31, 2020.
A look at the harms that border wall construction has inflicted in south Texas.
Podcast: Beyond the Wall: “It’s all about the families”, Eddie Canales on preventing deaths and identifying missing migrants in Texas borderlands
Published by WOLA on October 30, 2020.
A conversation with Eduardo Canales of the South Texas Human Rights Center, about his organization’s fight to stop migrant deaths and to identify remains.
400 Miles of Harm: There is Nothing to Celebrate about Border Wall Construction
Published by WOLA on October 29, 2020.
A response to the Trump administration’s celebration of completing a 400th mile of border wall.
‘They were sending the virus’: Guatemala reels after U.S. deports hundreds of deportees with COVID-19
Published by The Arizona Republic on October 28, 2020.
ICE deported back to Guatemala hundreds of people who tested positive for COVID-19.
What New Official Data Tells Us About the Ongoing Tragedy at the U.S.-Mexico Border
Published by WOLA on October 16, 2020.
As the Homeland Security Department completes its 2020 fiscal year, a walk through some of the prominent findings from the year-end data.
Fixing a Culture that Protects and Rewards Abuse at U.S. Border Agencies
Published by WOLA on October 14, 2020.
Voices strong concerns about where a culture of cruelty and impunity is leading U.S. border agencies, and points to ways out.
At the Mexican Border
Published by the London Review of Books on October 8, 2020.
An El Salvadoran journalist documents the hardships suffered by African migrants at the Mexico-Guatemala border.
The Disappearance of Quitobaquito Springs: Tracking Hydrologic Change with Google Earth Engine
Published by Bellingcat on October 1, 2020.
Using open-source data and imagery tools, this study documents how border wall construction is harming a fragile desert oasis in a southern Arizona protected area.
Unraveling of Trump policies a distant hope for separated immigrant families
Published by Reuters on September 29, 2020.
Migrants in limbo have hope for change if Donald Trump loses the election, but walking back many of the Trump administration’s anti-asylum policies will be difficult.
CBP Did Not Adequately Oversee FY 2019 Appropriated Humanitarian Funding
Published by the Department of Homeland Security Inspector-General on September 28, 2020.
Looks at how CBP misspent much of $192 million that Congress had appropriated to attend to the humanitarian needs of migrants in custody. (Link at oig.dhs.gov)