Immigration

The acting secretary of Homeland Security, Kevin McAleenan, visited Guatemala this week to discuss the implementation of a so-called 'safe third country' agreement to reduce the avalanche of asylum cases at the border. But experts wonder if a poor country, ravaged by violence like Guatemala, is an appropriate immigration partner.

Michael Polinske thought he was an American until he was 16, when he learned that his adoption was never formalized. He was deported aged 26 after a brush with the law. Now living in Mexico, he is struggling to be reunited with his adoptive mother, Maria Polinske, and his three children. (Lea esta historia en español)

Adopted at birth in Mexico, Michael Polinske came to the United States when he was barely six months old and grew up thinking he was a U.S. citizen until he found out aged 17 that his adoption had never been finalized and he was living in the country illegally. In 2011 he was deported.

Activists, lawyers and researchers warn that Mexico is not prepared to host migrants kept out of the U.S., and immigration judges warn that returning the asylum applicants will leave them without the legal advice they need.

Luis Lovo was held for 22 days in a punishment cell at the ICE processing center in Stewart, Ga., in 2016. He was deported to El Salvador and told his story from there. His testimony is part of the Solidary Voices project, which unveiled more than 8,000 cases like Lovo's from 2012 to 2017 in those types of centers.

This Mexican just turned 35 years old in a solitary confinement cell at an immigration processing center in New Mexico’s Otero County. His testimony is part of “Solitary Voices,” a project that exposes punishment practices in these centers. According to them, there were more than 8,000 cases like Ávila’s between 2012 and 2017.

On April 14, Jesús Lorenzo Ávila was sent to solitary confinement in a detention center in New Mexico’s Otero County. He was sentenced to 29 days in segregation. He came out on May 14th, only to return the next day.

From 2017 to 2019, Dulce Rivera, a transgender woman, was imprisoned by ICE on-and-off for months in solitary confinement. It led her to attenpt suicide.

An investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) reveals that between 2012 and 2017 almost 8,500 immigrants were confined in isolation cells at detention centers run by ICE. In more than half of those cases the migrants were from Mexico and Central America. The LGBT community has been hit hardest by this practice, which lawyers and human rights advocates are seeking to abolish.

Florida’s House Speaker, Jose Oliva, helped steer the controversial legislation despite its negative impact for Hispanic immigrants. Opponents criticize the alleged hypocrisy of Republicans who claim to support Venezuelan exiles, noting that the proposed law will make it easier for them to be deported.
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