AUSTIN, Texas - The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agency (CPB) is facing a handful of lawsuits and potential lawsuits over claims of rampant misconduct against both immigrants and U.S. citizens. An alliance of advocacy groups recently filed actions against the CBP outlining 10 such cases. Six of the plaintiffs are from Texas.

Adriana Pinon, a senior staff attorney with ACLU of Texas, described one such incident.

"Our client is a United States citizen who was forcibly thrown to the ground, injured and arrested by a CBP agent while she was going about her routine day, and the CBP agent took these actions without any justification," Pinon said. "As a result, she was physically and emotionally injured."

Pinon added that the woman did not interfere with police, nothing was found in a search of her car or belongings, and no charges were brought.

Customs and Border Patrol does not comment specifically on pending litigation, spokesman Bill Brooks said, but he added that "we don't tolerate misconduct or abuse within our ranks, and we fully cooperate with all investigations of alleged unlawful conduct by any of our employees and contractors."

Pinon said these kinds of abuses are all too common in border communities, and that has to change.

"For the agents that we have on the border, we do need more training, and we need accountability and some transparency, so we can precisely figure out when these incidents happen and how to find solutions that will stop them from happening in the future."

The filings come amid a national discussion on immigration reform. Several proposed plans include a path to citizenship, but some want that coupled with thousands more agents patrolling the border. Pinon said CPB is already the country's largest law enforcement agency, and expanding that without accountability could make a bad situation worse.

"It's important right now to call attention to these types of abuses because a lot of people are calling for more border patrol agents as a precondition to getting any sort of comprehensive immigration reform passed," she said, "but the solution isn't just putting more boots on the ground."

The complaints and lawsuits claim that Border Patrol agents routinely make racially-motivated arrests, employ coercive interrogation tactics and imprison those arrested under inhumane conditions.

More information from the American Immigration Council is available at http://bit.ly/cNIFcs.




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A new survey showed New York City's population of asylum-seekers is struggling, and makes suggestions for improvements.

The survey by the group Make the Road New York found along with declining access to resources and services, migrants face the impacts of Mayor Eric Adams' "30-60 day rule," which limits shelter stays for migrants and asylum-seekers from 30-60 days.

Natalia Aristazabal, deputy director of Make the Road New York, said the rule disrupts many asylum-seekers' cases.

"You have to have a steady address. If you have a change of address, you have to communicate that to USCIS and the federal government," Aristazabal explained. "But if people are being evicted after 30 to 60 days and they don't have a place to live, they're not going to be able to update the federal government as to where they're living."

She added before the rule, people had more time to find their footing, which is important because translation services are not always available.

A New York City Comptroller's report finds the rule's implementation was haphazard, since other services for migrants are insufficient. The survey found expediting work authorizations and putting city resources into baseline services could improve migrants' situations.

The survey also showed a growing part of the migrant population is from African countries.

Adama Bah, executive director of the nonprofit Afrikana, is one of many immigrant advocates who want to see more action at the federal level to help improve life for migrants in the city. Bah said misunderstandings about them hamper their progress to citizenship.

"The other part that's missing is their stories. Who is coming? Where are they coming from? These are people that are fleeing gender-based violence, civil war, climate justice issues," Bah stressed. "You have the stories are missing, you have the misunderstanding about who's coming and then frankly, Black migrants are missing from the conversation."

Some 21% of migrants surveyed were Black and the results indicate a sizable population comes from Western African countries. Bah feels there has not been enough conversation around how to support the next waves of migrants coming to the U.S.


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South Dakota ranks fifth in the nation for its rate of refugee resettlements per capita and the rate increased dramatically in the last year, according to the Immigration Research Initiative.

More refugees, or people unable to return to their home countries due to persecution, are resettling in the U.S. following historic declines during the Trump administration.

According to the Lutheran Social Services Center for New Americans, South Dakota took in more than 200 refugees last year, up from about 50 the year before, representing a 320% jump. The national rate increased 135% in the same time frame.

Rebecca Kiesow-Knudsen, president and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota, said the numbers are manageable.

"Still a pretty small number in our state and definitely a size that we feel we can responsibly integrate into the community," Kiesow-Knudsen acknowledged.

The numbers do not include arrivals through "Uniting for Ukraine," a separate federal program which resettled more than 250 individuals in the state last year. Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota is the sole resettlement agency in the state and works mostly in Sioux Falls where, Kiesow-Knudsen noted, the school districts are welcoming. But finding affordable housing is a challenge, one faced by most communities doing similar work.

Kiesow-Knudsen pointed out the Sioux Falls job market for New Americans is good and Lutheran Social Services offers a vocational English program to help them get jobs.

"If I'm going to go into the hospitality sector, as an example, what are the key English language words that I need to know and understand so that I can work with my employer successfully?" Kiesow-Knudsen suggested.

The Congressional Budget Office predicts immigration will be increasingly vital to the American workforce, as fertility rates decline. Net immigration is expected to account for all population growth starting in 2040, according to a demographic outlook the office released in January.


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Advocates for immigrants are pushing back on a bill signed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in the last few days of the legislative session, modeled on a recent, controversial Texas law.

Senate File 2340 gives local law enforcement officers and judges the authority to deport undocumented immigrants.

Erica Johnson, executive director of the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, argued the bill is an overreach, and said Iowa law enforcement officers are not authorized to enforce it.

"This is a pretty clear intervention into federal territory," Johnson pointed out. "U.S. immigration law is governed by federal law."

Much like the author of the Texas bill, supporters in Iowa blame the Biden administration for failing to slow illegal immigration, so the state has decided to take matters into its own hands.

Johnson contended the bill and other anti-immigrant sentiment during the just-completed legislative session target the very people Iowa, with its dwindling population, will depend on for its future workforce.

"What we need is communities that are safe, where workers have access to dignified, safe workplaces," Johnson emphasized. "The truth of what Iowa's future could be depends on immigrants and immigrant workers in our state, and unfortunately, this law could take us back, away from that possible future. "

Johnson added her organization will pursue legal ways to block the bill from taking effect in July.


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