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<blockquote>This article was written by <strong>Sohrab Saljooki</strong>, Hello Neighbor Network’s 2022 summer intern. Sohrab is a rising senior studying History and Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.</blockquote><p>Over the course of this summer, the state of the global refugee crisis changed significantly, with conflicts raging on worldwide that displaced tens of millions of people.</p><p>The United States has historically been situated as <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/62a9d1494/global-trends-report-2021#_ga=2.166694327.824063884.1657199446-39363106.1653570602">the most sought after destination</a> for asylum seekers, stateless people, immigrants, and refugees who have been impacted by conflict and violence. As advocates for refugees and immigrants, we must always ask: what is the United States doing for refugees and immigrants, and is it enough?</p><p>On behalf of the <a href="https://www.neighbornetwork.io/">Hello Neighbor Network</a>, I wanted to share some of the most important policy developments, data analyses, and stories about refugee policy in the United States that you may have missed this summer including:</p><ul><li><em>End of “Remain in Mexico” policy</em></li><li><em>Afghan Adjustment Act reintroduced</em></li><li><em>DHS location tracking of refugees and immigrants</em></li><li><em>Streamlining of the Afghan SIV process</em></li><li><em>Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection</em></li></ul><h4><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/30/politics/supreme-court-immigration-remain-in-mexico/index.html">CNN: Supreme Court says Biden can end Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ immigration policy</a></h4><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/780/0*yyoNBu2mNwnTJMzQ.jpg" /><figcaption>Immigrant activists demonstrate in front of the US Supreme Court in April 2022 (CNN).</figcaption></figure><p>The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Biden Administration as they sought to end Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” immigration and asylum policy. The policy required certain non-Mexican asylum seekers to stay in Mexico as their court proceedings continued in the United States. According to Tierney Sneed and Priscilla Alvarez:</p><blockquote>“The program, which was first implemented in 2019 under then-President Donald Trump, has been criticized by immigrant-rights advocates, who argue that it’s inhumane and that it exposes asylum seekers with credible claims to dangerous and squalid conditions in Mexico.”</blockquote><p>Since the decision, the Department of Homeland Security paralleled Biden’s position, seeking to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/08/mpp-biden-asylum-mexico/">end the policy as fast as possible.</a></p><h4><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/democrats-republicans-sponsor-bill-give-thousands-afghans-path-citizenship-2022-08-09/">Reuters: Democrats, Republicans sponsor bill to give thousands of Afghans path to citizenship</a></h4><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*q2Wy8KdVAccpj7je.jpg" /><figcaption>Members of the Afghan families Karimzai and Salarzai, who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power, cross through the El Chaparral port of entry after being allowed to enter the U.S. as asylum seekers with Title 42 exception, in Tijuana, Mexico, July 22, 2022, REUTERS/Aimee Melo</figcaption></figure><p>On August 9, The Afghan Adjustment Act was introduced into both the House and the Senate, giving Afghans a path to citizenship and expanding on SIV eligibility. The motion was a bipartisan move, with 3 Republican and 3 Democrat senators sponsoring the bill.</p><p>The Afghan Adjustment Act has long been a rally cry for refugee advocates, as the bill gives Afghan refugees who escaped the Taliban a path to permanent resettlement. According to Jonathan Landay:</p><blockquote>“The legislation would allow those evacuees to apply for permanent legal status if they submit to additional background checks.”</blockquote><p>Such a policy, if enacted, would be significant for the status of Afghan refugees.</p><h4><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/18/dhs-location-data-aclu-00046208">Politico: Homeland Security records show ‘shocking’ use of phone data, ACLU says</a></h4><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/630/0*yODPKPQ9Vpp5lKGF.jpg" /><figcaption>Lindsay Whitehurst/AP Photo</figcaption></figure><p>In documents obtained in an ACLU lawsuit, it was shown that the DHS, which includes ICE, USCBP, and the USCIS, uses the phone location data of hundreds of thousands of refugees and immigrants to keep track of movement.</p><blockquote>“These agencies seem fully aware that they are exploiting a massive privacy disaster in this country.” — Nathan Freed Wessler, ACLU</blockquote><p>According to the article, the usage of this data has been an explicit decision to combat “criminal goals.” This is significant, because refugee and immigrant communities have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/28/nypd-surveillance-mosques-terror-spying">a history of being targeted and discriminated by government surveillance</a> under the guise of fighting crime.</p><h4><a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2022/07/18/statement-secretaries-antony-j-blinken-and-alejandro-n-mayorkas-ongoing-efforts"><strong>Department of Homeland Security: Ongoing Efforts to Support Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Applicants</strong></a></h4><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*rdRKGdvN9tpPG3J7.jpg" /><figcaption>Department of Homeland Security Center for Domestic Preparedness (Source: Kathy Wood — CDP)</figcaption></figure><p>As legislative policy to help resettle refugees is debated and voted on for months in Congress, the DHS streamlined the process for Afghan SIV applicants in July. As said by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and DHS Secretary Alejandro Majorkas:</p><blockquote>“Starting this week, new Afghan SIV Program applicants will only need to file one form, a revised form DS-157, as their SIV petition. New applicants will no longer need to file the Form I-360, Petition for Special Immigrant Status, with DHS’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.”</blockquote><p>This is great for Afghan refugees as they don’t have to work with multiple agencies to apply for a visa, vastly improving the asylum bureaucracy which has historically been backlogged and difficult to navigate.</p><h4><a href="https://sway.office.com/O5RDpToINrBebUUl?ref=Link&amp;loc=play">USCRI: A Look at the Los Angeles Declaration and U.S. Commitments to Migration in Latin America</a></h4><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/0*UGLYxZtNx71qgd49.png" /><figcaption>American Heads of State present at the 9th Summit of the Americas (Source: state.gov)</figcaption></figure><p>During the 9th Summit of the Americas in early June, 20 heads of state, including President Biden, signed the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection.</p><p>The declaration’s goal is to streamline migration management in North and South America. Furthermore, some states made numerical commitments to refugee resettlement such as the United States, who <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/#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20will%20commit%20to%20resettle%2020%2C000%20refugees%20from%20the%20Americas%20during%20Fiscal%20Years%202023%20to%202024.">pledged to resettle 20,000 refugees from the Americas in FY 2023.</a></p><p>The commitment is great to hear, but policy experts at USCRI made an important point:</p><blockquote>“…without actions taken to increase processing under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), the United States will not meet the 20,000 goal.”</blockquote><p>This means that the problem doesn’t simply lay with little commitment, it is also the lack of broader political will to amend America’s complex and inefficient refugee admissions system.</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/202/0*YDulmqU--Tte6RUt.png" /></figure><p>Learn more about the <a href="https://www.neighbornetwork.io/">Hello Neighbor Network</a>. The Hello Neighbor Network accepts applications for Fellows every fall. <a href="http://eepurl.com/hnAmkT">Sign up for our newsletter</a> to be the first to know when applications open.</p><img alt="" height="1" src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&amp;referrerSource=full_rss&amp;postId=2edd7f689bc4" width="1" /><hr /><p><a href="https://medium.com/hello-neighbor-network/refugee-policy-in-the-united-states-5-important-summer-stories-2edd7f689bc4">Refugee Policy in the United States: 5 Important Summer Stories</a> was originally published in <a href="https://medium.com/hello-neighbor-network">Hello Neighbor Network</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.</p>