Controversial New Immigrant Detention Center for Transgender Detainees
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is building a new immigration detention center with a special unit designed to house 36 transgender detainees, the first detention center of its kind. It will be called The Prairieland Detention Center and it is being built in Alvarado Texas. It is expected to open its doors in November 2016.
According to ICE, the construction of a transgender unit in Texas is meant to improve conditions for the transgender detainees. But transgender activists and advocates claim that the new center only highlights the ways in which the system is abusive and incompetent when it comes to dealing with transgender individuals.
Until last year, the government had no protocol for the treatment of transgender detainees. In June 2015, ICE developed new provisions to address this problem. The provisions cover everything from strip searches, to clothing options, to medical care and housing assignments.
However, concerns have been expressed about the enforcement of the new provisions. Often, even after a new policy has been released, lack of oversight and proper training makes the new policy difficult to carry out. Since it took almost a year for any facility to adopt the new provisions laid out by ICE last year, many are concerned that this will happen again with the new facility.
Others have noted that the current policy does not allow transgender detainees to define their own gender. Rather, a committee of doctors decides how each detainee’s gender will be defined and places the detainee accordingly. This increases the likelihood that transgender men and women will be housed together. Moreover, the policy contains language that could lead to abuse of transgender individuals. Therefore, while on the surface the new detention center seems like a big step forward, many are concerned that it is barely a step forward at all.
In addition, cases of immigrants housed at the new center will be heard by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, a court that some say is known for being hostile toward asylum cases. Therefore, there are further concerns about the fair treatment of transgender immigrants since many often come seeking asylum.
DACA Beneficiaries Allowed to Teach and Practice Medicine in New York State
New York state’s medical licensing board has voted to accept applications from immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children. The decision goes into effect on June 1.
While Obama’s DACA policy technically grants recipients the legal right to work in the U.S., in New York, some professional licenses continue to be limited to people with citizenship or legal immigration status. The decision from the medical licensing board will therefore open new doors for DACA recipients.
Supporters of the new policy have said that the measure will be particularly helpful in mitigating the challenges of language barriers. Many DACA recipients are bilingual and can help fill the state’s need for bilingual teachers, providers, and school leaders. In addition, supporters have noted that DACA recipients have grown up in the U.S., attended American schools and some have even served in the military, making them American in every way except for legal status.
Those who oppose the measure have complained that undocumented immigrants should not be licensed to teach when there are American-born teachers who are unemployed. Moreover, many have said that the state should have focused on expediting the professional licensing process for other groups, such as military spouses, before helping undocumented immigrants. Still others have stated that in general, undocumented immigrants should not be afforded the same rights as those who are documented.
Licensing restrictions have been eased in California, Florida, and Nevada as well.
Temporary Protected Status Extended for Nicaragua
The Secretary of Homeland Security has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Nicaragua and for those without nationality who last habitually resided there. TPS has been extended for 18 months, beginning July 6, 2016 and ending January 5, 2018.
Current TPS Nicaragua beneficiaries who want to extend their TPS must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from May 16, 2016 through July 15, 2016.
The extension allows TPS re-registrants to apply for a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Those who re-register during the 60-day period and request a new EAD will receive one with an expiration date of January 5, 2018.
For more information, including instructions on how to re-register, please click here.
Temporary Protected Status Extended for Honduras
The Secretary of Homeland Security has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Honduras and for those without nationality who last habitually resided there. TPS has been extended for 18 months, beginning July 6, 2016 and ending January 5, 2018.
Current TPS Honduras beneficiaries who want to extend their TPS must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from May 16, 2016 through July 15, 2016.
The extension allows TPS re-registrants to apply for a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Those who re-register during the 60-day period and request a new EAD will receive one with an expiration date of January 5, 2018.
For more information, including instructions on how to re-register, please click here.
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