Since President Trump took office in January, arrests of undocumented immigrants have increased over forty percent compared to the final three months of the Obama administration. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 13,914 people last month, and the agency averaged 13,085 monthly arrests from February through June of this year. (In the final three months of the Obama administration, ICE averaged 9,134 arrests per month.) While the Trump administration has not converted those arrests into more deportations—rather numbers are steadily dropping—ICE Acting Director Thomas Homan recently explained that the drop is because of the backlog in federal immigration courts and the lengthy time to process each case. Perhaps the most telling piece of data: the biggest increase in arrests involved undocumented immigrants without a criminal record, a 156% increase from last year.
Read moreReimagine Migration
Chihuly at Botanical Gardens
Dale Chihuly, Sapphire Star, 2010.
After more than ten years, renowned glass sculpting artist Dale Chihuly has returned to New York City with his exhibition of larger-than-life glass sculptures in New York’s Botanical Garden (NYBG). Chihuly has created more than twenty amazing hand-blown pieces that bring organic shapes and vibrant colors to the gardens, reflecting the contrast between both color and light and art and nature. Some pieces have been designed for existing garden spaces, while others were created with the intention of adding new nature-inspired elements. “These glass works of art belong in the New York Botanical Garden in many ways," NYBC’s CEO Gregory Long tells Metro. "The beauty of nature here inspires artists of many kinds.” The exhibit also contains early drawings and sketches in the NYBC’s library, which give insight into Chihuly’s creative process and evolution. Visitors can even view this exhibition during NYBC’s night visit experiences. The exhibition will be at NYBC until the end of October, and I can't recommend it enough. I was truly dazzled by his artistry.
My Favorite Travel Book
While summer is prime travel time for most people, not everyone gets to escape. But don’t worry: the next best thing to actually traveling is reading a good travel story. Here we’ve collected our favorite travel books. From fiction to nonfiction, Alaska to the Amalfi Coast, you can go on travel adventures without ever leaving your living room. – Joseph McKeown
Read moreSeasonal and Low-Wage Laborers in America: Now and Then
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced yesterday a one-time increase of 15,000 additional visas available to low-wage, seasonal workers under the H-2B visa program for the remainder of this fiscal year. This decision represents a 45% increase in the annual H-2B cap Congress has set at 66,000. This final rule, created by the DHS after consulting with the Department of Labor (DOL), requires petitioners to attest, under the penalty of perjury, that their businesses are likely to suffer irreparable harm if unable to employ H-2B nonimmigrant workers during this fiscal year. They must also provide documentation proving that they would not be able to meet their contractual obligations otherwise.
Read moreFree and Vibrant
Once Upon a Place
Afghan-American artist Aman Mojadidi has taken the current immigration-policy debate and used it as inspiration for his most recent art installation, Once Upon A Place. The interactive exhibit allows visitors of Times Square to step back in time and enter one of three “repurposed” telephone booths to hear the immigration stories from New Yorkers. Visitors to the booths can pick up the receivers and listen to the immigration-related stories, which range anywhere from two to fifteen minutes, and “broadly touch on themes of belonging and displacement." The storytellers come from different countries throughout the world, including Bangladesh, Mexico, Yemen, Ghana, Russia, and Tibet. The phone booths have been strategically placed in what Mojadidi considers “a highly visible, international space,” and he hopes the stories inspire listeners to confront stereotypes about immigration. He tells the New York Times: "This issue of immigration has become so politicized. Globally, any sort of major city is built on immigration rather than destroyed by it.”
What Is Immigration Jail Like?
Each day the United States detains tens of thousands of people in detention facilities and local jails throughout the country. More than 400,000 are detained (including border apprehensions) on average each year. People are detained in the border area in facilities run by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as well as in privately-owned and operated facilities throughout the country that are contracted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE also contracts local jails throughout the country to hold detainees held during removal proceedings.
Read moreNY Times: “In Blow to Tech Industry, Trump Shelves Start-Up Immigrant Rule”
The Trump administration announced yesterday that it would delay, and likely eliminate, a federal rule announced by former President Obama that would have let foreign entrepreneurs come to the United States to start companies. The decision, which will be officially published by the federal government today, was quickly criticized by key business and technology leaders. “Today’s announcement is extremely disappointing and represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the critical role immigrant entrepreneurs play in growing the next generation of American companies,” Bobby Franklin, the president and chief executive of the National Venture Capital Association, a trade association for start-up investors, says in a statement. He notes that while other countries are doing whatever they can to attract entrepreneurs, “the Trump administration is signaling its intent to do the exact opposite.”
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