The Immigrant’s Journal - Vol. 124

The Immigrant’s Journal Vol. 124

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USCIS Fee Hikes Will Go Into Effect for These Applications

BY MELISSA CRUZ

U

.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an advance copy of a final rule on July 31 that will impose significant fee increases across many facets of the legal immigration system. These changes include an astronomical 80% increase to the cost of becoming a U.S. citizen and a first-time fee for asylum applicants. The rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register on August 3.

With this new rule, the Trump administration demands that immigrants, vulnerable individuals, and American businesses take the brunt of USCIS’ financial mismanagement. This could make the legal immigration system inaccessible to millions of people.

These applications will have increased fees starting on October 2: Green Card Applications USCIS is “debundling” several forms in

the green card application process.

Applicants previously paid one fee for all the forms but will now have to pay for each form separately. This includes a continued on page 2

Love & Relationships: Life On the Fence ...14

Judge Issues Two Nationwide Injunctions Blocking “Public Charge” Immigration Rules

T

oday, [July 29] a Manhattan federal court issued two nationwide injunctions temporarily blocking the Trump Administration’s “public charge” rules. An injunction issued against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) prevents DHS from enforcing, applying, implementing, or treating as effective the “public charge” rule for any period during which there is a declared national health emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The ruling came after immigrant rights attorneys successfully argued that the

COVID-19 pandemic has made the DHS public charge rule lethal to immigrant communities by chilling the use of healthcare and other benefits. The court also enjoined the Department of State from applying its parallel “public

charge” rules, including the President’s health care proclamation, to applicants for visas at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the same New York court’s October 2019 decision to block DHS’s “public charge” rule; as a result DHS began enforcement of the rule on February 24, 2020, just before the coronavirus outbreak became a nationwide pandemic. The new injunction against DHS was issued in response to continued on page 12

One Year After TPS for Venezuela Bill Passed the House, Senate Administration Fail to Act

J

August 06, 2020

uly 25, 2020 marks one year since a bill that would designate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuela has been stalled in the Senate while the president continues to pledge support for the Venezuelan people. The Department of Homeland Security also has authority to designate TPS but has failed to act.

TPS for Venezuela would protect at least 200,000 people in the United States

from the massive humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, which has so-far caused 5.2 million people to flee. The need for protection has grown even more dire with the COVID-19 pandemic. Venezuela only has 84 ICU beds for 28 million people. The lack of TPS and access to asylum has resulted in at least hundreds of Venezuelans trapped in U.S. detention continued on page 2

Editorial credit: jarno verdonk / Shutterstock.com

Statement from DACA Recipients on Trump’s Decision to Weaken DACA Protections

W

ASHINGTON, DC — DACA recipients on FWD.us’ staff released the following statement today after the Trump Administration issued a new memorandum to radically weaken DACA protections for DACA recipients: “The Trump Administration’s decision today to radically weaken DACA protections for Dreamers like us makes it clear that this Administration is willing to do whatever it takes — including ignoring a clear directive from the Supreme Court —in order to advance its hateful, antiimmigrant agenda and separate our families.

“Today’s action is as absurd as it is offensive to hundreds of thousands of Dreamers like us who have grown up in the United States since childhood, and to our families and communities. In addition to cutting the DACA program’s length in half, the new memo excludes hundreds of thousands of new DACA applicants who, like us, deserve to be shielded from deportation in the only country they know as home. Denying these Dreamers the opportunity to continue their lives here is cruel and chaotic.

Make no mistake that this two-step dismantling of the DACA program will lay the groundwork for deporting Dreamers like us if Trump is reelected.

“At a time when an unprecedented global health crisis has taken the lives of nearly 150,000 Americans, the President’s obsession with deporting Dreamers and perpetuating family separation is outrageous and deeply disturbing. Regardless of what this Administration and its enablers do, we will never go back into the shadows, nor will we give up fighting for justice — for ourselves, and the millions of other immigrants in this country who deserve to be recognized as the Americans we truly are.”l

IMMIGRATION MATTERS TPS for Venezuelans/ from page 1 centers, exposed to the deadly coronavirus.

On the one-year anniversary of the Senate bill languishing, Venezuela and TPS experts weighed in: “We often hear that the United States stands in full support of the Venezuelan people. But the continued inaction on TPS seems to suggest that U.S. concern for Venezuelans ends when they are forced to flee their country,” said Geoff Ramsey, Director for Venezuela at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). “Fleeing Venezuelans deserve a robust, coordinated response across our hemisphere, not a race to the bottom. The United States should be encouraging partner nations in Latin America to expand access to regular status and essential services for fleeing Venezuelans, and can lead by example in offering greater protections to Venezuelans in our own borders.”

“Over the past few years, the administration has placed asylum out of reach for nearly everyone seeking safety at U.S. shores, including for Venezuelan asylumseekers fleeing persecution from a regime senior U.S. officials themselves have described as brutal and autocratic,” said Charanya Krishnaswami, Americas Advocacy Director at Amnesty International USA. “Because of cruel U.S. asylum policies, Venezuelans seeking safety here have been subject to pro-

longed detention, forcibly sent to dangerous and precarious conditions along the Mexico/U.S. border, and separated from their family members by U.S. authorities.

Extending Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans is a long-overdue and necessary step to ensure that people seeking safety can access it.”

Niurka Meléndez, Co-Founder and Community Organizer at Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid (VIA) said: “As an organization serving Venezuelan asylum seekers and other Venezuelans in vulnerable situations, VIA knows firsthand the impact TPS would have to stabilize people’s lives. The lives and freedom of so many of the Venezuelans VIA serves every day are at risk. No displaced Venezuelan in need of protection should be left in limbo.”

“At a time when the tides of mass trauma, displacement, and instability are accelerating globally, providing refuge for survivors of crisis is foundational to any humane and just strategy towards Venezuela,” said Mariam Iskajyan, Advocacy and Policy Program Manager at Win Without War. “Words of solidarity for the Venezuelan people mean little if the U.S. won’t uphold them through action. By protecting human lives from the threat of deportation and potential death sentences, TPS would help reorient U.S. foreign policy in the region away from exploitation and instability, towards a brighter future rooted in dignity, justice, and security for all.”l —America’s Voice

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2 USCIS Fee Hikes /from page 1

request for work authorization and travel documents that people file so they can work and travel while their application is being processed. In total, the agency will charge an extra $1,150 to apply for a green card and those other documents.

That brings the cost from $1,760 to $2,910.

Naturalization Applications The financial burden of becoming a U.S. citizen is now especially high—USCIS increased the total cost of a naturalization application by over 80%.

Online naturalization applications will now run $1,170, up from the previous price of $640. USCIS says the new fee will cover the full cost to process the application as well as some overhead costs.

USCIS is also eliminating almost all fee waivers that it previously provided for low-income immigrants seeking citizenship. Once the rule goes into effect, everyone will have to pay the full fee with few exceptions. Given that almost 40% of Americans don’t even have $400 in the bank, requiring everyone who wants to become a citizen to pay $1,170 will put citizenship out of reach for many.

H-1B Visa Applications The Trump administration has attacked the H-1B visa category for years, and this new rule is no exception.

This temporary nonimmigrant visa category allows U.S. employers to petition for highly educated foreign professionals to work in “specialty occupations” that require an advanced degree.

Filing fees for employers petitioning for an H-1B worker will increase by 70%. The cost to petition for one worker will total over $3,000. But higher fees will not equal greater service. The agency is also increasing the time it takes to process H-1B visas. Employers who pay for “premium processing” of their petitions will now have to wait almost twice as long to receive a decision.

The fee hike is especially ill-timed given the pandemic. Most people with H1B visas fill critical vacancies in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields.

Asylum Applications USCIS will now charge a $50 fee to apply for asylum. This will be the first

time the United States has charged a fee since WWII. This makes the United States only the fourth country in the world to charge a fee for asylum applications. Iran, Fiji, and Australia also charge a fee.

The new fee for asylum applications is particularly devastating as people who are fleeing their countries in search of safety often do so with limited resources.

There is a strong chance that individuals who would have otherwise qualified for asylum will now be unable to even apply.

USCIS also refused to provide any fee waivers for this expense.

In addition, asylum seekers will also now be required to pay a fee for a work permit for the first time, so long as their asylum application is still pending. The cost will be $550. But that too may be out of reach for many. Asylum seekers are not allowed to work before getting a work permit. And if they do work without authorization, under newly proposed asylum rules they could disqualified from asylum if they fail to report even a penny of that income on their taxes.

DACA The agency also walked back its original plan to increase the fee for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applications, as a new DACA memorandum signed by Acting Secretary Wolf called for freezing fees.

DACA holders will, however, now have to renew their status every year instead of every other year, so the fees that they pay will be doubled through other means.

USCIS’ History of Financial Issues These fee hikes, along with others not mentioned above, come as USCIS faces an enormous budget shortfall and impending furloughs of two-thirds of its staff. USCIS requested a $1.2 billion bailout from Congress this summer. The agency claims that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent office closures wiped out most of the fee-based agency’s revenue.

But USCIS has long suffered from fiscal mismanagement. In reality, the fee hikes represent the culmination of years’ worth of financial recklessness and poor policy changes. These issues have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. The published rule, however, says the agency did not take COVID-19 into consideration when determining the new fees.

Increasing costs to solve USCIS’ financial hardships won’t work when those who would utilize the agency’s services can no longer afford a basic application or petition. The government needs to find another way to save USCIS.l

IMMIGRATION

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TIME FOR ACTION

3

Support for Immigration Has Never Been Stronger, and Yet Many Support a Temporary Pause in Immigration. What’s Up With That?

BY AMERICA’S VOICE

T

he beginning of the NPR headline regarding its new poll was surprising: “Americans Back Trump On Immigration.” Then comes the kicker: “But Only To Stop COVID-19, Poll Finds.”

Right-wing media like Breitbart are trumpeting the spate of polls that find a majority of Americans support temporary restrictions on legal immigration, and the nativist movement in America has used these polls to encourage the Trump administration to close our border and end most legal immigration. With Stephen Miller calling the shots, they didn’t have to push that hard.

What the xenophobes leave out is the context. We are in the midst of a once-ina-century public health crisis. Over 200 countries around the world have restricted travel and immigration as part of a comprehensive approach to reduce the spread of the deadly coronavirus. In America, we don’t have a comprehensive approach, but we do have the travel and immigration restrictions in place.

Recent polls show that support for immigration generally, support for increased levels of immigration, and support for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, including Dreamers, has never been higher. So, how do we square these seemingly different responses?

“Americans do want to take steps to limit immigration right now,” said [NPR/Ipsos] pollster Mallory Newall.

“But that’s not because their views on immigration have changed. It’s because they want to do everything in their power to contain the spread of COVID-19.”

Here are how respondents who were called for followup interviews by NPR story framed it. A Republican said, “I feel like we need to take care of America first.

We should be staying at home, and I think other countries should not be coming in until we have the coronavirus

Editorial credit: John Gomez / Shutterstock.com

especially under control.” An independent said, “Right now is not a very good time to be immigrating,” adding “there’s a lot of undocumented here that should be documented before we start adding to the immigration.” A Democrat said, “I get right now that we got this pandemic going on, that’s fine. But once this calms down, if somebody really wants to come over here and raise their family and be a citizen, let them do that.”

Here is evidence that support for immigration has never been stronger, even despite the attraction of some voters for a temporary reduction in legal immigration, both since the beginning of the Trump presidency and since the beginning of this year. nGallup just reported the highest levels of support for increases in legal immigration ever: On July 1, Gallup reported that “Nearly 8 in ten (77%) Americans think immigration is a good thing for their country…Thirty-four percent of Americans, up from 27% a year ago, would prefer to see immigration to the U.S. increased. This is the highest support for expanding immigration Gallup has found in its trend since 1965.

Meanwhile, the percentage favoring decreased immigration has fallen to a new low of 28%, while 36% think it should stay at the present level. This marks the first time in Gallup’s trend that the percentage wanting increased immigration has exceeded the percentage who

want decreased immigration.” They added, “Trump may not be as concerned with getting majority support for his policies as he is in using the issue to energize his political base. Trump’s policies and rhetoric on the issue are likely accomplishing that goal but may also be serving to make people outside his base more positive toward immigration.” nJuly polling from CAP Action/Hart Research shows voters support proimmigrant and pro-immigration policies: “Americans recognize the important contributions that immigrants are making to combat the pandemic, and—by large margins—support granting legal status and a pathway to citizenship for essential workers in the fight against COVID-19.”

In addition, Hart Research writes, “This poll reveals a substantially improved environment since April, with support for immigration and immigrants largely back to pre-pandemic levels. Americans increasingly recognize immigrants’ contributions during the current crisis.” nJune polling by GSG for America’s Voice, the Immigration Hub and FWD.us, found the following results: •82% support/13% oppose: “Providing a path to earn citizenship for undocumented immigrants who have been longstanding members of the community, have paid taxes, and passed a background check.”

•74% support/15% oppose: “Ensuring that essential workers during the pandemic, like health care workers and farm workers, are able to earn citizenship.”

•73% support/17% oppose: “Ending the policy of separating families from their children at the border.”

The bottom line: America wants to be safe from the threat of the pandemic, is willing to entertain extraordinary measures to get through this, and supports immigrants and pro-immigration policy stronger than ever. This is a temporary pause in light of the public health crisis, not a shift in views on immigration.l

TEAM Publisher I.Q. INC. Legal Advisor Brian Figeroux, Esq. Managing Editor & Editor-in-Chief Pearl Phillip Assistant Editor Marilyn Silverman Graphic & Website Designers Praim Samsoondar Anvar Sabirov Email immjournal@aol.com

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The Immigrant's Journal Legal & Educational Fund, Inc. is an organization dedicated to the educational and economic empowerment of all immigrants and immigrant organizations here in the United States. We at the Journal recognize the enormous contribution of immigrants to this country economically, socially and politically. Since September 11, 2001, however, immigrants have increasingly been discriminated against and Congress has passed legislation curtailing the rights of immigrants here in the U.S., broadly claiming that immigrants are a threat to ''National Security.'' We at the Journal believe that these charges are unfounded, unsubstantiated and exaggerated.

The Immigrant's Journal Volunteer Intern Program was introduced to give our volunteers the opportunity to work in an immigrant friendly environment while developing the necessary skills for college or law school. They assist our staff in resolving immigration and other legal concerns through personal interviews, radio, email and telephone contact. They also assist the public with citizenship applications and in researching whether or not children of naturalized U.S. citizens have derived citizenship from their parents. Some of our volunteers assist our legal staff by engaging in legal research and writing letters on other legal issues. Volunteer interns are also assigned various other jobs in our Youth Programs.

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TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

4

3 Things You Need to Know About Trump’s Unconstitutional Census Executive Order

BY AARON REICHLIN-MELNICK IMMIGRATION IMPACT

P

resident Trump issued an executive order on June 21 that laid out a plan to violate the U.S. Constitution by excluding undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census. An accurate census count is vital to ensuring that each state receives their fair share of seats in the U.S House of Representatives. It also directs hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding for more than 100 programs.

1. What Does the Census Executive Order Say? The executive order states that in January 2021, the president intends to submit a reapportionment plan to Congress that excludes all undocumented immigrants.

Under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, the census counts “the whole number of persons in each State” every 10 years. Between January 3 and January 10 following a census year, the president is required by law to submit a statement with that number to Congress.

After that point, Congress uses the count to reapportion seats between states for the House of Representatives.

The order says that when the president submits that statement next January, he will exclude all undocumented immigrants from the count. He declares he has the discretion to determine that the word “persons” does not include undocumented immigrants. The executive order compares immigrants to tourists, who aren’t counted. That ignores that the average undocumented immigrant has been in the United States for over 15 years.

2. What Does the Census Executive Order Do? Why did President Trump issue this order? It might be to retaliate against sanctuary cities and liberal states that disagree with his immigration priorities.

Parts of the executive order strongly suggest this. The president declares that “States adopting policies that encourage illegal aliens to enter this country and that hobble Federal efforts to enforce the immigration laws passed by the Congress should not be rewarded with greater representation in the House of Representatives.” The order also says, without naming it, that one state gets additional members of Congress because it has over two million undocumented immigrants living in it. That state is

California, which has long been a target for the president.

The census therefore becomes a weapon against these cities and states, which could lose out on representation and funding with an inaccurate census count.

3. Is the Census Executive Order Legal?

The president’s extreme argument is legally indefensible. Since the late 19th century, the Supreme Court has been clear that the word “persons” in the Constitution refers to all people, regardless of immigration status. In 1982 in Plyler v. Doe, the Supreme Court also made clear that the protections of the 14th Amendment, which apply to all “persons” in the United States, also apply to undocumented immigrants. And since

1790, the U.S. Census Bureau has counted every person residing in the United States during the census, regardless of immigration status. Even international students attending a university during a census year are counted.

But even if the executive order was legal, it would still be almost impossible to carry out. In 2019, the Supreme Court blocked the Census Bureau from adding a citizenship question. This means the Census Bureau will be unable to accurately determine who is or is not an immigrant and further, who is or is not undocumented.

President Trump’s abuse of power shows the lengths to which he will go to distract and divide the country in his war on immigrants. Hopefully, this illegal plan will be swiftly squashed in court.”l

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CIVIL RIGHTS

5

Trump Deployed a Federal Agency With a History of Excessive Force to Police Racial Justice now be nearly impossible to hold individual CBP officers responsible for misconduct.

BY CLAUDIA VALENZUELA IMMIGRATION IMPACT

T

he May 25 killing of George Floyd by Minnesota police officers rightly sparked public outrage and protests throughout the United States.

In response, the Trump administration deployed federal forces from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—which houses federal immigration enforcement agencies including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)— to different cities and engaged in aerial surveillance of those participating in these protests.

Any federal law enforcement presence at local protests can be cause for alarm, but CBP’s presence is particularly troubling. On July 27, advocates filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking more information about CBP’s role in policing these U.S. protests.

CBP has a troubling history of documented abuses and racial profiling.

The highly troubling development of federal forces as law enforcement officers threatens the ability of protesters to peacefully gather on city streets. What is

even more troubling is that CBP has avoided accountability for its unlawful abuse.

CBP has a track record of abuses, racial profiling, and excessive force. It also had an aggressive role in the separation of migrant families during the implementation of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” enforcement policy at the border.

Thousands of CBP agents also joined a secret Facebook account dedicated to racist and degrading posts, including mocking migrant deaths and sharing disturbing images and comments about Latinx members of Congress. When its

secret Facebook account was discovered, CBP members tried to delete the posts to avoid accountability.

CBP has avoided accountability for its actions.

This is also an agency that continually fights transparency, deflects public scrutiny, and resists accountability.

Earlier this year, CBP obtained “security agency” designation that shields it from having to disclose the names of individual officers in response to public requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Although having CBP respond to FOIA requests has always been difficult, it will

CBP’s actions have not advanced safety in our communities.

The growing role of CBP in enforcement throughout the country warrants close public scrutiny and oversight. An agency with a reputation for civil and human rights violations like CBP should not engage in the policing of U.S. communities—particularly communities protesting racial injustice.

While CBP’s jurisdiction and mandate are fundamentally tied to patrolling U.S. land borders and airports, it has slowly and surreptitiously expanded the contours of its jurisdiction—both geographically and legally.

CBP’s presence, in addition to that of other federal law enforcement agencies, has only engendered justified outrage. If the administration truly aims to achieve the safety and well-being of communities throughout the country, it should engage in meaningful accountability for CBP and other federal law enforcement agencies that have documented histories of abuse towards our communities.l

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MONEY MATTERS

6

A Deceptive Credit Card Interest Rate Reduction Offer

BY CRISTINA MIRANDA, FTC

M

onthly credit card bills can be a drag, especially when you’re feeling financially strapped.

Finding ways to lower those bills — sometimes by simply calling your credit card company directly and asking for a lower rate — can save you lots of cash.

So what about those companies that call with a “guaranteed” credit card interest rate reduction offer (for a small fee) and a promise to save you thousands of dollars? Most likely, it’s a deal designed to dupe you out of money.

According to a complaint by the FTC, three marketers behind the companies CSG Solutions and Second Choice Horizon targeted financially distressed people with illegal robocalls and telemarketing. Their goal, says the FTC, was to sell a bogus credit card interest rate reduction service. For an upfront fee, these companies falsely guaranteed zero percent interest rates for the life of people’s credit card debt. They also promised thousands of dollars in savings. But, says the FTC, people never got the financial relief they were looking for.

Instead, the FTC alleges that most people ended up paying extra balance trans-

fer and other fees that they weren’t told about, in addition to the companies’ hefty fee. The companies also collected Social Security and credit card numbers, security codes, and other personal information over the phone. And, even when the people they called refused to use their service, the marketers used that personal information to apply for credit cards on behalf of those people, without their knowledge or consent. They also sent people invoices, charging them for those cards.

Here’s how to protect yourself from this type of scam: nThe best way to get a lower credit card interest rate is to do it yourself for free. nCall the customer service number on the back of your credit card and ask the company directly for a lower rate. nDon’t share your credit card, bank account or Social Security numbers, or any other personal information, with telemarketers who call you out of the blue.

Once a scammer has your data, they can use it to commit other fraud against you. nIt’s illegal for a company to charge a fee before performing a debt relief service, such as reducing your credit card’s interest rate. nHang up on unsolicited pre-recorded sales calls. The best way to deal with a robocall is to hang up. You shouldn’t be getting these calls unless you have given the specific company that called you permission to make prerecorded calls to you.

Did you spot a credit card interest rate reduction scam, or get a robocall? Tell us about it at ftc.gov/complaint.

Cristina Miranda is the Consumer Education Specialist at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

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7

HOW TO GET A GREEN CARD

Immigration 101: What is Asylum?

BY ZACHARY MUELLER AMERICA’S VOICE

F

or the last several decades, our asylum laws have helped America remain a beacon for refugees and peoples in need from all over the world.

However, the Trump Administration has worked tirelessly to close all options for obtaining asylum in the U.S., leaving refugees mired in a process marked by cruelty and chaos.

Below we will discuss what asylum is, the process for obtaining it, and the changes the Trump Administration has made to the asylum process.

What is Asylum?

Asylum is a legal process that allows someone who feels their life is in danger to seek refuge in safer countries. Under U.S. and international law, someone who reaches any U.S. border “with wellfounded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group, who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence,” may apply for asylum.

A refugee and an asylum seeker differ in that an asylum seeker makes their claim after they have stepped foot onto the country where they are seeking refuge, whereas a refugee is granted sta-

tus while still outside that country.

Once a migrant applies for asylum, they begin a process to prove they have a “credible fear” of returning to their country of origin.

The U.S. Asylum Process Once a migrant fleeing persecution reaches the U.S., they can apply for asylum and begin the sometimes years-long process. The Trump Administration has repeatedly announced changes making this process longer, crueler, and more confusing.

Before the Trump Administration, the asylum process generally began with the applicant filing a detailed and lengthy

application and submitting it with their photo and fingerprints. If the asylum seeker entered the U.S. with a valid visa, they then interview with an asylum officer from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the asylum seeker provides evidence to establish that they have been or will be persecuted if they return to their country of origin. The asylum seeker is either granted asylum or denied. If denied, the asylum seeker can appeal through immigration court.

If a migrant seeks asylum after entering the U.S. without prior documentation, they are detained, and they file the asylum application with their photo and fingerprints. They then undergo an initial “credible fear” interview, where the asylum seeker establishes that they have a legitimate fear of returning to their country of origin. If they are deemed to have a “credible fear” of returning, the asylum seeker either remains detained or is paroled to wait for their hearing in immigration court, which will grant or deny them asylum.

Asylum seekers are not entitled to legal representation, so those who are unable to find or afford an attorney must navigate the long and confusing process on their own. In FY 2017, 20 percent of asylum seekers did not have representation, even though those with representa-

tion were five times more likely to win their asylum cases. Under Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, obtaining an attorney is even harder. Less than two percent of asylum seekers under the program have had legal representation.

The Trump Administration’s Assault on the Asylum System The Trump Administration has waged an all-out assault on asylum seekers, dismantling the legal asylum process in all but name. The Trump Administration’s goals, in changing the asylum system, seem to not be orientated toward security or fairness, but by cruelty and exclusion.

Led by the white nationalist White House senior advisor Stephen Miller, the Administration has dramatically reduced the U.S. refugee admissions cap, setting record lows each year they have been in office. For FY 2018, the Administration lowered the refugee admissions cap to 45,000 — but only admitted half that number, 22,491, the lowest admissions number in 40 years. In FY 2019, they lowered the cap to 30,000 refugees, the lowest limit since the caps were first established in the 1980s. The Administration reduced the admissions cap to just 18,000 for FY 2020.

Meanwhile, Miller has pushed to zeroout refugee admissions altogether. l

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8

FAMILY MATTERS

Kids and Covid-19: A Mental Health Crisis Looms

BY ABIGAIL KRAMER

E

very Friday morning, Dr. Wanda Fremont logs onto her computer to video-conference with patients.

Most are teenagers who have recently attempted to commit suicide. Some attacked family members during episodes of out-of-control aggression. A few have eating disorders that have gotten so bad, doctors fear they could die of self-neglect.

They have all been admitted to the adolescent psychiatric unit at SUNY’s Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, New York, where, since the coronavirus arrived, Fremont has conducted weekly rounds by video. As always, the unit's eight beds are full, with several kids waiting in a medical ward for a spot to open up. Patients usually stay for one to two weeks—just long enough to get them out of the immediate crisis and discharge them, making space for young people who show up in the hospital's emergency department daily from all over Central New York.

In the past month, Fremont and other doctors across New York State say that— after plummeting in the weeks after

schools closed—the number of young people coming to hospitals with dangerous psychiatric emergencies is climbing back up.

It is a first sign, they say, of a looming mental health crisis among children and adolescents, as fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic continues to rain down across New York. And doctors warn that— unless the State makes radical changes— many young people will not be able to get the mental health care they need.

"We're still in the honeymoon phase now," says Fremont, who is a professor and vice chair of child psychiatry at SUNY Upstate. "Over the next year, we'll see the real psychological impacts."

Even before the coronavirus drove New Yorkers into their homes, suicide was the second-leading cause of death in the state for youth aged 15-19, and the third-leading cause of death for children aged 5-14.

Despite Federal and State laws requiring insurance companies to make mental health services as affordable and easy to obtain as medical care, doctors and advocates say that New York's mental health system has been starved by decades of stingy insurance reimbursements and underinvestment by the State.

Medicaid, which covers close to two million New York kids, often does not reimburse mental health care providers

enough to cover the costs of offering services, providers say. Commercial insurance plans pay even less.

The consequence is that sick kids regularly sit on wait lists for months to see a therapist or child psychiatrist. More than half of children diagnosed with mental health conditions in New York receive no treatment or counseling at all—including 55 percent of kids with major depression, according to data from national surveys.

Now, as the coronavirus isolates families in their homes, young people face an onslaught of circumstances that damage mental health. At best, they are cut off from friends, routines, school counselors, and the sense that life is orderly or predictable. Thousands have lost a parent or grandparent to the virus. Many are home with parents who've been laid off, or who risk their health at work because they can't afford to miss a paycheck. Domestic violence has become more common—as, almost certainly, has child abuse. Parents drowning in their own addictions are cut off from help, and likely pulling their children under. Thousands of families have been or soon will be pushed into poverty—a fact that, in and of itself, continued on page 9

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9

FAMILY MATTERS Mental Health Crisis/ continued from page 8

increases a child's risk for mental health disorders.

"It feels like we're seeing a pressure cooker," says Dr. Christopher Lucas, who is the vice chair for intensive services at SUNY Upstate, and who sees most of the young people who come through the hospital's ER with psychiatric problems.

"Many of the resources that kids use to cope aren't available. And there's a knock-on effect, with parents under their own stressors. Things come to a head."

In recent weeks, Lucas has seen an influx of young people who’ve made serious suicide attempts. "Some are kids who were already thinking about suicide and have decided that life's not worth living," he says. Others have taken overdoses while live streaming on Facebook, or written suicide notes, or spent weeks researching painless ways to die.

Lucas has treated multiple teens with special needs who overdosed after learning by email that they were failing classes. "They're even getting bad news remotely," he says.

He's also seen a notable increase in young people with life-threatening eating disorders, especially anorexia. "It may be seen as something a kid can control when everything else is out of control," Lucas says.

Data from other countries and past pandemics support doctors’ fear that the problem will only get bigger. In a survey

of kids aged 6 to 12 in Wuhan and the nearby city of Huangshi, in China, more than one in five children reported symptoms of depression after coronavirus quarantines lifted, while nearly as many experienced ongoing anxiety. In previous studies of children in parts of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico who were quarantined during outbreaks of H1N1 (in 2009) and SARS (in 2003), researchers found that 30 percent met clinical criteria for PTSD—a rate similar to that among child abuse victims.

‘It’s a Disaster’ In New York, doctors both downstate and upstate report that kids’ psychiatric emergency visits dropped sharply in the first few weeks after schools closed.

While spring is usually a time when hospitalizations go up, the children's psychiatric emergency program at Bellevue Hospital was nearly empty in the first month of stay-at-home orders, when

most New Yorkers were avoiding hospitals for fear of Covid, says Dr. Jennifer Havens, who directs child and adolescent psychiatry for NYC Health + Hospitals, which runs Bellevue and New York City's other public hospitals.

As April rolled into May, however, young people began showing up again, and their cases tended to be extremely serious. "It's very sick kids," Havens says.

Doctors on Long Island saw the same trend. In the first week of March, 82 young people came to the emergency department of Cohen Children’s Medical Center because of a psychiatric emergency. That number is typical in springtime, says Dr. Vera Feuer, who directs pediatric emergency psychiatry at the hospital. (Feuer also runs the hospital’s behavioral health urgent care, which saw 72 young patients during the first week of March.)

The numbers began a nosedive the week before Long Island schools shut down, reaching a low of just 11 pediatric mental health ER visits during the first full week of April. A month later, however, visits had more than tripled, going up to 37 in the first week of May. That number is still much lower than during a typical spring week, but Feuer says that the cases coming in are more likely to be very acute, and that she—as well as colleagues at other hospitals—are seeing an increase in serious suicide attempts that require medical treatment in addition to psychiatric care.

Data from Syracuse follow a similar trajectory. Psychiatric emergencies brought an average of 36 kids per week to Upstate University Hospital's emergency department during the three weeks immediately preceding school closures, says Dr. Lucas from SUNY Upstate. In the three weeks after, visits dropped to an average of just 12 per week. Then in May—as in New York City and Long Island—the numbers began climbing again, and the kids showing up tended to present with very serious conditions.

Doctors say that many of the young people who come to emergency departments would never have gotten so sick in the first place if they had access to mental health treatment in their communities.

Decades of underpayment have created chronic shortages of providers and care, says Dr. Fremont of SUNY Upstate. continued on page 10

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JOBS & RECESSION

Interview Checklist

J

ob interviews have a way of making us nervous, forgetful and anxious.

One of the best ways to beat the butterflies is to be prepared.

The more you know about the company you’re interviewing for, the better an impression you will make on its hiring managers.

Also, the more confidence you have, the strong you will seem to your interviewer.

But acing the interview takes more than preparation and self-assurance. Here are the three most important things to bring so you never again leave an interview without knowing that you gave it your all.

paying attention and are invested in the process like watching you take notes during your meeting.

Wait for key points to come up that relate to the company or the job responsibilities. There is no substitute for solid eye contact throughout your interview, but taking a few notes here and there will help your case.

Remember that you want any materials you take to an interview to be a reflection of what you represent as a professional.

Find professional notepads and pens rather than the standard kinds you used in grade school.

Resumes The most obvious things to bring to your interview are several copies of your resume. If you know how many people you’ll be interviewing with, bring a few extra in case it goes well and you’re asked to speak with upper management. Don’t forget your own copy that you can reference during the interview.

Having these items with you can serve as presentation notes that you can speak to when asked about certain experiences in your background.

Pack you resumes in a professionallooking folder or briefcase to keep them in sharp, unwrinkled condition.

Brag Sheets If you’re a graphic designer, walking into an interview without your portfolio is like walking into a sword fight without a sword. Anyone in the creative services such as writing, advertising or design should have both paper and online portfolios to show. Find your best work and turn it into a brag folder that highlights your best and most diverse work.

Other materials that can make a difference in an interview include letters of recommendation, certifications, accolades and successful policies you have written for past companies. The goal is to leave your interviewer with an impressive stack of materials that both tell your professional story and sell your potential.l

Notepads Nothing shows an interviewer that you’re

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10 Mental Health Crisis/ continued from page 9

“There’s a shortage of child psychiatrists.

There’s a shortage of hospital beds. The average wait to get into a child mental health clinic is six months."

"Why is that? ” Fremont asks. “Again, because there's not much [insurance] reimbursement. It's a money-losing clinic for a hospital."

According to a 2019 study published in Pediatrics, New York State has just 20 child psychiatrists per 100,000 kids. That number is significantly higher than in many states, but it still leaves sick kids with nowhere to turn before they end up in crisis, says Havens of Health + Hospitals.

"It's a disaster at every point in the chain," Havens says. "It's a disaster that kids have to get that sick to get any care."

Therapy on the Screen The world of mental health care has seen one hopeful development come from the coronavirus shutdown: Soon after schools closed, the State changed regulations to temporarily allow providers to conduct many services via video conference—fast-forwarding changes that might normally take years to spool through State and Federal regulatory bureaucracies.

Telemedicine does not work for everyone. Many people who badly need mental health care do not have reliable internet connections or devices. And it can be very difficult to hold the attention of young children via video screen, as many homeschooling parents have recently learned. Video conferencing also doesn't work for people experiencing serious psychosis or paranoia, providers say.

But it does help providers connect with patients who live far from clinics, or whose lives are too chaotic to show up at a weekly appointment. And, to many therapists’ surprise, it often works well for adolescents. "Teenagers are really comfortable with this medium. This is what they live and breathe," says Dr. Fremont. "I have some kids who I can't get to stop talking on video, whereas in person they cross their arms and say 'I don't know.'"

Advocates for children with behavioral health needs have begun asking the State to extend telehealth flexibility beyond the shutdown. But they say that regulators and providers must make sure that lowincome families have access to the technology they need to connect to the internet and benefit from the changes.

“We also need to make sure we reach families who speak languages other than English and those who might mistrust the healthcare system,” says Alice Bufkin, the director of policy for child and adolescent health at the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, which leads a statewide “Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids” campaign to increase young people’s access to behavioral health care.

“We have such clear racial inequities in how our healthcare system operates now," Bufkin says. "We need to make sure the digital divide doesn’t widen them.”

The campaign is calling on the State to

order insurance companies to waive mental health copays and fees for the children of essential workers. They are also asking for funding that will allow schools to address mental health needs when students return, including resources to identify children who have experienced trauma or have a behavioral health need, and to connect them with clinical services in schools and communities.

Most importantly, Bufkin says, the State needs to invest in shoring up and expanding services so that all young people can get mental health care when they need it. Such investment, Bufkin says, is essential to keeping kids out of emergency rooms and hospital beds. In the long run, it can also prevent a range of debilitating—and expensive—problems, including homelessness, incarceration, and adult mental illness. “When children don’t get the services they need, they become sick adults,” Bufkin says. “When you invest up front, you see positive impacts for years to come.”

When New York State passed its budget for the current fiscal year (which began in April), legislators largely protected children’s behavioral health care from cuts that hit many Medicaid-funded services.

However, Governor Andrew Cuomo has warned that the State may be forced make deep, across-the-board cuts of 10 to 20 percent if the Federal government doesn't provide a great deal more aid.

That would be a disaster for children’s mental health care, says Andrea Smyth, the director of the New York State Coalition for Children's Behavioral Health, which represents provider agencies across the state.

"Almost every single service would go out of business," Smyth says. "If they cut 10 percent, we don't even know how that would work."

In Syracuse, Dr. Fremont has a prediction. Not long ago, she sat in on an online conference sponsored by the American Psychiatric Association, at which she watched a presentation by the head of disaster psychiatry for the U.S. Armed Forces.

"He showed a picture of a little footprint. Next to it was a huge footprint, 10 times the size," Fremont says. "The speaker said the little footprint is Covid.

The big footprint is what's coming psychologically. You can't see it yet."l Abigail Kramer is a senior editor at the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School.

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KNOW YOUR RIGHTS Public Charge/ continued from page 1 against DHS was issued in response to a joint motion filed by lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights, The Legal Aid Society, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, who joined New York State Attorney General Letitia James representing the States of New York, Connecticut and Vermont and the City of New York, in arguing that immigrants should not be deterred from accessing healthcare and government benefits and services, especially during this unprecedented health crisis.

The second nationwide injunction was issued in a separate case challenging the Department of State’s public charge rule as well as the President’s Healthcare Proclamation requiring visa applicants to show proof of private health insurance.

Because of the ruling, immigrants seeking to go through consular processing will not be subject to the public charge test utilized by the Department of State.

That case was brought on behalf of individual and organizational plaintiffs by the Center for Constitutional Rights, The Legal Aid Society, National Immigration Law Center, and Paul Weiss.. Today’s ruling is the first decision fully addressing these policies and it enjoined those policies indefinitely.

In his decision today, Judge George B. Daniels wrote: Much has significantly changed since January 27. Today, the world is in the

New injunctions will allow immigrant communities across the U.S. to safely access critical healthcare and public assistance during the health crisis throes of a devastating pandemic, triggered by the novel coronavirus SARSCoV-2. In six months, approximately 16.5 million people around the globe have been afflicted by the disease caused by this virus. That disease (COVID-19) has claimed over 650,000 lives worldwide. In the United States alone, COVID-19 has spread rapidly, infecting over four million people. Close to 150,000 American residents have died.

All of these staggering numbers continue to climb on a daily basis…. Thousands continue to die indiscriminately.

Attempting to effectively combat this plague has immediately come in conflict with the federal government’s new “public charge” policy, a policy which is intended to discourage immigrants from utilizing government benefits and penalizes them for receipt of financial and medical assistance.

Susan Welber, Staff Attorney in the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society, said: “Today’s decisions are a great victory for our plaintiffs and immigrant communities which have been disproportionately impacted by the public

12 health and economic impacts of the pandemic. Immigrants, especially people serving as essential workers combating the spread of the coronavirus, need access to life-saving healthcare, food assistance, and other essential services in order to both tackle the pandemic and protect their families without fear of immigration consequences. The Court’s nationwide injunction against the Department of State public charge rule also protects immigrant families across the nation. We hope the court’s decisions sends a clear message to the government to withdraw these unlawful, racist, and anti-family rules, and that if they don’t, we will continue to fight them in court.”

Brittany Thomas, Bertha Justice Fellow with the Center for Constitutional Rights, said, “In times like this, today’s decisions signify great victories for the plaintiffs and immigrant communities, who can now access life-saving benefits without fear. The Court’s issuance of a nationwide injunction halting the public charge rule issued by the Department of State signifies a rejection of this administration's radical position that they are above the law. We are pleased that the Court recognized the public charge rules as yet another attempt by this administration to undermine congressional authority and harm immigrant communities of color in the process. Today, immigrant communities throughout the entire country are protected and can focus on staying healthy and safe.”

“Since the Trump administration announced the public charge rules, it has caused immense harm to our communities—harm that intensified, as our country is in the midst of a health crisis,” said Javier H. Valdés, Co-Executive Director at Make the Road New York. “The public charge rules by both DHS and DOS attacked our loved ones by imposing a racist wealth test on the immigration system, leaving working immigrants to choose between vital services or remaining together with their families. At Make the Road, we have seen the devastating effect this rule has on families scared to seek out healthcare and basic forms of assistance from food pantries and even their children’s schools. We applaud the court’s decision and will continue to fight to stop the Trump administration's reckless and inhumane attacks on immigrants.”

Joanna E. Cuevas-Ingram, Staff Attorney at the National Immigration Law Center, said: “By implementing these regulations, the Trump administration has shown flagrant disregard for both the rule of law and community health in the middle of a pandemic. The Court’s decision recognizes that every member of our communities, including immigrants, must be able to access the tools they need to keep themselves healthy and safe. This is a great victory and we will not rest until these hateful, unlawful, and discriminatory regulations are gone for good.” l

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CONVERSATIONS

13

How Seniors Can Protect Their Health and Finances During The Pandemic

T

hroughout the coronavirus pandemic, health officials have been clear and consistent in their message to seniors: While anyone can fall victim to COVID-19, those who are 65 and older are in an especially high-risk group.

That’s why older Americans need to be especially careful and – in the case of the very elderly – family members may need to step in to make sure they are taking the right precautions, says Chris Orestis, the president of LifeCare Xchange and a national senior care advocate.

“As with just about everyone, coronavirus is touching all areas of the lives of seniors, from health to finances to how they socialize,” Orestis says. He offers a few tips on things seniors and their families can do: Prioritize healthy practices. Follow health guidelines. Wash your hands, avoid touching your face, and sanitize surfaces.

“Social distancing and staying in place have become important new additions to our lifestyle because avoiding contact with infected people is the surest way to prevent contracting the virus,” Orestis says. “Grocery stores and retailers have set up senior-only shopping hours, and seniors should take advantage of those. In addition, food delivery services can bring

take-out meals or groceries to your home.”

Trust nursing homes. “Despite the tragic deaths that occurred at Life Care Center's nursing home in Kirkland, Wash., the nursing home industry has been working around the clock in every community to protect their residents,” Orestis says.

Nursing homes are always vigilant for influenza, pneumonia, and other viral outbreaks. “If you have a loved one in a nursing home, do not go visit,” Orestis says. “Stay in touch remotely through a cell phone, computer, or the staff to help the nursing home avoid contamination.”

Know what financial resources are available. “We’ve experienced a stock market drop, but It is important at times

like this to not ‘panic sell’ and lock in your losses,” Orestis says. He points out there are still safety nets and even financial opportunities that can help seniors. For example, the passage of the CARES Act will pump $2 trillion into the economy.

Social Security income, Medicare, and Medicaid payments remain unchanged.

Income from annuities remains guaranteed.

For owners of permanent life insurance policies, Orestis says, there are a couple of options to get liquidity from this asset. If the owner wants to keep the policy in force, they can take out a policy loan for upwards of 90% of the cash surrender value. If the policy owner wants to stop paying premiums, they could use a life settlement to sell the policy under taxfavorable conditions to receive a percentage of their death benefit as a lump-sum today.

Beware of scams. Seniors often are prime targets of scams, and with their heightened level of distress, could be even more susceptible than usual, Orestis says. “Be on the lookout for such things as emails from imposters of the CDC asking you to open a link or download a list telling you where positive cases are in your area,” he says.

Vet your news sources. The coronavirus is getting round-the-clock news coverage.

But mixed into the information coming from reliable sources is a flood of misinformation. “Fact-check information by reading statistics from the websites of reliable medical resources and verified news organizations,” Orestis says. “Don't fall for conflicting statistics or attempts to minimize the severity of the outbreak by comparing it to car accidents, the flu, or other outbreaks. The danger is people can be lulled into underestimating the danger and let their guard down.”

“No one is sure how long this crisis will last or what the outcome could be,” Orestis says. “But the most vulnerable members of our population can protect themselves by following smart health practices, avoiding unwise financial decisions, taking advantage of financial safety-nets, and being on the lookout for scams and bad information.”l Chris Orestis is a frequent columnist for Broker World, ThinkAdvisor, IRIS, and NewsMax Finance and has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, NBC News, Fox News, USA Today, Kiplinger’s, Investor’s Business Daily, PBS, and numerous other media outlets.

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LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS

14

Life on the Fence

BY JENNINE ESTES

W

omen who are unfulfilled in a relationship soon begin to live on the fence. Half invested the relationship, half completely checked out and ready to leave. When this happens, you can’t seem to find that feeling of love and feeling alive. Thoughts of stepping out of the relationship become more frequent and much more tempting. Women might feel especially torn because they don’t want to do the wrong thing, the guilt takes over, or the fear of the unknown gets overwhelming. The hardest part is when children are part of the equation; women can feel a strong sense of obligation to make it work for the kids yet they are dying inside. If you’re on the fence, look for the signs of burn out and ask yourself some big questions.

Burn Out Do you feel burnt out in your relationship? No matter how hard you try to feel emotions, you just can’t seem to find a spark? Hours of the same arguments, trust issues, and feeling unheard can lead to the same burn out you experience when you spend too much time getting frustrated about anything. When you feel burnt out, you may begin to have difficulty sleeping, feel anxious often, and just be sick of dealing with your partner. At this point in the relationship is when

women will often consider leaving.

Before you head out the door, however, take the time to really ask yourself important questions and weigh the options.

How Much Are You On the Fence?

Having uncertainty in your relationship because your partner continues to be unfaithful is very different than being on the fence because he is needy or calls too much. One of these issues is a serious crack in the foundation of your relationship, and the other might be fixed with an honest conversation. When you are on the fence, a large part of you is already out of the relationship but a small part is hanging on and might consider staying.

When you find yourself on the fence of a relationship, take a step back and imagine if there is anything he could magically change or become, would it help you consider putting a little bit of your heart back in the relationship? Will the problems you face allow you two time for recovery if he starts showing up EXACTLY how you need him to be? Or is it “too little too late?”

Are You Telling Him What You Need and Exactly Where You Are? It’s important to ask yourself when you’re considering leaving your relationship: “Have I told him what’s bothering and the changes I need to consider work-

ing on the relationship?” If your partner is blissfully unaware that anything is wrong (or the severity of where you are) things can’t get better! Communicate how severe things are, what you need, and the ways in which you think the relationship needs to change. Then…listen!

Once a dialogue is open, you might find that you start to feel more secure in the relationship and get off the fence.

Is He Willing to Work On It? It really does take two to make a relationship work. If you are on the fence because you have expressed what you need or want to change and your partner is unwilling to bend, you probably feel like you’re in the relationship alone.

When you find yourself here, it’s time to consider seeking counseling NOW! Make sure you are ready to leave by sorting through the history of how you got to this place. You may be flirting with the idea of landing on the other side of the fence – leaving — but make sure you have exhausted all your resources and attempts. Still, it is hard to fight for a relationship when the other person is not equally invested or willing to work on it.

Is a Third Party Involved?

If you are a woman on the fence because you are having a fling, or have feelings for someone else, the first step is to cut off communication with the third party – at least in the short term. Only once you have stopped talking to the other object of your desire can you have a clear head about whether or not you should stay or go in your current relationship. If you do decide to leave the relationship, make sure to close that door completely before you start something new.

Experiencing relationship burn out is something many women experience, and doesn’t necessarily signal the end of the relationship. If you are willing to put in work, and so is your partner, you might be able to salvage what you have. If you decide to move on, do yourself a favor and make sure one relationship is over before you start a different one – or things will only become more complicated.l About Jennine Estes, MFT Jennine is a Marriage and Family Therapist in San Diego, CA. Certified in Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples. Supervisor.

She writes relationship and self-growth advice for her column, Relationships in the Raw.

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