Author: Michelle Martin

Are Political Asylum Seekers Required to Request Protection through a U.S. Port of Entry? And a Whole lot more…

Basically what I want to address in this post is whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ assertion that the only legal way to request asylum in the United States is through a U.S. port of entry (or U.S. consulate). I also want to explore how the government can distinguish between undocumented economic immigrants who cross the Mexico border without documentation to work, and those who cross the border seeking political asylum because they are fleeing persecution.

Are Political Asylum Seekers Required to Use a Port of Entry?

According to Jeff Sessions, there is a ‘right way’ and a ‘wrong way’ to
… Read more
Basically what I want to address in this post is whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ assertion that the only legal way to request asylum in the United States is through a U.S. port of entry (or U.S. consulate). I also want to explore how the government can distinguish between undocumented economic immigrants who cross the Mexico border without documentation to work, and those who cross the border seeking political asylum because they are fleeing persecution.

Are Political Asylum Seekers Required to Use a Port of Entry?

According to Jeff Sessions, there is a ‘right way’ and a ‘wrong way’ to
… Read more

Are Undocumented Immigrants Flooding our Southern Border?

Well, that depends on how you define “flooding.” If we’re looking at historical data, then the answer is absolutely no. There are two dynamics occurring right now (actually, there are several, but I’m only going to address two in this post).

1. Undocumented economic migrants (typically from Mexico, but also from Central America), and 2. Political asylum seekers (primarily from Central America). Most of the recent news about family separations centers on political asylum seekers from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. But this blog post is about undocumented economic migrants, and whether they are presenting a significant threat for our … Read more

Well, that depends on how you define “flooding.” If we’re looking at historical data, then the answer is absolutely no. There are two dynamics occurring right now (actually, there are several, but I’m only going to address two in this post).

1. Undocumented economic migrants (typically from Mexico, but also from Central America), and 2. Political asylum seekers (primarily from Central America). Most of the recent news about family separations centers on political asylum seekers from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. But this blog post is about undocumented economic migrants, and whether they are presenting a significant threat for our … Read more

My Response to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen’s Press Briefing today On Zero-Tolerance Policy

I watched the White House Press Briefing today with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. I took notes as best as I could so I could later respond, while furiously posting comments online, and clicking the angry face emoji 😡 every five seconds. I found Nielsen to be very defensive and angry. This could have been because she knew she was lying, but my instincts told me that it was more likely because she believes she’s correct and is outraged to be so misunderstood. Quite likely it was a combination of the two, and perhaps she’s just furious that … Read more

I watched the White House Press Briefing today with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. I took notes as best as I could so I could later respond, while furiously posting comments online, and clicking the angry face emoji 😡 every five seconds. I found Nielsen to be very defensive and angry. This could have been because she knew she was lying, but my instincts told me that it was more likely because she believes she’s correct and is outraged to be so misunderstood. Quite likely it was a combination of the two, and perhaps she’s just furious that … Read more

9 Myths About Trump’s ‘Zero-Tolerance’ Policy

There is so much misinformation out there about the Trump administration’s new “zero tolerance” policy that requires criminal prosecution, which then warrants the separating of parents and children at the southern border. As a professor at a local Cal State, I research and write about these issues, so here, I wrote the following to make it easier for you:

Myth 1: This is not a new policy and was practiced under Obama and Clinton – FALSE.

The policy to separate parents and children is new and was instituted on 4/6/2018. It was the “brainchild” of John Kelly and Stephen Miller

… Read more

There is so much misinformation out there about the Trump administration’s new “zero tolerance” policy that requires criminal prosecution, which then warrants the separating of parents and children at the southern border. As a professor at a local Cal State, I research and write about these issues, so here, I wrote the following to make it easier for you:

Myth 1: This is not a new policy and was practiced under Obama and Clinton – FALSE.

The policy to separate parents and children is new and was instituted on 4/6/2018. It was the “brainchild” of John Kelly and Stephen Miller

… Read more