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Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Colorado suspect's uncertain immigration status highlights visa ‘overstays'
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up In fiscal year 2023, the government estimated there were about 400,000 such overstays, according to an official report issued by the Department of Homeland Security. That year, about 2,400 Egyptians in the United States had overstayed their visas, or about 4% of all arrivals from that country, the report said. Advertisement But overall, the numbers are significant, even if President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress tend to talk up migrants who cross the southwestern border to enter the United States or present themselves to border agents and request asylum. Advertisement More than 40% of the immigrants without permanent legal status flew into the country with a visa, passed inspection at the airport and then stayed unlawfully, according to estimates by the Center for Migration Studies, a nonpartisan think tank. 'Scholars have long recognized that visa overstays constitute a significant share of the undocumented population,' said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration scholar at Cornell Law School. 'This segment has not received nearly as much attention as people entering illegally across the U.S.-Mexico border because they are simply not as visible,' he said. Identifying and tracking so-called visa overstays is extremely difficult, and they have not historically been a priority for enforcement. Visas issued to a wide range of foreigners, from camp counselors to tourists and business travelers, can result in overstays. Students who enter the United States for a summer program should leave when that program ends, change to another immigration status, or pursue another program of study to maintain their lawful presence. But in the past if they stayed beyond the time permitted, they would most likely not be detained unless they had committed a crime or were in police custody. This article originally appeared in .
The Herald Scotland
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
What birthright citizenship looks like around the world
The right to automatic U.S. citizenship at birth was enshrined by the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 in the wake of the Civil War. It granted full citizenship to formerly enslaved people and their children, and ensured everyone born in the United States could claim citizenship regardless of race; legal rulings eventually cemented the right for the U.S.-born children of immigrants, too. "The aim of the Amendment was to eliminate the existence of a class of people who were subjected to American law, but excluded from American legal rights," according to a report by the American Immigration Council, which advocates for immigrant rights. Around the world: birthright citizenship by region Some European, Asian and African countries restrict citizenship on the basis of ancestry, parentage or residency. Many still do today including Spain, France, Italy and Germany; India, Iran and Pakistan; South Africa, Sudan, Egypt and others. Citizenship to a baby born in those countries can depend on questions like whether their parents are citizens, for example. Countries in the Americas - built by colonization and immigration - eventually followed the example of the United States, providing birthright citizenship to all. Today, 33 nations in the Western Hemisphere - all except Colombia and the Dominican Republic - provide birthright citizenship to anyone born within their borders, according to World Population Review map of birthright citizenship around the globe. Amid a rise of anti-immigrant sentiment, Trump has questioned automatic citizenship for the children of immigrants here illegally, or for those born to foreign nationals in the U.S. legally on a visa. The president's executive order would require at least one parent to possess U.S. citizenship or legal permanent residency in order for their U.S.-born child to gain citizenship. The Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for immigration restrictions, estimated there were between 225,000 to 250,000 births to immigrants in the country without authorization in 2023, or roughly 7% of births that year. A case study in ending birthright citizenship Bucking the majority in the Americas, the Dominican Republic decided in 2013 to restrict birthright citizenship in a way that disenfranchised children born to Haitian migrant workers. Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the island of Hispaniola, and Haitians have long migrated across the border to work in the Dominican Republic's more prosperous economy. The border region had long been fraught with racial and ethnic tensions, that in the past turned deadly. But the revocation of birthright citizenship from the children of Haitian immigrants - retroactive to 1929 - left hundreds of thousands of people stateless overnight, according to the Center for Migration Studies in New York, which advocates for immigrant rights. The Dominican Republic deported hundreds of thousands of people who had been born there and saw their citizenship disappear. More than a decade later, tens of thousands of people born in the Dominican Republic to Haitian parents have no way to enroll in school, work legally, marry or get a birth certificate for their children. The same could happen to children born in the U.S. to parents who aren't citizens or lack legal status, should Trump's executive order take effect. However, Trump's order is not written to be retroactive. Justices weigh consequences of birthright citizenship restrictions The Supreme Court justices wrestled with whether to let Trump broadly enforce his restrictions on birthright citizenship as lower courts consider whether those changes are constitutional. During the May 15 hearing, justices asked attorneys for both sides about the consequences of allowing the order to take effect. The Trump administration argues the executive order should only be paused for the people challenging it and should not be subject to a nationwide injunction putting it on hold. Justice Elena Kagan said whether some states could become magnets for pregnant migrants to give birth, should the high court let the order take effect for some, would create a patchwork of citizenship policies among states. "It strikes me as completely obvious," Kagan said, that migrants would seek to give birth in states where U.S. citizenship was afforded. New Jersey solicitor general Jeremy Feigenbaum told justices that letting Trump's order go into effect would produce "unprecedented chaos." "We genuinely don't know how this could possibly work on the ground," he said. Bart Jansen and Maureen Groppe contributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A $2,500 child tax credit could be coming, but millions of children may be excluded
A boost to the child tax credit could increase tax refunds for millions of taxpayers this coming tax season, with parents who have children under 17 potentially enjoying a credit worth up to $2,500 per child, up from $2,000 currently, if a proposed Republican bill becomes law. But the increase would be temporary, starting this year and ending in 2028, at which point the tax credit would revert back to a maximum of $2,000 (that amount would increase with inflation each year). And a new rule could disqualify millions of children who are eligible under the tax credit's current rules. The boost to the child tax credit is part of a $3.8 trillion tax bill introduced this week by House Republicans, part of the comprehensive 'big, beautiful' bill President Donald Trump is eager to sign into law by July 4. The package includes an extension of most of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), many provisions of which are set to expire at the end of 2025, along with some of Trump's key campaign promises, including eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay. Learn more: Trump's tax plans: What to expect for your taxes in 2025 and beyond While many families would benefit from a higher credit, millions of families would be newly excluded from claiming the child tax credit due to a rule change requiring any parent or guardian claiming the credit to have a valid Social Security number, including both spouses if the taxpayers are married filing jointly. Currently, the rules state that to qualify for the credit, the child, rather than the parent, must have a Social Security number. Under the proposed new rule, about 4.5 million children who are citizens or legal permanent residents and who qualify for the child tax credit under current rules would no longer be eligible for the credit because their parents don't have a Social Security number, according to estimates by the Center for Migration Studies, a research organization and educational institute. The House GOP bill proposes a number of changes to the child tax credit. The bill, if passed, would: Temporarily increase the credit to a maximum of $2,500, from $2,000 currently, effective from 2025 through 2028, at which point the maximum credit would drop back to $2,000. (Unless Congress acts this year, the child tax credit will drop to a maximum of $1,000 per child starting in 2026.) Make the maximum $2,000 credit amount permanent. Before the TCJA, the child tax credit was worth up to $1,000. The TCJA temporarily doubled that amount, and the proposed bill would make that permanent. Add a new rule that requires parents and guardians of qualifying children to have a valid Social Security number to claim the credit. Currently, only the child is required to have one. Maintain the current income limits for claiming the credit. Currently, the value of the credit starts to phase out if your modified adjusted gross income is $400,000 for married couples who file jointly or $200,000 for all other filers. If Congress doesn't act, the income limits revert to pre-TCJA levels, which were much lower: $110,000 for married couples filing jointly and $75,000 for all other filers. Automatically adjust the credit amount to reflect inflation, starting in 2027. Current law does not adjust the child tax credit for inflation. Make the tax credit for other dependents permanent. The TCJA established a $500 credit for other dependents who don't qualify for the child tax credit — this tax credit is also slated to end at the end of 2025. The Republican's proposed tax bill would extend this credit. Learn more: The current child tax credit: Who's eligible, how to claim it Currently, to qualify for the child tax credit, families must earn at least $2,500. The value of the credit phases in gradually, with every dollar earned above $2,500 accruing 15 cents' worth of credit. That means that a parent or guardian who earns less than $2,500 is ineligible for the credit, and those earning less than about $13,000 receive only a partial credit. The House proposal for the expanded child tax credit doesn't change the minimum earnings amount, nor the accrual rate. Under current law, about 17 million low-income children receive no credit or less than the full credit, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a liberal-leaning research organization. A single parent earning $16,000 with two children receives $1,013 per child, while a married couple earning $400,000 with two children receives almost twice as much, or $2,000 per child, according to a CBPP example. A number of left-leaning organizations recommend lawmakers seek solutions to help low-income families, such as phasing in the credit on the first dollar of earnings or allowing all parents of newborns to receive the full $2,000 regardless of their income level. Without changes to the child tax credit structure, some experts warn that millions of low-income families with children will be excluded from the child tax credit expansion at the same time that they're facing likely spending cuts in other federal government programs, such as SNAP and Medicaid. The child tax credit was created as part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to help ease the financial burden of families with children. Originally, the credit was a nonrefundable tax credit, meaning it only reduced a taxpayer's taxable income to zero. In 2001, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act made the credit temporarily refundable for certain low-income families. A refundable tax credit lets taxpayers receive money back even if they don't owe taxes. Throughout the years, the credit has changed. Most recently, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act modified the credit. These modifications included doubling the credit and increasing the income limit that restricts eligibility, allowing more taxpayers to qualify. For 2024, a portion of the credit is a refundable credit up to $1,700 per child. Learn more: The additional child tax credit: What it is, who qualifies Will the new form of the child tax credit become law? That depends on Congress. More changes are expected to be made to the bill in the coming weeks. Speaker Mike Johnson has said he wants a vote on the tax bill before Memorial Day. If the House passes the bill, it could move to the Senate for a vote, but not without opposition. Some Republican lawmakers have expressed doubts that the bill will pass because of its huge price tag. If the bill as written does become law, the new child tax credit expansion could affect your tax return as early as next year — that is, it would take effect on your 2025 taxes. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
As Deportation Target Widens, College-Educated Undocumented Grow More Fearful
Brian knew when he graduated from high school in 2013 that he couldn't afford a bachelor's on his own. Undocumented and unable to qualify for federal financial aid, he decided to enroll at community college and chip away at his associate degree a couple of classes at a time, using the money he earned as a deejay. Brian came to the United States from Mexico when he was just 2 years old. He had no idea how he would pay for a four-year degree until he won a scholarship designed for students like him. A business management major, he graduated from Northeastern Illinois University in 2020 and now lives in Virginia, where he works in education policy and also owns several rental properties. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter 'I always pushed myself, but the biggest push of all came from my parents,' said Brian, a lawful permanent resident who asked to be identified by his first name only for fear he could be targeted for removal by the Trump administration. 'They would ask us to pursue our education because that's why they came here. They wanted us to make a better life than what they were able to.' College graduates like Brian with temporary immigration statuses might not be the primary focus of President Donald Trump's aggressive deportation effort, but they are no less alarmed by the forced removal of those with similar vulnerability. Much of the nation's attention has fallen on undocumented laborers — an Episcopal bishop pleaded with Trump at the National Prayer Service in January to show mercy to 'the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants, and work the night shifts in hospitals' —but the administration's deportation scope is widening and has grown to ensnare those on college campuses. More than 1.7 million of the nation's 11 million undocumented immigrants have earned at least a bachelor's degree, according to a 2022 report from the Center for Migration Studies of New York. Ernesto Castañeda, director of the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies and the Immigration Lab at American University, said many people underestimate this group's educational attainment. Most don't know some immigrants are more credentialed than Americans upon arrival, he said. For example, 48% of Venezuelan newcomers ages 25 or older reported having a bachelor's degree or higher in 2023 compared to 36% of U.S.-born Americans, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Deporting this population would mean an enormous drain of 'brain and brawn,' Castañeda said. 'If we expel those people, there would be a big economic loss — and a loss of decades of innovation and scientific discovery, as well as in arts and culture,' he said. While Trump's immigrant policies have been cited for making it more difficult to fill agricultural, construction and hospitality jobs, it will also shrink the nation's pool of highly skilled workers, said Prerna Arora, associate professor of psychology and education at Columbia University's Teachers College. Related 'Do we have the necessary workforce to complete the things that we need done, especially in a modernizing society?' she asked. 'So many of these [college-educated, undocumented] people — and this is what happens across fields — want to go back and help communities from which they are a part.' More than 408,000 undocumented students were enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities in 2023, representing 1.9% of all college students. The figure was higher pre-pandemic when it stood at 427,000 in 2019. The American Immigration Council attributes some of the decline to COVID and ongoing legal challenges to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program that gave temporary deportation relief to hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, allowing them to study and work. One Florida lawmaker now seeks to bar the undocumented from state colleges and universities entirely: they've already lost access to in-state tuition there. Texas is considering a similar measure. Trump has made higher education a key focus of his immigration enforcement actions, targeting international students — many because of their political speech or protest actions around the war in Gaza. Thousands have lost their F-1 or J-1 student status as part of his crackdown, though the administration recently reversed those revocations in the face of court challenges. Still, these international students' future remains unclear. They are increasingly looking toward other countries as Trump continues to raid dorms, pull students off the street and place them in detention centers far from home. Another academic, a 32-year-old woman from Senegal, who has lawful permanent resident status but asked that her name be withheld because she fears the current administration, called these removals heartbreaking and unjust. 'We should be investing and supporting young people, not criminalizing them,' said the woman, who came to the United States with her family at age 7. She grew up in Harlem and scored high enough on the selective admissions exam to be accepted to Brooklyn Technical, one of New York City's premier public high schools. A law and society major, she graduated from Brooklyn Tech in 2011. It was an enormous accomplishment. Her father had no formal schooling in his home country and her mother attended only through the ninth grade. Their daughter has a master's degree. 'My life and achievements are proof of what results when we make these investments,' she said. 'So apart from the devastating impact these actions have on these young people's lives, these actions harm communities — and all of us as a country.' Roughly 88% of undocumented higher ed students are enrolled as undergraduates and 12% are in graduate or professional schools. Forty-five percent are Hispanic, 24.9% are Asian, 15.2% are Black and 10.8% are white, according to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal, which based its findings on data from a one-year sample of the 2022 American Community Survey. California, Texas, Florida, New York and New Jersey make up the top five states with the most undocumented higher education students. More than 27% of undocumented graduate students nationally earned their undergraduate degree in a STEM field. David Blancas, 37, got his bachelor's degree in secondary education and mathematics at Illinois' Aurora University in 2009 — he was a stellar student and won a scholarship that covered most of the cost — and worked as a math teacher in Chicago public schools for five years. He got his master's in urban education from National Louis University in Chicago in 2013 — also funded by grants and scholarships — and currently works in a leadership role at an organization that helps renters become homeowners through counseling and financial assistance. Like Brian, Blancas, born in Mexico, came to the United States as a toddler. His father arrived in Chicago first to secure a job — as a busboy and then a cook — and an apartment before his wife and children joined him. Blancas is the first in his family to graduate from college: His mother dropped out of school before eighth grade and his father stopped attending by ninth grade. But they always prized education. 'They loved school,' Blancas said. 'They constantly talked about how they were good at it and how they were very sad that they couldn't continue because of financial reasons. To them, education was like the biggest thing.' Related The Senegalese-born scholar said the same, despite the obstacles she faced: She wasn't aware of her citizenship status until she was told that she needed a Social Security number to fill out the federal financial aid form for college and found out she didn't have one. Thankfully, she said, she was accepted by DACA and went on to earn her bachelor's degree in political science and economics from Hunter College in 2015. She worked 35 hours a week in a retail store to cover her tuition and soon joined Teach for America, which recruits college graduates to serve in high-need schools. She paid for her master's at the Relay Graduate School of Education out-of-pocket with her teaching salary. She eventually became an assistant principal and now works in policy and advocacy for a national nonprofit aimed at helping schools better serve all students — including immigrants. Local and state police around the country are assisting the Trump administration in its immigration enforcement and deportation push. Chicago, where Brian grew up, is a sanctuary city, one that has pledged by law not to cooperate in these efforts. The president has taken aim at these locations with Chicago its most prominent target: The Justice Department is suing the city and the state of Illinois for allegedly impeding its enforcement campaign. Related As a boy and a young man, Brian wanted to be a part of the Chicago Police Department and spent hours watching Law & Order SVU to get a sense of that life. He applied for a job there as soon as he earned his associate degree. 'That's when they told me they didn't accept DACA recipients,' he said. 'I was heartbroken. I did the physical, I did the mental exam and everything, and they did the vetting — they interviewed my neighbors and other people. It was a hard reality check. It was difficult for me to accept that.' After the setback, he pushed on. 'It's not just about me or my family,' said Brian, who also works in education policy with an eye toward immigrant students. 'It's for my entire community — to break that stigma that undocumented immigrants are uneducated or that we're lazy or that we're just mooching off of the system. People don't know that for DACA, you have to go through a background check. You have to pay a fee, show that you're working, you're paying taxes, that you're going to school.' It's frustrating to see people fighting to end the program, he said. Blancas, also allowed to work under DACA, agrees. He has a wife and two children and lives what he described as a typical middle-class life. He said he understands America's desire to protect its border, to ensure entry to only those who will add to the economy. But that's exactly what they are getting from the very people they are trying to chase out, he argued. 'We have our own house,' Blancas said. 'We both have really great jobs that give back to the community. We're able to provide a great life for our children. We're living that suburban American life, which is amazing.'
