Immigration news from North America

The Immigrant Times reporting from North America

> Pope Leo rebukes US administration

> US slashes refugee admissions

> Teenage migrants offered cash to leave the US

> US immigrant populstion declines

Since his election on 8 May 2025, Pope Leo XIV has become a forceful critic of President Trump’s treatment of undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers

USA / VATICAN

Pope Leo backs US bishops in a rebuke of President Trump’s immigration raids

November 2025: Pope Leo XIV has issued strong support for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) after they released an unusually direct statement criticising President Donald Trump’s recent immigration raids targeting long-term undocumented residents.

The bishops, meeting at their autumn assembly in Baltimore on 11-13 November, condemned what they described as indiscriminate mass deportation and said the US administration’s enforcement tactics had created widespread fear, profiling, and instability in immigrant communities. They voiced concern over conditions in detention centres, the treatment of migrants during arrests, and the removal of restrictions that once limited immigration enforcement near churches, hospitals, and schools.

The statement, the first single-issue message adopted at a bishops’ general assembly in more than a decade, passed overwhelmingly. Alongside it, the bishops announced a new initiative, ‘You Are Not Alone’, aimed at providing emergency support, advocacy, and pastoral care to immigrant families.

From Castel Gandolfo, the Pope’s country residence, the Pontiff praised the bishops’ intervention and urged Americans to listen to them, calling their concerns very important. While acknowledging the right of nations to control their borders, he criticised the treatment of undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for many years, describing some enforcement actions as extremely disrespectful.

He emphasised that migrants, regardless of legal status, should receive humane treatment and due process. “There are courts, there is a system of justice,” he said, urging authorities to uphold those standards.

The Pope’s comments give the bishops’ stance additional weight at a time of heightened political tension over immigration. Their message calls for renewed attention to human dignity, improved conditions in detention facilities, and legislative reforms that balance enforcement with compassion.

Further reading: Rome summit on migrants and refugees ||

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USA / WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN REFUGEES

The US slashes refugee admissions while giving priority to White South Africans

Trump officials claim that White South Africans face rising violence and 'economic marginalisation' through land reform and employment equity policies.

October 2025: In a sweeping change to US refugee policy, President Donald Trump announced that the United States will admit no more than 7,500 refugees in the coming year, the lowest cap since the refugee programme was created in 1980. The previous ceiling, set under President Joe Biden, was 125,000.

The White House confirmed that the sharply reduced number will prioritise white South Africans, citing what it called “systemic discrimination by South Africa’s black-majority government.” Trump claimed the US had “a moral duty to protect those being persecuted because of their race and faith.”

Human-rights groups and refugee organisations immediately condemned the move as racially motivated and in violation of America’s humanitarian commitments.

“This decision weaponises refugee policy for political theatre,” said Nadia El-Hassan of Refugee Rights Watch. “It abandons families fleeing war and repression, while extending preferential treatment based on race.”

According to the State Department’s notice in the Federal Register, the 7,500-person limit “is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest.” Critics, however, argue that it effectively dismantles a programme that once served as a global lifeline for displaced people.

Under Biden, more than 110,000 refugees were admitted in 2024, including large numbers from Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Myanmar. Under the new quota, those numbers will shrink dramatically, with preference given to a single nationality group.

Trump administration officials claim that white South Africans face rising violence and “economic marginalisation” through land reform and employment equity policies.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa sharply rejected those claims, calling them “a distortion of reality” and “an insult to our democracy.”

“To suggest that white South Africans are persecuted is false and divisive,” Ramaphosa said. “It undermines decades of effort to build a multiracial democracy.”

Refugee advocates say the move will erode the US credibility as a defender of human rights. Several European allies reportedly expressed quiet concern, while South African commentators called the policy “neo-colonial and racially coded.”

Immigration attorneys in the US are also questioning whether prioritising one racial group violates the Refugee Act of 1980, which prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, or national origin. Legal challenges are expected.

The administration’s refugee cap follows other restrictions on immigration, including the suspension of the Diversity Visa Lottery and new screening rules for asylum seekers. Together, the measures mark one of the most restrictive refugee regimes in modern US history.

Despite the outcry, senior officials say the administration is “standing firm.” “America will take care of its own,” Trump said at the White House. “We will help people who share our values — not those who want to change them.”

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USA / TEENAGE MIGRANTS

US government offers cash incentives to migrant teenagers to leave the country

October 2025: In a move that has reignited controversy over US immigration policy, the Trump administration is offering a one-time $2,500 payment to unaccompanied migrant teenagers, aged 14 and older, who agree to voluntarily return to their countries of origin. The initiative, outlined in a memo from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement, is framed as a ‘resettlement support’ measure. Still, critics argue it amounts to coercion under economic duress.

Government officials describe the programme as a compassionate alternative to detention or forced deportation. A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement stated, “This is a strictly voluntary option to return home to their families. It provides dignity and choice.” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin emphasised that the stipend is part of a broader effort to streamline deportation operations while respecting individual agency: “We’re offering support, not punishment. These teens deserve a safe path home.”

Immigrant rights advocates and legal experts have condemned the programme as exploitative. “Children in these situations often don’t understand the legal process and may be swayed by their need for money,” warned immigration attorney Carla Jiménez. “This is not informed consent, it’s economic coercion.”

The American Immigration Council called the stipend “a cynical ploy to reduce asylum claims without addressing root causes.” Critics also point out that many of these teens fled violence, poverty, or persecution, and returning could place them in danger.

Reactions among migrant teens have been mixed. In a shelter in Arizona, 16-year-old Bryan from Honduras said, “I miss my mother, and $2,500 is a lot. But I came here because gangs threatened me. I don’t know what to do.” Meanwhile, 15-year-old Lucía from Guatemala expressed confusion: “They said I could go home with money, but I don’t have a home anymore.”

Shelter staff report increased anxiety and uncertainty among youth. “Some kids see it as hope, others as pressure,” said a caseworker in Texas. “They’re asking if this means they’re being kicked out.”

The programme is likely to face legal challenges, especially around due process and the rights of minors. Immigration lawyers are preparing to contest the policy on grounds that it undermines asylum protections and violates child welfare standards.

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USA / NEW YORK CITY

New York’s St Patrick’s Cathedral unveils monumental mural honouring the city’s immigrants

September 2025: In a striking tribute to New York City’s immigrant legacy and spiritual resilience, St. Patrick’s Cathedral unveiled its largest permanent artwork in 146 years: a sweeping eight-metre mural titled What’s So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding. Painted by New York-based artist Adam Cvijanovic, the piece transforms the cathedral’s Fifth Avenue entrance into a luminous tableau of faith, history, and civic service.

Commissioned by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the mural spans three walls and features dozens of life-sized figures, both sacred and secular, rendered in Cvijanovic’s signature light-filled realism. At its heart is the Apparition at Knock, a sacred event from 1879 in Ireland, depicted alongside scenes of Irish immigrants arriving by ship, modern-day migrants, and New York’s first responders.

“This became not only an ode to Jesus and Mary and Joseph and St. John,” Dolan said at a press briefing, “but also to those who followed them and found in this city, this country, and yes, in this Holy Mother Church, an embrace of welcome”.

Among the mural’s many portraits are journalist and activist Dorothy Day, Haitian-born philanthropist Pierre Toussaint, and Alfred E. Smith, the first Roman Catholic to receive a major-party presidential nomination. Native American saint Kateri Tekakwitha also appears, underscoring the mural’s inclusive reach.

Each figure is modelled on a real person, including Cvijanovic’s own acquaintances and Dolan’s late mother, Shirley. “My hope is that when you view them all spread across the full span of the mural,” Cvijanovic said, “you’ll feel how all of humanity is welcomed here”.

Father Enrique Salvo, the cathedral’s rector and an immigrant from Nicaragua, emphasised the mural’s message of dignity and belonging. “It’s a reminder that it doesn’t matter what’s happening politically. We have to treat everyone with love and respect.

The mural arrives amid national debates over immigration policy, but its creators insist it is not a political statement. Instead, it offers a visual embrace to the six million annual visitors who pass through the cathedral’s doors, many of whom, like the figures on the walls, came seeking sanctuary, purpose, and hope.

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USA / ICE

The Guardian uncovers secretive migrant deportation hubs and flights operated by US authorities

September 2025: An investigation carried out by the American edition of the London-based Guardian newspaper has shown how US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operate a shadow network of deportation hubs, far from public scrutiny and often in direct contradiction to corporate pledges.

One such site is the Sheraton Four Points hotel in Alexandria, Louisiana, where migrant families were held before being deported. The Guardian writes that mobile tracking data confirmed the presence of detainees, including a father and teenage son subsequently sent to Ecuador. The hotel, operated by a Marriott franchisee, was used as a makeshift detention centre despite Marriott’s 2019 commitment to bar such practices. A spokesperson for Marriott said that its hotels were not designed or intended to function as detention centres, and emphasised that the property was operated independently by a franchisee.

ICE’s use of commercial hotels and charter flights, known as ‘ICE Air’, underscores a broader pattern of secrecy. Deportees are often shuffled through nondescript buildings and unmarked aircraft, with little public record of their treatment or legal status.

In response, The Guardian has filed a federal lawsuit demanding ICE release long-withheld deportation data, citing violations of the Freedom of Information Act. The suit alleges ICE violated statutory deadlines and wrongfully withheld documents detailing apprehensions, abuse, and deportation logistics

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that immigrants in custody were informed about their transfers and allowed to contact their families throughout their detention.

Sources: The Guardian newspaper; The US Department of Homeland Security

USA / CHICAGO

US President Donald Trump: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning.”

September 2025: First Los Angeles, then Washington, and next Chicago? The Democrat-governed metropolis in the US state of Illinois, along with observers, expect that the National Guard will soon be deployed in the city. US President Donald Trump has been threatening to issue such an order for days – and is now adding fuel to the fire.

On his social media platform Truth Social, he shared an AI-generated graphic showing helicopters flying over the skyline of the metropolis of Chicago. In the foreground is Trump himself, wearing sunglasses and a cowboy hat. The image is captioned ‘Chipocalypse Now,’ an allusion to the war film ‘Apocalypse Now.’

The martial graphic is also accompanied by the words “I love the smell of deportations in the morning”, a reference to the famous film quote ‘I love the smell of napalm in the morning’. Below that is the sentence “Chicago is about to find out why it's called the Department of WAR.” Trump recently issued an executive order renaming the Department of Defence the Department of War.

A reaction from Illinois was not long in coming. The state's Democrat governor, JB Pritzker, wrote: “The President of the United States is threatening to declare war on an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal.”

He continued: "Donald Trump is not a strong man, he is afraid. Illinois will not be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.

Chicago’s Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson described the head of state's threats as unworthy of a president. “The reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our constitution,” Johnson said. “We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.”

Trump justifies the possible military intervention with an allegedly out-of-control crime rate in Chicago. Statistics contradict this statement. According to these, the number of violent crimes in cities such as Chicago, New York and Seattle, as well as nationwide, has declined in recent years. Chicago Mayor Johnson also points out that the murder rate in his city fell by more than 30 per cent last year, and the number of shootings by almost 40 per cent.

Sources: Office of the Governor of Illinois; City of Chicago; Tagesschau; Reuters; Truth Social

USA / HYUNDAI RAID

South Korea calls an immigration raid on Hyundai’s US facilities an unfriendly act between allied countries

6 September 2025: US immigration authorities arrested 475 people during a raid on a Hyundai factory in the state of Georgia. More than 300 of them are said to be South Korean citizens. The US Department of Homeland Security said those arrested had entered the country illegally or had expired work visas. The raid is the largest single operation of its kind in the history of the Department of Homeland Security.

The South Korean government reacted with alarm to the arrests. News media in Seoul reported that a spokesperson for the country’s foreign ministry called the raid an unfriendly act, unbecoming of two allied nations. The spokesperson also reminded the US government that South Korea was one of the biggest foreign investors in the US, with further investments of some US$350 billion in the pipeline.

The majority of those arrested on Thursday (4 September) at the enormous site in Ellabell – about 25 miles west of Savannah, Georgia – are Korean nationals, said Steven Schrank, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge.

All 475 people taken into custody were suspected of living and working illegally in the US, Schrank said. Some entered the US illegally; some had visa waivers and were prohibited from working; and some had overstayed their visas, he said.

A Hyundai spokesperson told the US broadcaster CNN that he did not believe anyone arrested was a direct employee of Hyundai Motor Company. “Hyundai is committed to full compliance with all laws and regulations in every market where we operate. This includes employment verification requirements and immigration laws,” the company said in a press statement.

“This was not an immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks and put them on buses,” Schrank said. “This has been a multi-month criminal investigation where we have developed evidence, conducted interviews, gathered documents and presented that evidence to the court to obtain judicial search warrants.”

At the Georgia site, masked and armed agents gave orders to construction workers wearing hard hats and safety vests as they lined up while officers raided the facility, video footage obtained by CNN showed. Federal agents descended on the Hyundai site like it was a “war zone,” a construction worker at the electric car plant told CNN Friday.

During the raid, several people tried to flee – including some who “ran into a sewage pond located on the premises,” the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia said in a news release. “Agents used a boat to fish them out of the water. One of the individuals swam under the boat and tried to flip it over to no avail. These people were captured and identified as illegal workers,” the release states.

USA / GUATEMALA

Federal judge blocks the US government from deporting children and young people to Guatemala

September 2025: A federal judge in the US has issued a last-minute injunction halting the American government's planned deportation of hundreds of children and young people to Guatemala. She granted an emergency motion filed by the human rights organisation ‘National Center for Youth Law’.

The postponement for the more than 600 unaccompanied minors is valid for two weeks, according to an order issued by a federal court in Washington. The judge ruled that the government must suspend all efforts to deport or repatriate them for the time being.

The non-governmental organisation ‘National Center for Youth Law’ had accused President Donald Trump's administration of “tearing vulnerable, frightened children from their beds” and attempting to send them back to their home countries, where they faced danger. The organisation expressed relief at the court's decision.

The children's and adolescents' lawyers cited legally mandated enhanced protection and the right to care for unaccompanied minors. In addition, proceedings were underway in immigration courts. According to US media reports, however, a lawyer for the Justice Department spoke of reuniting parents and their children.

The judge had brought forward a hearing on Sunday (31 August) after the court learned that the operation was already underway and that some of the minors, aged between 10 and 17, were already on planes.

The decision is another legal setback for Trump, who had announced ‘the largest deportation program in US history’ during his election campaign. His tough immigration policy has triggered numerous court cases in recent months.

On Friday (29 August), a federal judge blocked a practice that had been in place since January, whereby migrants across the country were being deported under a simplified procedure without a prior court hearing.

Sources: National Center for Youth Law; Tagesschau

USA / IMMIGRANT NUMBERS

Declining US immigrant population harms businesses and families

August 2025: In a historic reversal, the United States is witnessing a net decline in its immigrant population for the first time in over half a century. According to a new report by the Pew Research Center, the foreign-born population fell by nearly 1.5 million between January and June 2025.

From a peak of 53.3 million immigrants in early 2025, the total dropped to 51.9 million by midyear. Immigrants now comprise 15.4 per cent of the US population, down from 15.8 per cent. The labour force share also dipped, with over 750,000 fewer immigrant workers, a loss felt acutely in agriculture, elderly care, and construction.

The sample used for the Pew report was small, meaning that the findings should be treated with caution. They are at best preliminary and might even be misleading.

Nevertheless, the current US administration’s determination to reduce the number of immigrants, whatever their circumstances, has already had an impact on individuals. Families are leaving under pressure, asylum seekers are being turned away, and legal residents are losing status as programmes expire. The decline includes both authorised and unauthorised populations, with Pew noting a sharp drop in undocumented residents, many of whom are departing voluntarily.

In mid-2024, US President Biden imposed restrictions on asylum claims during periods of high border crossings. Then, in January 2025, President Trump returned to office and signed 181 executive actions targeting immigration. Among them: a proclamation declaring an “invasion” at the southern border and a ban on asylum claims outside official ports of entry.

These measures have accelerated deportations and chilled legal pathways. Parole programmes have been curtailed, refugee admissions slashed, and work permits delayed or denied. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has called the trend “a restoration of law and order.” Immigration lawyers call it a dismantling of significant sections of the US economy.

For many immigrants, the policy landscape now feels like a minefield. Legal limbo is spreading. Families with mixed-status members face impossible choices. Employers report rising anxiety among immigrant staff, even those with valid visas.

While the US still hosts the largest number of immigrants globally, its share is slipping. Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and Germany now outpace the US in immigrant population proportion. Economists warn that the decline could deepen labour shortages and slow growth. Others argue it may raise wages, but at the cost of care infrastructure and food supply chains.

The Pew report doesn’t speculate on long-term trends, but migration scholars suggest the US may be entering a new era, one defined less by arrivals than by attrition. For immigrant communities, the question is no longer just how to get in, but how to stay.

Some figures

Immigrants who have become U.S. citizens through the naturalisation process make up the largest share of the overall immigrant population, 46 per cent, or 23.8 million. They are followed by 14 million ‘unauthorised’ immigrants, or 27 per cent; 11.9 million lawful permanent residents (green card holders), or 23 per cent; and 2.1 million temporary lawful residents, or 4 per cent, who have permission to be in the United States for a limited time, usually for study or work.

USA / FORT BLISS / TEXAS

A Texas military base is to become America’s largest immigrant detention centre

August 2025: A facility that during World War II housed Japanese, German and Italian immigrants will become the United States’ largest migrant detention centre. The Fort Bliss facility, near El Paso, Texas, is being expanded to temporarily house thousands of undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers.

The Trump administration’s latest move to vastly expand detention space across the country will turn the base in El Paso, with more than one million acres and an airport, into a deportation hub with 5,000 beds, according to a US Department of Defence contract notice.

The news agency Bloomberg reported that the contract for Fort Bliss is worth $1.26 billion and was awarded to Virginia-based Acquisition Logistics Company through a special programme that directs federal dollars to small businesses. The Fort Bliss contract is by far the biggest ever for Acquisition Logistics. The company doesn’t appear to have any experience with detention.

This is not Fort Bliss’s first role in immigration enforcement. During World War II, it confined German, Italian, and Japanese immigrants. More recently, it housed unaccompanied migrant children in conditions so dire that whistleblowers described them as hellish. The new facility, though ostensibly for short-term adult detention, inherits this fraught legacy.

The American Civil Liberties Union has condemned the planned facility as part of a broader strategy of militarised immigration control. Local officials in El Paso passed a resolution opposing the facility, citing a lack of transparency and community consultation.

A spokesperson from the US federal agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said that ICE personnel would be responsible for the management and operational authority at the facility, and that the establishment of the centre was being carried out according to ICE detention standards.

Sources: Bloomberg; ICE; American Civil Liberties Union

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