Changes to Public Charge Regulations: A Threat to Immigrant and Public Health

Panelists: Andrew Cohen, JD; Leah Zallman, MPH, MD; Lara Jirmanus, MPH, MD. On December 5, Harvard FXB sponsored a panel on proposed changes in regulations around public charge and immigration.  Dr. Lara Jirmanus, Andrew Cohen, and Dr. Leah Zallman presented; Professor Nancy Krieger moderated the panel and the lively question and answer session afterwards. Below is a summary of the highlights along with further information about making public comments and…

Commenting on Regulations, an Example: Proposed Change to Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility

By Susan Lloyd McGarry Many in the public health community have concerns about the possible effects of proposed changes in regulations related to how US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security (US CIS, DHS) determines “public charge” as grounds to deny immigration visas and permanent residence. Harvard FXB sponsored an event in which experts discussed those concerns (read highlights of the event here). December 10 (coincidentally the seventieth…

Public Charge: A Threat to Immigrant Health and Public Health

Join us for a panel discussion regarding the proposed rule by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – for which public comments are being accepted until Dec 10, 2018 – that would change “public charge” policies to make it legally harder for immigrants to enter the US or apply for permanent legal residency. According to leading experts and published research, the proposal would lead to decreased participation by lawfully present immigrant families in essential services…

Harvard Bookstore Event: Can We Solve the Migration Crisis?

Harvard Book Store welcomes renowned human rights lawyer and Harvard scholar and professor JACQUELINE BHABHA (and FXB research director) for a discussion of her latest book, Can We Solve the Migration Crisis?. About Can We Solve the Migration Crisis? Every minute 24 people are forced to leave their homes and over 65 million are currently displaced worldwide. Small wonder that tackling the refugee and migration crisis has become a global…

Professor Jacqueline Bhabha on Family Separation and Migration

Separation at the border On June 27, our colleague Chris Sweeney in the Harvard Chan Office of Communications interviewed Harvard FXB’s director of research, Professor Jacqueline Bhabha, on family separation for their feature Three Questions.  Below is an excerpt from the piece, with one question and answer: In all of your years working on migrant issues around the world, have you ever seen a similar policy enacted? I can’t think…

June 22, 2018 Harvard FXB Statement on US Zero Tolerance Policy

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President Trump introduced a “zero tolerance” immigration policy on April 6, 2018, as a seemingly fail-safe measure to prevent what he calls undesirables from seeking to enter the US across the border with Mexico. He launched the policy to elevate his stature as the defender of an American populace under threat. His account is eerily reminiscent of pronouncements by genocidal regimes dehumanizing targeted groups. Rwandan Hutus described their Tutsi targets…

Do You Know Where You Are Going? (the 2016 eviction from the Calais Jungle)

a reprise from the migrant diaries: Calais, France—Friday October 21, 2016 The eviction is definitely happening Monday. Refugees and volunteers have a meeting this afternoon at the Khyber Restaurant and Annie, one of the long-term volunteers, goes through the facts: The eviction will start on Monday at 8 am. People will be asked to go to a warehouse and queue in one of four lines: vulnerables, unaccompanied children, families, or…

In the News: “What Is Best About Ourselves: We Welcome Others and Grow Together” FXB on U.S. Immigration Policy

The January 27 executive order restricting travel, immigration, and refugee entry to the United States signaled major policy changes in those areas. Despite the recent stay of the immigration order upheld by the 9th District Court of Appeals, litigation is likely to continue and the attitudes implicit in these orders are likely to reappear in policy. FXB’s director Jennifer Leaning and director of research Jacqueline Bhabha have recorded a podcast…

In the News: No Correlation Between Refugees and Terrorists, Facebook Live

Brief Background In a Facebook Live event (click here to go to the webcast of 45 minutes) at Harvard Kennedy School on February 3, Professor Jacqueline Bhabha, FXB’s director of research, discussed refugees and the January 27 US executive order on immigration with Matt Cadwallader. The order (full text here) covers several points, among them: a 90-day ban on all travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia,…

In the News: FXB and the US Immigration Executive Order

Late afternoon Friday, January 27, 2017, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order changing US policies and procedures regarding immigration and refugees. The situation is in flux. On February 3 in Seattle, federal judge James Robart, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, issued a nationwide stay, temporarily stopping enforcement of the order and ordering airlines to allow affected passengers to fly into the United States. Since the…

Children on the Move: Failure to Protect

Throughout the world, children flee peril in their place of origin, but often they exchange one set of dangers for another. A new report published today by Harvard University’s FXB Center for Health and Human Rights finds that protection for children on the move, particularly during time of transit, is lacking worldwide. Children on the Move: An Urgent Human Rights and Child Protection Priority, which began as a research project…