Immigration

In 2019 Minnesota’s journalism scene expanded with the launch of an ambitious project called Sahan Journal. It is an online publication that focuses on the untold stories of Minnesota’s immigrants and refugees. Saran Journal is an independent, nonprofit news organization led by editor and executive director Mukhtar Ibrahim. He writes, “the mission of Sahan Journal is to chronicle the struggles, successes and transformation of Minnesota’s new Americans, whose stories are often overlooked.”
As of mid-December, more than 56,000 people who had entered the United States seeking asylum from persecution had been sent back to Mexico to wait for their cases to be heard. They are there because of the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocol, also known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy. That policy has been in effect since Jan. 24, 2019. St. Paul-based immigration attorney Kim Hunter is spending six months serving as a Border Fellow with the Lawyers for Good Government Foundation’s Project Corazon. That project is bringing legal services to asylum seekers living in a tent city in Matamoros, Mexico, which is just across the border from Brownsville, Texas.
‘Cried with joy’: Minnesota's Liberians find elation, relief in new permanent residency law
Minnesota’s Liberian community is celebrating a new federal law that opens a path for permanent residency in the U.S. Advocates say it’s a happy ending to a long, hard-fought journey. Just a year ago, many Liberians feared deportation.
Truck stops cater to growing number of immigrant drivers
The number of long-haul truckers in the U.S. has reached an all-time high, and many are immigrants. Some truck stops are adapting to provide drivers a taste of home while on the road.
To produce citizenship data, DHS to share records with Census
The Department of Homeland Security has finalized an agreement to share records that the Census Bureau says will help it produce data about the citizenship status of every person living in the United States.
 ‘It’s been 25 years’: Liberians celebrate new pathway to citizenship
On Saturday, Liberians in Minnesota will celebrate a new law allowing those with temporary status to be in the country permanently. One Twin Cities advocate known in the community as the “DED queen” says she hasn’t stopped dancing since President Trump signed the bill last month.
Falling birth rates and rising death rates, combined with a significant drop in immigration, have slowed U.S. population growth to its lowest level since 1918.
In population chase, Minnesota fares better than most neighbors
Minnesota’s population grew by an estimated 33,000 people from July 2018 to July 2019, according to new U.S. Census Bureau figures. But will it be enough to save all eight of the state’s U.S. House seats?
Diversity big on the ballot in race for a Minnesota House seat
Six of the 12 candidates in the coming District 60A special election in Minneapolis are first- or second-generation immigrants, part of a growing trend of people with new-immigrant roots seeking political power in Minnesota and the U.S.
Willmar keeps the refugee door open despite concerns
Rising numbers of Somali and Latino immigrants have brought opportunities and tensions to west-central Minnesota. A recent Kandiyohi County vote to accept more refugees has put those divisions into clearer focus.