Migrants hoping to seek U.S. asylum face years-long legal limbo in overwhelmed system
CBSN
New York — Beberlyn and her family boarded the subway to downtown Manhattan before 4 a.m. in mid-October. Their appointment with federal immigration officials wasn't until 9 o'clock, but she wanted to make sure her family would be seen.
When the family arrived at 4:40, dozens of migrants were already waiting outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office at Federal Plaza. By 8 o'clock, lines with hundreds of migrants had formed. It's a scene that repeats itself on every weekday in New York City, one of the top destinations for the hundreds of thousands of migrants released from federal U.S. border custody over the past year.
Beberlyn, 33, is a Venezuelan migrant who crossed the U.S. southern border unlawfully with her husband, 15-year-old nephew, 12-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter in late August. She was hoping ICE would give them an immigration court date so they could start the process of applying for asylum and work permits.
President Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families.
It's Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus is suiting up for his annual voyage from the North Pole to households around the world. In keeping with decades of tradition, the North American Aerospace Command, or NORAD, will once again track Santa's journey to deliver gifts to children before Christmas 2024, using an official map that's updated consistently to show where he is right now.