While Republicans have nailed down a clear message on immigration — that the border must be closed to prevent migrants from “entering the country to steal jobs and harm Americans” — Democrats have struggled to find one, writes Ariel Armony, vice provost for global affairs and director of the University Center for International Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, in a Los Angeles Times op-ed.
Armony, who immigrated to the U.S. as an international student from Argentina 30 years ago, argues that Democrats must articulate a new narrative — one that helps Americans see how critical immigration is to our nation economically and competitively. “Immigrants continue to build the United States, and as the Fourth Industrial Revolution shapes our future, our ability to welcome immigrants will define our success. … Immigrants are also a huge part of the skilled blue-collar workforce, performing the backbreaking labor to build our cities and infrastructure.”
Welcome to Friday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes. Have a story you’d like us to include? Email me at [email protected].
TRAVEL BAN – The Trump administration’s expanded travel ban — which was initially expected on Monday — will likely be announced today, Anita Kumar and Nahal Toosi report for Politico. As we included in the Notes earlier this week, the updated ban may apply to Belarus, Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria and Tanzania, though officials said on Thursday the list was not finalized. An additional change “calls for people coming from Sudan to be barred from the U.S. diversity visa program, which awards green cards to immigrants.”
FOX, MEET HENHOUSE – The Trump administration is appointing a hardline anti-immigrant activist to lead a new office that will oversee civil rights violations in detention centers, reports Hamed Aleaziz for BuzzFeed News. Julie Kirchner, former leader of the immigration restriction group FAIR, will now be in charge of hearing detainees’ complaints of civil rights violations and helping those affected. As one congressional staffer told BuzzFeed News: “That’s like letting the fox watch the hens.”
REALITY OF THE BORDER – Trump’s border wall is vulnerable to flash floods, requiring the installation of hundreds of storm gates that will need to be left open during the summer “monsoon season” months, Nick Miroff reports for The Washington Post. That means more Border Patrol agents will have to monitor those sites, which provide an opening for border crossers. It’s the latest engineering challenge for the wall, which is demanding more and more federal resources. “The border is so diverse,” said Roy Villareal, chief of the Border Patrol’s Tucson sector. “People think it’s just this monolithic wall, sort of like the Great Wall of China, where you drop it into place and that’s all there is to it. And that’s not the reality at all.”
CHALDEAN CHRISTIANS – In a surprise announcement during a speech in Michigan yesterday, President Trump said he would not deport Iraqis who’ve been fighting to stay in the U.S. for nearly three years, reports Sarah Rahal for The Detroit News, though it was unclear specifically who’d be eligible to remain here. Iraqis — including the Chaldean Christian community in southeastern Michigan — have feared being sent back to Iraq, where it is not safe for them. “It should be noted that Iraqi nationals face these precarious circumstances only because President Trump broke with past administrations and started aggressively deporting Iraqis,” said U.S. Rep. Andy Levin (D-Michigan).
LEGAL PRACTICE – The Utah Supreme Court has ruled that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients can become attorneys, Jessica Miller reports for The Salt Lake Tribune. The case was originally brought by two Utah women who had passed California’s bar exam but were then not eligible to take the bar or practice law in Utah. “The women who brought this case forward are among those who have attended our public schools and subsequent Utah law schools … Allowing the petitioners and other DACA recipients to realize the professional aspirations they have pursued for many years would be the logical progression in their careers,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
Thanks for reading,
Ali
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