A federal appeals court ruled on Friday against the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, which returns migrants along the U.S. border to Mexico while their asylum requests are considered, Brent Kendall and Michelle Hackmann report for The Wall Street Journal. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the policy was inconsistent with laws preventing the return of immigrants to countries “where their life or freedom would be threatened due to their race, religion, nationality, or political or social affiliations.” However, the court also granted the Trump administration’s request to pause its ruling, meaning the program is allowed to proceed for the time being, Mica Rosenberg writes for Reuters.
As we noted on Friday, the administration has already said it will look to phase out the policy in favor of “even more restrictive” asylum policies, Arelis R. Hernández and Kevin Sieff report for The Washington Post.
Welcome to Monday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes. Have a story you’d like us to include? Email me at [email protected].
CORONAVIRUS – Amid coronavirus fears, the Trump administration is considering additional entry restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border alongside restrictions on travelers from South Korea, Italy and Japan, Ted Hesson reports for Reuters. Over the weekend, the president appeared eager to use the virus threat as yet another reason to crack down on the border. “When you have this virus or any other virus or any other problem coming in, it’s not the only thing that comes through the border and we are setting records now at the border,” said President Trump, as reported in Politico Playbook. The reality is that a border closure would do little to stop the spread of the virus and could further impact the economy by limiting interaction with our largest trading partner.
CANADA – Immigration is a major contributor to Canada’s growing labor force, helping the country avoid some of the economic slowdowns that have impacted other large economies in the past year, Kim Mackrael writes for The Wall Street Journal. Population growth in Canada has risen to about 1% annually. “Without the immigration boom, the Canadian economy would be lost right now,” David Rosenberg, chief economist at Toronto-based Rosenberg Research and Associates, told the Journal. “It’s not just the main game in town, it’s the only game in town.”
CUCCINELLI – A federal judge in D.C. ruled over the weekend that President Trump’s appointment of Ken Cuccinelli as acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) violates the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, Rebecca Rainey reports for Politico Pro [paywall]. The decision suspends two policies Cuccinelli implemented while leading the agency, including a directive to speed up initial asylum screenings. Hamed Aleaziz at BuzzFeed News reports that by Sunday evening, senior officials at USCIS had already “emailed asylum officers across the country to let them know the directive instituted by Cuccinelli in July was ‘no longer operative.’”
BROKEN – The international refugee system is broken, Matt Katz writes for The Atlantic: “We are in an age of mass displacement. Yet the powerful and stable nations of the world have not figured out a humane way to handle the influx of people claiming persecution while balancing domestic concerns about security and cultural change.” Over the weekend, thousands of migrants and refugees arrived at the Greece-Turkey border trying to make their way to Europe as fighting between Turkey and Syria escalated, Costas Kantouris and Andrew Wilks report for the Associated Press. As Turkey eased its border restrictions, the “Greek army and police patrols [used] tear gas and stun grenades to thwart attempts by thousands to push into the country overnight.”
FASHION FOR GOOD – Epimonia, a company launched by former refugee Mohamed Malim, is making clothing and accessories from recycled refugee life jackets and donating half the profits to organizations supporting refugees. “All I have ever wanted to do was make the world a better place by helping those in need,” Malim, who was born in a refugee camp in Kenya, told Edward Fitzpatrick in an interview for The Boston Globe. “I want to show refugees like me that there is hope, people do care about them, and if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.”
THE MYTH OF THE IMMIGRANT BURDEN – For our most recent episode of “Only in America,” I spoke with Nafy Flatley, a Senegal-born chef and entrepreneur who founded the food and beverage company Teranga, about her journey to the U.S., the challenges of starting a business, and how her idea of the American Dream has evolved. It’s the latest in “The Myth of the Immigrant Burden,” our series exploring the contributions of immigrants to the U.S. economy.
Thanks for reading,
Ali
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