Rising concerns over the spread of the coronavirus in federal detention facilities is spurring legal action.

U.S. District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee, who monitors adherence to the 1997 Flores agreement, is calling for the release of all migrant children held under license by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (approximately 3,600 children) and those in three family detention facilities operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (about 3,300 more).

Miriam Jordan reports for The New York Times that on Saturday the judge “ordered the government to ‘make continuous efforts’ to release them from custody.” Federal agencies have until April 6 to communicate a plan on how they plan to release these children.

Welcome to Monday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes. Have a story you’d like us to include? Email me at [email protected].

NURSES DENIED – As more health care workers are needed in the United States (and around the world) than ever before, the Trump administration is reportedly blocking thousands of visas for immigrant nurses yearning to join the US workforce, report Bruce Einhorn, Claire Jiao and James Paton for Bloomberg, “One staffing company has received a request for 5,000 nurses in New York, according to Shari Dingle Costantini, president of the American Association of International Healthcare Recruitment. Members of her association have as many as 12,000 nurses from the Philippines and other countries who could fill those jobs, if only they could enter the U.S., she said.” In 2019, EB-3 visas — commonly used for nurses — for people from the Philippines were “down by a third from 2015.”

DREAMERS ON THE FRONTLINES – The contributions of immigrants are critical to the nation’s battle against the coronavirus outbreak, argues the Boston Globe Editorial Board. “Roughly 27,000 undocumented immigrants currently protected from deportation through [DACA] work in the medical sector as doctors, nurses, and home health aides, among other health care professions. The health care industry is clearly not ready, particularly during this emergency, to offset the loss if those immigrants are erased from the workforce.” Richard Wolf at USA Today also highlights the stories of health care workers and first responders with DACA on the front line of the pandemic: “In Fort Myers, Florida, paramedic Aldo Martinez worked a 48-hour shift late last week, helping a COVID-19 patient the second day. A native of Mexico who arrived in the U.S. when he was 12, Martinez, now 26, has seen what happens when fellow health care workers need to self-quarantine, leading to staff shortages.”

CHAOTIC COURTS – Concerns over open immigration courts in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak are continuing to mount, with the Southern Poverty Law Center filing for a “temporary injunction to stop the government from compelling immigrants or their lawyers to appear in person ‘for any reason at any U.S. immigration court,’” writes Dianne Solis for the Dallas Morning News. She describes how attorneys, wearing masks and gloves, are struggling to “juggle shifting policy rulings, temperaments of judges, and asylum-seeking clients who live in Dallas or are stuck in border cities like Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros and Ciudad Juarez.”

FEARS IN SYRIA – As the coronavirus spreads across the world, the BBC reports on the potential devastating impact the outbreak could have in overcrowded refugee camps in Northwestern Syria. “Almost one million people have fled their homes in the area since December when the Syrian regime launched an offensive to retake Idlib - the last opposition held province. Health officials there fear as many as 100,000 might die unless medical supplies arrive urgently.” This is a story playing itself out in refugee camps around the world.

NO RELIEF – While Washington lawmakers successfully passed a $2 trillion economic stimulus package, undocumented workers — who are uniquely vulnerable during this crisis — will not be eligible for any financial relief. While undocumented immigrants are generally barred from receiving federal benefits, “advocates argue this shouldn't be treated as business as usual. In a public health crisis, they say, if someone feels like they can't miss work or can't afford medical care, that impacts the entire community,” reports CNN ’s Catherine E. Shoichet.

WITHOUT A NET – With their only choice being to work, Hector and Sandra — two undocumented immigrants in Chicago who pay their taxes via an Individual Tax Identification Number and have been in the U.S. for 20 years — clock in everyday at a warehouse to package cleaning supplies. The Chicago Sun-Times’ Carlos Ballesteros illustrates the quandary: “As undocumented immigrants feel the pinch, their children are stepping up to keep their households afloat.”

Stay safe, stay healthy,

Ali