President Trump took to Twitter late last night to announce that he plans to “temporarily suspend immigration” via executive order — supposedly to protect American jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Katie Rogers, Michael D. Shear and Zolan Kanno-Youngs report for The New York Times that a “formal order temporarily barring the provision of new green cards and work visas could come as early as the next few days … It was not immediately clear what legal basis Mr. Trump would claim to justify shutting down most immigration.”
The National Foundation for American Policy’s Stuart Anderson analyzes the potential implications of the announcement for Forbes.
And, as I tweeted last night, the fact is that immigrants are standing shoulder to shoulder with U.S. citizens in the response and recovery to COVID-19. How many families would go without health care, food or otherwise if it wasn’t for immigrants working alongside native-born Americans yesterday, today and tomorrow? COVID-19 impacts all of us. Therefore, it’s important all of us are part of the response and recovery. Whether our family has been here for generations, months or is yet to arrive. We are all in this together.
For more context, I wrote about how “[a]bsolute numbers of cases in rural areas are unlikely to reach what we see in suburban and urban regions. But the economic fallout will extend across the country and the debate will shift from public health vs the economy, to the American worker vs ‘the other.’”
Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes. Have a story you’d like us to include? Email me at [email protected].
PADRE JESUS – A local priest in Dallas, prominently known in the community as Padre Jesus, has made headlines for his work during the coronavirus pandemic to help families who are “part of a trinity of despair: undocumented, uninsured and now, unemployed.” He told Dianne Solis at the Dallas Morning News, “It’s so hard to even find the words of consolation … Our people are suffering so much. Some have fallen to the contagion and they have nothing to pay the rent and nothing to eat … So many have children. Mom and Pop have come from Mexico, but the kids were born here.”
UNSUNG HEROES – Farmers and agricultural workers are the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 outbreak, keeping U.S. grocery stores stocked with fresh produce and American families fed, writes Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane, in an op-ed for Fox Business. We know that a significant part of this industry is made up of immigrants and seasonal workers and to echo Ganzert, “They deserve our thanks and praise.”
PROTECTING TPS – Advocates are pushing officials in Washington to protect more than 300,000 Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients — including more than 11,000 working in healthcare — with automatic work authorization extensions and a pathway to citizenship by passing the American Dream and Promise Act. Per Jacqueline Charles at the Miami Herald, “While their work permits were renewed due to federal lawsuits opposing the Trump administration’s decision to terminate TPS status for six countries, including Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, beneficiaries of the program still live a life of uncertainty. In the case of Haitians, for example, their documents will expire on January 2, which Miami advocate Marleine Bastien said is right around the corner.”
COVID-19 IN EL PASO – Four migrants detained at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s El Paso Processing Center have confirmed cases of COVID-19, reports Lauren Villagran for the El Paso Times. “El Paso immigrant advocates have been calling for weeks for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to release immigrant detainees. ‘Those in ICE custody have no control over their own health and safety,’ said Melissa Lopez, executive director of Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services Inc., which provides pro bono counsel to immigrants, in a statement.”
WHO I CHOSE TO MARRY – More than a million U.S. citizens were denied economic relief from the CARES Act because of the immigration status of their spouses, and Jenny Jarvie at the Los Angeles Times puts a human face to their struggles. “‘It’s almost spiteful,’ said Ally, a 48-year old former educator in Philadelphia who is married to a Brazilian citizen and has three children. …‘It’s like, ‘Geez, my country still does not care about my family!’’ she said. ‘I’m still a U.S. citizen. I should not be punished because of who I chose to marry.’”
APPEAL – The Trump administration has filed an appeal to February’s federal court decision mandating “beds, blankets, showers, quality food and medical evaluations” for migrants held in Border Patrol detention for longer than 48 hours. Astrid Galvan at the Associated Press reports that “President Donald Trump's administration didn't list a reason for its appeal. But government attorneys argued in court that no constitutional violations had been proven and that the Border Patrol has taken steps to reduce time in custody. An attorney also said at trial that there wasn't funding to build facilities with beds.”
Stay safe, stay healthy,
Ali
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