The Wall Street Journal editorial board came out against the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule – which, when it goes into effect, will allow the government to deny legal status to immigrants if they need government benefits such as food stamps. Noting that “while immigrants are no more likely than native-born Americans to use public benefits, they are more likely to work,” the editorial board argues that “[t]he rule looks like one more attempt by White House adviser Stephen Miller to make America a country of no more immigrants.”
Meanwhile, a new Pew poll found that 65% of Americans believe the federal government is doing either a very or somewhat bad job dealing with the increased number of people seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. Interestingly, 86% said it is very or somewhat important to increase the number of judges handling asylum cases to bring down the backlog, and 72% supported a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants.
Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes.
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LOST COLOSSUS – Speaking of the “public charge” rule: While defending the new policy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli had a new take on the words of Emma Lazarus – words made famous for their inscription on the Statue of Liberty and long considered part of our national ethos, write Sasha Ingber and Rachel Martin for NPR. Cuccinelli’s version? “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge." Emma Lazarus he is not.
LUKE 7:11-17 – While El Paso has long been defined by the border, and more recently impacted by a horrific shooting, amid tragedy small miracles abound. World Magazine’s Sophia Lee offers a powerful, deeply personal essay that is well worth your time. Drawing from Luke 7:11-17, Lee describes what she saw while reporting on churches in El Paso: “Today, we are the body of Christ, and we’re receiving a group of people who, like the widow of Nain, have lost their status and protection and security. … That’s why what I saw churches doing at the border was nothing short of a miracle: They weren’t serving just because the Bible commanded it—they did it because they were first touched by the love and compassion of Jesus Christ. It’s not an act of obligation, but an act inspired, motivated, and sustained by an undeserved, God-given love.”
WAITING ROOM – As a result of the Trump administration’s "remain in Mexico" policy, the U.S. and Mexico are struggling to address a backlog of cases that has grown by more than 3,000% between February and June – leaving migrants from around the world stuck in a state of limbo and turning Mexico into a veritable waiting room, reports Monica Campbell at PRI. As Valery, a migrant from Cameroon, put it: “Oh, God! That’s freedom over there! But I cannot go there.”
“THE KIDDO” – In suburbs across Texas, once-reliable Republican voters are finding themselves increasingly isolated from their party, disillusioned by President Trump’s behavior and images of children being separated from parents, Melanie Mason reports for the Los Angeles Times. “They saw the kiddo being separated from their mom at the border, and it’s sad,” said Jill Tate, who is active in Republican Party groups. “We had a lot of [women] voting with their heart.” Vanessa Steinkamp, a lifelong Texas Republican living in a suburb between Fort Worth and Dallas, said “[i]t feels like there’s no place for lifelong Republicans like me.”
FALSE ACCUSATIONS – Once a trial attorney for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Laura Peña has since dedicated herself to defending migrants like Carlos, an asylum seeker separated from his children and threatened with deportation because of false accusations of gang affiliation, reports Melissa del Bosque at ProPublica. While fighting a desperate legal battle across multiple jurisdictions and two continents to prove her client’s innocence, Peña found a system radically changed. “[T]he system she’d once known, as flawed as it was, had turned into a black box she no longer understood, with an ever-shifting array of rules and policies that granted untold discretion to the government.” A few months ago, I had the honor of interviewing Laura for an episode of “Only in America.”
Thanks for reading,

Ali