As the country remains fixated on coronavirus, Caitlin Dickerson at The New York Times reports on how hundreds on unaccompanied minors at the border “have been swiftly deported by American authorities amid the coronavirus pandemic without the opportunity to speak to a social worker or plea for asylum from the violence in their home countries — a reversal of years of established practice for dealing with young foreigners who arrive in the United States.”

Molly O’Toole at the Los Angeles Times profiles the journey of an unaccompanied teen girl from Guatemala, whose case “illustrates how the system often leaves children alone to bear the brunt of the unpredictable swings of fate in their cases.”

On top of the deportation of these unaccompanied children, Lomi Kriel at ProPublica explores how the Trump administration “has aggressively begun to rush the deportations of some of the most vulnerable migrant children in its care to countries where they have been raped, beaten or had a parent killed.”

This is not how the United States of America should be treating any child. America is better than this.

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

EXPANSION – Although California has launched a new economic relief fund for the state’s undocumented population, many are facing technical hurdles as they try to access desperately needed financial aid, Patrick McGreevey reports in the Los Angeles Times. State Sen. Maria Elena Durazo is calling for an expansion of the program: “Phone lines and websites across the state crashed due to the volume of calls and inquiries … These undocumented residents, who comprise as much as 10% of the state workforce, are hurting for any type of assistance, being that they do not qualify for state unemployment or federal stimulus money.”
PRAIRIELAND LAWSUIT – 11 immigrants in custody at the Prairieland detention center in Alvarado, Texas, are suing for their release due to being “medically vulnerable” to the coronavirus, reports Dianne Solis for the Dallas Morning News. “As of Tuesday, 45 immigrants at Prairieland have tested positive for coronavirus, according to [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)]. The lawsuit alleges that ICE transported a plane of about 80 individuals from three East Coast locations, where there were coronavirus outbreaks, to Prairieland without taking safety precautions.” Without a clear policy from the top, immigration lawyers are the only ones looking out for the health of immigrant detainees.
DIFFICULT SITUATION – After waiting three years for permission to move to the United States, fearing the Taliban would learn he worked with the U.S. Army, Mahmood Amiri and his family were finally able to move from Afghanistan to Salt Lake City — only to face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brady McCombs reports for the Associated Press. Despite warnings of the pandemic, the family felt it was worth the risk, fearing retribution from the Taliban at home. “Starting a new life in America is never easy for refugees, but doing it during a pandemic has created more struggles, especially after the federal government cut off funding to help them resettle and suspended new arrivals indefinitely.” Although Amiri is now struggling to find a job, his family now feels safe: “I knew the situation was very bad, but I had to decide for the (good) of my family … If my visa expired, they would not extend it.”

69% – A new report surveying members of the North Carolina Latino immigrant community found that many are facing hardships due to COVID-19 and struggling to access government aid, reports Elizabeth Egan for The Daily Tar Heel. “Of the participants in the survey, 69 percent reported living in a household where one or more people have lost their job since the start of the pandemic, but only 13 percent said members of their household are receiving unemployment benefits or stimulus checks.” The study, conducted by the advocacy organization Siembra NC, also found that the community is concerned about food insecurity.

MEDICAL ASSISTANCE – According to new research, the majority (68%) of adults in the U.S. think the federal government should provide medical assistance to undocumented immigrants who contract COVID-19, write Jens Manuel Krogstad and Mark Hugo Lopez for Pew Research Center. In comparison, 37% say the government should provide economic assistance to undocumented immigrants who lost their job due to the pandemic. “Hispanics are the most supportive of the federal government providing medical and economic support to undocumented immigrants affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The vast majority of Hispanics (86%) say the government has a responsibility to provide medical care, and around six-in-ten (62%) say the same about economic help.” Additionally, 80% of black adults supported medical care for the undocumented while around half (55%) supported economic help, but only 61% and 27% of white adults supported access to medical care and economic help, respectively.

Stay safe, stay healthy,

Ali