More than 10,000 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) workers could be furloughed this summer if the agency doesn’t receive emergency funding from Congress, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez for CBS News.

“Since the declaration of the national emergency, application and petition receipts dropped to half their previous levels and with them, agency revenue that keeps our doors open,” wrote a top USCIS official.

“USCIS estimates that applications will continue to drop by about 61% through September, agency officials said. By the end of the summer, the agency is expected to run out of funding, the officials added. USCIS said it has already limited spending to salary and ‘mission-critical’ operations.”

Michael Knowles, a U.S. asylum officer and president of the local union for USCIS employees in the Washington, D.C., area, “said the Trump administration's immigration restrictions have also likely affected the agency's revenue.” 

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

TAILORED HELP – Syrian refugee and tailor Abdulkader Hayani started making masks for his neighbors after seeing a doctor on TV who had to wear the same mask for days, writes Jenna Russell for The Boston Globe. Hayani and his family, who came to the U.S. in 2017, now make 50 to 60 masks per day. “Several hundred masks made by the family have already been distributed for free to people in need, including migrant farm workers and residents visiting food pantries in Boston.” 

HOME CARE – President Trump’s immigration policies, including travel and visa restrictions, could jeopardize the home-based care workforce, writes Bailey Bryant for Home Health Care News. “Immigrants make up a huge portion of the direct care workforce, which includes home health aides, personal care aides and nursing assistants. In fact, one in four direct care workers is an immigrant, according to PHI, an organization that researches and advocates on behalf of home-based care workers.”

HATE ON THE RISE – Anti-Asian racism is on the rise in Massachusetts amid COVID-19, with approximately 1,500 racist incidents reported in a single month, reports Anju Miura for The MetroWest Daily News. “‘The coronavirus situation did not create anti-Asian racism within the United States. It simply exposed it and enabled it from certain sectors,’ said Paul Watanabe, director of the Institute for Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. He added that American society tends to see Asian or immigrant population as ‘foreigners’ and blames them for social or historical conflicts, citing treatment after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the Chinese Exclusion Act that targeted laborers in 1882.”

REFUGEE RISK – The coronavirus pandemic has acutely impacted vulnerable populations around the world — particularly in refugee camps, writes Mursal Hedayat for Forbes. “Refugees and asylum seekers have largely been forgotten in the Covid-19 conversation. No state directly defends their interests. Many are already being hosted in precarious conditions where cholera still claims lives. As cases of coronavirus emerge in densely populated refugee camps in Bangladesh and Lebanon, this pandemic risks becoming a ‘crisis on top of a crisis’ according to UNHCR UK country lead, Rosella Pagliuchi-Lor.” 

MAQUILAS – Facing pressure from the Trump administration, Mexico is expediting the reopening of its economy even as COVID-19 cases in the country continue to rise, Alfredo Corchado and Valeria Olivares report for The Dallas Morning News. “Officials on both sides of the border are warning that moving too fast could raise the risk of more outbreaks and further devastate the mostly U.S.-owned maquilas, the factories that are the backbone of the supply chain and the local economy. ... One international health expert, Dr. Alejandro Diaz, warned that reopening the maquilas at the height of a pandemic will lead to ‘chaos’ and ‘catastrophic consequences.’”

CANADA – Earlier this week we noted that the Trump administration, in their efforts to curb legal immigration, is reportedly planning to suspend Optional Practical Training (OPT) for foreign students, which typically allows them to work in the U.S. for 12 months after graduation. Meanwhile, “[t]he Canadian government has made clear it values international students,” writes Stuart Anderson in Forbes as he compares the two government’s approaches. “While Canada is making life easier for international students in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump officials are expected to take advantage of the current health crisis to impose new restrictions on those planning to study and work in America.”

Thanks for reading,

Ali