Late last night, an appeals court ruled that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghanistan will remain in place until July 21 while litigation continues, reports Rebecca Santana of the Associated Press.
The designation was set to expire yesterday and would have affected over 11,000 Afghans living in the United States. “Since so many of those losing their protections served alongside U.S. forces, we should honor that service by upholding our promise to provide safety and ensure that they have an opportunity to thrive here,” said Jennie in a statement yesterday. We urge Congress to protect Afghans by providing them permanent status — a commitment that is long overdue.”
Brittany Gibson and Russell Contreras of Axios report that the administration’s deportation strategy includes more than 1.2 million people with some form of legal status who fled danger like war, persecution, or climate disaster.
In a separate court case, a federal judge ruled yesterday that refugees from countries impacted by the administration’s travel ban must be allowed to enter the United States, reports Jake Goldstein-Street of the Washington State Standard.
As the refugee program has been halted since January because of an executive order, the ongoing litigation is showing some changes. In May, a judge ordered the resettlement program to restart, and in Arizona some of the 160 refugees ordered to be processed are finally arriving, reports Alisa Reznick of KJZZ.
Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Clara Villatoro, the Forum’s assistant VP of strategic communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Callie Jacobson, Nicci Mattey and Broc Murphy. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
INELIGIBILITY — A new policy will make all immigrants who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without authorization ineligible for bond hearings, even if they have been residing in the U.S. interior, reports Maria Sacchetti and Carol D. Leonnig of The Washington Post. In a memo from last week, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Todd M. Lyons, told officers that immigrants should be detained “for the duration of their removal proceedings,” which can take months or even years. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott issued similar guidance last week, the Post notes.
NURSING HOMES — Facilities that house older adults and people with disabilities are seeing a loss of staff as a result of the administration’s recent immigration policies, reports Matt Sedensky of the Associated Press. More than a quarter of the United States’ nursing assistants, home health aides, personal care aides and other direct care workers are foreign-born, notes Sedensky. “We feel completely beat up right now,” said Deke Cateau, CEO of A.G. Rhodes, which operates three nursing homes in the Atlanta area. “The [workers] pipeline is getting smaller and smaller.
FAITH-BASED SUPPORT — As the number of ICE arrests increases, faith-based organizations in NYC are feeling the heightened risk and adjusting how they operate, reports Fiona Murphy of the National Catholic Reporter. Some shelters, food banks, and kitchens are closing early and reducing their services. “We pray the help will come from God and will help his immigrant people to freedom from any kind of terror or any fear,"said Imam Musa Kabba of Masjid-Ar-Rahmah mosque in the Bronx, New York. Meanwhile, WXYZ reports that church leaders in Detroit joined community members marching in support of immigrants.
HARSH CONDITIONS — Despite claims that the new detention center in the Florida Everglades would be reserved for those convicted of violent crimes made by the administration, hundreds of immigrants with no criminal record are being held, reports Richard Luscombe of The Guardian. Meanwhile, Kimberly Leonard and Nicole Markus of Politico report that, Republican and Democrat lawmakers visited the facility this past weekend.
