Welcome to the Friday edition of Noorani’s Notes.

Recent Trump administration hardline immigration policies face fresh court challenges, The Economist reports. These moves have all inspired — or are about to trigger — legal challenges: (1) barring foreign nationals from seeking asylum unless they first apply for, and are denied, entry in another country; (2) the “public charge” rule which prevents immigrants who need financial support from obtaining green cards or visas; (3) allowing authorities to keep families in detention centers beyond the maximum 20 days as set forth in the Flores Settlement Agreement.

Meanwhile, the New Yorker’s Jonathan Blitzer offers a must-read analysis of the administration’s sustained attack on the rights of immigrant children. I’ll be honest, there are just too many parts of Jonathan’s piece to summarize. If you care about the protection of children, read the article, share the article.

Have a story you’d like us to include? Email me at [email protected].

THE NUMBERS — Immigration makes America richer, and absent newcomers, the country’s population would shrink, Patricia Cohen reminds us in The New York Times. According to the investment company Blackstone Group, “without immigration, the working-age population between 25 and 64 years old would drop by 17 million by 2035.” In Texas, Obed Manuel reports in the Dallas Morning News that “Dallas County would miss out on billions of dollars and thousands of jobs” without the contribution of immigrants, who own about 40% of businesses and have $13.4 billion in spending power across the county.
TROOPS AREN’T THE ANSWER — The Trump administration is calling up more than 2,000 more troops to the southern border — on top of the 5,000 already on duty there. James Stavridis, the 16th Supreme Allied Commander for NATO, writes in Time Magazine that instead of deploying troops, we should focus on interagency cooperation. His solution would include crafting diplomatic agreements with neighboring countries, creating economic incentives to encourage migrants to stay in their own countries, humanely processing migrants who do cross the border and cracking down on counternarcotics and gang violence that leads people on the trek north.
ARIZONA IS FOR DREAMERS — The Arizona Board of Regents voted to lower state university tuition rates for undocumented high school graduates, Rachel Leingang reports in the Arizona Republic. Students will pay more than in-state tuition costs, but considerably less than the out-of-state rate. “John Arnold, executive director of the Arizona Board of Regents, told the board the policy is intended to make clear that all students who graduate from an Arizona high school and meet the rate’s requirements are eligible for the rate, regardless of their immigration status.” Meanwhile, acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director Ken Cuccinelli predicted Thursday “that the Supreme Court will strike down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program early next year,” and that the president “would be holding a stronger bargaining hand than in the past,” reports Jonathan Tilove in the Austin American-Statesman. My take: The administration is already preparing to use to Dreamers as a negotiating tool to increase enforcement and slash legal immigration.
HOOSIER JOURNEY — Karla Lopez-Owens, a U.S. citizen who entered the country without status in 1999, recalls her remarkable journey from poverty in Mexico to eventually becoming a lawyer in Indiana, Justice Amick reports in the Indianapolis Star. Lopez-Owens said, “I'm hoping that someone who is so angry about immigrants being here in the U.S. is receptive to having a conversation with an immigrant, with someone who looks like me. To sharing a meal.” Speaking of naturalization journeys, a judge in California “had to speed up the naturalization of a pregnant immigrant Thursday when the woman, anxious to become a U.S. citizen because of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, started experiencing contractions,” Lucy Nicholson reports for Reuters.
YOUR FINAL AUGUST BEACH READ – Only in America’s latest podcast episode features two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, author and New York Times reporter Jason DeParle. This week he released a book, A Good Provider is One Who Leaves: One Family and Migration in the 21st Century, which details the multigenerational migration story of a Filipino family and their hardships and sacrifice to escape poverty. It’s a great book worth your time. And make sure you’re subscribed to Only in America on Apple Podcasts.
Thanks for reading,

Ali