The Trump administration is seeking to give the Department of Justice (DOJ) unprecedented power over immigration courts, writes Richard Gonzales at NPR. Under a new policy, which goes into effect today, the director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), a branch within DOJ, will have new powers to issue appellate decisions in cases that haven’t been adjudicated within a set timeframe. The policy also creates a new office within EOIR dedicated to implementing the administration’s policies.

The policy – which Judge Ashley Tabaddor, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, has called “an unprecedented attempt at agency overreach to dismantle the Immigration Court” – comes amid reports that EOIR is also postponing some cases in order to expedite hearings for migrants returned to Mexico under the “Remain in Mexico” policy, per Camilo Montoya-Galvez at CBS News.

This action further politicizes our nation’s immigration system, doing nothing to serve the interests of American workers or their families.

Welcome to the Monday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes.

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

RATIONAL POLICY – Faced with an aging population and plummeting fertility rates, the U.S. needs a rational immigration system designed to meet the demands of the economy and address the long-term labor shortage, argues The Washington Post’s Editorial Board. (Brought into stark relief by my new read of the weekend, Jonathan V. Last’s “What to Expect When No One’s Expecting.”) Unfortunately, the litany of immigration changes put into effect by the Trump administration seems more likely “to transform the United States into a second Japan, where an aging population and barriers to immigration have sapped the dynamism and prospects of what was once one of the world’s most dynamic economies.”

SAFE CONDUCT – Steve Oshana, executive director of the Christian advocacy group A Demand for Action, is urging the Trump administration to avoid deporting Iraqi Christians back to a country where they face discrimination and persecution, per Nahal Toosi at Politico. But even in the aftermath of Christian deportee Jimmy Aldaoud’s death in Baghdad, activists have been unable to get the administration to consider alternative countries like Christian-majority Armenia. “The biggest impediment is the administration not making the request to another country and not even being willing to discuss it with us in a meaningful way,” Oshana said.

“BAD FOR CHILDREN” – Hoping to draw a distinction from now-infamous Border Patrol facilities, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) acting director Matthew Albence on Friday invited cameras into ICE’s new South Texas Family Residential Center, reports Maria Sacchetti at The Washington Post. Despite the new facility boasting a library with Internet and a charter school, UNICEF USA president and chief executive Caryl Stern points out that “[d]etention for any length of time, with or without their families, is bad for children.” The media tour occurred the same day the Trump administration moved to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement.

FEAR AND ANXIETY – Living as an undocumented immigrant has never been easy, but in the face of hardline policies, raids, and inflammatory rhetoric, immigrants are grappling with unprecedented levels of depression, anxiety, and trauma, reports Olivia Sanchez at USA Today. This follows the August 7 raid in Mississippi that saw 680 arrested – including mothers of young children – raising new questions over who ICE is targeting, per USA Today.

GRAND RAPIDS – The Grand Rapids, Michican, police department announced a new policy preventing officers from inquiring about a person's immigration status in the course of their duty, except when “relevant to ongoing criminal investigations,” writes Sarah Rahal at The Detroit News. The policy, which comes months after a Grand Rapids police officer contacted federal immigration authorities after falsely assuming that a Michigan-born veteran he had arrested was an undocumented immigrant, codifies “the expectation that everyone in our community receives equal service regardless of citizenship or immigration status," said Police Chief Eric Payne.

BRIDGING DIVIDES – To end on a positive note, yesterday marked the second annual JONAH Immigration Fiesta in Altoona, Wisconsin – population 7,600 – which is an event dedicated to celebrating the Latino community and bridging cultural divides, reports Jonathan Fortier at WEAU News. “This is a super opportunity for us and the whole community to bring everyone together,” said Altoona Mayor Brendan Pratt.

Thanks for reading,

Ali