Nationwide, there are over a million more job openings than there are available workers to fill them. As a result, “in some states critical to the 2020 election, business leaders are pushing for more immigration to create bigger labor pools.” In Iowa, for instance, “the Iowa Business Council — a coalition of Iowa's biggest companies — will release pro-immigration recommendations, taking a position on the issue for the first time,” Mike Allen reports in Axios.
Across the pond in the U.K, the new prime minister Boris Johnson has started pandering “to the worst instincts of voters” on immigration, reports Therese Raphael in an opinion piece for Bloomberg. “So far, he appears to be succumbing to short-term political pressure to curb immigration at the expense of policies that would serve Britain’s long-term interests. The result is millions of anxious EU citizens living in the U.K. wondering if they should pack their bags.”
Welcome to Friday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes.
Have a story you’d like us to include? Email me at [email protected].
CARE-LESS – Maria Isabel Bueso has been receiving lifesaving treatment for a rare genetic disease in the United States every week for the past 17 years, but the elimination of a “deferred action” program means she and her family now face deportation, Miriam Jordan and Caitlin Dickerson at The New York Times report. “The policy change is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to revoke or modify procedures that have allowed certain immigrants to remain in the United States on humanitarian grounds. In addition to those with serious medical conditions, they included crime victims who have helped law enforcement with investigations and caretakers of sick children or relatives. … Neither the drug nor the medical care that [Ms. Bueso] requires is available in Guatemala.” As context, “deferred action” provided humanitarian relief from deportation for about 1,000 applicants every year. These are real life consequences.
UN ACTION DRAWS IRE – A United Nations agency that receives U.S.State Department funding “is transporting thousands of immigrants from the U.S.-Mexico border back to Central America in a program that has drawn the ire of migrant legal advocates,” reports Molly Hennessy-Fiske in the Los Angeles Times. At issue is whether the migrants – over 2,200 have been transported south from the Mexican cities of Juarez and Tijuana so far this year – “fully understand their rights when they accept free plane and bus tickets home.”
FLORES EXPLAINED – If you want to dive deep on what ending the Flores Settlement Agreement really means, and the important distinction between unaccompanied and accompanied noncitizen children, Peter Margulies takes an in-depth look at all sides of the issue in Lawfare.
DNA TESTING – According to a draft rule, the Trump administration wants to begin DNA testing undocumented immigrants in government custody, reports Hamed Aleaziz at BuzzFeed News. “Hundreds of thousands of individuals could have their DNA collected each year if the draft regulation, proposed by the Department of Justice, is fully implemented.” Such a move would “likely inspire the anger of civil liberties and immigrant advocates, who argue that the government should not draw sensitive personal information from people without being tied to a specific crime.”
LEGAL FUNDING – Around the Washington, D.C. area, local governments “are expanding legal defense funds for immigrants facing deportation, reviving a debate that has divided advocates,” reports Rebecca Tan in The Washington Post. With this expansion, local governments “will likely be met with protest not only from advocates seeking more liberal rules but also from residents opposed to additional funding.”
“WE NEED YOUR TRUST” – Over 50 law enforcement leaders have written an open letter to the immigrant community expressing their continued commitment to public safety, per a press release shared by the Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force. “Following the tragic Aug. 3 shooting in El Paso, Texas, and raids in Mississippi, we know that many immigrants in our communities are afraid. We are here to serve all communities … we need your trust.”
FEAR AND HOPE – In this week’s episode of “Only In America,” I chat with Ado Mustafic, a refugee from Bosnia who lives in Twin Falls, Idaho. Fleeing the ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims, his family embarked on a two-year journey crossing borders as refugees until they ultimately resettled in Idaho. Ado discusses growing up amidst the war in Bosnia that tore his family apart, coming to the U.S. just two days before 9/11, and much more.
Thanks for reading,
Ali
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