Last night the Supreme Court issued an unsigned order that effectively shuts down the southern border to nearly all Central American asylum seekers, Robert Barnes reports for The Washington Post.

Ian Millhiser at Vox writes that the decision “stays a lower court decision blocking a Trump administration policy that seeks to halt nearly all asylum applications from these migrants and allow the U.S. government to require them to seek asylum in countries they travel through. The government will now be allowed to enforce the policy while legal challenges move ahead.”

Practically speaking, this means our southern border is more or less shut to nearly all asylum seekers, and the case will likely come back to the Supreme Court — though it could take months. In the meantime, President Trump has put the lives of asylum seekers in the hands of the cartels, not our courts.

After a week in Honduras (thank you to the Assocation for a More Just Society for their incredible work and hospitality), your Thursday edition of Noorani’s Notes comes from El Paso, where I will be spending the next two days on either side of the border.

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

LUNCH DATE – Jared Kushner spent an hour at the GOP luncheon yesterday to discuss a White House proposal on immigration reform — and why the GOP should unify, CNN reports. However, Kushner doesn’t seem to have a deal quite yet: “‘I'm not on the bill yet,’ said Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, who noted the measure doesn't include anything for undocumented immigrants already in the U.S.”

DORIAN FAMILY SEPARATION – A 12-year-old Bahamian girl and her godmother fled the destruction of Hurricane Dorian — but upon arrival at a South Florida airport, the two were separated, reports Monique O. Madan in the Miami Herald. U.S. Customs and Border Protection separated the pair because the godmother wasn’t a biological parent, and officials “also refused to give the girl’s biological aunt, who had come to pick her up at the airport, custody.”

JAPAN – Japan is trying to open up to migrants while avoiding the social and political turmoil that immigration has brought to Europe and the U.S., report Alastair Gale and River Davis in an interesting Wall Street Journal piece. “In many cases, foreign workers in Japan can’t bring family members and can’t stay longer than five years. Most programs require Japanese-language proficiency. Only in the most labor-starved industries can foreigners secure a path to permanent residency—and the government can cut off the flow if the shortage eases.”

“HE WILL COME OUT AND BITE YOU” – An immigration judge who threatened a 2-year-old Guatemalan boy — yelling, “I have a very big dog in my office, and if you don’t be quiet, he will come out and bite you!” — was promoted by the Trump administration, reports Noah Lanard in Mother Jones. Judge V. Stuart Couch and five other judges were promoted to the Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals in August, and it’s no surprise: “Judge Couch granted just 7.9 percent of asylum claims between 2013 and 2018, compared to the national average of about 45 percent.”

MICHIGAN – When Haimen Al-Sumaidee and his family left war-torn Iraq, St. Vincent Catholic Charities helped them resettle in Michigan. But recent cuts to the refugee resettlement program are putting charities like St. Vincent in jeopardy, Carol Thompson reports for the Lansing State Journal. Rumors are that Trump may ultimately shut down the resettlement program: “The implications would be drastic for the Lansing businesses, schools and churches buoyed by the refugee community.”

RESEARCH – No surprise here: Yahoo Finance’s Adriana Belmonte looks at a new policy brief from the Migration Policy Institute which concludes that “increased immigration can provide many benefits to the U.S. economy” in the context of an aging workforce, automation, and alternative staffing. Belmonte notes that a Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) policy paper similarly finds that “the largest positive impact on employment would come from increasing the net flow of immigrants.”

ONLY IN AMERICA – Tune in to this week’s episode of “Only in America,” where I talk with Sheriff Peter Koutoujian of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. We discuss the local effects of federal immigration policies and the importance of public service. And take a moment to fill out our listener survey – just a few minutes of your time would help us out immensely.

BONUS TWEET – Al Cardenas, Former Chairman of the American Conservative Union (ACU) and Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida tweeted:


Thanks for reading,

Ali