Since June, more than 12,000 asylum seekers have been returned to Juarez, Mexico, under the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) – also known as the “remain in Mexico” program – and it’s expected that 70,000 will be sent there by the end of the year, J. Weston Phippen reports in The Atlantic. Phippen shares the story of Dana, who was separated from her husband and returned to Juárez, which remains one of the world’s most violent cities. “And for a migrant or asylum seeker, it is arguably worse. Four people in MPP have been murdered since the program began in March. Kidnappings in the city have since doubled.”

This all comes after last week’s Supreme Court decision to allow the Trump administration to proceed with a nearly complete ban on asylum cases. “The decision from the nation's top court centered on a new policy requiring migrants to have first sought asylum in a nation they crossed to get to the United States or face rapid deportation,” writes Lomi Kriel in the Houston Chronicle.

Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes.

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COURT TV – The administration is moving forward with plans to replace in-person interpreters with videos that explain immigration court proceedings and processes, Tal Kopan reports for The San Francisco Chronicle. “Experts who have analyzed the transcripts or watched the videos in court say the information included is not what judges typically would offer on their own, via interpreters.” In fact, the judge in the video, acting Chief Immigration Judge Christopher Santoro, “fails to mention that immigrants must file their asylum application within one year.” Which is kind of a big deal.

BORDER COST – At the end of August, the administration announced plans to divert Department of Defense (DOD) funding from a slew of projects to build the border wall. Politico’s Matthew Choi reports that the DOD revealed they “would not be able to cover the costs of the project.” As a result, in a Monday filing, the Defense Department announced they are “no longer moving forward with three border barrier projects in California and Arizona.”

UNINSURED – The number of people without health insurance in the U.S. rose by 1.9 million in 2018 – and it could be linked to immigrants’ fears, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar reports for the Associated Press. “Hispanics were the only major racial and ethnic category with a significant increase in their uninsured rate. It rose by 1.6 percentage points in 2018, with nearly 18% lacking coverage.” Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation explains: “These declines in coverage are coming at a time when the Trump administration has tried to curb immigration and discourage immigrants from using public benefits like Medicaid.”
TENTS – Two tent courtrooms opened in the Texas border cities of Brownsville and Laredo, Nomaan Merchant reports in the Associated Press. At the Laredo court, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez’s appeared via video conference for her 52-case docket. Of those cases, only four people had attorneys, 22 others were told to come back later in October, and the more than 20 people who missed their hearings were barred from entering the U.S. for 10 years. “Critics have denounced the proceedings because they are closed to the public and difficult for attorneys to access to provide legal representation.”

GOING TO THE VET – A small veterinary clinic in Des Moines owes much of its customer base to immigrants, veterinarian and clinic owner Kathy Berge writes in an op-ed for the Des Moines Register. With the large amount of immigrants in the area, the clinic has hired bilingual staff to make communication smoother, and to reflect an inclusive community. Bilingual clinic staff, according to Berge, “build a critical bridge between my clinic and the broader community. … I depend on the immigrant community, both as customers to keep my business going strong and as employees who keep my clinic running smoothly.”

RELIGIOUS WORKERS – Sally Duffy, treasurer of the board of directors at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, highlighted the impact of the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule on religious workers in an opinion piece for America Magazine. “The new rules may have serious ramifications for thousands of religious workers in communities who have come to the United States to work as teachers, chaplains, health care workers, or to enter religious life. These men and women may have to consider what a vow of poverty might mean for their ability to stay in the United States.”
Thanks for reading,

Ali