NOORANI'S NOTES

 

 

Undocumented pregnant women are risking their health by "postponing
prenatal care and giving birth at home" as they seek to avoid the Trump
administration's immigration crackdown, Caitlin Dickerson writes for
The New York Times
.
Many dropped out of public welfare programs following passage of the
administration's "public charge
"
rule, which threatens to block legalization for immigrants who use
certain public benefits. Pregnant women - and their babies - have
paid the price.

"Within days of when the public charge policy became public ... medical
clinics saw no-show rates for prenatal care appointments rise sharply,"
Dickerson writes. "Midwives say that requests for home births from
undocumented women who wanted to avoid going to a hospital soared.
Doctors said they saw a spike in the number of women arriving in
emergency rooms with serious complications, or already in labor, without
having been to a single prenatal appointment."

Looking for Zoom Thanksgiving dinner discussion topics? Well, we've
posted all 13 panels

from last week's Leading the Way event, covering topics from identity
to history to racial justice. From appetizers to stuffing to pumpkin
pie, we have you covered.

Welcome to Monday's edition of Noorani's Notes. If you have a
story to share from your own community, please send it to me
at [email protected]
.

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**RELIGIOUS FREEDOM**-

****Despite touting its commitment to religious freedom, the Trump
administration has cut refugee admissions to historic lows, making it
all the more difficult for those fleeing religious persecution to find
protection within the U.S. "Open Doors USA, an evangelical Christian
organization, estimates
 that as many as
260 million Christians are living in countries where they experience
high levels of persecution," NPR
's
Tom Gjelten reports. In addition to increasing the refugee admissions
cap, Gjelten reports that the incoming Biden administration "may also
want to follow through on the Trump administration's support for
international religious freedom efforts as a key part of U.S. foreign
policy." 

**LEGACY**-

****As we look to heal the divisions plaguing our nation, we carry the
legacy of the generations who came before us and endured hardships to
create homes, families and opportunities on American soil. As I wrote in
an op-ed for Fox News
,
"[w]e have a long road to fixing our broken immigration system in a way
that brings the country together and begins the hard work to heal our
divides. But Americans of both parties and across faiths overwhelmingly
recognize the immense contributions of immigrants and support
 a
path to legal status and eventual citizenship."

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**POLICY EFFECTS** - Even after two federal courts struck down the
Trump administration's policy of denying asylum to migrants who
travelled through a third country like Mexico or Guatemala en route to
the U.S., 28 children may still be deported after being denied the
opportunity to apply for asylum - and spending more than a year in
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, Adolfo Flores at
BuzzFeed News

reports. "Federal courts have said they don't have the authority to
weigh in on expedited removals. As a result, judges can't stop the
deportation of the 28 children, even though they've found that the
policies leading to their deportations are illegal." Meanwhile,
Christopher Weber reports for the Associated Press

that U.S. District Judge Susan Illston last week blocked a proposed
Trump administration rule that would have made it much more difficult
for people convicted of various crimes to seek asylum, arguing it
"'sweeps too broadly' and was unnecessary because current federal
law already includes a host of disqualifying crimes such as drug
trafficking, money laundering and counterfeiting."

**69,000** - Immigration arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border totaled
more than 69,000 last month - up 21% from September - in part
because of "a soaring number of repeat arrests along the border
resulting from the Trump administration's practice of quickly
'expelling' people to Mexico after they enter the country
illegally," The Washington Post
's
Nick Miroff reports. "[U.S. Customs and Border Protection] officials
insist the expulsions are a crucial public health measure to prevent the
additional transmission of the coronavirus inside the United States, but
many of those sent back across the border are trying to enter again and
again, without risk of detention and criminal prosecution," Miroff
writes. "The most recent figures indicate that at least one-third of
those taken into custody each month are repeat offenders." Miroff notes
that President Trump is set to leave office with border arrests nearing
100,000 per month - "far higher than any month during President Barack
Obama's administration" - while President-elect Biden has vowed to
overturn many of the administration's immigration policies. 

Thanks for reading,

Ali

 

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