NOORANI'S NOTES

 

 

Last week, after months of pleas from legal groups and nonprofits tasked
with reunifying immigrant families separated at the border, the Trump
administration released information that could help locate the families,
report Julia Ainsley and Jacob Soboroff at NBC News
.

Per a federal court filing in California, the new Justice Department
data includes phone numbers and addresses for parents "that had not
previously been known." The filing also indicates that 628 parents are
still yet to be located, down from 666 last month
.
Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project
, said, "We have been
repeatedly asking the Trump administration for any additional data they
might have to help locate the families and are only finally getting
these new phone numbers and addresses. Unfortunately, it took the issue
reaching the level of a presidential debate to move them to give us this
data."

Let's be clear: The Trump administration withheld data that could have
helped reunify these families.

Welcome to Friday'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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**'THE SAFETY OF ALL AMERICANS'** - Alejandro Mayorkas,
President-elect Biden's nominee to lead the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), brings a "fair and commonsense approach" to immigration
and a proven track record of working with state and local law
enforcement officials to craft policies, making him an apt choice for
the job, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo writes for Fox News
.
As a high-ranking immigration official during the Obama administration,
"He championed smart border security and enforcement approaches that cut
through bureaucratic red tape while ensuring the safety of all
Americans. ... It's clear that Mayorkas understands that an
immigration policy designed to create fear and chaos is not
only dangerous for immigrants and their families, but also for
communities as a whole. ... Immigrants must feel comfortable speaking
with local officials and seeking help in emergencies."

**UNCERTAINTY -** We've heard it throughout this pandemic: we're
in a time of "uncertainty" - but for many immigrants, uncertainty has
defined their lives. According to Fortune
's
S. Mitra Kalita, people who are "multiskilled, flexible, resilient, and
tolerant of risk and the great unknown," like immigrants, are exactly
who employers are looking for. It also helps explain why 45%
 of Fortune
500 companies have at least one founder who is an immigrant or a child
of an immigrant. As Nitin Pachisia, founder of Unshackled Ventures, puts
it, "Are you special because you are an immigrant? No, it's more about
the ethos of being an immigrant. ... When you come from another
ecosystem, you question the why behind it. Then you take a variable and
change it. That's how big innovation happens."

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**UNDERSTANDING** - A new initiative seeks to share the stories of
Iowa's refugees and immigrants - from tales of success to
struggle - in order to highlight their many economic and cultural
contributions to local communities. Launched by Iowa Justice for Our
Neighbors , a nonprofit that provides legal
information and resources to immigrants, the initiative aims to
"encourage acceptance and understanding among the rest of the state
population," reports Kassidy Arena for Iowa Public Radio
.
With a Biden administration on the horizon, the state could see its
immigrant population grow. Amy Guardado, the organization's director
of development who started the project, said, "We thought this was a
great time and a great opportunity to highlight these stories, and to
bring the possibility of better understanding. They're contributing not
only to taxes, but also so many different ways that affect us on a daily
basis. And they should absolutely be included and counted in every way
possible." You can read the stories daily here
.

**'SO MUCH AT STAKE'** - Writing in the Washington Post
,
Smita Ghosh, a research fellow at Georgetown University Law Center,
argues that the Trump administration's recent expansion of the
expedited removal policy - which allows for the deportations of
undocumented immigrants without a hearing - to include any noncitizen
who has been in the country for less than two years, requires the
immediate attention of President-elect Biden. "In the history of
expedited removals, this move is unprecedented," she writes, comparing
the policy to the Eisenhower era's "Operation Wetback" in which 30,000
noncitizens were detained and deported in 1954, in addition to over 1
million voluntary departures through raids and coercive tactics. "[T]he
practice of expanded expedited removal warrants scrutiny, even in an era
of overwhelming change in immigration policy. ... But deportation...
separates families, jeopardizes communities and destroys lives. It is
important for each president to use the power carefully when so much is
at stake," she writes.

**COVID-19 REFUGE -** Latter-day Saint Charities announced

this week that they are providing grants to nine U.S. refugee
resettlement agencies, including additional grants to help refugees who
have been affected by the COVID-19. "The financial support from the
humanitarian arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has
provided the refugees with money for rent, medical and other expenses,
as well as greater access to household supplies, food and hygiene
items." The nine resettlement agencies include the United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops, International Rescue Committee, U.S.
Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Church World Service, HIAS,
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Episcopal Migration
Ministries, Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC) and World
Relief.  

Thanks for reading,

Ali

 

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