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].

‘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."

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