NOORANI'S NOTES

 

 

 In promising news on the reform front, President Biden said he's
willing to break up his immigration bill "piece by piece" if it
improves the legislation's chances of passing Congress, report
Laura Barrón-López, Anita Kumar, and Sabrina Rodriguez for Politico
. 

While Congress will likely take the lead, "Chief of Staff Ron Klain
and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan are said to be hands-on
and 'feel a responsibility and an ownership' over the immigration
push already, according to one of the sources close to the White
House." 

"But the main objective is progress. And if that means moving components
of reform through Congress one at a time, or in smaller packages, Biden
will be fine with that, two sources close to the White House said." 

Something else to keep an eye on: "Bills that were passed last Congress
can be moved to the floor directly without having to go through
committee if they are voted on before April 1." This means legislation
that has already passed the House -including the American Dream
and Promise Act
 and
the
Farm Workforce Modernization Act
 - can
move  quickly.  

Welcome to Tuesday'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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**TEXAS SUIT** - Trump-appointed Judge Drew Tipton, who is
overseeing Texas' legal challenge
 to Biden's 100-day
deportation freeze, has asked the administration to provide
additional information after Texas claimed that U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) "had ordered [officials] to not only stop all
removals, but to immediately release those in custody who have been
ordered removed," Cameron Langford reports for Courthouse News Service
. The
Justice Department responded that it has released some detainees, "but
only because they are part of a certified class in separate litigation
before a federal court in California." The new development comes after
Judge Tipton heard arguments on Friday and he has not indicated
 how
or when he'd rule on the matter.  

**HEARTACHE AND HOPE **- A U.S. citizen who has not seen
his Yemeni wife and two sons for more than two years. An
Iranian man stranded in Turkey, separated from his American
wife. Ishaan Tharoor at The Washington Post
 shares
the stories of these families and others who have been impacted
negatively by the Trump administration's Muslim ban. "It's
impossible to prove that America was made safer by inflicting this
torment on whole communities abroad," Tharoor writes (a point
underscored by former Homeland Security official Elizabeth Neumann in
her latest paper
). Over
at The New York Times
,
Declan Walsh profiles others impacted by the travel ban, including a
Sudanese couple who won the U.S. visa lottery but have been locked
out of the country due to Trump's policies. They are among the tens
of thousands of Muslims who now feel a glimmer of hope to come to
America: "Finally, happiness,"  Alaa Jamal said over the phone in
response to President Biden's inauguration. "Now we start planning
again." 

**INTERNATIONAL PROJECT** - In an opinion piece for The New York
Times
, Boris
Muñoz writes that President Biden's undertaking to heal
America "must be part of an international project to restore
democracy." While U.S. immigration reform is part of
this project, Muñoz notes it's just one piece of the
puzzle: Improving the U.S.-Latin America
relationship means Biden must re-establish a functional democracy
at home, be a social and cultural example in the region, and make good
on his pledge for immigration reform. "All of these measures will
improve relations with Latin America," Muñoz writes. "But they will
be wasted if the United States does not actively engage with Latin
American countries to protect human rights, help fight corruption and
strengthen the rule of law in the region." I reinforced this theme in
a recent piece for The xxxxxx
: Immigration reform
is core to strengthening our democracy.  

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**ALIGNMENT** - Citing polling
 from
our friends at the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), Jonathan
Merritt's column in Religion News Service
 highlights
how Biden's immigration plans align with ideas that evangelicals
support. Noting that Biden's proposals align with those of
the Evangelical Immigration Table
,
Merritt adds that the new administration's immigration approach
(particularly its plan to increase refugee admissions) is "a matter
of religious liberty." With the inclusion of improved border security
and protections for Dreamers - "a measure supported by 52%
 of
evangelicals" - Biden's plan  looks much more like an appeal to
bipartisan solutions than a radical agenda.  

**VACCINE ACCESS** - Migrant farmworkers are among the 11 million
undocumented immigrants who may be hardest to reach with COVID-19
vaccines, report Eugene Garcia, Suman Naishadham and Anita Snow
of the Associated Press
. To
combat challenges of misinformation, distrust and logistics, grassroots
organizations have brought vaccines and information to
migrant workers in fields where they work, while trying to dispel any
concerns (and misinformation) in Spanish and
other languages. "The government already has my data. I have been
here for a long time. ... And after what we went through with COVID, I
would not hesitate to take the vaccine," said Francisco Flores, a
Mexican immigrant who lost a brother, a brother-in-law and a
sister-in-law to COVID-19.   

Thanks for reading,

Ali

 

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