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].  

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.  

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.