Today the Biden administration is set to announce a task force "that will look at demands for restitution, expanded mental health services, the readmission of deported parents and possible permanent legal residency for families disrupted by separations," reports Miriam Jordan of The New York Times.  

The Trump administration’s "zero-tolerance" policy separated 3,000 migrant children from their parents at the U.S. border, notes Jordan, and "[i]t later emerged that another 1,000 families had been separated during a pilot program conducted in 2017 near El Paso."   

Even after the Trump administration officially rescinded the policy, "border authorities removed more than 1,000 children from their families, sometimes for reasons as minor as committing a traffic infraction or failing to change a baby’s diaper, according to court documents."  

With more than 1,000 children still separated from their parents and another 500 or more whose have yet to be located, "President Biden must now find a way to unravel [this program] years after the policy was abandoned." 

POLITICO’s Sabrina Rodriguez has an important addition: "Biden will sign another executive order focused on revamping the U.S. asylum system and how it handles migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as a third order to promote immigrant integration and inclusion that also instructs agencies to review the Trump administration’s "public charge" rule.   

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]. 

CASES DELAYED — On Monday, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to cancel upcoming arguments on two cases: A border wall funding dispute and the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) a.k.a. "Remain in Mexico" — both significant cases from the Trump era, Robert Barnes reports for The Washington Post. Acting solicitor general Elizabeth B. Prelogar told the court that Biden has halted construction of the border wall and announced a review of MPP. "Given [the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)]’s suspension of new enrollments in MPP and its current review of the program, it would be appropriate for the court to hold further proceedings in this case in abeyance to allow for the completion of that review," Prelogar wrote. Each case is now set for a later date. 

VACCINE ACCESS — While dozens of countries have no plans to vaccinate refugees, Jordan stands out as a champion with its inclusion of this vulnerable population in inoculation programs, reports Miriam Berger of The Washington Post. To break it down: "Of 133 countries which [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees], the United Nation’s refugee agency, has information on, 81 have finalized their vaccination strategies and
only 54 have included explicit provisions to cover populations of concern such as refugees, asylum seekers and stateless and internally displaced people." Meanwhile in the U.S., DHS released a statement on Monday encouraging "all undocumented immigrants living in the United States to get the COVID-19 vaccine, assuring them that they will not be taken into immigration custody," reports Rafael Carranza at The Arizona Republic. 

ICE WHISTLEBLOWER — A whistle-blower complaint filed on Monday alleges that Trump DHS official Ken Cuccinelli (whose legal legitimacy to serve at DHS was disputed) acted without legal authority by "agreeing to hand policy controls to the pro-Trump union representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement" — a move that could constrain the Biden’s administration’s immigration plans, Zolan
Kanno-Youngs and Charlie Savage report for The New York Times. The complaint accuses Cuccinelli of "gross mismanagement, gross waste of government funds and abuse of authority," they write. It is clear the unraveling of last-minute changes at DHS is going to take more than a minute.  

IMMIGRANT WORKERS — Advocates say immigrant workers in Wisconsin can benefit greatly from the Biden administration’s focus on legalization and reviewing enforcement priorities, reports Catherine Capellaro at the Wisconsin Examiner. "Immigrant workers have been feeding us, they have been exposed at higher rates to COVID. They have died from it because of the failure to provide protections,"
said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of the statewide advocacy group  Voces de la Frontera. Over at CNN, Catherine E. Shoichet highlights the stories of undocumented immigrants around the country who share how their lives could change under
new administration. 

ANTONIO AND MAILY — In July 2018, Antonio and his then-7-year-old daughter were reunited 30 days after being separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. But six months later they were again separated when Antonio went to a scheduled check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was detained, reports Kevin Sieff of The Washington Post. He was later deported. "Separating us once
was horrible enough," said Antonio, who is now living in Honduras. "Now it feels like I’ve died twice." Even with Biden’s new immigration plans, Sieff explains, "[t]here’s no guarantee that re-separated parents will be allowed to return to the United States." 

IMMIGRANT DETENTION — Felipe Montes has become the fourth detainee at Georgia’s Stewart Detention Center to die from COVID-19, reports Jeremy Redmon of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Nearly 500 cases have been reported among detainees since the pandemic began. Meanwhile, an outbreak last month sickened at least 22 immigrant detainees just before they became eligible for
vaccination, reports Elvia Malagón for The Chicago Sun-Times. Exactly when the vaccine will be distributed to immigrant detainees is uncertain: "We are in a wait-and-see mode to see what the instructions and demands are going to be from the state and federal officials," said Nathan Ryder, a community outreach coordinator with the Southern Seven Health Department.  

Thanks for reading,

Ali