NOORANI'S NOTES

 

 

In defiance of Biden administration orders, U.S Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported at least 72 people to
Haiti - including 21 children and a two-month-old infant - on
Monday, reports Ed Pilkington of The Guardian
.  

"Last Friday, the administration appeared to gain the upper hand in its
attempt to rein in [ICE] when deportation flights to Haiti
were suspended
.
But on Monday the immigration agency reasserted itself again with the
renewed flights to Port-au-Prince, children and infants on board."  

Haiti is currently "embroiled in rapidly mounting political turmoil,"
immigrant advisers said, raising concerns over the safety of the
deported children. "I fear for the kids being sent into the middle of
this uprising," said Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian
Bridge Alliance. "It's as if there is a house burning, and instead of
taking people out for their own safety the United States is sending
defenseless babies into the burning house."  

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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**WAGE RULE **- One of the less prominent pieces of "unfinished
business" that President Trump and Stephen Miller left for the Biden
administration to address is a final rule
 on
wages from the Department of Labor (DOL), Stuart Anderson writes
for Forbes
.
The rule was part of the Trump administration's "longstanding goal
 to
price out of the U.S. labor market employment-based
immigrants, international students and H-1B visa holders," Anderson
explains. The takeaway here? "[T]he authority cited for the DOL final
rule by Trump's Department of Labor no longer exists. ... This should
not be a difficult choice for the Biden administration on what to do
with the rule." 

**BORDERLANDS** - President Biden signed an order pausing border
wall construction on his first day in office, but stopping
construction for good will be more complicated. Hundreds of
landowners along the U.S.-Mexico border who have been fighting eminent
domain are still in limbo and unaware of the status of their
land, Elizabeth Findell and Michelle Hackman report for The Wall
Street Journal
. Landowners
like the Cavazos family, who have been fighting government efforts to
seize some of their property, were "one hearing away from having the
government take possession" when Biden took office in
January. "Recently, government lawyers have withdrawn their requests
for immediate possession in some of the cases. However, the cases remain
pending, with several hearings set for March," Findell and Hackman
note. In other border news: Sandra Sanchez at Border Report
 reveals that
U.S. Border Patrol is dismantling its aerostat program, known
for "'eyes in the sky' tethered surveillance blimps that have for
years dotted the skyline of South Texas," due to high costs. The move
comes "as the new Biden administration has announced it will implement a
'Smart Border' program and is currently reevaluating its tactical
and border operations." 

**'A HIGHER COURT'** - Court records reveal brutal treatment of
Latino workers by federal agents and Tennessee Highway Patrol
troopers during a 2018 raid
 at
a slaughterhouse, reports Jamie Satterfield at the Knoxville News
Sentinel
. The
harrowing account of the raid led Chief U.S. District Judge Travis
McDonough to make a remarkable appeal for the U.S. Supreme Court "to
lift the shield of immunity granted to federal law enforcement
officers." Wrote Judge McDonough in a Jan. 31 ruling: "The lesson
here is that federal agents can avoid accountability for their
violations of the Constitution by simply excluding state and local
agencies from their next operation. ... Perhaps a higher court will
recognize causes of action that more directly address agents' searches
and seizures based on skin color." 

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**MILITARY FAMILIES** - Deportations of veterans as well as
military family members under the Trump administration will be
reviewed by the Biden administration, Tara Copp reports for McClatchy
. Marine
Corps Sgt. Temo Juarez, who served from 1995 to 1999 and was then
deployed to Iraq as a member of the Florida National Guard, "assumed his
military service would protect his wife, Alejandra, who is from Mexico,
from deportation." But immigration authorities deported Alejandra to
Mexico in 2018, leaving Temo to care for the couple's two
daughters.  "[T]he administration's immigration enforcement will
focus on those who are national security and public safety threats, not
military families, service members or veterans," said White House
assistant press secretary Vedant Patel. Given the potential
changes, Alejandra Juarez "is hoping the administration will grant
her a humanitarian visa so she can return to the United States to be
with her family." 

**IMMIGRANT DETENTION** - Immigrant advocates say Félix Montes de
Oca Marcelino's death - the first death in ICE custody under
Biden - is "an urgent reminder" for the Biden administration to stop
using private prison contractors to detain immigrants," Catherine E.
Shoichet writes for CNN
. While
the Biden administration has directed the Justice Department not to
renew private prison contracts, "that decision didn't apply to other
government contracts with private prison companies" (e.g. Homeland
Security contracts for immigration detention facilities).
"[W]e'll defer to the secretary of Homeland Security for more specifics
about the path forward," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said
when asked about Biden's plans.  

**DACA** - While the reinstatement of Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) is wonderful news for hundreds of thousands of
immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, a Texas lawsuit leaves the
program's fate uncertain, reports the Houston Chronicle's
 Olivia
P. Tallet. While their future remains in limbo, more people
like Vanessa Rodríguez - who has been in the U.S. since
age seven and now has three American children - are applying for
protection. "After being demonized during the last four years,
immigrants like me are feeling hopeful now with the new government,"
said Leezia Dhalla, immigration press director at FWD.us. But the
looming lawsuit "could change the rules and dreamers could be back in
limbo and at risk of deportation again if Congress doesn't act." 

Thanks for reading,

Ali

 

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