NOORANI'S NOTES

 

 

According to documents obtained by BuzzFeed News
,
President
Biden plans to start slowly bringing back immigrants who were forced to
wait in dangerous border towns under the Trump
administration's Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or "Remain in
Mexico" program, Hamed Aleaziz reports.  

Immigrants will not be allowed to enter until they test negative for
COVID-19. Once they are processed, they'll be released with ankle
monitors unless they are unaccompanied minors or have a serious
criminal record. 

Priscilla Alvarez at CNN
 reports that the
process will begin next Friday, Feb. 19, and will initially apply
to an estimated 25,000 migrants with active MPP cases. 

To relay relevant information to those impacted, the administration will
be working with international organizations to reach migrants via social
media, and international organizations in Mexico "will play a critical
role in helping to identify eligible individuals, including those in the
program the longest and vulnerable populations." 

This is "phase one of a program to restore fair and orderly processing
at the Southwest border," an administration official told reporters
Thursday. "It's important to explain that individuals shouldn't take
any action at this time. They should remain and await further
instructions, and those will come in the coming days." 

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]
.  

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**LEGISLATIVE SCENARIOS** - In anticipation of a Biden immigration
bill rollout next week, Democrats are working towards "a targeted
effort to pass popular immigration bills that already have bipartisan
backing, including legislation to provide a pathway to citizenship for
the undocumented group known as Dreamers and immigrants from war-torn
areas," report Heather Caygle, Sarah Ferris and Laura Barrón-López
for POLITICO Pro
 [paywall]. Facing
an April deadline and close margins in both chambers, the question
remains whether Democrats should take a piecemeal approach or "one big
swing." Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-California) told POLITICO: "My motto is,
get something done. Whatever we do, we can't walk away empty-handed.
... Does it mean a big immigration reform package? Maybe. Does it mean
using budget reconciliation? Possibly. Or does it mean individual bills?
Could be." 

**VISA BAN **- The employment-based visa ban President
Trump issued last April
 and expanded
in June 
remains
in place, causing serious concern for businesses, reports Michelle
Hackman at The Wall Street Journal
. The
ban blocks not only workers in an array of
industries, but also most family members of U.S. citizens who
are looking to immigrate.  While Biden has signed several
immigration orders reversing Trump-era bans, he has yet to mention
the ban on legal immigration, notes Hackman. Last Friday, more than
100 trade associations and advocacy organizations sent a letter
 to
President Biden urging a reversal of the ban.  

**CYCLE OF MIGRATION** - Thousands of Honduran families are caught
in a cycle of migration amid multiple driving forces,
María Verza writes for the Associated Press
. Since
Hurricane Eta flooded their home in November, Nory Yamileth
Hernández and her three teenage children have been living on the
outskirts of San Pedro Sula in a battered tent under a
bridge. Hernández turned back after joining the first big
migrant caravan heading to Mexico back in October 2018,
"[a]nd when the first migrant caravan of the year shuffled by in
January, only fear and empty pockets kept them from joining Honduras'
growing exodus. ... She's sure she will try again
soon." Nory's experience represents the vicious cycle Hondurans
face, notes Dana Graber Ladek, head of the International Organization
for Migration office in Mexico: "They're suffering poverty, violence,
the hurricanes, unemployment, domestic violence, and with that dream of
a new (U.S.) administration, of new opportunities, they're going to
try (to migrate) again and again."  

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**AUNTIE SAHEEDA** - For nearly three years, Saheeda Nadeem -
known as Auntie Saheeda to many - took refuge at
a church in Kalamazoo, Michigan, writes John Tunison for MLive
Michigan
. Nadeem,
who fled Pakistan 40 years ago to work in Kuwait, came to the U.S. 13
years ago on a non-immigrant visa "in hopes of finding a better life
for her two elementary-aged children." But after overstaying her visa,
a judge ordered her removal in 2010 - a decision that was upheld
following two appeals, leading Nadeem to seek sanctuary at the
church. "But with changes to immigration enforcement under President
Biden, Nadeem "was placed under an 'Order of Supervision' that
allows her to leave the church property and go on with daily life in the
greater Kalamazoo community." In a video posted on Facebook
, Nadeem thanked her
community: "Today, I have freedom. I want to express my thanks." 

**FOOD HUB** - Originally a bar consulting agency, Va'La
Hospitality  has converted to a hub
for No Us Without You , a small
non-profit providing food security to undocumented restaurant
workers hit hard by the pandemic, reports Jean Trinh of The Washington
Post
. Va'La co-owners Damián
Diaz and Othón Nolasco founded No Us Without You after Los
Angeles issued its first stay-at-home order back in March, and the
organization now provides fresh produce and dry goods for 7,500 people
each week and has extended its services to mariachi performers, day
laborers and street vendors. Trinh notes that in 2014, Pew Research
Center
 estimated
that 
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undocumented workers made up 10% of the U.S. restaurant and bar
industry. 

**IMPOSSIBLE TO SUMMARIZE** - In a beautiful longform
piece for NPR
, Anastasia Tsioulcas tells
the story of Kayhan Kalhor, an acclaimed performer and composer in
Iran, detailing his music career and immigration battle. It is
just too wonderful a piece - interspersed with music
from Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble - to do justice by
summarizing. Take the time to read, watch and listen.   

Thanks for reading,

Ali

 

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