NOORANI'S NOTES

 

 

Pressure is mounting on the Biden administration to raise the
refugee admissions ceiling.  

Jenny Yang, vice president for advocacy and policy at World Relief,
tells The Washington Post
's
Sean Sullivan and Seung Min Kim: "What's missing is the political
will of the president." 

Sheila Joiner, a conservative Christian and 2016 Trump voter who cast
her ballot for Biden in 2020 because of his promise to restore the
refugee resettlement program, penned an op-ed for The Wall Street
Journal
 expressing
her disappointment with the president's inaction: "I'm beginning to
feel I was duped." Joiner is one of approximately 3,800
Christians who have signed a petition
 urging Biden to
keep his promise and reset the refugee ceiling. 

Welcome to Thursday'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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**MOHAMMAD** - This week President Biden announced the withdrawal of
U.S. troops from Afghanistan, leaving questions around what will happen
to the 17,000 Afghans who have aided U.S. efforts and are waiting for
their Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applications to be processed. The
Atlantic's
 George
Packer compares the situation for these Afghan citizens to that of
Vietnamese citizens who supported the U.S. in the 1970s (whom
then-Senator Biden opposed protections for). "Biden failed to see a
moral obligation in 1975," Packer writes. "Today he can learn from the
mistake and redeem it."  The case of one Afghan man who aided American
forces, identified by the pseudonym "Mohammad," clarifies the urgency
of the situation: While waiting for his SIV after serving as an
interpreter and adviser alongside U.S. troops and officials, Mohammad
was killed by the Taliban in January, J.P. Lawrence at Stars and
Stripes
writes -
and his family continues to receive threats as their application
remains unprocessed. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts), a Marine
veteran, said in a statement: "This person paid the ultimate price for
our nation because we failed him. The least we can do now is ensure his
widow and children are able to come to America and to the safety that is
found within our borders."  

**MIDWEST** - South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) announced
Wednesday that the state "won't be taking any illegal immigrants that
the Biden Administration wants to relocate," reports KELOLAND News
. (To
be clear, the "illegal immigrants" she's referring to are
unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border
seeking safety. And just a reminder: Seeking asylum, regardless of age,
is legal.) Gov. Noem's message
 to
these children? "Call me when you're an American." In response to a
similar position taken by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who said the
issue of unaccompanied minors is "not our problem," Storm Lake Times
 editor
Art Cullen calls the situation these children are facing "a mockery of
Iowa and all that we stood for. ... Those children could find some
comfort in their exodus in Storm Lake, Denison and Marshalltown. There
are Guatemalans in Storm Lake who no doubt would open their arms to
them. Hondurans, too. If only the governor would allow it." 

**NO BAN** - The House Judiciary Committee advanced two bills
Wednesday morning that would offer protections to individuals seeking to
enter the U.S., reports Jennifer Doherty of Law360
.
The National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO
BAN) Act "would prohibit religious discrimination and limit the
president's authority to bar individuals from entering the U.S. based on
their nationality," Doherty explains, while the Access to Counsel Act of
2021 would allow travelers (both foreign and U.S. citizens) who are
detained for additional inspection to contact legal counsel. The bills,
which "[strengthen] a Democratic push to prevent future travel bans like
those imposed by former President Donald Trump," passed
 the
House last July, but never became law. Legislation like this would have
a huge impact for some families: In a heartwarming story for The
Columbus Dispatch
,
Danae King reports that after 11 years of separation (extended in
part by the Trump administration's Muslim Ban), Somali
grandfather Mohamed Salem Ali was finally able to reunite with his
family on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio.  

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**PROBLEM SOLVERS** - Following a Monday trip to the U.S.-Mexico
border, members of the bipartisan Problem-Solvers Caucus are urging
bipartisan solutions to address the ongoing challenges around
migration from Central America. "The group met with stakeholders such
as federal, state, and local law enforcement, humanitarian
organizations, and city leaders, and toured ports of entry and
processing centers," Iris Karami reports for KVEO Harlingen
, and
advocated for regional solutions
like in-country processing centers. Caucus members traveling to the
region included Reps. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), Brian
Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), Young Kim (R-California), Tom
Suozzi (D-New York), Dan Meuser (R-Pennsylvania), Ed
Case (D-Hawaii), Jimmy Panetta (D-California) and Conor
Lamb (D-Pennsylvania). 

**MORE THAN JUST CHICKEN** - Brittny Mejia explores an interesting
question in The Los Angles Times
: Why
do flights from Central America often have the enticing aroma of fried
chicken? Mejia details the cultural significance of Pollo Campero, a
popular chain restaurant first opened in Guatemala in 1971. When civil
wars erupted in El Salvador and Guatemala soon after, hundreds of
thousands of immigrants fled. Many resettled in Los
Angeles, ultimately leading to the U.S. expansion of Pollo Campero
in 2002 with a location in L.A.'s Pico-Union neighborhood - now
one of the chain's best-selling restaurants. Even with Pollo Campero
now available in the U.S., many Salvadorans and Guatemalans still
crave the reminders of home that the original evokes, with those who
visit home often bringing back boxes of chicken with their
carry-ons. It's about more than just chicken, of course: "I
don't think that the chicken is amazing, but what gets me every time
is just that feeling of home," said Salvadoran Cesar Valencia. "When you
miss home, you miss everything about it." While it's critical that we
understand the magnitude of the violence, corruption and poverty that
drive Central Americans to flee their homes, we can't let this
understanding paint a one-dimensional picture of the region, its
residents or its impact on communities in the U.S. 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali 

 

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