NOORANI'S NOTES

 

 

While the first migrant family reunifications under the Biden
administration are set to take place this week, "hundreds
of unaccompanied Mexican migrant children
 have
been expelled from the U.S.," Erin Coulehan writes for Border Report
. Data
from the Department of Homeland Security confirm that
the duration of time unaccompanied minors spend in Customs and
Border Patrol (CBP) custody has been significantly reduced, but the
figures "do not include children from Mexico, who the report says will
be repatriated to Mexico and not remain in CBP custody." 

A CBP official confirmed to Border Report that U.S. officials are
coordinating with the Mexican consulate to repatriate minors in a
process separate from Title 42, the public health order under which
other migrants - including families with small children - are
being rapidly expelled from the border.  

Welcome to Wednesday'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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**REUNIFICATION** - More than three years ago, Sandra was separated
from her then-15-year-old son Bryan at the San Ysidro border
crossing under the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance"
policy, reports Kevin Sieff of The Washington Post.
After fleeing violence at
home, losing her husband, and receiving threats from a local cartel
trying to recruit her son, she was deported back to Mexico without
Bryan after failing her "credible fear" interview. Now, Sandra and
Bryan are "among the first reunited under the Biden administration -
the start of a massive relocation of parents deported by one U.S.
president and returned by another." They're part of "a trial balloon
- a test to find the most effective ways to reunite families without
reviving the trauma they experienced when they were separated," Sieff
explains. "Being together again will be beautiful," Sandra said. "But
it might not be easy."  

**REYNOSA VOLUNTEERS** - Local nonprofits are aiding
asylum-seekers in Reynosa - one of the most dangerous cities in
Mexico - where a tent encampment has grown to house more
than 700 people, reports Sandra Sanchez of Border Report
. "We
pick the most vulnerable children that is very clear to us that should
not be out there, should not have been expelled in the first place and
who were. We put them in apartments, we buy them food, we give them
donations," said Felicia Rangel-Samponaro, co-director of the
non-profit Sidewalk School
. "We give them housewares
and stuff. But most importantly, within the first hour, we find them a
lawyer."  

**JUSTICE FOR ALL** - Under a one-year, $5 million pilot
program, San Diego County will now provide lawyers to
immigrants facing deportation proceedings, the Associated Press
 reports. It "would
be the first southern border county in the United States to provide
legal representation for those in federal immigration custody who are
facing removal proceedings, although more than 40 other places
nationwide have similar programs." According to a 2016 study
 from the
American Immigration Council, only 17% of detainees in San Diego have
legal representation. "When we keep America's promise of equal
justice for all, we give immigrants dignity, we make the legal system
more efficient, and we strengthen our values as Americans,"
said County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, who proposed the
measure, via a statement. Per the 2016 study, immigrants with legal
representation were four times more likely to be released from detention
while awaiting a custody hearing and more likely to win their
deportation cases. 

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**IMPACTED** - Undocumented immigrants are among the hardest hit
by the economic downturn amid the pandemic; many of them "worked in
hard-hit industries - such as restaurants, hospitality or construction
- and lack of income has impacted their ability to afford food and
rent, pushing some out of their homes," Claudia Torrens reports for
the Associated Press.
Yessenia
Benitez, a licensed clinical social worker who helps
immigrants experiencing homelessness, told AP: "[T]hey are working
folks. They want to contribute to society. And before the pandemic, they
were contributing to society." Jorge-Mario Cabrera, spokesman for The
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights  in Los
Angeles, added: "While other communities are receiving (financial)
assistance, immigrants are receiving nothing, most of the time." 

**DOSE OF HOPE** - Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers doesn't have
the power to provide Dreamers with legal status, but he can give
them "a dose of hope" by letting state lawmakers vote on a proposal
that would give undocumented Arizona high school graduates access to
in-state college tuition, writes the Arizona Republic
's
Editorial Board. A resolution proposed by Republican state Sen. Paul
Boyer "would ask voters in 2022 to offer in-state tuition for
non-citizens who have graduated from Arizona high schools and been in
the state for at least two years," but Bowers has yet to bring the
legislation to the House floor. Last week, more than 130
business, faith and civic leaders sent a letter
 to
Bowers urging him to act: "We respectfully request your support in
joining our coalition of business, faith, and community leaders to
bring this bill to the floor, and allow all Arizona high school
graduates the opportunity to better themselves, their families, and our
state through increased access to higher education." 

**'NOT SIMPLY A BOX TO CHECK'** - Now that President Biden has
raised this fiscal year's refugee ceiling to 62,500, "[w]e cannot
afford to forget about the refugee resettlement program ... This is
not simply a box to check," writes Elizabeth Neumann, a member of
the Council on National Security and Immigration
 and our senior advisor on national security
matters, in an op-ed for The Hill
. Pointing
to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP)'s critical role
in national security (as outlined in her December 2020 paper
),
Neumann concludes: "The Biden administration and Congress must find
bipartisan avenues to not only welcome more refugees, but allocate
critical resources that will allow the USRAP to rebuild. The United
States cannot afford to wait to resume its humanitarian leadership."  

Thanks for reading, 

Ali 

 

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