Nearly 1 million migrants were taken into custody along the U.S.-Mexico border during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 — the highest volume in 12 years, reports Nick Miroff in The Washington Post. Arrests reached an all-time high back in 2000, when 1.6 million migrants were arrested — but most were single adults from Mexico. “This year, Central American parents with children made up the overwhelming majority of border crossers. Instead of seeking to evade capture, many sought out U.S. agents to surrender and stated a fear of being sent home, the first step in seeking asylum or another form of legal protection in the United States.”

For those observing Yom Kippur, have an easy fast.

Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes. Have a story you’d like us to include? Email me at [email protected].

BLOCKING “PUBLIC CHARGE” – Courts across the country are moving to block the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule from taking effect on Oct. 15, Deepti Hajela reports for the Associated Press. “Almost a dozen lawsuits have been filed from New York to California with plaintiffs including states, counties, cities, service providers and immigrants...” Interesting fact: An Associated Press analysis of census data found that “non-citizen immigrants with low incomes have a lower rate of using Medicaid, food aid, cash assistance and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) than their native-born counterparts.”

JUST THE FACTS – Barbara L. Strack oversaw the Refugee Affairs Division at the Department of Homeland Security until January of 2018. In an op-ed for Time Magazine, Strack, who now serves on the Advisory Committee for the Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program, outlines three ways the Trump administration has been misleading on refugee-related matters: (1) arguing that overseas refugee resettlement must be low because domestic asylum claims are high (not so — our government can handle both); (2) asserting that foreign policy is now being taken into account (as if that is new); and (3) claiming to prioritize refugees seeking religious persecution, Central Americans and Iraqis (actually, the administration is drastically cutting the number of people resettled in these categories).

JAIL CAPACITY – A new immigration jail proposed for outside of Evanston, Wyoming, that was slated to be a 500-bed facility will now have capacity for up to 1,000 beds, reports Andrew Graham in WyoFile. One opponent of the project remarked that “County officials have been working hard to ensure it gets built – no matter what the size – while neglecting to inform the community about what exactly they have been doing.”

ENDING ON A POSITIVE (1/2) – The congregation of St. William Catholic Church in Louisville, Kentucky, along with leaders from other local churches, “is declaring its support for immigrants and refugees and calling on the U.S. government to close detention facilities at the border,” reports Dylan Lovan in the Associated Press. The church may set up a sanctuary network for housing needs. Per one church member: “We’re basically creating an immigration policy that is based on humanitarian support.” Meanwhile, in Dallas, a group of students spent the summer designing a guidebook for immigrants and refugees who are new to the city, reports Obed Manuel in The Dallas Morning News. The guidebook contains contact information and services offered by over 30 Dallas based nonprofit organizations.

ENDING ON A POSITIVE (2/2) – Refugees and immigrants in and around St. Joseph, Missouri, seeking to obtain citizenship will no longer have to travel to Kansas City to receive the required physical, reports Ryan Hennessy in News-Press NOW. That’s because Dr. George Mulder is the new civil surgeon in St. Joseph, meaning he is authorized to perform the medical exam required for most green card applicants: “We’re all immigrants unless we’re Native Americans … My relatives all came from the Netherlands, in the 1800s ... it’s kind of fun to see other people doing the same thing now coming from other parts of the world.”

Thanks for reading,

Ali