NOORANI'S NOTES

 

 

Though today marks the 9-year anniversary of the Obama-era Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a legal threat currently being
considered U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen in Texas still
looms over its fate - and those of the immigrants it protects,
reports Suzanne Monyak of Roll Call
. Today, lawmakers and
Dreamers alike will be closely monitoring the highly
anticipated Senate hearing on the American Dream and Promise Act
of 2021
,
which passed the U.S. House with bipartisan  support in March. 

Vice President Harris will meet six women who are 'Dreamers'
in a roundtable today to call on the Senate to pass both the
American Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act
,
reports Courtney Subramanian of USA Today
.  

At 1:30 p.m. today
, I will
be joining friends from Microsoft, the Business Roundtable, Americans
for Prosperity, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities and
Hickory Grove Baptist Church in North Carolina to discuss the need for
a legislative solution. Please contact Audrey Garden
 for more information regarding the
press call.  

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]
.      

U VISAS - On Monday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) announced a new policy
 that will expand access to work
permits and deportation relief to immigrants who
are crime victims while their U visa cases are pending, reports Ted
Hesson of Reuters
. To
qualify for this work permit, their claims must be "deemed to be
made in good faith and without the intention of defrauding the
immigration system," said the agency. "These are individuals who have
come forward to help law enforcement keep us all safe, but who are in
need of a measure of protection for themselves as well," said Secretary
of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. Paulina Villegas of
the Washington Post
 spoke to several Central
American women who are fleeing domestic violence - one of the
categories eligible for the U visa - who seldom find refuge in the
U.S. This is an issue I hear about often from advocates and law
enforcement officials across the country.  

TENDER-AGED CHILDREN - The Biden administration is grappling with
managing an increase in unaccompanied minors at the border,
particularly 'tender aged' children,  reports Rick Jervis of USA
Today
.
According to the latest data from U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, there were some 1,478 tender age migrant children from infants
to 12 years old in custody in March. While the Biden administration did
open some 13 emergency intake facilities nationwide, emergency shelters
are not state licensed to serve as shelters for children, notes Jervis.
"When you have a child in a detention center or any custody, you're
bringing a lot of stress on the child," said Luis Zayas, dean of the
University of Texas at Austin's Steve Hicks School of Social
Work. "Especially in the younger ones, where the brain is still wiring
itself for all the things we need in life ... Those kids could have
long-term intellectual problems and behavioral problems that could last
a lifetime if we don't intervene."   

MOHAMMED - This past weekend: After a 10 year-wait, the family of an
interpreter killed by the Taliban has officially relocated to Houston,
Texas, reports Elizabeth Trovall of Houston Publica Media
.
Unfortunately, Mohammed's death invalidated the family's Special
Immigrant Visa pathway, prompting the International Refugee Assistance
Project to seek "humanitarian parole" for them, explains Trovall. "On
the one hand, I am glad most of the family made it to the United States
of America," said Asadullah Jan, a former Afghan interpreter living in
Houston, and among the group who welcomed the family. But without
Mohammed in the picture, it's still a tragedy, he said. Mohammed's
story is representative of the plight of some 18,000 Afghan and Iraqi
allies and families, who are still waiting for their earned SIVs as of
June 2020. Sayed Jalal Shajjan of Al Jazeera
 echoes
this need for urgency, and the sense of abandonment interpreters feel as
the U.S. prepares to completely withdraw troops as early as July.  

**SAROUN** - Saroun Khan, son of refugee parents who escaped the
Cambodian genocide following the Vietnam War, is finally out of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention after 13 months,
reports the Khmer Times
.  Though Khan
is a legal permanent resident, when he was 19, he stole an unlocked
car for a joyride. He wasn't charged for it at the time, but under
immigration law, a crime like that was deemed an "aggravated
felony." So, when former President Trump ordered ICE to arrest
anyone who could potentially be deported, Kahn was one of them. In
March 2020, he began to serve his time, but was (and still
is) subject to deportation back to Cambodia. "Twenty or 21 years
later," he said, "they came and got me because ... just because?" For
now, Khan is trying to adjust to his new life, including working, and
preparing to celebrate his 18-year-old son's high school graduation. 

PASTOR ERIC - "There is no single, solitary narrative" to capture
the complexity of the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, writes Eric
Costanzo, lead pastor at South Tulsa Baptist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma,
for an op-ed in Newsweek
. Earlier
this month, Costanzo spent time visiting the port of entry and migrant
shelters in addition to some of his church's partner organizations and
churches on both sides of the border. It led him to this central
question: "What is the alternative to these solitary stories that breed
stereotypes and sow confusion and division?" As a pastor, he used his
faith to help others point back to the "story of all stories" that
starts with God - and met several people at the border who
exemplified these Christ-like attitudes. "Much like the many other
crises around the globe, the border crisis is rich with human
experiences and felt needs, all of which matter greatly to Christ and
should matter greatly to his people, the Church," he writes.  

Thanks for reading,  

Ali 

 

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