NOORANI'S NOTES

 

 

On Wednesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland reversed the
Trump-era policy that limited asylum for gang and domestic violence
survivors mostly from Central America, report Katie Benner and Miriam
Jordan of The New York Times
. "The
decisions - applicable to all cases in the system, including appeals
- will affect tens of thousands of migrants." 

"Every woman fleeing domestic violence and every individual fleeing gang
violence now has the opportunity to have their case decided fairly,
applying the law to their facts without having the dark cloud of bias
and prejudgment" imposed by the Trump administration's decisions, said
Karen Musalo, a law professor and lawyer representing an asylum-seeker
involved in one of the cases Garland ruled on. 

This decision is the right move morally and legally. Our policies
reflect our priorities, and this action confirms the long-held American
value of providing refuge to some of the world's most vulnerable
people. 

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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**'HAIR ON FIRE' **- Frustration is growing across the
political spectrum as time runs out to evacuate Afghan allies ahead
of the U.S. withdrawal deadline, reports Leo Shane III of
the Military Times
. In
a Tuesday news conference, Senate Armed Services
Committee Member Angus King (I-Maine) called for military
officials to lend personnel to the State Department in order to
speed up the processing of Afghan visa applications,
 and
suggested NATO officials should make the issue a top priority. "I
want the White House's hair on fire," said King. "I want them to do
everything within their power to solve this problem." While the
official withdrawal deadline is in September, it could be
completed as early as July
. For
solutions on quickly evacuating our allies from Afghanistan, check
out the Forum's newly published fact sheet
.  

**INFRASTRUCTURE** - Democrats "are weighing tucking immigration
reform into a large infrastructure package using reconciliation this
summer" to help finance the package, Joseph Zeballos-Roig reports
for Business Insider
. "Anytime
there's been a [Congressional Budget Office] examination on immigration
reform, it produces a significant increase in the GDP without really
costing much money," said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia). "[I]f we feel
like there's something we could do within a reconciliation vehicle that
could produce significant economic growth ... that could be a very
legitimate way to look at trying to find a balanced
package." However, experts say some of these immigration provisions
could run into trouble via this process "because not all would be
directly related to the federal budget - a key rule of the
process," Zeballos-Roig writes. In the meantime, Democrats are
continuing to negotiate with Republicans on a smaller package. Stay
tuned. 

**MINISTRY CENTER** - Scotsdale Baptist Church in El Paso is
launching a migrant ministry center to serve newly arrived
migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, reports Ken Camp of the Baptist
Standard
. The
Church "voted overwhelmingly in favor" of repurposing some of their
underutilized facilities to house the El Paso Migrant Ministry Center,
which officially opens July 7. The center is preparing to serve up to
200 guests a day, and will help connect migrants with sponsors, food
and other care. (There's a portal for online donations
 and
an Amazon Wish List
 for the center's needs.) "It's
an interesting day in the life of a border city," said Larry Floyd,
executive director of El Paso Baptist Association. "We are just
trusting in the Lord and having faith he will bring the people we need
for this ministry." 

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**REFUGEE LESSON** - A middle school in Auburn, New York this week
gave its students a chance to speak (virtually) face-to-face with
refugees and learn more about their experiences, Kelly Rocheleau
reports for The Auburn Citizen
.
Students met refugees from the NaTakallam
 program via Zoom to learn their stories
and ask questions about their experiences. "... to be exposed to the
culture and to the language and someone who seems like they're so
different but find out that they're really a lot alike, that, I think,
is priceless," said English teacher Deb Rielly. Added eighth grader
Lilith Panek, who spoke with Sudanese refugee Faisal: "It shows that
all the stereotypes for all the refugees that everybody talks about
(are) not true." 

**BEHIND THE DATA PART II** - We continue celebrating the history,
heritage and influence of immigration in the U.S.
with our second Immigrant Heritage Month episode
 of Only in
America. We revisit some of last week's guests - and talk to some
new ones - to hear more about their heritage and how it informs
their sense of being American. Joined by guests Jessica
Astudillo, Eric Kwak , Farah Larrieux,
 and Edilsa Lopez, we
learn more about how immigration is not just part of our nation's
history - it's central to the American identity.  

Thanks for reading, 

Ali

 

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