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MEDICAL MISSION — For California Healthline, Heidi de Marco chronicles the efforts of volunteer health workers treating asylum-seekers living in the makeshift camp on the Mexican side of the San Ysidro port of entry. "Because migrant shelters were already at capacity before this year’s influx of migrants, many end up at the El Chaparral camp, where food and medical care are scarce and there is little access to sanitation facilities — other than hand-washing stations and portable toilets," de Marco writes. "I believe that the people that I’m serving deserve to have health care and a reduction to their suffering," said Dr. Hannah Janeway, an emergency medicine physician and co-director of the Refugee Health Alliance, a nonprofit organization that provides medical care to migrants at the border. "The working conditions aren’t that good. And the salaries we can offer aren’t either," Janeway said. "But the people who are here are here because they are very dedicated to helping this population. It’s a mission." BEACONS — U.S. Border Patrol is working with local stakeholders "to install 16 emergency beacons in remote areas of the El Paso Sector so that migrants in distress can get help," reports Julian Resendiz of Border Report. Oftentimes, "smugglers just abandon [migrants] in the desert or send them over (Mount) Cristo Rey," said Sunland Park Police Chief Javier Guerra. "They’re not familiar with the terrain; they get lost when the temperature reaches triple digits or fall from heights." The beacons, which are already being used in the Big Bend and El Paso Sectors of the border, include simple drawings, instructions in English and Spanish and a button to call for help if stranded in the desert. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said its officers made 7,084 rescues nationwide in May alone — and 35% more in the first eight months of this fiscal year than in all of fiscal year 2020. ‘PASTORAL, MORAL’ — At least 162 organizations signed on to a June 17 letter asking bishops’ conferences in the U.S., Central America and Mexico for "pastoral and moral" leadership on immigration, Rhina Guidos reports for Catholic News Service. The Biden administration’s commitment to a more humane immigration approach and comprehensive solutions "is a unique opportunity to relieve pain and suffering too long endured," the letter reads. "This moment requires a whole church response that is regional, united and robust." The letter was published by the Hope Border Institute in El Paso, Texas, following an emergency meeting of bishops gathered at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois early in June.
ZEE — Afghan-born Iowa Falls resident Zalmay Niazy, who goes by Zee, "spent three years helping [U.S. forces] fight the Taliban by scanning radio signals, writing up reports on their internal communications, and translating for coalition forces," Rekha Basu writes in a column for the Des Moines Register. But after four years of living in the U.S. while a decision on his Special Immigrant Visa application was pending, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied him asylum last month "for a reason so unfair it’s almost laughable:" At nine years old, Zee gave bread to members of the Taliban after they threatened to burn down his family’s home — an incident DHS classified as "providing material support to terrorists." Basu notes that Zee will appear before an immigration appeals court on June 28 to plead his case. "If his plight matters to you, stand up and support Zee’s claim for asylum, and ask [Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst] to do the same — and then change the law." REFUGEE JOBS — Hiring more refugees isn’t just a humanitarian effort — it’s also good for business, writes Mercedes Gutierrez, head of social impact communities at IKEA Retail, in an op-ed for Fortune. A resilient mindset, increased workplace diversity and positive retention trends are just a few of the reasons she lays out. Pointing to the challenges refugees face in accessing the U.S. labor market, Gutierrez adds that "it’s critical that the private sector open pathways to employment for refugees," noting that IKEA has committed to supporting 2,500 refugees by 2022. Other businesses like Ben & Jerry’s, Volkswagen and Uniqlo are also stepping up to the challenge to integrate more refugees into the workforce. "Companies can choose to see opportunities, not threats," she concludes. "Together, we can prove that inclusive growth and positive social impact go hand in hand." Thanks for reading, Ali |
