NOORANI'S NOTES

 

 

"Nearly two dozen of Afghanistan's 387 districts were taken over by
the Taliban, mostly in northern Afghanistan, on Saturday and Sunday,
adding to some 30 others seized by the insurgents across the country
since early May," Yaroslav Trofimov reports for The Wall Street
Journal
.  

As Afghan nationals who helped our military face retribution at the
hands of the Taliban, the bipartisan HOPE for Afghan SIVs Act
 was
introduced last week by Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on
Immigration Chair Alex Padilla (D-California) and Ranking Member John
Cornyn (R-Texas). The bill would speed up the process by which Afghan
interpreters and translators who assisted America troops can
immigrate to the U.S.  

With a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) backlog of around 20,000, the
legislation would "remove one hurdle that prevents them from quickly
escaping the dangers they face in Afghanistan due to their service to
our troops," said Sen. Cornyn. Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and Brad
Wenstrup (R-Ohio) have introduced companion legislation in the
House.  

The House version
 of
another bipartisan Senate bill, the Protect Women's and Girls'
Rights in Afghanistan Act
, was also
introduced last week. "This bill creates a clear monitoring system to
keep the U.S. apprised of the situation on the ground and conditions
foreign aid to the Afghan government on its ability to guarantee basic
human rights for women, including health care, education and employment
opportunities," said Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan), who introduced
the House bill. 

These are important legislative efforts. Now the Biden administration
needs to evacuate eligible Afghans and their families to a safe place
while their SIV applications are being processed.  

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]
.   

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**COVID CARE** - Around 20% of Hispanic people in the United
States lack health insurance - and the proportion is far higher
among undocumented immigrants. With high COVID-19 infection rates and
limited access to health care, some immigrants have turned to
"unregulated drugs because mainstream medicine is too expensive or is
inaccessible because of language or cultural barriers," Amy Maxmen
reports for The New York Times
. While
health and consumer protection agencies have repeatedly warned
 that
several of these types of treatments are not backed by
reliable scientific data, Maxmen notes that many immigrants feel
they have no other alternative, and even turn to places
like Facebook for medical advice. "People are desperate and
bombarded with misinformation and may not have the skills, time or
context to interpret medical evidence," said Rais Vohra, the interim
head of the Fresno County, California, health department.  

**NEBRASKA TO THE BORDER** - Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts
(R) announced Saturday that he is sending around 25 state troopers
to the Texas-Mexico border to provide law enforcement assistance,
reports Kylee Haueter of the Omaha World-Herald
. Ricketts
joined fellow Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis (Florida) and Brad Little
(Idaho) "in stating his plans to send law enforcement officers to the
area after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey [R] and Texas Gov. Greg
Abbott [R] sent a letter
 requesting
that other governors send available law enforcement resources to the
border." The Nebraska troopers will be deployed to Del Rio, Texas, for
no longer than 16 days. Logistical details are still being worked out,
and Ricketts has yet to address how the deployment will be funded.  

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**EMPLOYMENT** - As part of its new America Works campaign, the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is calling on the government to
double the number of H-1B visas and employment-based green cards issued
annually and to remove per-country visa caps, reports the Economic
Times
. U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said last week it
had already received more than 300,000 petitions for the 85,000 H-1B
visas it issues annually, indicating the "huge demand" for high-skilled
foreign workers to help fill the U.S. labor gap. "We must arm workers
with the skills they need, we must remove barriers that are keeping too
many Americans on the sidelines, and we must recruit the very best from
around the world to help fill high-demand jobs," said USCC President
and CEO Suzanne Clark. Business voices are also calling on Congress
to boost the economy by providing a pathway to legal status for
undocumented immigrants:  "If we can give a path to legalizing those
who are undocumented, our workforce will grow, and our employees will be
more productive," said Texas entrepreneur and Republican donor Woody
Hunt, per Martin Woolridge of The Daily Guardian
.  

**ENGLISH AT WORK** - An estimated 300 Haitian refugees have moved
to Charleroi, Pennsylvania - a town of around 4,000 - in the past
few years for affordable housing and work opportunities, reports
Scott Beveridge of The Observer-Reporter
. In
response, Kris Drach, board president of the Literacy Council of
Southwestern Pennsylvania in Washington, and Getro Bernabe, a Haitian
refugee, have been holding large English classes to help
refugees adapt to their new home - and currently have around 70
students enrolled. For many immigrants, English language training is
vital to their ability to thrive in the U.S. One example? The
Forum's English at Work Program, which was the subject of a case
study by EdTech Center at World Education
 highlighting
innovating approaches to remote English training for immigrants,
refugees and asylum-seekers. Read the full case study here
. 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali

 

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