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WOMEN OF WELCOME — "I don’t have to deconstruct my orthodox views to love immigrants," Bri Stensrud, director of Women of Welcome, told Jeff Brumley at Baptist News Global. As a conservative evangelical, Stensrud sees immigration as a pro-life issue — which is why she and Women of Welcome are "trying to create on-ramps into the issue from a biblical perspective for conservative to moderate women who are in an orthodox theological space." Those "on-ramps" include a recent campaign, "While In Our Care," which documents Christian women reading testimonies of incarcerated migrant children and discussing their approach to immigration through a Biblical lens. As conservative Christians advocate for pro-life policies at home, Stensrud asks, "what about the heartbeat of the migrant child at the border?" CONDITIONS — A Monday court filing spells out concerns over subpar conditions for migrant children still in temporary government facilities, reports Priscilla Alvarez of CNN. "For example, children at the Fort Bliss [Emergency Intake Site] sleep in rows of bunk cots in giant tents with hundreds of other children, enjoy no privacy, receive almost no structured education, have little to do during the day, and lack adequate mental health care to address children's severe anxiety and distress surrounding their prolonged detention," per the filing. Meanwhile in Louisiana, advocates and attorneys are sounding the alarm over deteriorating conditions for immigrant detainees in the Winn Correctional Center, per Carmen Sesin at NBC News. The Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative of Louisiana, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, has written two letters to the Department of Homeland Security citing reports of "abuses and inhumane conditions at Winn," including "44 people having only one urinal, two toilets and two showers." BORDER TOURISM — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) recent statements on immigration and the border are hurting both South Texas’ reputation and ecotourism in the region, reports Sandra Sanchez of Border Report. "People will not be coming to spend their money in the Rio Grande Valley because of the false narrative that the governor has taken up," said Marianna Treviño-Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas. According to estimates, ecotourism boosts the economy in the Rio Grande Valley by as much as $2 billion and adds $6 billion to state coffers every year, notes Sanchez. "It is critical to our economy that people come," Treviño-Wright said. "The economy of the lower Rio Grande Valley is like a three-legged stool: Mexican national shoppers; Winter Texans and environmental tourism."
RECONCILIATION — Passing immigration legislation as part of reconciliation, a "partisan process … [that] allows Democrats to skirt a Republican filibuster and enact legislation with a simple majority," is the talk of the town these days. Jennifer Haberkorn at the Los Angeles Times reports that Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) confirmed Tuesday that the sweeping infrastructure bill Senate Democrats are hoping to pass this year "would include a pathway to citizenship, but said Democrats are still determining who would be covered." Some of their Senate colleagues remain skeptical: "I think they’re dreaming when they think they can use reconciliation on substantive legislation like this," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). But as Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) put it, "It’s not a done deal, it’s the beginning of the process." AFGHANISTAN — An avoidable tragedy looms for Afghan interpreters, translators and others who aided U.S. forces — and time is running out for President Biden to avert it, writes The Washington Post’s Editorial Board. The backlog of Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) means an estimated 70,000 applicants and their family members are at risk of retaliation from the Taliban — and an orderly evacuation is needed to protect them. "In planning an evacuation now, the United States can strive for an orderly departure, although the risks of chaos are always present," they write. "The United States has a profound obligation to take care of those who risked their lives to serve alongside its troops," the editorial concludes. "It cannot leave their fate to chance or ill-prepared afterthought." Thanks for reading, Ali |
