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ALLIES — Some good news: Following calls from national security experts, military veterans, Republicans and Democrats in Congress and countless others, the Biden administration "will soon begin what could be a wholesale move of tens of thousands of Afghans" to safe third countries as their Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) applications are processed, Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt report for The New York Times. The move couldn’t come sooner: As U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan nears completion, Afghans who aided U.S. troops fear for their lives amid increased attacks from the Taliban, report Martha Raddatz, Cindy Smith, and Conor Finnegan of ABC News. "These brave Afghan partners, these Afghan and American heroes, people who we asked to risk their lives not just for Afghanistan, but for America because we had their backs, their future is in your hands," said Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts), a former Marine officer who has been vocal about the need for evacuation. FOUR WAYS — There were nearly 9.3 million job openings in April alone — the highest number on record, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics announcement last week. And immigration may be the only way to solve this labor shortfall before it becomes a full-blown economic crisis, write the Cato Institute’s David J. Bier and immigration lawyer Christopher M. Richardson in an op-ed for The Hill. They offer four ways President Biden can make this happen: reverse Trump-era bans that block immigrants from entering the country, reuse immigrant visa numbers from this year to avoid losing them, remove dependents and children from the numbers of employment-based immigrants who are counted toward visa caps, and further increase the number of H-2B temporary visas. FAITH — The number of refugees resettled in the U.S. in 2020 was the lowest since the resettlement program was created in 1980. In response to this current climate for refugees, World Refugee Day interfaith prayer services were organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Migration and Refugee Services to "pray publicly for the well-being of refugees in the U.S., across religious and political lines," reports Catholic News Service. "Oftentimes in the Bible it says welcome the stranger because you were a stranger yourself in Egypt," said Tom Dobbins, director of justice and peace for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York and coordinator for the event. "What a really important thing to do, to pray as people of faith from many different traditions to come together and pray with other people of faith for God's providence to help our brothers and sisters and neighbors in need."
NURSE NINA — Together with a skeletal staff of health care workers, nurse Nina Ng — a daughter of Chinese immigrants — treated up to 50 migrants a day from a makeshift tent in Reynosa, Mexico, as part of a five-day humanitarian trip to the border, reports Robert Brodsky of Newsday. During her 12-hour shifts, Ng met a woman struggling with untreated cancer, a teen with a neurological disorder left untreated for years, and many unaccompanied minors, including a 5-year-old. "You're helping people who really have nothing and your little interaction with them makes their day," said Ng, who is hoping to return to Reynosa and continue aiding migrants at the border. "I have so many resources here. I have a job. I have a house. I can travel anywhere I want for fun. So why not spend a little time giving back to people that have nothing?" HUMANIZE — For Immigrant Heritage month, our friends at the Ad Council and Stand Together collaborated to create ‘Belonging Begins with Us," reports ABC7 Washington. The project taps into the idea of welcoming immigrants into the country, serving as a catalyst to "help people feel like they belong," said Jorge Lima, Stand Together’s Vice President of Immigration. A photo essay by Francesca Volpi, published in The Guardian, similarly humanizes those who have left home: Volpi’s work features moving photos and stories from Syrian women refugees of all ages who fled to Lebanon after the civil war broke out a decade ago. "I look at my son sometimes and I think that he is the hope, he is the fruit that I bear for all the suffering and the hard work that I did to raise him," said Khaldieh, 36, a single mother featured in the project. Thanks for reading, Ali |
