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THE RIGHT THING — As the Biden administration prepares to evacuate thousands of Afghan allies as the U.S. withdraws from the country, the president wants to send a clear message: "Those who helped us are not going to be left behind." Speaking ahead of a meeting at the White House today with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and national council Chairman Abdullah Abdullah, Biden said Afghan translators "will be welcome here just like anyone else who risked their lives to help us," per Al Jazeera. As for evacuation plans, The Dispatch reports that the Biden administration "is working to relocate those Afghan allies and their families to an unspecified destination — possibly Guam — while their visas allowing them entry into the United States are processed." Said Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), who brought the Save Our Afghan Allies Act to the Senate floor yesterday: "There’s right and wrong in this world. There’s politics, and there’s a time for it. But there’s a time to do the right thing. And the right thing is to help save these human lives who fought for America." SISTER MARY — Baltimore-based Sister Mary Alice McCabe is helping newly arrived migrants and refugees who crossed the border with various tasks to navigate their new life in the U.S., reports Soli Salgado of Global Sisters Report. Her day-to-day tasks — interpreting for migrants out of her car by phone; connecting them with social, legal or health services; helping them receive financial supplements and rent aid or sort out their documents; interpreting for their lawyers or at health clinics — "[provide] some insight to the challenges that come with such a dramatic resettling," Salgado writes. "Those who know the immigrants up close and see their faces and hear their stories, they have no problem whatsoever in saying, ‘Welcome,’" Sister Mary said. "It's those who don't know, who don't get close to them, who have a different attitude." PHILLY — The Philadelphia School Board unanimously passed a resolution Thursday designed to protect students from immigration enforcement, Kristen A. Graham and Jeff Gammage report for The Philadelphia Inquirer. "Federal immigration law enforcement activities at our schools, on our transportation routes, on our district property, or during school programs or activities significantly disrupts the welcoming environment and learning process for all students," the resolution reads. It also calls for the district to develop an emergency response plan to support the safety and well-being of students whom enforcement may affect, as well as develop training for staff, contractors and volunteers within 100 days. "By assuring immigrant students and their families feel unconditionally safe in our schools, we are ensuring that they are given the opportunity to thrive and reach their greatest potential," said school board member Mallory Fix Lopez.
REFUGEE MUSICIANS — For the Boston Globe, Mariya Manzhos tells the story of Sebastian Agignoae, who discovered a few years ago that his father fled communist Romania after facing persecution for being a musician and eventually resettled in Des Moines, Iowa. To support musicians like his father who have been forced to flee, Agignoae launched the International Orchestra of Refugees (IOR) in 2018. "We want to try to fill the gap in communities who are trying to better integrate refugees and be more diverse and engage them in economic growth," he said. The IOR continues to work with around 50 refugee musicians, and partners with organizations like Refugee Services of Texas, Loyola University, and Jesuit Refugee Service.. "There is nothing like confidence for young immigrants in a place where you don’t know where to start," said band leader Patron Yemery, who grew up amid civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "For me, music was the basis of everything else." LUPIN – The Netflix crime thriller "Lupin" is back for a second season, and the series is wrapped around immigrant stories in surprising ways — in this case, the story of a Senegalese immigrant family in France. "Migrants getting the job done is not, however, a ‘theme’ in Lupin emphasized simply to make a point," Los Angeles Times TV critic Lorraine Ali writes. "It just is, woven through the series in ways large and small." (FYI, the article contains major season two spoilers.) Thanks for reading, Ali |
