U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will employ body cameras for thousands of Border Patrol agents starting this summer — "a major operational change that could increase oversight of agents and also help capture criminal activity" at the southern border, reports Ted Hesson of Reuters.

Cameras are expected to roll out first in parts of Texas and New Mexico, and then in coming months for Arizona, California and the Rio Grande Valley, as well as Vermont along the Canadian border. Our take: As the administration continues to strike a balance between a secure border and treating immigrants with compassion, this is a positive step.

Meanwhile, this week on Only In America, I spoke with Bill Kristol, director of Defending Democracy Together, to break down how reconciliation works and what it could mean for immigration reform.

Welcome to Thursday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes. We’re pausing the Notes on Fridays this month, so we’ll be back Monday. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].

TEXAS — Dianne Solis and Alfredo Corchado of The Dallas Morning News dive deep into the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone to grant a temporary halt to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) executive order restricting the transportation of migrants by private individuals and organizations. "Cardone said the U.S. government was likely to prevail in its claim that the Texas executive order violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because it conflicts with or poses an obstacle to federal immigration law and it directly regulates federal government operations," they write — while also noting that the order already is posing challenges for Catholic-run nonprofits from McAllen to El Paso.

REUNIFICATION STRUGGLES — While the Biden administration has reunited some separated families via its Family Reunification Task Force, many are struggling to keep afloat, report Adolfo Flores and Hamed Aleaziz of BuzzFeed News. "It's another trauma because I'm with them and I can't get them the things they need," said "Lisy," an El Salvadorian mother who recently reunited with her sons. According to government documents, some families from the first group of reunifications have reported homelessness shortly after entering the country. To help, "the task force wants the Department of Health and Human Services to offer resettlement services for families, including English classes, money, and medical assistance," but it’s unclear if (or how) this would be funded, Flores and Aleaziz note.

DEBUNKING MINSINFORMATION — Border issues and misinformation are converging in multiple ways, and "comprehensive immigration reform, a vigilant effort to counter disinformation, and better use of Spanish-language media" are a necessary counter, Laura Collins and William McKenzie of the George W. Bush Institute write in an op-ed for the Chicago Tribune. The convergence involves "smugglers spreading false information about border security, those same smugglers spreading disinformation about the safety of trips to the border, and a Russian campaign to spread misleading narratives," they write. "… If we modernize our system with regularized, legal and realistic pathways for immigrants to enter our country, we could help curb inaccurate information."

GREEN CARD BACKLOG — About 100,000 employment-based green cards are at risk of going unused this year due to application backlogs exacerbated by COVID-19, reports Michelle Hackman of The Wall Street Journal. The administration began this fiscal year with some 260,000 green cards available. Any that remain at the fiscal year’s Sept. 30 conclusion would expire. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is taking an average of 10.5 months to process green-card applications, according to government data. On Monday, a group of green-card applicants filed a lawsuit requesting that a federal district court in Maryland preserve their place in line beyond the end of the fiscal year.

‘REALLY HEARTWARMING’ — A group of four lawmakers, including Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Florida), got a glimpse of the Fort Lee, Virginia, Army post where the first groups of Afghan allies eligible for Special Immigrant Visas have been temporarily relocated, reports Steve Beynon of Military.com. "To see these little girls wear their best dresses, all of them with little American flags, so excited, asking about American schools … it was really heartwarming," Waltz said. Meanwhile, in an open letter published in The Guardian, 20 UK media organizations are calling on the British government to provide visas for Afghans who assisted with their reporting. "If left behind, those Afghan journalists and media employees who have played such a vital role informing the British public by working for British media will be left at the risk of persecution, of physical harm, incarceration, torture or death," the letter reads.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES — An interactive mural illuminating the stories of 15 Dreamers brought to the U.S. as children was unveiled Saturday at the Tijuana-San Diego border, reports Alexandra Mendoza of The San Diego Union-Tribune. The Playas de Tijuana Mural Project was produced by University of California Davis student Lizbeth de la Cruz Santana as part of her doctoral dissertation. Some individuals featured are currently protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, while others have been deported to Mexico. Each portrait is accompanied by a QR code that provides full access to their unique stories. Said deported immigrant Roberto Vivar, who arrived at the U.S. at age 6, "We all make mistakes, the same way we can all rebuild our lives."

Thanks for reading,

Ali