Lee Wolosky, who previously worked in national security during the Clinton and Bush administrations and served as an ambassador under Obama, will be joining the Biden administration to advise on Afghan refugee resettlement efforts and concerns over the military withdrawal, reports Hans Nichols of Axios. This is good news.
Still, stories like that of SIV applicant Muhammad come to mind. Last month, Muhammad received an email from the State Department telling him to go to the Kabul airport to evacuate — but he and his family were blocked by the Taliban during their two attempts to leave, Caitlin Dickson reports for Yahoo News. If the U.S. government doesn’t help him leave, he said, "I would be killed along with my family and my blood
would be on the hands of the authorities sitting in the Department of State."
If you want to learn how to help, our friends at the National Association of Evangelicals are hosting a webinar today at 2 p.m. ET on the Christian response to the situation in Afghanistan. Register here.
And here are some of our favorite local stories of Afghan support and welcome today:
- A northeast Ohio native and gold star wife launched an Emergency Fund for Displaced Afghan People to help at-risk Afghan refugees. (Karlynn Wells, Spectrum News 1)
- Middle Tennessee veterans are working to rescue Americans and allies left behind via their humanitarian group Patriot Mountain. (Elizabeth Lane, WKRN-TV)
- Officials with Bethany Christian Services, Samaritas, the Islamic Center of West Michigan and other groups joined U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer (R) for a candlelight vigil in Grand Rapids to honor the struggle of Afghan refugees. (John Tunnison, MLive)
- The Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City is working with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese Oklahoma City to prepare for hundreds of Afghan families arriving in the city. (Lionel Ramos, Oklahoma Watch)
- A local business owner in DuBois, Pennsylvania, raised more than $3,500 for Afghan refugees via a patriotic t-shirt fundraiser. (WCED News)
- A group of high school students in Salt Lake City is preparing to welcome Afghan refugees with music. (Matt Rascon, KSL-TV)
- Northwest Arkansas is expecting to welcome around 50 refugees over the next six months. (KHBS)
- Michael Martel, the Marine Corps veteran overseeing donations for Afghan families housed at Camp Atterbury in Indiana, told the Indianapolis Star’s Rashika Jaipuriar: "The willingness to help — it’s strong. It's ... been a while since I’ve seen it ... on this scale ... So again, Indiana has been great."
- Foodhini, a D.C. food delivery service featuring cuisine from emerging immigrant chefs, began a new initiative to provide homemade Afghan-style "welcome meals" for refugees and families arriving in the area.
Welcome to Thursday’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].
FYI: We’ll also be hosting a discussion via Facebook Live at 2 p.m. ET tomorrow about what it’s like to live in the U.S. without permanent status, what legislative solutions exist, and how Congress can act right now.
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POTENTIAL BACKLASH — As we’ve seen through countless stories from across the country, Americans are embracing Afghan refugees and welcoming them into their communities. But, as the Boston Globe Editorial Board warns, "the arrival of a large number of migrants also provides fertile ground for demagogues and fearmongers." As we welcome vulnerable Afghans, we can demonstrate our collective compassion across political
divides, but we must also remain vigilant against nativist forces seeking to weaponize immigration. I told the Board: "If we can welcome Afghan refugees across political lines and at the local and national level, we go a long way to strengthening our democracy."
FORT BLISS — According to a new (and third) Fort Bliss whistleblower complaint, "immigrant children housed at one of the Biden administration’s emergency shelters were burned after bathing in scalding water, had their blood drawn without explanation, and were repeatedly threatened with deportation," report Adolfo Flores and Hamed Aleaziz of BuzzFeed News. "In the aftermath of our disclosures, HHS asserts that the fundamental failures our
clients identified are 'old' and have been ‘fixed,’" the whistleblower report states. "To the contrary, the problems are ongoing, systemic, and repeated...with tragic consequences. It is true these are old issues; it is not true they have been fixed."
OHIO — Miles of border Ohio shares with Mexico: Zero. Number of taxpayer dollars spent on the deployment of Ohio law enforcement to the border: Almost a quarter million. Marty Schladen at the Ohio Capital Journal reports that taxpayers are expected to pay nearly $230,000 following Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R) decision to send 14 Ohio State Highway Patrol officers
to the U.S.-Mexico border this summer after a request from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). "Neither governor has justified the need for out-0f-state law enforcement personnel in the region, where cities have significantly lower crime rates than those in Ohio," Schladen writes. "For its part, the Texas Department of Public Safety declined to discuss what sort of policing Ohio taxpayers financed in the Lone Star State."
RECONCILIATION — More than 700 mayors, council members, school board members and other local officials from across the U.S. are calling on Democratic lawmakers and President Biden
to include immigration solutions in federal budget reconciliation, The Hill’s Rafael Bernal reports. "Providing a path to citizenship for [Dreamers, TPS recipients and their families] not only recognizes the sacrifices they have made for all Americans over the past year, but also the important role they continue to play in America’s economic recovery and long-term global competitiveness," the group wrote in a Wednesday letter. Moreover, Marianne Levine of Politico reports that the Senate parliamentarian is planning to hear "dueling arguments" Friday as Democrats make the case for immigration reform in the package. For more on the prospects of reform via this process,
check out our reconciliation explainer.
Thanks for reading,
Ali
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