There is a lot in motion these days.
Through budget reconciliation, Democrats
seek to legalize Dreamers, farmworkers and Temporary Protected Status recipients. Migration from Central America continues even as Mexico, at our behest, hardens its southern border. Natural disasters and political instability in Haiti and Cuba, respectively, create their own set of migration pressures. And, dominating the news, tens of thousands of Afghans are being processed into the country.
All of this is happening against a backdrop of an increase in white extremism, a coronavirus pandemic that 43% of Republicans believe immigrants crossing the southern border are responsible for spreading (despite evidence to the contrary), and looming electoral cycles that will be the most divisive of our lifetime.
If recent history is any indication, even though 69% of Americans support resettling Afghans who worked with the U.S., a nativist backlash is sure to come. But in the here and now, we want to do everything we can to ensure the resettlement of Afghans is not only broadly supported but is done in a way that pushes back against extremism and sets the stage for other refugees as well. This won’t be easy.
Priscilla Alvarez and Oren Liebermann at CNN report that "the Biden administration will now resettle more than 60,000 Afghan refugees inside the U.S. over the next several weeks," temporarily accommodating them at eight military bases. The Wall Street Journal's Raja Abdulrahim reported this
weekend that the U.S. is grappling with hundreds of Afghan unaccompanied minors who were separated from their families in the aftermath of the U.S. military withdrawal.
More stories will come, but there is a new story about American immigration that we can develop — that we need to develop.
Ultimately, we must give people who are worried about immigration a place to go that is compassionate, not extremist. Again, this is not easy — but it’s critical. Because, as President Bush said in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, this weekend: "There's little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home. But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard of human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit, and it is our continuing duty to confront them."
With that said, here are more stories of communities invested in helping our Afghan allies:
- A 16-foot moving truck was filled with more than $7,000 worth of donations for Afghan families temporarily relocated at a New Jersey military base. (WCED News)
- World Relief Memphis, with support from the City of Memphis and Shelby County, is helping Afghan refugees look for permanent housing and employment. (Jordan James, WREG News)
- Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, a leading international law firm, has been working on the cases of dozens of
Afghan families seeking refuge in the U.S.
- Afghan doctors and health care workers are treating newly arriving Afghan refugees at the Philadelphia International Airport. (Aubrey Whelan, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Welcome to Monday’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].
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RECONCILIATION — Advocates are pushing for immigration provisions to remain in the upcoming budget reconciliation package, Rebecca Morin reports for USA Today. Stuart Anderson points out in Forbes that the bill could also bring green card relief for applicants stuck in yearlong backlogs. And Luke Broadwater of The New York Times reports that senior Democrat and Republican aides with immigration and budget expertise met with Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough in an effort to sway her ultimate decision on whether immigration provisions can be included in reconciliation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) set a deadline to broker a deal by Sept. 27. In the meantime, take a few minutes to read this essay collection compiled by our friends at the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities.
MIXED STATUS — A new analysis of Census Bureau data by FWD.us indicates that more than 10 million U.S. citizens share a household with an undocumented immigrant, reports Rafael Bernal of The Hill. Per the analysis, undocumented spouses and parents of U.S. citizens could earn as much as 58% more income if they were able to obtain legal permanent residency. "This economic impact would have important multiplier effects for the broader economy, adding $59 billion more to the economy each year and an additional $16 billion in combined federal, payroll, state, and local tax revenue," wrote FWD.us Senior Demographer Phillip Connor.
MPP — "A string of recent court decisions has put President Biden in a predicament: Re-implement his predecessor's Remain in Mexico policy in good faith or turn to Trump-era tactics to dismantle the divisive immigration rule," writes Rebecca Beitsch for The Hill. "The question of what happens now turns on what does good faith mean?" said Jorge Loweree, policy director for the American Immigration Council. "The
federal government doesn't only have a binary choice to detain every person at the southern border or expel them to Mexico — there are other options they have under law." Said Ahilan Arulanantham, co-director of the Center for Immigration Law & Policy at the University of California: "If the administration really wants the policy outcome, it could certainly rewrite the memo."
ESSENTIAL IN FRANCE — France has granted some 12,000 immigrant frontline workers — including doctors, nurses, cleaning staff, cashiers, and garbage collectors — citizenship via a special fast-track program, Ellen Francis writes for The Washington Post. "I had worked during the crisis when there was a need for doctors," said Fouad Kerbage, a Lebanese-born oncologist. "We didn’t know much about the virus. There was no vaccine ... but it was our duty to keep doing our jobs." Said France’s citizenship minister Marlène Schiappa in a statement Thursday: "These front-line workers responded to the call of the nation. It is normal for the nation to take a step toward them."
Thanks for reading,
Ali
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