Friday, October 29
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NOORANI'S NOTES

 

 

Arcola, Illinois, population 2,927, is Trump country. But its
voters elected and support a Hispanic mayor, reports
Bill Ruthhart of the Chicago Tribune
. 

Jesus Garza's immigration story is one of hard work and dedication.
Twenty-eight years ago, he left Mexico to work in a broom factory in
Arcola. Today, his 3 J's Transmission is one the largest repair shops
in central Illinois.  

"Way down here in Arcola, you never would have thought of the idea of a
Hispanic mayor. For many years, it never would have happened," said Bill
Anderson, 77, retired lumberyard worker. "But Jesus has proven he's a
go-getter, and I'm just tickled pink he got elected."  

"[His] election in a predominantly white and conservative Midwestern
town illustrates a level of disconnect between local attitudes on
immigration and the national political narrative on the divisive
issue," Ruthhart writes. 

Welcome to Friday's edition of Noorani's Notes. Have a happy
Halloween this weekend - and stay safe. If you have a story to
share from your own community, please send it to me
at [email protected]
.  

[link removed]

RECONCILIATION - The Biden administration has "tentatively set
aside $100 billion for immigration changes in its framework for
Democrats' sprawling reconciliation package
" released Thursday,
but the Senate parliamentarian ultimately has the final say, report
Caroline Simon and Suzanne Monyak of Roll Call
.
Per the framework
,
the investment aims to "'reform our broken immigration system' as
well as reduce backlogs, expand legal representation and improve
asylum and border processing," as long as the provisions are
"consistent with the Senate's reconciliation rules." What lies ahead
is Senate Democrats' "Plan C"
 proposal
to the parliamentarian. Its provisions would provide protection from
deportation, as well as work permits, to immigrants who entered
the U.S. before 2011 - but not green cards, according
to sources familiar with the plans. 

**MIGRANT FAMILY PAYOUT?** - The administration is considering
paying $450,000 per migrant for families separated at the U.S.-Mexico
border under Trump's zero-tolerance policy in 2018, reports a team
at The Wall Street Journal
.
This comes as "several agencies work to resolve lawsuits filed on behalf
of parents and children who say the government subjected them
to lasting psychological trauma
." According to
the American Civil Liberties Union, government
data indicate that about 5,500 children were separated at the
border during the Trump era. So far, families have filed 940 claims,
and the eventual payout could top $1 billion. Stephen Dinan
with The Washington Times
 reports that
congressional Republicans already have begun efforts to block the
plan. 

MIGRATION REBOUND - Global migration is on the rebound after big
drops during the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Paul Hannon of The Wall
Street Journal
.
At play: worker shortages and the reopening of industries that need
migrant workers. In its annual report, the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development found that migrants arriving in its member
countries dropped by almost a third in 2020, "the largest drop since
records began in 2003," with Canada and the U.S. seeing the sharpest
decreases. But there are signs of a turnaround in progress: "There are
growing labor shortages in many OECD countries and as a result we see
signs of increases in labor migration in a number of them," said
Stefano Scarpetta, the OECD's director for employment. 

[link removed]

'I HOPE TO SEE THE STARS SOON' - Hili Chakhansuri, former Chief
of Staff Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
Afghanistan, is among thousands of Afghans at Joint Base
McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey who are waiting to resettle in the
U.S. The Philadelphia Inquirer
 asked
her to keep a journal to document her time there, which includes some
heartwarming and heartbreaking stories. "Once we're resettled,
we're all aiming to find jobs, start working, pursue education, be
self-sufficient, and finally stand on our own
feet," Chakhansuri writes. "... I believe that the rock bottom will
teach us lessons the mountaintop never will, and the darkest nights
produce the brightest stars. I hope to see the stars
soon." Meanwhile, Rep. Greg Murphy (R-North Carolina) and his staff
have helped 80 Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders and their
families escape Afghanistan since last week, reports Audrey
Conklin at Fox News
. 

And here are today's local stories of support: 

* Lutheran Services in Iowa  "is recruiting
Pashto- and Dari-speaking interpreters, meeting with landlords, city
officials and major employers, such as Tyson Foods
,
and enlisting the help of locals who can serve as mentors for up to 150
Afghan refugees, who could begin arriving in metro Sioux City within the
next month." (Dolly Butz, Sioux City Journal
) 

* In collaboration with other military spouses and veterans,
Amy Marden founded React DC , "an
organization that not only connects refugees with physical needs like
furniture and clothes, but also helps with more complicated needs, like
finding doctors for their children and signing up for school."
(Debra Alfarone, CBS News
) 

* Volunteers at the Islamic Foundation of Villa Park
 in Illinois have been collecting
donations and attempting to secure housing for Afghans arriving
soon. (Leah Hope, ABC 7 Chicago
) 

REFRAMED NARRATIVE - Artist Hung Liu, a former immigrant who fled
political persecution herself, has reframed the immigration narrative
with her new exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Portrait
Gallery in Washington, D.C., reports Chadd Scott for Forbes
. In "Hung
Liu: Portraits of Promised Lands
," "Liu
presents a complex, multifaceted picture of not only an immigrant
experience broadly, but an Asian Pacific American experience
specifically," Scott writes. The solo exhibition by an Asian American
woman is a first for the Portrait Gallery, he notes. This
is definitely on my list to check out.  

Thanks for reading,

Ali

 

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