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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.
‘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:
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, |
