Friday, November 12

According to the U.N. refugee agency, the number of displaced people worldwide likely increased to more than 84 million in the first half of this year, driven by conflicts in several African countries, per the Associated Press.

Many were displaced within their own countries, but UNHCR counted more than 20.8 million refugees — people who had left their countries of origin — as of the end of June. That number had increased by 172,000 since the end of 2020. The 4.4 million asylum seekers UNHCR counted was an increase of 237,000.

And today, migrants are "unwilling weapons in a geopolitical struggle" between Belarus and the European Union — as reported by the New York Times’ Andrew Higgins.

Welcome to Friday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes. We’ll be taking a break on Monday as we update our email systems. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. See you Tuesday!

BORDER DATA — The number of Haitian migrants attempting to enter the United States dropped significantly in October, per preliminary U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, reports Nick Miroff for The Washington Post. Nearly 1,000 Haitians were taken into custody along the U.S.-Mexico border last month, down from 17,638 in September. The administration responded to the increase of migrants in September using the pandemic-era Title 42 rule, expelling more than 8,500 to Haiti. For more on what’s happening at the border, see John Gramlich and Alissa Scheller’s great visual explainer for The Pew Research Center.

TASK FORCE ARGO — Hundreds of people seeking to evacuate from Afghanistan have been forced to leave safe houses and return home after one of the largest nongovernment volunteer groups, Task Force Argo, "failed to negotiate their passage out of the country and ran out of money to support them," reports Jessica Donati of The Wall Street Journal. The Afghans at risk include U.S. citizens, allies, and their families. "The group’s leaders said it has three flights ready to leave but nowhere to land the planes because the U.S. government hadn’t approved the passenger manifests or otherwise cleared the departures." But the State Department, without its own personnel on the ground, said it was concerned about Task Force Argo’s lists. Task Force Argo had raised nearly $2 million from veterans and other private donors with no U.S. government support, but donations have decreased, Donati notes.

PRINCE WAFA’S JOURNEY — For ABC News, Libby Cathey tells the harrowing story of how Prince Wafa, an Afghan American who aided the U.S. military in Afghanistan, went back to Afghanistan in July to rescue his wife. With the help of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California), Wafa and his wife were able to get on a departure flight to a station in Doha, Qatar. "All we need is to go for an interview and get the visa immigration on the passport. And then we can go home together," Wafa said. In a Veterans Day piece in TIME Magazine, Matt Zeller, a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, reminds us to salute our Afghan allies and calls on Congress to evacuate those left behind and pass permanent legislation to protect them.

Here is today’s catalog of local stories:

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Sean Kilbane, who deployed twice to Afghanistan with the Army Reserve, embarked on "‘The Digital Dunkirk,’ an online effort of American veterans, aid workers and others helping Afghans leave the country." (Lauren Lindstrom, The Charlotte Observer)
The Citylight Church of Omaha, Nebraska, has partnered with the Refugee Empowerment Center to help 10 Afghan families resettle in their new homes, offering friendship and personal deliveries of donated items. (Isabella Basco, KMTV)
Through a series of workshops with the Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP), veterans in Washington, D.C., "are working together to make cozy quilts for Afghan families who are settling in." (Kristen Powers, WJLA)

SUCCESSFUL ASYLUM CASES — Asylum seekers were successful in 37% of cases in fiscal year 2021, up from 29% percent the previous year, according to research from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). The increase may be thanks to a "confluence of factors" including more legal representation, rather than a change in administration, TRAC assistant professor and researcher Austin Kocher tells Jasmine Aguilera of TIME Magazine. Without a way to mitigate the immigration courts’ backlog, currently about 1.5 million cases, migrants will continue to wait years for a decision. For more on immigration courts and the challenges migrants face, see the Associated Press. And Danae King homes in on asylum case outcomes in Ohio for The Columbus Dispatch.

FILIPINO AMERICANS ON FRONTLINES — For NPR, Rosem Morton, a nurse originally from Manila, Philippines, shares powerful stories of trauma and healing from Filipino Americans working in health care amid the pandemic. Filipinos and Filipino Americans make up fewer than 1 in 20 registered nurses in the U.S., but they account for nearly 1 in 3 COVID-related deaths among registered nurses, according to a National Nurses United study. Morton dives deep into the history of Filipino nurses with a central message: "I want Filipinos to be seen beyond the statistics. I want people to see their faces, hear their diverse stories and learn about their sacrifices. It is important. These are people who have always contributed to the health and wellness of this country."

Thanks for reading,

Ali

P.S. See this great Hyesu Lee comic in The Lily on celebrating Chuseok, a Korean Thanksgiving.