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GOP AND IMMIGRATION — Should Democrats’ efforts to include immigration in reconciliation not be successful, the Republican Party has an opportunity to address immigration, reports Suzanne Monyak of Roll Call. "There’s obviously ample evidence that the GOP is making unprecedented inroads with the Latino community, and I think this is a really strong opportunity to come forward with legislative proposals that would balance both security … with very viable options on legal channels," said Daniel Garza, president of The LIBRE Initiative. Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) says she is willing to work with Democrats and is preparing a plan that would offer work permits (but not citizenship) to undocumented immigrants. Other Republicans have worked on legislation that would address farmworkers. But as GOP consultant Mike Madrid asks, "Do [Republicans] believe that there’s enough growth with Hispanic voters to tone down the rhetoric … ?" IMMIGRANT VETERANS — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued new immigration guidance to make it easier for U.S. military veterans facing deportation to become citizens, per Univision’s David C. Ramos. About 530,000, or 3 percent of the nation’s veterans were born elsewhere, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The memo is part of an effort to ensure that veterans and their families can stay in or return to the U.S., "to remove barriers to naturalization," and to make immigration services more accessible. The situation of former U.S. Marine Paul Canton, originally from New Zealand, helped inspire the change and now he can apply to become a citizen. "My journey is almost over but how many veterans are there just getting started on this. I hope we have raised some awareness," Canton said.
BELARUS AND POLAND — How migrants have been treated, by both the European Union and Belarus, is just reprehensible. The lack of a clear EU migration system allows Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to weaponize migration. Caught in the middle are real people. The New York Times has updates on the situation, including Iraq organizing its first repatriation flight and Belarus clearing out migrants from the main border crossing with Poland. Tatsiana Kulakevich of Talking Points Memo has a great explainer about the crisis, including background, resolutions, and potential political consequences if Lukashenko doesn’t step back soon. As I said in my conversation with Cheddar News last evening: Real people’s lives are being put at great risk. ‘WORRIED FOR THEIR LIVES’ — More than 28,000 Afghans have applied for humanitarian parole since the summer, but only about 100 have been approved, reports Philip Marcelo of the Associated Press. (See our explainer of parole here.) USCIS says it’s "ramping up staff to address the growing backlog," but the slow pace threatens the safety of Afghans who have family in the U.S. "‘We’re worried for their lives,’ says Safi, a Massachusetts resident whose family is sponsoring 21 relatives seeking humanitarian parole. ‘Sometimes, I think there will be a day when I wake up and receive a call saying that they’re no more.’" Here is today’s compilation of local stories:
Thanks for reading, Ali |
