As families and insurers scramble to decipher the Trump administration’s proclamation “requiring all prospective immigrants to prove they will have U.S. health insurance within 30 days of their arrival or enough money to pay for ‘reasonably foreseeable medical costs,’” Reuters’ Kristina Cooke and Mica Rosenberg describe the impact on Mayra Lopez, a U.S. citizen from Guatemala who is trying to bring her parents to the U.S.

Meanwhile, immigrant advocates have filed the first federal lawsuit against the Trump administration’s move to “unilaterally rewrite” immigration laws by denying visas to immigrants without health insurance, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez for CBS News. If implemented, the policy “could deny entry to approximately 375,000 would-be immigrants each year.”

We’re one week out from our annual event, Leading the Way: An American Approach to Immigration. (Media can register for the event here).

Happy World Series Champions Halloween and welcome to Thursday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes.

Have a story you’d like us to include? Email me at [email protected].

MISTAKE (SORT OF) – Speaking before House lawmakers on Wednesday, acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ken Cuccinelli took sole responsibility for the administration’s controversial decision in August to deny deportation deferrals to migrants facing medical hardships, reports Philip Marcelo at the Associated Press. “If I had to do it over again, I would not have applied it to people who had been pending,” Cuccinelli said. In the hearing, Cuccinelli would not guarantee the continuation of the deferred action policy if he’s tapped as Homeland Security secretary. In other words, his policy change was not the mistake — the rollout was the mistake.

REPERCUSSIONS, PART I – As the Trump administration’s latest cap on refugees goes into effect, Zolan Kanno-Youngs writes in The New York Times about the repercussions for the hundreds — including many Congolese refugees — who have been cleared to come to the U.S. but are languishing in African refugee camps as their flights are cancelled. “Beyond the refugees themselves, the new rules have raised anxieties in host communities like Missoula, [Montana] … Missoula’s mayor, John Engen, said refugees had not brought crime, but they had resolved a labor shortage in the community.”

REPERCUSSIONS, PART II – Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, is speaking out in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal against President Trump’s executive order allowing states and cities to block refugee resettlement. “In 2016, refugees created about 2,000 new jobs and were responsible for at least $229.6 million in new spending in southeast Michigan alone. … And skilled refugees can fill critical workforce gaps — nearly 20% of likely refugees entering the U.S. have a four-year college degree or more.”

AGRICULTURAL DEAL – House lawmakers have reportedly reached a bipartisan deal to provide legal status for hundreds of thousands of undocumented farmworkers, Tal Kopan writes in the San Francisco Chronicle. Coupled with stronger employee verification regulations, the legislation would “offer a path to legal status, either five-year visas or citizenship, for longtime U.S. agricultural workers with clean records. It would also overhaul the farm visa system to make it easier for employers to file applications, would limit mandatory wage increases, and would provide year-round visas for industries like dairy farms that are not seasonal.” Will the White House and Senate take this opportunity for a much-needed reform?

CARTELS – It is not hard to understand why we are seeing increased numbers of Mexican families seeking asylum protection in the U.S.: “Redeploying the Mexican national police to function as a mini-ICE has a significant public safety impact in Mexico,” the Boston Globe editorial board points out. “Mexico has had to redirect a third of its newly created national police force of 60,000 members — originally established to fight high-levels of crime — to patrol its borders and assist in the deportation of asylum seekers.”

BATTLE OF 187 – A new podcast mini-series by the Los Angeles Times and Futuro Studios, “The Battle of 187,” explores the history of 1994’s anti-immigrant Proposition 187 in California, and its complicated legacy in today’s political climate. “The initiative easily won, 59% to 41%, but it created a generation of Latinos whose influence on California can be felt from Hollywood to Sacramento, from universities to high school classrooms. Prop. 187 also helped pave the way for Donald Trump to be elected president.”

SURVIVING TRAUMA – In this week’s episode of “Only in America,” I chat with Adam Frankel, author and former speech writer for President Obama. We discuss the trauma that migrants face and how it affects future generations. In his new book, “The Survivors: A Story of War, Inheritance, and Healing,” Adam describes his family’s journey from the Holocaust to America, and how intergenerational trauma has shaped his identity in ways he never expected.

Thanks for reading,

Ali