Monday, December 6
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NOORANI'S NOTES

 

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Five years ago, Pope Francis helped relocate and resettle 12
people who were living at a migrant camp on the Greek island
of Lesbos. 

Now, that spirit of welcome "looks increasingly forgotten in a Europe
that has built razor-wire fences, cut deals to choke off migration
flows
,
constructed highly surveilled facilities for asylum seekers, and
launched legal proceedings against search-and-rescue groups," Chico
Harlan and Stefano Pitrelli write for The Washington Post
. "But
the gesture has also worked in its narrowest way, opening the chance for
12 people, six of them children, to succeed, struggle and try to build
new lives in safety." 

On Sunday, Pope Francis returned to the camp and "challenge[d]
Europe to live up to its human rights ideals" when it comes to the
plight of migrants, Harlan reports in another piece for The Post
. "For
many at the camp, sealed off from the outside world, their plight
hidden, Francis's visit punctured the bubble."  

"It's good that someone is still thinking about refugees," said
18-year-old asylum seeker Josue Makalalulendo, originally from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. "I've been here for a year, and this
is the first time I saw cameras. I think the pope came to break
through." 

For more on Pope Francis's trip to Greece and his message for
the West, see The New York Times'
 coverage.  

Welcome to Monday's edition of Noorani's Notes. If you have a
story to share from your own community, please send it to me
at [email protected]
. 

[link removed]

**MPP RESTART** - Today the Biden administration is
restarting the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), commonly known
as the "Remain in Mexico" policy. In an interview with MSNBC's
 Ali
Velshi, The Atlantic's Caitlin Dickerson explains why this is
problematic. "Policies like this place refugees in harm's way, and
it's a source of shame, it's really a heavy burden for our members
to carry," Michael Knowles, president of Local 1924 of the American
Federation of Government Employees - the union
that represents asylum officers who work with U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services - told KJZZ
's
Alisa Reznick. "Because they're the ones who have to hear an
individual literally begging for their life." 

**'A PERFECT FIT' **- Job Corps, a government program
offering free education and vocational training, hosted information
sessions for Afghan refugees at Holloman Air Force Base  in New
Mexico, reports Spc. Patience Gbedema of DVIDS
.
"Job Corps' mission is to help disadvantaged, often underrepresented
youth between ages 16 and 24," said Daniel Weeks, Job Corps'
communications director. "... For Afghan youth finding their way in
the U.S., Job Corps could be a perfect fit, and a path to a meaningful
career." And in Omaha, Nebraska, KETV Newswatch's
 Michelle
Bandur reports that refugee resettlement organizations like Lutheran
Family Services and Refugee Empowerment Center "are
working hand-in-hand with employers to get the new residents hired
and start their new lives." 

[link removed]

**AFGHAN ADJUSTMENT ACT** - Afghan refugees need
permanent solutions, not a temporary reprieve, to rebuild their
lives in the U.S. The Afghan Adjustment Act
 (AAA)
would provide them permanent legal status to do so, the Forum's
field mobilizer Jason Lief writes in an op-ed for The Cedar
Rapids Gazette
. Pointing
to similar legislation for Cuban and Vietnamese refugees in the past,
Lief notes that these types of solutions have been passed
before. Earlier this year, Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst co-sponsored
the Afghan Allies Protection Act - and today, "Iowans can speak up
for the Afghan people by contacting Sen. Ernst to encourage her to
co-sponsor the Afghan Adjustment Act, making it easier for Afghan
refugees to establish a life in this country." 

Here's today's local stories (including one from
Australia that's pretty cool):  

* Paul's Episcopal Church in Newburyport, Massachusetts, is
temporarily housing two Afghan families, including a family of
13 arriving today - "part of the congregation's response to
a churchwide call to "welcome the stranger"
. (David
Paulsen, Episcopal News Service
) 

* In Rochester, Minnesota, a new $15 million fund backed by the Mayo
Clinic and local government aims to bridge the city's affordable
housing gap, while Catholic Charities "is leaning into new
partnerships with local volunteers ... using connections to help find
housing." (Catharine Richert, MPR News
) 

* Afghan refugees resettling in Adelaide, South
Australia, have found a "thriving Afghan community and a cricket club
that has welcomed them with open arms." (Abdullah Alikhil, Peter
Theodosiou and Peta Doherty, SBS Pashto
) 

**LABOR SHORTAGE** - A new study from TechNet
 finds
that bringing in more high-skilled immigrant workers is the best way
to address the U.S.' critical labor shortage, Abrar
Al-Heeti reports for CNET
. "Based
on current projections, American universities only produce enough
skilled degree-holders to fill 29 percent of [computer
specialist] positions," per the report. One solution is updating H-1B
visa guidelines, which have not been revised in 14
years, notes Al-Heeti. "The contributions of immigrants to our
economy are undeniable," said TechNet President and CEO Linda
Moore. For more on the immigration system's labor squeeze,
see Rebecca Rainey's piece for Politico
. 

**NEW HOME **- In September, when the U.S. began deporting Haitian
asylum-seekers from an encampment in Del Rio,
Texas, some asylum-seekers found refuge at a makeshift shelter in
Acuña, Mexico. The Acuña shelter shut down in late November -
and Haitians who chose to stay have begun new lives in
Mexico, reports Elizabeth Trovall of the Houston Chronicle
. "When
the Americans rejected us, they (Mexicans) took us in," said Haitian
asylum seeker Quettlie Fanfan. "I don't have words to express my
gratitude." With assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) and other local groups, Fanfan and her family
have begun the hunt for jobs and a home in Torreón, Mexico, where she
hopes her children can have a stable life.  

Thanks for reading, 

Ali

 

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