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The Biden administration’s family reunification task force has identified 284 migrant children separated under the Trump administration’s "zero tolerance" policy and is in the process of reuniting them with their families, reports Oriana Gonzalez of Axios. From July 1, 2017, to Jan. 20, 2021, almost 4,000 children were separated from their parents, Gonzalez notes.
"A DHS spokesperson told Axios that, as of Monday, the task force has reunited 63 families, bringing the total of reunited children to 2,234 — the other 2,171 were reunified through non-governmental organizations," writes Gonzalez.
"We encourage families who were separated under the prior administration’s ‘zero-tolerance’ policy and seeking reunification to self-identify and register through our official websites, Together.gov and Juntos.gov," said Michelle Brané, executive director of the family reunification task force.
For more on the logistics of reunification and the role of nonprofits in the effort, see Jasmine Aguilera’s piece for TIME Magazine.
This urgent work is still politically complicated. An early report that the Biden administration was considering paying up to $450,000 to each person separated under "zero tolerance" has triggered vehement opposition from Republicans and right-wing pundits, Jeremy W. Peters and Miriam Jordan report for The New York Times. To date, no official agreement has been made and lawsuits are still pending.
Welcome to Tuesday’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].
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SOUTHERN BORDER — As the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) a.k.a "Remain in Mexico" policy was reimplemented yesterday, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) tweeted that the border town of Yuma is "facing an escalating humanitarian and border crisis," Mark Phillips reports for ABC 15. Since last Thursday, per Yuma County Supervisor Jonathan Lines, at least 5,000 people have crossed from Mexico and waited for border patrol to pick them up "because they're worried because of that policy being reimplemented not letting them crossover into the United States." Gov. Ducey has now called on "the National Guard, his Director of Homeland Security, and the State Police to come up with a plan to assist Yuma as it deals with its latest round of border crossers," notes Phillips.
CBP MISCONDUCT — There were 201 arrests of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and officials for misconduct in fiscal year 2020, reports Rick Jervis for USA TODAY. Less than 2% of those complaints "resulted in agents being removed from their posts and less than 4% lost their jobs," per an internal CBP report released Thursday. The report follows advocates' demands for the agency to provide more transparency and accountability, notes Jervis. "CBP prides itself on integrity, but there can be no integrity if the agency is not willing to address systemic impunity, beginning with their allowance of Border Patrol to
investigate its own agents in use-of-force incidents," said Alliance San Diego Executive Director Andrea Guerrero. "That is, at a minimum, a conflict of interest and, more often, obstruction of justice." CBP is likely to be under new leadership, with Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus's nomination slated for a Senate vote this week.
‘OUR FUTURE IS UNCERTAIN’ — Since the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute has been on a dangerous mission to evacuate Afghans, especially professional women, reports Deepa Fernandes of The San Francisco Chronicle. "Our future is uncertain," said a judge who was evacuated with her family and is now living at a temporary shelter in Greece. "We hope to end up in a situation where we can plan for our children’s educations and futures, and even have the possibility of finding meaningful work for ourselves." Separately, a group of Afghan artists and creatives wrote a bold open letter to world leaders asking for refuge from the Taliban, reports Sarvy Geranpayeh for The Art Newspaper.
- Bay Area communities and businesses have stepped up to provide Afghan refugees temporary homes, cultural and financial assistance, and home-cooked Afghan meals. (Mike Cerre, PBS News Hour)
- Virginia resettlement agencies have welcomed 4,000 Afghan refugees to the state this year, with more to
come. (James Jarvis, InsideNova)
- Tim Stiven, a history teacher at San Diego’s Canyon Crest Academy, "has been raising money through a GoFundme page to support girls in Afghanistan who want to continue their schooling with the country under Taliban rule." (Luke Harold, Del Mar Times)
P.S. A National Geographic photo compilation from Nina Strochlic and edited by Jennifer Pritheeva Samuel features "photographers [who] followed Guatemalan farmers, LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, and Afghan evacuees" to illustrate the stories of migration in 2021.
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