Monday, December 20
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NOORANI'S NOTES

 

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"'Would you sponsor an Afghan refugee?'" asks Farah Stockman in
an opinion piece for The New York Times
.  

That is the question on my mind this morning as some 74,000
Afghans try to rebuild their lives in the U.S. and more than 30,000
remain on U.S. military bases this holiday season. 

Today, nine nonprofit agencies are working with volunteers and sponsor
circles to resettle them - a task made more difficult
by Trump's dismantling of resettlement
infrastructure and admitting historically low numbers of
refugees, Stockman notes.  

But "[w]hen you tap into the generosity of the American people, it is
remarkable what you can achieve," said former Delaware Gov. Jack
Markell (D), who is leading the Biden
administration's resettlement effort. 

Meanwhile, Lara Jakes of The New York Times
 interviews a
handful of Afghan refugees in varying stages of the
immigration process who've "expressed profound gratitude for the
help they received in leaving Afghanistan" but "also shared their
frustration - echoed by immigration advocates, members of Congress and
even Biden administration officials - with a process that has provided
little clarity on when the United States will deliver on its promise to
protect those who risked their lives to support the American
government." 

Said Hamid Wahidy, 34, recently resettled in San Diego: "It's not
clear, our future. What will happen to us, I don't know." 

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]
.  

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ARMED CITIZENS - The Wall Street Journal
's Elizabeth
Findell reports that Kinney County, Texas, Sheriff Brad Coe "is
cooperating with groups of armed private citizens to help patrol the
border and arrest migrants for trespassing." For months, Sheriff Coe, a
former Border Patrol agent, has stayed in contact with armed groups
"donning body armor and rifles while patrolling to look for
migrants," particularly following a new Texas law that
allows officials to arrest those crossing the border for
trespassing. Said Kate Huddleston, a staff attorney with the ACLU:
"Kinney County has not just sought to partner with militias, but also
war contractors. That indicates a level of militarization that is
particularly concerning and alarming in the potential for violence."  

AHMAD'S FAMILY

** **- In 2015, after serving as a linguist for the U.S. military,
Ahmad was able to come to America on a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). But
his wife, children and extended family remain in hiding
in Afghanistan, reports Caroline Simon for Roll Call
.
Some 30,000 Afghans have applied for humanitarian parole, including some
of Ahmad's family, but protection isn't guaranteed. "It's a
Catch-22, because by remaining in Afghanistan, they are literally in
very real danger," said former Army officer James Lockett. "But by
leaving Afghanistan, they risk being denied humanitarian parole, because
they're no longer in threat." 

**'A PART OF OUR CHURCH FAMILY'** - Second Presbyterian Church in
Louisville, Kentucky, is serving as a "congregational model for helping
with refugee resettlement," Fred Tangeman reports for Presbyterian
News Service . When the
church found out a member's brother and his family were making the
journey to the U.S. from Afghanistan, they gathered donations of
clothes, toys, and funds to assist them, with support from Kentucky
Refugee Ministries. "We consider the refugees we assist a part of our
church family," said Martha Nichols-Pecceu, a leader of the
church's refugee subcommittee. On the national level, the Biden
administration is suggesting six ways
 to welcome Afghan
allies this holiday season, written by Jack Markell, White House
Coordinator for Operation Allies Welcome, and Nazanin Ash, CEO of
Welcome.US. 

Here's today's compilation of local support: 

* Colorado's Office of New Americans has opened new transitional
housing to prepare for the arrival of 1,000 more Afghan refugees to the
state by the end of February. (Micah Smith, Denver7
) 

* Marc Capon, co-owner of Harvest Records in Asheville, North
Carolina, has raised over $30,000 and contacted Catholic Charities
to offer his house to Afghan refugees arriving in the area. (Nick
Buffo, Spectrum News
) 

* ICYMI: Thanks to Jonathan Solari, CEO of the Madison Ballet, Afghan
refugees housed at Fort McCoy were given a special performance of
"The Nutcracker" on the military base earlier this month. (Lucas
Robinson, Wisconsin State Journal
) 

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VULNERABLE CHILDREN

** **- Florida's Department of Children and
Families recently issued a rule
 that effectively revokes
the licenses of foster families and nonprofits who want
to provide care to unaccompanied minors who have fled violence, gang
activity or trafficking in other countries. In an op-ed for
the Orlando Sentinel
,
the Rev. Dr. Gabriel Salguero, pastor of The Gathering Place in
Orlando, explains why this attempt to put "Florida children first" is
misguided. "The efforts to prevent Florida child-care organizations and
foster families from keeping unaccompanied children safe may in fact
harm - not help - Florida children," he writes. "Rather than
closing off resources and the open arms providing children with care in
what could be their darkest hour, I implore the governor to rethink his
decision during this Advent season and show that we in Florida love our
neighbors as we love one another."  

WATCH THIS - "Excavating the Future," a new video series
from Capital & Main
 in
partnership with KCET "explores what life could and should be like after
the pandemic through conversations with leading writers, artists and
activists." For the series' first installment, Rubén Martínez and
Marco Amador speak with Cristina Rivera Garza - an immigrant advocate,
author, and 2020 MacArthur Fellow - who offers valuable lessons about
the U.S.-Mexico border, a place she's spent her life traversing. 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali 

 

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