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NOORANI'S NOTES

 

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, or any other link in this e-mail.
Thanks!  

New year, same urgency for immigration reform.  

In his column for Forbes
,
Stuart Anderson of the National Foundation for American Policy gives an
overview of the immigration issues likely to arise this year
- issues that "will help determine Joe Biden's immigration
legacy."  

Among Anderson's list of issues to watch in 2022: the fate
of immigration reform via a reconciliation bill; updated H-1B visa
regulations; USCIS fee increases (and continued processing
backlogs); refugee resettlement; and border policies.  

And, of course, the 2022 midterms.  

"The Biden administration has its immigration plate full in 2022,
including court cases and rules on 'public charge
' and Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
,"
Anderson writes. "Unless Congress passes legislation that includes
immigration reform, Joe Biden, like his predecessors, will be left with
a pen, a phone and an immigration legacy defined by executive action." 

Welcome to Monday's edition of Noorani's Notes. Hope you had
a safe, restful holiday season and a very happy New Year. I'm Joanna
Taylor, communications manager at the Forum, filling in for Ali. If you
have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me
at [email protected]
.   

[link removed]

MPP, CONTINUED - Last week, the Biden administration asked the
Supreme Court to intervene in the ongoing legal battle over the
Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), a.k.a. "Remain in
Mexico," Camilo Montoya-Galvez reports for CBS News
.
The request from the Justice Department follows two lower court
rulings that have hindered the Biden administration's attempts to
terminate MPP. 200 adult asylum-seekers have so far been returned to
Mexico under the court-ordered reinstatement of the policy,
Montoya-Galvez writes, and it's expected to expand in the coming
weeks. Keep in mind the policy's initial launch in 2019 resulted
in tens of thousands of migrants being forced to await U.S. court dates
in makeshift border camps - and "[h]undreds reported being
assaulted, kidnapped or otherwise victimized while waiting in Mexico." 

**UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN** - More from Camilo at CBS News
:
122,000 unaccompanied migrant children were taken into U.S. custody in
fiscal year 2021 - "an all-time high that shattered previous
records, according to new government figures obtained by CBS News."
While arrivals have declined since a peak this summer,
officials "recorded processing nearly 14,000 migrant minors traveling
without parents [in November], the highest tally for any November in
history" as migrants of all ages flee poverty, violence, and
displacement in their home countries. "We urge the government to do
some deep soul searching and learn from past mistakes - especially
around the need for more foster homes for immigrant children,"
said Leecia Welch, a lawyer representing migrant children in a federal
court case, emphasizing the need for faster vetting of sponsors and
expanded shelter capacity. 

* In related news, DHS announced in December that its Family
Reunification Task Force has made increasing progress reuniting families
separated under the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance"
policy: "100 children, mostly from Central America, are back with their
families and about 350 more reunifications are in process after it took
steps to enhance the program." (Ben Fox, Associated Press
) 

[link removed]

'I SEE MYSELF' - As a former refugee from Vietnam, Tram Pham
also understands what it's like to come to the U.S. and find relief in
someone speaking her native language, or simply an understanding of
their struggles. As a nurse at the Santa Clara Valley Medical
Center's TB and Refugee Clinic in Santa Clara, California,
Pham wants to be that point of welcome and comfort for her
patients, including newly arriving Afghan evacuees, Janie Har writes
for the Associated Press
. "I
can see patients from all over the world come in. I see, you know,
Vietnamese patients. I see a lot of refugee patients ... I see
myself." The clinic is part of a vast network of organizations
supporting President Biden's initiative to resettle nearly 100,000
people from Afghanistan by September of this year, Har notes.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press
'
Philip Marcelo and Amy Taxin reports that hundreds of Afghans
seeking humanitarian parole
 have
been denied entry to the U.S., underscoring the complexities of the
process. 

On the local front: 

* Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg joined a group at Central Wisconsin
Airport to extend a warm welcome to the area's first Afghan refugees,
last week. (Isak Dinesen, WAOW TV-9
) 

* Masbia, a New York-based Jewish nonprofit soup kitchen and food
pantry, partnered with Welcome Home Jersey City "to provide satiating
quantities of free halal meat to newly arrived Afghan immigrants" in
Greenville, New Jersey. (Aaron Morrill, Jersey City Times
) 

* Hussain Amiri was born in Afghanistan and grew up in a Pakistani
refugee camp before arriving in Concord, New Hampshire, in 2016. Now
working with the Manchester organization Building Community in New
Hampshire, Amiri serves as "a familiar face and friendly voice for
the 120-some Afghan refugees" arriving in the area. (Mark Hayward, New
Hampshire Union Leader
) 

PODCAST ROUNDUP - We're excited to bring you more unique stories on
'Only in America' this year, and while you're waiting for the
podcast's return later this month, check out our top episodes of
2021 , re-released last week. And
don't miss our final episode of the year
,
featuring filmmakers and MacArthur fellows Cristina Ibarra
 and Alex Rivera
 sharing their thoughts on representation,
storytelling, and capturing the immigrant experience. 

Thanks for reading, 

Joanna

 

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