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NOORANI'S NOTES

 

On Tuesday, President Biden renominated Sherriff Ed Gonzalez of Harris
County, Texas, to direct U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),
reports Mike LaSusa of Law360
. The
move was necessary after the full Senate did not vote on his nomination
last year.  

Gonzalez, a Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force
member, is "somebody [who] can strike the right balance between
security and compassion," as Laurence Benenson, vice president of policy
and advocacy here at the Forum, told LaSusa. 

LaSusa notes that as Sheriff, Gonzalez was an outspoken opponent of
former President Trump's "zero tolerance" policy, under which migrant
families were separated at the border. In The Washington Post
,
Sean Sullivan and Maria Sacchetti report on the continuing fallout from
that policy: lawsuits against the federal government that will proceed
starting this week, after settlement negotiations broke down last month.
 

Welcome to Wednesday's edition of Noorani's Notes. I'm Dan
Gordon, the Forum's strategic communications VP, filling in for Ali
today. If you have a story to share from your own community, please
send it to me at [email protected]
.  

[link removed]

'ARCHAIC SYSTEM' - An "archaic system" is the reason U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues to face delays in
processing immigration benefits even after offices reopened amid the
COVID-19 pandemic, reports Andrew Kreighbaum of Bloomberg Law
.
A newly released report

from the Department of Homeland Security's watchdog cites the
agency's reliance on paper files, ineffective technology, and limited
access to offices: "Staff have had limited opportunities to print and
scan documents, get signatures from supervisors, and mail forms to
applicants while the pandemic has continued," among other challenges.
USCIS plans to completely digitize its benefits work within five years,
Kreighbaum reports. 

ONE TRANSLATOR'S STORY - For The Texas Tribune
,
Kailyn Rhone recounts "Lucky" and his family's harrowing escape from
Afghanistan and resettlement in the U.S. The translator had worked for
the U.S. military for a decade and relocated to San Diego in 2016, but
he and his family went back to Afghanistan last May after his mother got
sick. Her condition worsened - as did the country's political
environment. To escape, Lucky disguised himself as a truck driver,
becoming part of the exodus of Afghan families in search of safety. In
August, they resettled once more, but this time, in Fort Worth. More
from The Texas Tribune
:
a moving video about "Amir," who worked with U.S. special forces and now
lives in Dallas. 

Here is today's compilation of local stories of welcome: 

* In partnership with Lutheran Services of the Carolinas, 14-year-old
Eric Chirolla, an aspiring Eagle Scout, and his troop are helping Afghan
refugees resettle. (Matt Kaufax, FOX Carolina
)
 

* The Worcester Together Coalition recently launched a new website,
WTRefugee.org , to help Central
Massachusetts residents get involved with Afghan welcome and
resettlement efforts. (Monica Benevides, Worcester Business Journal
) 

* Special Immigrant Visa recipient Shams Frough, owner of Kapisa Rugs,
is helping to clean and deliver traditional Afghan rugs to Aghan refugee
families in Chicago. (Olivia Cohen, Chicago Sun-Times
) 

[link removed]

BOTCHED PAPERWORK - Thousands of asylum seekers never make their case
in immigration court and get deported for reasons that can be as
simple as a clerical error, reports Tyche Hendricks of KQED
.
Rosa Díaz nearly met that fate. A victim of domestic violence, Díaz
fled Honduras with her three children in 2018. Because ICE agents sent
her immigration court notice to the incorrect address in California, she
was unaware of her court date. When she voluntarily checked in at an ICE
office, she was told she would be deported that same day -
but immigrant rights advocates working outside the building stepped in.
"They were able to talk to her and then advocate with ICE to give her a
few more days to be able to try to reopen that removal proceeding
because she did not know about it," said Katie Fleming, director of
CRLAF Removal Defense Program
 in Sacramento. 

**DREAMERS** - Linda Chavez, senior fellow at the National Immigration
Forum, has an interesting take on the plight of Dreamers in 2022. "For
almost two decades, Congress has been stymied in passing any meaningful
immigration reform," she writes for The xxxxxx
.
"The fight has been twofold: What should we do about people currently in
the country without permanent status, and what are the country's needs
for immigrants going forward?" Chavez suggests that President Biden
could try to force Congress's hand: "A general amnesty - or even the
threat of one - could do right by the Dreamers and maybe force a
legislative compromise." Meanwhile, The Washington Post
's
Editorial Board highlights a piece of good news regarding Dreamers: many
states' leadership in offering them in-state tuition.  

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

P.S. A couple of quick pieces to highlight from over the holidays. In
thinking about his 10-year anniversary of living in the U.S., Amjad
Masad, originally from Jordan, took to Twitter
to tell the
world ten things he loves about America, as The Wall Street Journal
's
Peggy Noonan highlighted. And before Christmas, Joel Rose of NPR

noted that with fewer immigrant workers, the U.S. economy is slowing.
The immigration slowdown "may be contributing to supply chain problems
and inflation," as Jeremy Robbins of the American Immigration Council
suggests. 

 

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