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NOORANI'S NOTES

 

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U.S. refugee admissions that were put on pause late last year to
accommodate the increased need for Afghan resettlement are slated to
restart this week, per a spokesperson for the State Department,
Priscilla Alvarez of CNN

reports. Starting today, refugees from around the world who have been
vetted and processed can begin to travel freely and enter the U.S.  

"Spurred by the arrival of our Afghan allies, we have been able to
launch new resettlement offices, hire staff, and forge new relationships
with community and volunteer groups," said Krish O'Mara Vignarajah,
president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS).
"We can continue resettling Afghan families off of U.S. military
facilities and we can resume the work of welcome for refugees of other
nationalities arriving from abroad. The human impact can't be
understated."

For January alone, LIRS expects 236 refugees from around the world, up
from 143 in December, notes Timothy Young, LIRS' press secretary. As
of Nov. 30, over 2,000 refugees have resettled in the U.S. for fiscal
year 2021, per the latest data from the State Department's Refugee
Processing Center. 

Meanwhile, a group of 31 Senate Democrats are urging the Biden
administration to grant deportation relief to at least 2 million
immigrants due to natural disasters and crises in their home, reports
Ted Hesson of Reuters
.
President Biden could "grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Central
American immigrants from Guatemala and expand eligibility for those from
El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua." 

Separately, our condolences to the families and communities of African
immigrants who were among the victims of the fire in the Bronx on
Sunday, as Christine Chung of The New York Times

reported. BET

offers ways to help. 

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]
.  

[link removed]

INDEFINITE DETENTION - The Supreme Court will hear two cases this
morning on whether immigrants can continue to be detained indefinitely,
Jasmine Aguilera and Madeleine Carlisle of TIME

report. The plaintiffs argue that immigrants held longer than six months
should have bond hearings, but the Justice Department is arguing that a
1996 statute allows for extended detention. "A citizen cannot be held
without bail for any length of time. But here we are saying that a
noncitizen who has not committed any crime can be held forever," said
Muzaffar Chishti, senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute.  

FEARED EXTORTION - Under the belief that the U.S. provided them a big
payout, some migrants who were separated at the border are receiving
demands by cartels to pay up money they don't have, a team at the
Associated Press

reports. One woman has already received a demand for $5,000 a month.
"Apparently, I am a millionaire now," she said under the condition of
anonymity for her and her family's safety. "I don't have the money
to pay for something like that and I don't know what to do. I am
desperate, really." Widespread extortion in Central America is one of
many reasons migrants seek asylum in the U.S., the team notes. But some
advocates and attorneys "fear prospects of large payments will fuel many
more threats." In related news about cartels profiting from our broken
immigration system, the El Paso Times'

Daniel Borunda reports on the FBI's rescue of migrants being held for
ransom by human traffickers.

'LIFELONG FRIENDS' - For Savannah Morning News
,
Drew Favakeh tells the story of how Mahdi (who worked for the
Afghanistan military), his cousin Shukria, and her children escaped the
country after "endless red tape" and resettled in Savannah, Georgia,
just last month. Inspiritus, formerly known as Atlanta-based
resettlement agency Lutheran Services of Georgia, connected them with
the Sprunger family, who are caretakers of the Wesley Gardens Retreat
Center. They hosted Mahdi and his relatives for two weeks while the
agency secured their permanent home. "Together, the American and Afghan
families enjoyed long cups of tea, cooked and ate large batches of
Biryani, a Middle-Eastern mixed rice dish, and went on hour-long walks
across the quaint Moon River, across from the retreat center's 60
acres" writes Favakeh. "At first, we thought it was just a transitional
commitment, but now it's very obvious that we'll be lifelong
friends," said Abbie Sprunger. 

On local welcome: 

* Members of the Hendersonville Veterans Healing Farm in North
Carolina, "are working with Lutheran Services of the Carolinas to
collect donations; household items, toiletries, gift cards, and above
all - winter clothes," for Afghan refugees resettling in the area.
(Matt Kaufax, Fox Carolina
) 

* Sayed, a former interpreter who left Afghanistan weeks before the
Taliban took over, is now a resident in Anchorage, Alaska - and a
reception and placement coordinator for RAIS, helping new arrivals
resettle. (Marc Lester, Anchorage Daily News
) 

* Rev. Rebecca Voss of First United Methodist Church of Wausau,
Wisconsin, spearheaded efforts alongside local and federal government
officials "to make Wausau a resettlement destination," which helped
form the nonprofit New Beginnings for Refugees
. (Julian Emerson, Up North News
) 

[link removed]

REVITALIZATION - A team at the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

takes an in-depth look at how refugees have revitalized Rust Belt
communities in Upstate New York and in Pennsylvania. In smaller cities,
refugees have given economies - and sheer population numbers - a
boost. "Affordable rent and fallow infrastructure in these smaller Rust
Belt cites have made them attractive places to settle new Americans,
allowing diverse populations to bring new culture, new food, innovative
ideas and higher rates of entrepreneurship to Main Street," the team
reports. Buffalo
,
Syracuse

and Utica
,
New York, as well as Lancaster
,
Pennsylvania, "embody these changes." 

RESILIENCE - Ten years after the Syrian refugee crisis began, the
lives Syrian refugees have built in the United States are studies in
resilience, Hannan Adely reports in USA Today
.
Adely reports that life has been particularly difficult for refugees who
did not speak English or have family connections in the U.S. when they
arrived, but that many community organizations have helped provide
support. The stories Adely shares are compelling - in the words of
Feras Sasila, a former asylum seeker: "We have to appreciate this
country. I swear to God, if anybody is complaining about this country,
they have to take an airplane there [to Syria] for two days. They're
going to come back and kiss the ground." 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali

 

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