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NOORANI'S NOTES

 

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As we previewed, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in two
cases that have implications for thousands of detained immigrants. At
issue is whether immigrants in jail for extended periods of time have
rights to a bail hearing, reports Adam Liptak of The New York Times
.
 

"Given the history of this nation and Britain, where you're going to
detain a person, not even a criminal, you know, for months and months
and months, why aren't they at least entitled to a bail hearing?"
Justice Stephen G. Breyer asked. "That's all that's at issue." 

Government lawyer Curtis E. Gannon replied that "detention during
removal proceedings is constitutionally permissible" and that rules for
noncitizens can differ from those for citizens. 

Welcome to Wednesday'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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REFUGEE DATA - The government has released new monthly refugee data
showing that the U.S. resettled only 1,227 refugees in December
, a decline from
1,639 in November. We're on pace to resettle barely 10% of the 125,000
cap this fiscal year, as my colleague Danilo Zak notes (see my thread on
the data here
). Also
worth noting: The U.S. granted just 310 Special Immigrant Visas in
December, far below the peaks of more than 3,000 a month during the
evacuation - and an impetus for an Afghan Adjustment Act from
Congress. As Danilo told Fiona Harrigan of Reason
,
"We need to ask why capacity remains so diminished a year into Biden's
presidency. How can we grow a robust and resilient resettlement system
that is able to welcome refugees and respond to urgent humanitarian
crises like the Afghan evacuation?"  

PENDING APPROVAL - "Alim," a Uyghur Muslim, has been permitted to stay
in the U.S. since 2014 while his asylum claim is pending, reports
Caroline Simon of Roll Call
.
Eight years later, he's still waiting, with his family still in China.
He's one of about 800 Uyghurs stuck in an asylum backlog that numbers
in the hundreds of thousands. "His situation highlights the damage a
strained asylum system can wreak on individuals fleeing very real harm,"
Simon writes, noting that a pending claim limits what asylum-seekers can
do legally in terms of employment, education and more. "If I got my
asylum approval in 2016 - I get my family back here, they will be
safe," Alim said. "Right now, we don't have the chance to get them
here." 

**GREAT REPLACEMENT THEORY** - In Baptist News Global
,
Jeff Brumley picks up on my December podcast conversation

about the dangers of the Great Replacement Theory

and what we can do to push back against that false narrative. As Alan
Cross, a Southern Baptist pastor who has written extensively on the
role of the church in race relations, told me, "Anytime you see
Christians begin to be coopted into this type of thinking on any level,
it's a distortion of the faith. ... If you really read the Bible,
there isn't room for this type of thinking, for racism, xenophobia,
fear of the other or ranking people according to race." Brumley also
notes that a survey led by University of Chicago researcher Robert Pape
identifies the theory as the "key driver" of the insurrectionist
movement behind the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.  

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**AFGHAN AID** - On Tuesday, the U.S. announced $308 million in
additional humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan as the country
continues to collapse under Taliban rule, reports Aamer Madhani of
Associated Press
.
With most international aid cut off, institutions such as schools and
hospitals are struggling. The new funding will funnel through
nongovernmental organizations to help provide Afghans shelter and health
care, among other important services. "The international community must
do everything it can to prevent a catastrophe in Afghanistan, which
would not only compound suffering but would drive further displacement
both within the country and throughout the region," UN High Commissioner
for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Tuesday, as reported by Edith M.
Lederer of the Associated Press
.  

On the welcome front: 

* The San Diego Afghan Refugees Aid Group, which helps with
resettlement, integration, and job opportunities, held its second
donation drive Sunday in anticipation of new Afghan arrivals. (Kate
Morrissey, The San Diego Union-Tribune
) 

* Eastbrook Church in Milwaukee, a multi-ethnic evangelical
congregation, is welcoming Afghan refugees and other new neighbors.
"Yes, have your political ideas," says Dan Ryan, senior director of
mission at the church. "But don't lose sight of the people involved."
(Bob Smietana, Religion News Service
) 

* Several faith and business organizations in St. Louis, including Arch
Grants, are collaborating on a new initiative to support Afghan refugees
facing challenges, including a housing shortage and delays in benefits.
(Stephanie Rothman, FOX 2
) 

**POTATO EXPO** - The only way to solve the U.S. agriculture labor
crisis is for Congress to work in a bipartisan fashion, produce leaders
said at the 2022 Potato Expo last week, per Tom Karst of The Packer
.
Providing legal status to existing farmworkers and expanding the use of
the H-2A guest worker program are a good place to start, said Dave
Puglia of Western Growers. "The conventional wisdom around most
controversial issues, and certainly immigration is one of them, is you
can't pass a bill in an election year," he said. "I've never bought
that. It's simply a matter of finding the right people whose interests
align at the right time." U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark
made her own appeal Tuesday during her State of American Business
address, with a call to double legal immigration and protect Dreamers,
according to Business Insider's

Grace Dean. 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali

 

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