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NOORANI'S NOTES

 

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After one year in office, the Biden administration can count both
successes and continued challenges when it comes to immigration.  

The Forum's new paper

examines President Biden's first year in office, focusing on the
treatment of vulnerable migrants at the border, in the refugee
resettlement process and throughout the Afghan evacuation and
resettlement efforts. 

But as Franco Ordoñez of NPR

writes, young undocumented immigrants who rallied for Biden throughout
his presidential campaign are now feeling frustrated by the lack of
immigration reform by both Biden and Congress.  

Democrats can't treat young people as an ATM for votes "without
feeling that they have to work for it," said United We Dream Executive
Director Greisa Martínez Rosas. "It's easy to promise us something
when we're in the midst of a difficult and historic moment like the
Trump administration," she added.  

As I told Ordoñez, the Biden administration came into office with high
expectations and a broader voter coalition. "President Biden needs to
return to those voters and say, 'You know what? I'm going to advance
constructive, pragmatic solutions in immigration' ... And not address
immigration as if it's only an issue of concern or importance to the
left." 

For a deeper analysis of Biden's overall performance on immigration in
comparison to Trump's, our friends at the Migration Policy Institute
have the goods
.
(They're also hosting a webinar on this topic at 11 a.m. ET today
- register for the event here
.) 

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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C

**OURT CASE BACKLOG** - The U.S. immigration court backlog reached
nearly 1.6 million cases in 2021, per Syracuse University's TRAC
, reports Priscilla
Alvarez of CNN
.
The backlog increased the most between October and December, when it
grew by almost 140,000 cases. "DOJ has prioritized its law enforcement
functions over the immigration courts. The result is bad management,
under-budgeting, and a gigantic and growing case backlog," Mimi Tsankov,
president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said in a
statement. Alvarez points out some contributing factors such as court
closures due to COVID-19 and the arrival of thousands of migrants at
the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum.  

GEORGIA - In 2020, Vanessa Pereira hired an immigration attorney to
get her undocumented husband out of ICE detention in southern Georgia,
reports Lautaro Grinspan of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
.
In addition to $10,000 in legal fees, her husband's bail was set at
$8,000. "I didn't have that money at all. I mean, can you imagine? ...
The only thing I could do was pray; pray a lot for a solution to be
found," Pereira said. The median bond amount granted by Georgia
immigration courts is $8,000 - the highest in the nation, per data
from Syracuse's TRAC. The state "also ranks among the toughest states
in the nation to secure asylum
,
with denial rates significantly higher than the national average." With
help from the National Bail Fund Network, Pereira was able to get the
funds needed to bail out her husband. They have since relocated to South
Florida.  

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TEXAS - Immigration reform is needed to sustain Texas' economy and
the migrants that keep it running, Marek Brothers Construction CEO Stan
Marek writes in an op-ed for Texas Monthly
.
The drive for migrants to seek a better life in the U.S. "is so strong
that no border wall and no deployment of National Guard members can hold
back the tide." Instead, lawmakers should focus on immigration solutions
like passing the DREAM Act

and providing legal status to undocumented workers who already live in
the U.S., Marek writes. At minimum, "let's get everyone ID'd and
then work toward a more comprehensive solution." Speaking of the
National Guard, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) Operation Lone Star is
facing heat, with many guardsmen losing faith in the so-called
mission, report Sig Christenson and Jerry Lara for San Antonio
Express-News
. 

SHEF - For Cool Hunting
,
Kelly Pau profiles co-founder Alvin Salehi about his meal-delivery
platform, Shef , a "service that empowers immigrants
and refugees to become food entrepreneurs." What makes Shef unique? It
"uses local, home cooks that are trained and safety certified. Their
names and cultures are listed on the site, which is home to over 100
different countries' cuisines from Nepalese to Haitian, Gujarati and
Thai ... For cooks, Shef provides a platform where they can share their
culture, generate income and work from home at their own
schedule." Amid Afghan resettlement efforts, Shef also spearheaded an
expedited review process for Afghan chefs wanting to join the platform.
To date, Shef continues to donate 100 meals per week to resettlement
organizations assisting Afghan refugees.  

More on local welcome: 

* Adam Miles, the founder of Refugee Soccer in Utah, is "now looking to
start a local chapter for Afghan refugees to continue to have that sense
of community through soccer." (Eliana Sheriff, FOX 13
) 

* In partnership with Bethany Christian Services in West Michigan,
locals are stepping up to volunteer with legal services to help Afghan
refugees apply for asylum in the U.S. (Paul R. Kopenkoskey, The
Lakeshore West Michigan
) 

* Butte Heart, a volunteer organization in Montana, held a community
meeting in preparation to welcome 12 Afghan refugees to the area. (DJ
Bauer, ABC FOX Montana
) 

* As part of the Sponsor Circles
initiative, Dr. Kathleen Braico helped form an "Adirondack Welcome
Circle," which is helping raise funds to resettle an Afghan family in
Glens Falls, New York. (Gretta Hochsprung, The Post-Star
) 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali

 

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