There is an immigration crisis in the U.S. and Europe. But the problem is not too many immigrants — it’s too few, argues Charles Kenny in Foreign Affairs.

“The next several decades will see populations in Europe and North America age and shrink as people have fewer and fewer children. That trend will hurt economic growth and dynamism and leave too few workers for every retiree. Robots and artificial intelligence will not save rich countries from the economic consequences of a shrinking population. Nor, without a dramatic reversal of current policies toward immigrants, will a flow of workers from elsewhere. To avoid sclerosis and decline, the rich world will have to compete to attract immigrants, not turn them away.”

Today is the day the Supreme Court will hear arguments over the fate of nearly 700,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. More than 90% of those with DACA are employed and 45% are in school, Robert Barnes reports in The Washington Post. “Dozens of briefs have been filed in what will be one of the court’s marquee cases of the term, many of them only tangentially addressing the legal issues at play. Instead, they extol the doctors, lawyers, engineers, students and military officers whose accomplishments were made possible by the program.”

Watch our latest video explaining where DACA stands — and why we need a permanent legislative solution.

Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes.

Have a story you’d like us to include? Email me at [email protected].
36,300 – The number of migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border fell to 36,300 in October — the fifth straight month they have declined, Nicole Narea reports for Vox. “The decline in border apprehensions, which have decreased by about 75 percent since their height of 132,856 in May, and 10 percent in the last month alone, appears to be due to more than typical seasonal fluctuations and suggests that President Donald Trump’s immigration policies are having their intended effect.” Let’s be clear: The administration’s policies are trapping asylum seekers south of the border, detaining children and families, and overwhelming the immigration court system.
69,550 – New government data shows that a staggering 69,550 migrant children have been held in U.S. government custody in the past year, the Associated Press reports. “That’s more kids detained away from their parents than any other country, according to United Nations researchers.” Of these 69,550 children, some have been deported, some reunited with family in the U.S., some are still in government custody (about 4,000), and more are arriving every week.

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY – Companies like Airbnb, Chobani, Ben & Jerry’s, Uniqlo, and Western Union — among a dozen others — are urging a withdrawal of the Trump administration’s proposal to slow work permit approvals for asylum seekers, Ted Hesson reports in Reuters. In a public letter organized by the Tent Foundation and the National Immigration Forum, the companies wrote: “We are concerned that the proposed rule would hurt our ability to attract and retain talent … many of the undersigned companies already have asylum seekers in our workforce and many will have need to hire members of this population in the months ahead.”

REMAIN IN…ARIZONA – Rather than being deported or sent to Mexico, numerous migrant families in Arizona are finding the policy to be “Remain in the U.S.,” Alicia Caldwell reports in The Wall Street Journal. That’s because in Arizona, the Trump administration’s Migration Protection Protocols (MPP), known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, is not in effect. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “confirmed that MPP isn’t in place in Arizona, but said some migrants arrested there are being shuttled to Texas or California and returned to Mexico from there.”

“OVERBROAD” – It is a crime to “encourage” unauthorized immigrants to come to — or stay in — the U.S., according to a 1986 federal law. The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the law violates the First Amendment, Adam Liptak writes in The New York Times. The case, United States v. Sineneng-Smith, asks whether or not the 1986 law is “overbroad.” Even though the government “argued that it did not pursue prosecutions based on ordinary interactions with unauthorized immigrants,” Judge A. Wallace Tashima wrote that “Just because the government has not (yet) sought many prosecutions based on speech … it does not follow that the government cannot or will not use an overbroad law to obtain such convictions.”

A QUESTION – One of the smartest journalists I know reached out yesterday asking if I had seen any “fear interventions” by local media to help communities better understand immigration. This morning, I noticed this effort in Rochester, as reported in the Democrat & Chronicle by Julie Philipp. I feel like I’ve seen more of these efforts lately. Have you? Send me some examples. Thank you!

Thanks for reading,

Ali