The Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in the case that will decide whether the Trump administration can end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program shielding 700,000 Dreamers from deportation. Adam Liptak of The New York Times broke down the justices’ initial reactions, writing that the court’s conservative majority “indicated that they would not second-guess the administration’s reasoning and, in any event, considered its explanations sufficient.” But Liptak’s Times colleague Maggie Haberman explained why a court ruling ending DACA might put Trump in an unwanted political bind: “If the court decides that the administration has the right to end the program, Mr. Trump will face a consequence he has tried to put off for years: news coverage of efforts by the government to deport thousands of young immigrants in the midst of what is certain to be a difficult re-election battle.”
Meanwhile, Ben Kennedy at the Christian Broadcasting Network spoke with Dreamers and advocates about their reactions to the arguments. “As Christians we know that a sensible solution will have to be the middle of the road to bring both parties to the table,” Liz Dong, co-founder of Voices for Christian Dreamers and a DACA recipient, told CBN. “Something that would provide a permanent pathway for Dreamers like me and for other undocumented immigrants who work hard, who contribute to this country.”
In case you missed it, here’s our explainer video on why we need a permanent legislative solution allowing Dreamers to stay in the U.S. and continue contributing.
Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes.
Have a story you’d like us to include? Email me at [email protected].
IN REALITY – The Trump administration’s policies led directly to the crisis that left thousands of children stranded at the border last spring, according to an incredibly in-depth Washington Post investigation by Neena Satija, Karoun Demirjian, Abigail Hauslohner and Josh Dawsey. The administration characterized the crisis as a result of a “crush of migrants” — but in reality, they’d made it harder for adults to secure children’s release through an enhanced vetting process. Heidi Altman of the National Immigrant Justice Center told The Post that officials knew their plans “’would trigger a chain of events that left children hungry, abused and sick in overcrowded [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] facilities.’”
MISSISSIPPI – The town of Morton, Mississippi, was rocked in August by the biggest-ever workplace immigration raid in a single state: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 680 people across seven chicken processing plants, half of them from Morton. NPR’s Ari Shapiro spoke to members of the 3,000-person community for NPR’s All Things Considered: “This is a small town, so people are really suffering,” said Pati, a store owner whose business has reduced by 50% in the wake of the raids.
REFUGEE VETO – Just under the radar, chaos and concern is building as advocates work to secure support from state and local elected officials to resettle refugees, per the Trump administration’s September 26 executive order. Tania Karas and Monica Campbell report for PRI’s The World: “The order could potentially set up battles between cities and states in places where a city wants to keep taking in refugees but a state does not — or vice versa. This veto power is unprecedented.”
WALL WEBCAM – The Trump administration plans to set up webcams to livestream construction of the border wall, reports Nick Miroff for The Washington Post. “The hunger for a real-time stream of wall construction underscores the Trump administration’s eagerness to show the president’s supporters and critics that the structure is being built, even as crews appear to be lagging behind the president’s construction timeline and smugglers already have been finding ways to get over and through the new barriers.” Nothing says border security more than a live webcam for cartels to see how said security is being built.
STEPHEN MILLER – [Please note this item includes some sensitive content.] The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report yesterday that found senior White House advisor Stephen Miller repeatedly sent emails to a Breitbart editor recommending white nationalist websites and literature as rationale for his hardline immigration policies. The emails, which were sent throughout 2015 and 2016, cited “source material” including “white nationalist websites, a ‘white genocide’-themed novel in which Indian men rape white women, xenophobic conspiracy theories and eugenics-era immigration laws that Adolf Hitler lauded in ‘Mein Kampf.’”
LET’S GRAB LUNCH – Immigrant Food, a “cause-casual” restaurant in downtown Washington, D.C., opens just steps away from the White House this week, reports Tim Carman at The Washington Post. Located at 1701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, the new destination will offer meeting space to immigrant services organizations, advocate on immigration issues, and, of course, serve bowls celebrating the ingredients of immigrant cuisines.
Thanks for reading,
Ali
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