Last spring, border officials were so overwhelmed that they allowed tens of thousands of migrants, many of them Haitian, to enter the U.S. with a new "quick fix" document, reports Eileen Sullivan of The New York Times. The new document did not include pertinent details, however, such as typical hearing dates or identification numbers, making it difficult for recipients to apply for asylum. 

"Months later, the government has not been able to complete the processing started at the border, showing how ill prepared the system was for the surge and creating a practical and political quagmire for the Biden administration," Sullivan writes. In some parts of the country, local ICE offices weren’t even able to give appointments to migrants who initially registered with ICE to begin their court process.  

"It was a quick fix — ‘Deal with them later,’" said immigration lawyer Evangeline Chan. "But they have not been able to." 

In other news, a nationwide protest, "Day Without Immigrants," will take place today to call attention to the need for immigration reform. The protest’s organizer,  23-year-old immigration advocate and TikTok star Carlos Eduardo Espina, discussed the protest with The Los Angeles Times’ Jean Guerrero. 

Welcome to Monday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes. Hope you have a great Valentine’s Day. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

DETAINED — Two foreign journalists and several Afghans have been detained in Kabul by the Taliban since last week, Susannah George reports for The Washington Post. The news was announced in a tweet from the United Nations, which confirmed that the detainees had been working with UNHCR. "Afghan journalists and civil society activists have come under increasing pressure in recent weeks as they push back against restrictions under Taliban rule," George points out. "A number of female protesters have been abducted; despite international pressure, their whereabouts remain unknown." On a happier note, David Mack of BuzzFeed News profiled Afghans who are rebuilding their lives in the U.S. six months after the fall of Kabul. And North Dakota state Sen. Tim Mathern (D) penned an op-ed for The Bismarck Tribune on welcoming Afghans and the need for Congress to act: "They need us, we need them."  

More local welcome: 

• In partnership with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, Peace Lutheran Church in Alexandria, Virginia, has helped resettle about 1,000 Afghan refugees in just three months, with support from a largely Afghan staff. (Hiba Ahmad, NPR) 
• Tallahassee, Florida, residents welcomed two Afghan families with help from the International Rescue Committee and Killearn United Methodist Church. (Marina Brown, Tallahassee Democrat) 
• Resurgent Church in San Antonio hosted a job fair for an estimated 200 Afghan refugees, who applied for job openings at the J.W. Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. (Jessie Degollado, KSAT 12 News) 

BOSTON UYGHURS — Sidiq, a Uyghur living in Boston, is working hard to preserve his culture, reports Aysha Khan of the Boston Globe. In 2019, he set aside college plans to launch a nonprofit, Boston Uyghur School, which offers language, religion, and cultural classes for Uyghur children and young adults in New England. Today, the Boston Uyghur Association estimates about 200 Uyghurs live in the Greater Boston area. Locals like Sidiq "are working to strengthen their bonds, pass on their language to the next generation, and call attention to the intensifying repression in Xinjiang, China."  

EMPLOYMENT CHALLENGES — A new study from Cornell University highlights that after five years of living in the U.S. and obtaining green cards, many refugees are still unable to retain long-term employment, reports Shirin Ali of The Hill. Ali points out that refugees typically receive six months of federal government support, but afterwards, they’re expected to resettle into the community, learn English, and find a job. (Quite a high bar.) Researchers also cite the fact that most resettlement nonprofits "receive federal funding that is contingent on the number of refugee job placements they make, which leads many refugees stuck in ‘survival jobs," with little opportunity for career growth. "The reality is that I think it’s really hard for people to realize we’ve got a lot of this talent already in the United States and we’re just not tapping into that talent, because it doesn’t present itself in a way that we’re used to," said Jina Krause-Wilmar, president and CEO of Upwardly Global. 

‘UNTAPPED POTENTIAL’ — More access to education and training opportunities would help immigrants in Georgia counter the state’s labor shortage, Lautaro Grinspan reports for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Advocates are pushing for two Republican-led bipartisan bills in the state legislature that would expand the availability of in-state tuition at Georgia public colleges to refugees and DACA recipients, respectively. "We currently have more jobs in Georgia available than we have people to fill them," said state Rep. Wes Cantrell (R-Woodstock), the lead sponsor of one bill. "A lot of small business owners are telling me, ‘We need access to more labor.’ All [refugees] want to do is work. They want to live the American dream." Speaking of addressing labor shortages, my friend Jose Ocampo writes in a Charlotte Observer op-ed that he and other Dreamers represent "untapped potential … that would benefit our communities economically and socially." 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali