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NOORANI'S NOTES

 

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On Friday, the Supreme Court said it will expedite the review of the
Biden administration's efforts to end the Trump-era Migrant Protection
Protocols (MPP), a.k.a. "Remain in Mexico," report Robert Barnes
and Nick Miroff of The Washington Post
.
Justices will hear the case in April, the last month for oral
arguments this term. 

In the case of Biden vs. Texas, lower courts have mandated continuation
of MPP "despite determinations by the politically accountable Executive
Branch that MPP is not the best tool for deterring unlawful migration;
that MPP exposes migrants to unacceptable risks; and that MPP detracts
from the Executive's foreign-relations efforts to manage regional
migration," wrote Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar in her court
filing
. 

Meanwhile, U.S. Customs and Border Protection released data showing that
migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border declined in January - the
first month-to-month decline since September, per Rick Jervis of USA
Today
. 

Welcome to Tuesday'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]
.  

**NO GUARANTEE** - Thousands of Haitian migrants came to the U.S. last
year in hopes of seeking asylum under a new administration. But
after the expulsion of asylum seekers in Del Rio, Texas, in September
and continued difficulties accessing the U.S. asylum system, Haitians
like Nixon Pilorge and his family plan to seek refuge in
Canada, reports David C. Adams of Univision
.
"It's very difficult to get papers. We need lawyers and we don't
have money," Pilorge said after entering the U.S. with his wife and
baby in December and spending 10 days in immigration detention. "My
friends say its better in Canada, they help you with food and housing
there." So, he and his family plan to journey by bus next week to get
to the country. Pilorge knows his family isn't guaranteed asylum, but
says the uncertainty is better than feeling unsafe in Mexico or Haiti.
Meanwhile in U.S. immigration courts, "woefully understaffed and often
undertrained" judges are struggling to tackle the growing backlog of
more than 1.6 million cases, Alexandra Villarreal reports for The
Guardian
.
 

**AFGHAN EFFORTS** - On Saturday, the Biden administration officially
relocated all remaining Afghan evacuees from a military base in New
Jersey, marking the completion of the first phase in the monthslong
resettlement process, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News
.
Still, an estimated 60,000 Afghan allies who have worked with the U.S.
military and applied for Special Immigrant Visas

(SIVs) are still stuck in Afghanistan, write Ryan C. Crocker, former
U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, and Philip M. Caruso, chairman
of the nonprofit No One Left Behind, in an op-ed for The New York Times
.
"To remedy this, Congress should overhaul the current S.I.V. process and
pass an improved, permanent immigration program that swiftly and
efficiently resettles those who apply for it."   

On local Afghan welcome:  

* In partnership with Lutheran Family Services, the Holy Cross Retreat
Center in New Mexico is helping resettle Afghan refugees and welcome
asylum seekers from all over the world. "It's not just praying for the
poor and making donations..." said Father Tom Smith, O.F.M. Conv., the
center's director. "It's about making them feel welcome. Not just
'here's your room and here's your key.'" (J.D. Long-García,
America Magazine - The Jesuit Review
) 

* San Diego County resident Barbara Cummings, a volunteer with the
"Helping El Cajon Refugees" Facebook Group, held a shoe donation drive
on Sunday for Afghan families temporarily living in hotels. (Heather
Hope, CBS News 8
) 

* Des Moines Area Community College is donating 50 laptops to Afghan
families resettled in Central Iowa. (KCCI 8 News
) 

**UKRAINE** - As the threat of war increases by the hour in Ukraine,
the region is readying itself for a massive increase of refugees, The
Guardian's

Shaun Walker and Lorenzo Tondo report. Poland's deputy interior
minister, Maciej Wąsik, told Polish radio, "We have to be prepared for
a wave of up to a million people." While the country is reportedly
preparing to accommodate as many Ukrainian refugees as possible,
remember that when Belarus created a political and humanitarian crisis
by forcing refugees from the Middle East across the Polish border last
year, Poland's leadership was much less welcoming. In this case,
Poland "is already home to 2 million Ukrainians
."
Saying the quiet part out loud, Wąsik described Ukrainians as "real
refugees" in need of help. 

BLACK HISTORY MONTH - The stories and histories of Black immigrants
must continue to be a part of the national and religious conversation on
immigration reform, writes Paola Fuentes Gleghorn of Sojourners
.
Gleghorn details how the creation of the diversity visa and Temporary
Protected Status impacted Black migration to the U.S. and makes the case
for immigration reform as an issue of racial justice. "We need to look
to the many Christians and people of faith in our immigrant communities,
Black churches, and ally communities who cite their faith and
relationships as their primary motivators to work to dismantle systems
of oppression and white supremacy," while also working towards a pathway
to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, Gleghorn writes. 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali 

 

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