"With authoritarianism on the march, democracies must respond to the weapons of war and the weaponization of migration with moral clarity," I write in the latest edition of my Crossing Borders newsletter. 

The U.S. woke up this morning to images of Russian missile strikes raining down on Ukraine and miles of Ukrainians trying to flee the country.  

A large-scale movement of people like this "could lead to the largest flood of refugees in Europe since nearly a million Syrian refugees arrived in 2015, a surge that had a profound impact on European politics by bolstering far-right parties," reports The New York Times’ Eric Schmitt.  
 
And despite Poland sharing a border with Ukraine and being home to as many as 2 million Ukrainians, Andrzej Komar, vice president of the Association of Ukrainians in Poland, told Loveday Morris of The Washington Post: "We don’t think this country is ready for the wave of refugees that is expected. A strategy from the government is needed." 

We join our friends at the Niskanen Center in calling for the Biden administration to designate new Temporary Protected Status and Special Student Relief for eligible Ukrainians currently in the U.S., who should not have to return to a nation under attack. These are simple and powerful steps that send a clear message to the world. 

For the sake of Ukrainian refugees today, and those inevitably and forcibly displaced in the future, we must act with urgency and clarity — now. 
 
Welcome to Thursday’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].  

‘HUMANITARIAN FACTORS’ — A legal challenge against a Biden administration policy shift — immigration enforcement priorities — is heading to trial in Houston, reports Joel Rose of NPR. With the updated guidance, "immigration authorities are supposed to consider the ‘totality of the circumstances’ in each case — including whether an immigrant is caring for a family member, or has a potential pathway to legal status," explains Rose. "Many of these mitigating or humanitarian factors are actually part of the history of prosecutorial discretion and who’s been protected," said Shoba Sivaprasad Wadhia, a law professor at Penn State University.  

AHEAD OF THE SOTU — Ahead of the State of the Union address next week, we’re out with a new score card that assesses the administration’s work on immigration in several key areas and lays out the need for future efforts, together with Congress. Our bottom line, in the words of my colleague Danilo Zak: "The Biden administration has taken some positive steps, but significant additional action is needed to build an immigration system that meets our needs and lives up to our values." Meanwhile, immigrant rights and humanitarian groups are urging President Biden to take executive actions on immigration, reports Ellen M. Gilmer of Bloomberg Government. A coalition of more than two dozen groups including the Immigration Hub, UndocuBlack Network and Save the Children published a new blueprint of immigration priorities for 2022.  

AG REFORM — Idaho employers are calling on the Biden administration to expand the H-2B visa program to help fill their worker shortage, reports Rachel Spacek of The Idaho Statesman. Right now, the program caps the number of foreign workers legally allowed to work in the U.S. at 66,000, notes Spacek. "We have jobs people want to fill," said Rick Naerebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association. "... They are looking for the same things you and I are looking for — to work and provide for their families. Our immigration policy inhibits them from doing that." One solution, Naerebout notes, could be the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. 

AFGHAN ADJUSTMENT ACT — About 900 evangelical pastors, leaders, and church members from around the country signed a letter to Congress urging passage of an Afghan Adjustment Act, which would smooth the way to permanent legal status for Afghan evacuees already in the U.S. A Winston-Salem Journal editorial notes the support of more than 70 signatories in North Carolina. "At its best, this nation serves as a beacon of hope for those who have faced the unimaginable and yet found a way to endure," said Graham Aitkin, pastor at The Heart Church in Boone, North Carolina. "May we always be willing to come alongside them and welcome them home." 

More on Afghan welcome: 

• Agencies and nonprofit groups in the Chicago area have been working "on overdrive with strained resources" to support Afghans resettling in the area. (Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune) 
• The Refugee Clinic at Valley Medical Center Lenzen in San Jose, California — founded during the Vietnam refugee crisis — is now taking care of hundreds of Afghan refugees, with more expected soon. (Len Ramirez, KPIX 5) 
• After reaching its original goal of 20,000, Airbnb said Tuesday that it will temporarily house another 20,000 Afghan refugees for free. So far, 7,100 Airbnb hosts have offered free or discounted accommodations for Afghan arrivals. (Chloe Folmar, The Hill) 

TEMPORARY RELIEF — After being deported and in Mexico for over a decade, U.S. military veteran José Luis Cárdenas was allowed to return to the United States on Tuesday, report Karla Rendon-Alvarez of NBC 7 San Diego and Marinee Zavala of Telemundo 20. He reunited with his sons and brothers in San Diego after being granted humanitarian parole for a year. "They’re mixed emotions because I feel nervous, I feel butterflies," Cárdenas said. Cárdenas’ challenges are far from over: Parole is "not like a green card or anything like that," said Helen Boyer, a staff attorney with Los Angeles-based law firm Public Counsel. "It’s just a temporary process for him to be in the United States for a set period of time." 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali