Friday, February 25
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

 

NOORANI'S NOTES

 

Just a few days left! If you haven't already, please let us know if
you want to continue receiving Noorani's Notes by clicking this link
, or any other link in this e-mail.
Thanks! 

Experts from the Council on National Security and Immigration (CNSI)
called on the Biden
administration to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred
Enforced Departure (DED) to Ukrainians already in the U.S., reports
Ellen M. Gilmer of Bloomberg Government
. 

"The stunning circumstances unfolding in Ukraine highlights, once again,
the United States' obligation to offer humanitarian support for those
caught in the crosshairs of invasion and political instability," said
CNSI leader Scott Boylan, a former Department of Homeland Security
adviser. 

"The refugee resettlement system is precisely how we protect vulnerable
populations, whether they are from Afghanistan or Ukraine," Krish
O'Mara Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee
Service, told Caroline Simon of Roll Call
.
"The Biden administration's increase of the refugee ceiling to 125,000
coupled with low refugee arrivals to date means there is ample room to
welcome Ukrainians in search of safety." 

Boundless

echoes this sentiment and highlights the U.S. history of Ukranian
immigration, proving it can be done.  

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees urged

Ukraine's neighboring countries to welcome and protect Ukrainians who
are fleeing Russia's attacks, per Axios
.
And CNN's Priscilla Alvarez tweeted
yesterday
that Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. is ready to accept
Ukrainian refugees, "But we certainly expect that most if not the
majority will want to go to Europe and neighboring countries. So, we are
also working with European countries on what the needs are, where there
is capacity." 

Welcome to Friday'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]
.  

**FLORIDA PRESSURES** - Several Florida faith leaders continue to
denounce Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) hardline immigration approach,
including his order to revoke licenses from shelters that care for
unaccompanied migrant children and foster kids, reports Ana Ceballos of
the Miami Herald
.
"We sit across from them. We know their stories and we have been blessed
by them," said Associate Pastor Nicole Gomez of the evangelical church
Ignite Life Center in Gainesville, Florida, of unaccompanied children.
Her church has provided welfare services for more than 200 unaccompanied
minors and more than 600 foster children in the past seven years. In
another Herald piece
, Ceballos
and Syra Ortiz-Blanes report that DeSantis' proposed shelter rule
would cost agencies caring for migrant children millions of dollars,
per an estimated cost analysis from the Florida Department of Children
and Families.  

BORDER PRAYERS - For 10 years, people on either side of the border
have hiked 40 minutes to an "iconic spot" located in California's
Border Field State Park for prayers and church services, reports
Salvador Rivera of Border Report
.
Ideally, they would like to be closer together at another section of the
border, Friendship Park - but it remains off-limits due to Border
Patrol staffing issues. "We've begged Border Patrol to please open
Friendship Park and they deny it ..." said Alexis De Bram, a supporter
of the park. "Over decades, people come here to connect with friends,
relatives ... Then the wall started going up and we were limited to
Saturdays and Sundays four hours a day, but now there's no way for
people coming from anywhere to join their loved ones." 

**BLACK IMMIGRANTS** - A new study
from researchers at the
University of Southern California and the University of Washington finds
that Black immigrants are more likely to be denied U.S. citizenship than
white immigrants, report Giselle Rhoden and Nicole Chavez of CNN
.
When broken down by race and gender, the data show that Black men and
women were approved for citizenship at or below 90%, compared to a rate
of about 94% for white women and about 92% for white men. Meanwhile,
Black Muslim immigrants were only approved for citizenship around 86% of
the time. "As a Black person and an immigration attorney who works
inside detention centers, I know that Black immigrants are being
brutalized, dehumanized, and rendered invisible by the system," said
Nicole Morgan, an associate attorney at RAICES. 

AFGHAN WELCOME - Welcoming and resettling our Afghan allies is a
matter of "faith and patriotism," writes Scott Venable, lead pastor at
Northwood Church in Keller, Texas, in an op-ed for the Baptist Standard
.
"Not all Texans - and not all Christians - agree on every refugee
and immigration policy," he writes. "We all need to agree, however, that
all human life is precious and do whatever we can to offer refuge and
safety to anyone fleeing situations of persecution, violence and death."
So far, his church has trained more than 125 members and raised over
$150,000 to help resettle three Afghan families. To continue these
welcoming efforts in Texas and across the U.S., Venable underscores the
need for Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act
. 

Today's compilation of local stories: 

* State leaders, Utah resettlement agencies and the Refugee Services
Office are working together to continue supporting Afghan resettlement
in the state. "We are helping families ensure they have what they need
for their children to be successful in our schools and communities,"
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said. "We recognize the incredible talents,
abilities, and life experiences these Afghans bring to our workforce.
They'll be wonderful additions and will be filling much-needed job
vacancies." (Ashley Fredde, KSL.com
) 

* Three University High School seniors launched a donation
drive through their new nonprofit, YouthUp, collecting $30,000 worth
of necessary goods to support Afghan resettlement in Northeast Ohio.
(Tracy Carloss, WEWS
)

* St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, recently
launched a webpage to raise funds for an Afghan refugee family who
recently resettled in the area. (Dartmouth Week
) 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali

 

DONATE

 

**Follow Us**

 

[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

National Immigration Forum

10 G Street NE, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20002

www.immigrationforum.org

 

Unsubscribe from Noorani's Notes

or opt-out from all Forum emails.

 

                                               
           
_________________

Sent to [email protected]

Unsubscribe:
[link removed]

National Immigration Forum, 10 G St NE, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20002, United States