Wednesday, March 30
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NOORANI'S NOTES

 

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On Tuesday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced

three measures to reduce the growing 9.5 million-case backlog, reports
Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News
. 

USCIS "plans to expand the number of applicants who can pay extra fees
to have their immigration petitions adjudicated more quickly, propose a
rule that would provide relief to immigrants waiting for work permit
renewals and set processing time goals," per an anonymous official.  

As of February 2022, USCIS had more than 9.5 million pending
applications, "a 66% increase from the end of fiscal year 2019," per
agency data. Because of the backlog, asylum seekers and green card
applicants have been forced to wait months or years in "legal limbo"
while awaiting their documents - subject to losing their jobs and
driver's licenses, notes Montoya-Galvez. 

"It is stressful. You're always worried," said Jairo Umana, a
political dissident from Nicaragua seeking U.S. asylum, whose been
waiting for his work permit to be renewed for almost a year. "Being out
of work triggers a chain reaction: there's no income, there's no
money for rent, there's no food." 

Welcome to Wednesday'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] .
And if you know others who'd like to receive the Notes, please spread
the word. They can subscribe here.
 

**UNPREDICTABLE** - As the number of Ukrainians who have fled the
country passes 4 million
,
questions remain on whether the mass exodus will continue, report Srdjan
Nedeljkovic and Jamey Keaten of the Associated Press
.
On Monday, "only 45,000 people crossed Ukraine's borders to seek
safety, the slowest one-day count yet." Earlier this month, more than
200,000 people were fleeing per day. Still, UNHCR says "the speed and
breadth" of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries is unprecedented.
Meanwhile, for FiveThirtyEight
,
senior applied scientist at ETH Zürich Laura Bronner explains the
history of Europe's support for refugees and why its welcome of
Ukraine may be "short-lived." She's right.
 

RESETTLEMENT REFORM - In order to stand by the U.S.'s commitment to
welcoming 100,000 Ukrainian refugees "without shifting significant
resources away from other refugees," the Biden administration and
Congress need to reform the refugee resettlement system, the Forum's
policy and advocacy manager Danilo Zak writes for The UnPopulist
.
First, the Biden administration must establish and safeguard
humanitarian pathways for Ukrainians fleeing, in addition to continuing
to support Poland and neighboring countries offering them refuge.
Second, the administration should consider offering humanitarian parole
to Ukrainians with family connections. (But it shouldn't be the only
or primary form of relief). Lastly, reopening refugee resettlement
offices slashed under the Trump administration would help with initial
resettlement and integration efforts.  

'IT'S A BLESSING' - For WTOP News
,
Scott Gelman chronicles the journey of Eltaf Samim, who fled Afghanistan
with his family in 2015. After bouncing from one country to the next,
Eltaf eventually graduated from Mountain View High School in Fairfax
County, Virginia. "I hope that people realize that when you're living
in a community which is peaceful, it's a blessing," he said. "When
[there's] peace, there's calm minds, and when there's calm minds,
there's education ... you can improve yourself." He has now secured
several scholarships to attend college and aspires to become an
entrepreneur.

Locally: 

* With support from the International Rescue Committee and Catholic
Community Services, Utah has been able to welcome about 900 Afghan
refugees in the past six months - which Gov. Spencer Cox (R) describes
as "the largest resettlement in our state's history." (Carole Mikita,
KSL TV
) 

* Sgt. Nora Mena, Senior Airman Alicea Owen, and Senior Airman Jasmine
Brower - an all-women medic team from Tuscon, Arizona - "stepped up
alongside other national guardsmen across the country to help provide
medical assistance to [Afghan] refugees at Holloman Air Force Base in
New Mexico." (Jamie Warren, ABC 15
) 

* An estimated 90 Afghan children and young adults have enrolled in the
Lansing School District's English language program in Michigan. "The
ability to find people to work with our kids and families that have the
same language is the bridge between the home, the teachers the school
and the kids," said Sergio Keck, the Deputy Superintendent for special
populations for the district. (Megan Schellong, WKAR Public Media
) 

UNDER TITLE 42 - Ruben Garcia, director of the largest migrant shelter
in El Paso, is among the immigration advocates waiting and preparing for
the Biden administration to end Title 42, reports Lauren Villagran of
the El Paso Times
.
"'When Title 42 goes away, this will be a sea of cots," Garcia said,
referring to a waiting area at Annunciation House that would be used to
accommodate an increase in the number of migrants released to their
care, following a potential policy lift. "The continued use of Title 42
by the Biden administration is a clear targeting of vulnerable people
that the administration sees as political liabilities and not as humans
seeking safety in this country," said Shaw Drake, staff attorney and
policy counsel for the ACLU of Texas in El Paso. Related: For Time
Magazine
,
Jasmine Aguilera and Madeleine Carlisle dive deep into how the
administration's unclear stance on key immigration policies like Title
42 greatly impacts migrants and families. Worth a read.  

Thanks for reading, 

Ali 

 

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