THE FORUM DAILY

 

As we continue to watch with horror Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the
Biden administration is deploying the immigration system as a tool.  

Our friend Stuart Anderson writes in Forbes

about a legislative request by the administration to "eliminate the need
for Russians with a master's or doctoral degree in a STEM field to
obtain an employer sponsor or be placed in backlogs for permanent
residence (green cards)." 

Brian D. Taylor, a Syracuse University political science professor and
author of "The Code of Putinism," told Anderson, "If Russians with the
right educational backgrounds will be able to emigrate to the U.S.
without even finding an employment sponsor, that will look like an
attractive option to many." 

This is the kind of strategic approach the administration should utilize
for a number of countries. 

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**DEMS IN DISARRAY** - Internal discord over how to address migration
at the U.S.-Mexico border has left Democrats at a stalemate over broader
reform, per Politico
's
Marianne Levine, Sarah Ferris, and Laura Barrón-López. Disagreement
over how to wind down Title 42

and other border questions have complicated the party's aspirations
for broader reform - but as Team Politico notes, a bipartisan group of
senators last week restarted talks on permanent immigration solutions.
The Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus has some ideas ...
 

**GRIM STATISTIC** - Per a U.N. refugee agency report
,
more than 3,000 migrants died or went missing trying to reach Europe by
sea in 2021 - nearly double the 2020 number, Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath
reports for Axios
.
The agency cited pandemic-related border restrictions, continued
political instability, economic challenges, and climate change as
drivers of the increase, and warned that these conditions will continue
to provoke risky journeys in hopes of a better life. Gottbrath notes
that the agency has "launched an appeal for $163.5 million to assist and
protect thousands of refugees and others" and has urged European and
African nations

to provide alternatives to these dangerous journeys.  

**TWO SYSTEMS** - Afghans and Ukrainians seeking refuge in the U.S.
face substantial hurdles - and advocates say the process is much
stricter for Afghans, Dan De Luce writes for NBC News
.
Per advocates and government statements, in contrast to Afghans,
Ukrainians "don't have to pay a $575 administrative fee, don't need
to show proof of vaccination and don't need to have an in-person
consular interview with a U.S. representative." While the Biden
administration has defended its Afghan resettlement efforts, advocates
are less than satisfied. "There are clearly two refugee systems - one
for Ukrainians and one for Afghans," said Matt Zeller, an adviser to
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "Afghans are our longest
wartime ally ever - you'd think we'd want to do right by them." 

Locally: 

* Yasin Amiry; his wife, Sema Salari; and their infant daughter, Maryam,
are among the more than 1,700 Afghans who have resettled in Michigan in
the past year. "Coming to a new country means like starting a life from
zero, from nothing at all," said Amiry, who now lives in Lansing with
his family. " ... I would thank everyone. All the community friends we
have here. Everyone who has helped the new arrivals." (Alyssa Burr,
MLive
) 

* After adopting an Afghan refugee family nearly six months ago,
Chicago-area resident Madhu Krishnamurthy shares her experience spending
Ramadan with them for the Daily Herald
:
"Amid mouthfuls of [Afghan] delights and sipping green tea afterward,
our conversation meandered from the commonalities of our cultures,
cuisines and customs of hospitality, to the importance of cricket and
soccer, to ultimately how new Afghan refugees lack the support they need
here." 

**ABBOTT UPDATE** - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) border antics

continue. As J. David Goodman and Edgar Sandoval report for The New York
Times ,
Abbott is now "weighing whether to invoke actual war powers to seize
much broader state authority on the border." By officially declaring an
"invasion" (a particularly loaded term

when it comes to immigration), Abbott may be able to authorize state
police to arrest and deport migrants, powers that are constitutionally
limited to federal authorities. It is important to note that the
political space in which Abbott operates is created by Tucker Carlson.
Over the weekend, the Times

also published a multi-part investigation of Carlson's strategy and
noted (among many other things) that "[a]mbitious Republican lawmakers
now echo [Carlson's] embrace of the 'great replacement' conspiracy
theory, once relegated to the far-right fringe, that Western elites are
importing immigrants to disempower the native-born." 

Thanks for reading, 

Ali

 

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