Faith leaders across the country are taking action ahead of a Christmas deadline for state and local jurisdictions to provide written consent to the resettlement of refugees, Heather Sells reports for CBN News. “This week, faith leaders connected with the Evangelical Immigration Table and the Christian humanitarian agency World Relief reached out to 15 governors, asking them to give the green light to refugee resettlement in their states.” More than 2,600 evangelical leaders have signed on to the letters to the governors.

Meanwhile, last night the House passed a bipartisan farm bill, reports Michelle Hackman in The Wall Street Journal. The bill, which garnered support from 34 Republicans, allows some undocumented farmworkers to earn access to legal status, creates a new legal immigration system for the sector, and puts in place a reformed E-Verify program. It’s now on to the Senate for consideration.
From San Francisco, welcome to the Thursday edition of Noorani’s Notes. Last night, as part of the Emerson Collective’s Dial Fellowship, I saw an advance screening of “Just Mercy.” Purchase your tickets now — you won’t regret it.
Have a story you’d like us to include? Have a story you’d like us to include? Email me at [email protected].
INDIA – Yesterday, lawmakers in India passed a controversial change to the country’s citizenship law, creating a new pathway to citizenship for many South Asian migrants of various religions that clearly excludes Muslims, report Joanna Slater and Niha Masih in The Washington Post. This move has increased “concerns that a country founded on secular ideals is becoming a Hindu state that treats Muslims as second-class citizens.” The measure is “expected to be signed into law by India’s ceremonial president within days.”

BRAZILAN MIGRANTS – The number of Brazilians arrested at the U.S. border spiked this year to around 18,000 — a drastic increase from the previous year’s 1,600, Geneva Sands writes in CNN. “Paulo Sotero, director of the Wilson Center's Brazil Institute, told CNN that Brazil has faced economic woes for years, with high unemployment and low growth, leading to an ongoing migration to the U.S.” Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan said the agency is considering expanding the Trump administration’s Migration Protection Protocols (MPP) — also known as “Remain in Mexico” — beyond Spanish-speaking countries to include Brazilians.

THE NUMBERS – According to a year-end report by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. deported around 12,000 family members and unaccompanied minors last fiscal year — “far fewer than the ‘millions’ President Trump pledged to arrest,” writes Maria Sacchetti at The Washington Post. That number includes “5,702 family members, a 110 percent jump from the prior year,” and “6,351 people who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border as unaccompanied minors, a 14 percent increase.” At CNN, Geneva Sands and Priscilla Alvarez note that ICE “made around 143,000 arrests in fiscal year 2019, down around 10% from nearly 159,000 arrests the previous fiscal year.”

IDEALIST – In this week’s episode of “Only in America,” I speak with Ami Dar, CEO and founder of Idealist.org — an organization that helps people find meaning in their careers by matching them with nonprofits that do great work. Ami was born in Israel and raised in Peru and Mexico, and he has always had a passion for connecting people who want to do good. We spoke about his journey and why he founded Idealist — check it out.

“WHAT YOU NEED” – Neil Gaiman, an ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) — and one of my favorite authors — wrote a poem to launch UNHCR’s Winter Emergency Appeal for refugees. “What You Need to be Warm” is based entirely on the nearly 1,000 responses to his tweet asking people what reminded them of warmth, writes Alison Flood in The Guardian. Responses ranged from a baked potato to the smell of wet wool over radiators. This beautiful poem, focusing on contrast of warmth and cold, helps remind us all of the importance of having a place to call home — and the importance of helping those who don’t.

Thanks for reading,

Ali