Last night, at the final Democratic Debate before voting begins, the word “immigration” was mentioned two times — both in passing. And that while the issue may not be front and center before voting begins in Iowa, it certainly will be a major issue in the fall, when President Trump makes it so. Back in 2018, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats don’t have a mandate to take on immigration. Well, if they avoid the issue and don’t talk about it, they let their opponents frame it — and then of course there’s no mandate (to be fair, the moderators did not ask about immigration last night). In an opinion piece for The Hill yesterday, I wrote about how Democratic presidential candidates have an opportunity to take back the narrative on immigration by telling a constructive story and pledging to build a tough, but fair, immigration system:

“Rather than let Trump, or the Twitter-left, seize the issue, tell a constructive story about immigration in the 21st century that acknowledges the fear and insecurity many Americans face, while offering a positive vision of newcomers creating jobs, adding to the cultural vitality of cities and towns, and helping law enforcement and our military keep our communities safe.”

From Iowa for the balance of the week (apparently there is an election coming up), welcome to Wednesday’s edition of Noorani’s Notes. Have a story you’d like us to include? Email me at [email protected].

SOMETHING AMAZING – Let’s begin with something amazing: The crew of the USS John Young recently held a reunion in Mobile, Alabama. An unexpected group of guests arrived and a young woman walked to the podium. As Erin Ivory of WGNTV Chicago reports, “The young woman was Thao Nguyen, who along with her mother, aunt, cousin and uncle were all saved by the crew of the USS John Young. They came to say ‘thank you,’ she said.” The family was part of a group of Vietnamese refugees the crew rescued from the South China Sea more than 40 years ago. “It was so beautiful to see them again and know they are well now,” said Chip Reichert, one of the veterans. Watch the clip. It is the right way to begin the day.

GIVERS OR TAKERS? – New research from the Cato Institute finds that immigrants consume 21% less welfare and entitlement benefits than native-born Americans on a per capita basis, according to Alex Nowrasteh: “The per capita cost of providing welfare to immigrants is substantially less than the per capita cost of providing welfare to native-born Americans.” The research comes amid debate over the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule, which aims to block immigrants from applying for visas if they previously have been or are deemed likely to rely on public assistance. The data are pretty clear: Immigrants are not takers.

BORDER PATROL DISPATCH – Border Patrol agents dodged questions and concealed information around the deaths of migrant children at the border, writes Robert Moore at ProPublica. Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-New York), chair of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border Security, oversaw hearings on Tuesday regarding the deaths of six children in Border Patrol custody. The Department of Homeland Security “consistently failed to maintain transparency by stymying congressional inquiries,” Rice said. “This raises concerns that they are hiding serious issues with management, in addition to leadership vacancies at the top of the department.”

CREDIBLE FEAR CLAIMS – The Department of Homeland Security, which fielded a record number of credible fear claims from asylum seekers last year, also found ways to triple the denial rate for those claims in 2019, Stephen Dinan writes for The Washington Times. “The thinking behind the changes is that migrants from Honduras, El Salvador or Guatemala who fled their countries for valid reasons and headed north should claim asylum in Mexico, which is considered a safe country.” Advocates point out that those with valid asylum claims could be losing life-saving protection in the U.S.

Thanks for reading,

Ali