#Krish O’Mara Vignarajah

[minnesotafollower]

Biden Administration’s New Restrictions on U.S. Asylum Law Being Challenged in Federal Courts 

This year has seen many developments regarding the Biden Administration’s attempts to cope with the large numbers of migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Here is a review of some of those developments. Biden’s New Asylum Regulation[1] On February 21, the Biden Administration announced a proposed rule that would  require rapid deportation of an immigrant at the U.S. border who had…

[beardedmrbean]

The Biden administration said Tuesday that it will extend legal status by 18 months for more than 300,000 people from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal, disappointing some advocates and members of Congress who sought a more generous offer.

The extensions provide “continued safety and protection” for those already legally in the U.S. on Temporary Protected Status, which is due to end soon under Trump-era decisions, said U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

While the decision benefits an estimated 334,000 people from the four countries, including 239,000 from El Salvador, some had hoped for a far more sweeping gesture including expanded eligibility for more recent arrivals from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who strongly pressed the White House for extensions, applauded the step but added it "simply does not go far enough” and suggested it “may have been driven in part by political calculations instead of sound policy rationale and the conditions in each country.”

Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat and House member who was among 116 members of Congress who signed a letter in May seeking an expansion, said the administration “has allowed political fear rather than humanitarian concern to drive its decision.”

The administration has aggressively used TPS, a 1990 law that allows people already in the United States to remain in 18-month increments if the Homeland Security secretary determines that natural disasters or civil strife prevent them from safely returning home.

Under Biden's watch, the number of people eligible has soared more than 70% to nearly 1 million people by December, reversing a Trump-era trend, according to an analysis by the Cato Institute, which advocates for more immigration. TPS encompasses 15 countries, including Venezuelan and Ukraine, up from 10.

The extensions announced Tuesday will apply to about 239,000 El Salvadorans through March 9, 2025, about 76,000 Hondurans through July 5, 2025, about 14,500 Nepalese through June 24, 2025 and about 4,000 Nicaraguans through July 5, 2025.

But TPS beneficiaries from Central America are required to have lived in the United States more than two decades to be eligible, prompting criticism from advocates that the administration failed to consider recent turmoil in countries including Nicaragua, which last year became one of the top sources of migration to the U.S. TPS for El Salvador was granted after an earthquake in the Central American country in 2001 and for Honduras and Nicaragua after a hurricane in 1998.

Advocates also pushed to include Guatemala, whose people have never been eligible for TPS.

While nothing in Tuesday's announcement precludes the administration from later expanding TPS, immediate prospects appeared dimmer.

“It’s a disappointment," said Berta Sanles, who has lived in the United States without legal status since she arrived from Nicaragua with her husband and 6-year-old daughter more than two decades ago. The Miami resident says she's holding out hope, though.

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, chief executive of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said the extensions are "welcome relief for hundreds of thousands of people who have found safety in the United States, many of whom have called this country home for decades now." But she also called it “a missed opportunity to expand protections to more recent arrivals, whose return to danger would be no less devastating.”

TPS has been absent from a slew of carrot-and-stick measures that the administration has announced in recent months around the end of pandemic-related asylum restrictions on May 11, known as Title 42. They include parole for up to 30,000 people a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua or Venezuela and, on the flip side, a virtual ban on asylum for those who travel to the U.S. border and enter the country illegally after traveling through another country, like Mexico.

[mariacallous]

Tens of thousands of Afghans who fled to the United States will remain in limbo after Congress dropped legislation that would grant them a path to legal permanent residency from a major government spending bill, leading advocates for refugees to accuse the U.S. government of abandoning its commitments to its Afghan allies.

More than 30 retired top military officers and former U.S. ambassadors to Afghanistan joined a grassroots campaign to push Congress to pass the legislation, the Afghan Adjustment Act, as part of a massive omnibus spending bill before the end of the year. Advocates argue that the act would help save the roughly 70,000 Afghans in the United States from the risk of deportation before their temporary humanitarian parole status expires in 2023.

But opposition from at least one major Republican lawmaker in the Senate scuttled those efforts, and the final bill released Tuesday did not include the act. Supporters saw the omnibus bill as the last chance to pass the act in the current Congress. The act now faces an uncertain future in the new year, as the new Congress will take power with a log-jammed legislative schedule and other competing priorities.

The news left some current and former U.S. officials who worked on Afghanistan fuming. “I’m angry,” said Ryan Crocker, a retired senior diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Syria. “These are people who fought with us, who trusted us. Those who blocked inclusion of the Afghan Adjustment Act in the omnibus have damaged America’s national security and our values,” he said. “It is another retreat from American global leadership. It strengthens our enemies and discourages our allies. We will all pay the price for that.”

The act would offer Afghans in the United States pathways to legal permanent residency and seeks to streamline massive backlogs and bureaucratic bottlenecks for Afghans in the process of trying to permanently settle in the United States. The act enjoys widespread bipartisan support, with 10 co-sponsors—five Democrats and five Republicans.

At least one influential GOP lawmaker, Sen. Chuck Grassley, has opposed the bill from his perch as ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the legislation. Grassley has raised concerns that the legislation doesn’t have enough provisions in place to vet Afghans seeking entry to the United States for any red flags on national security grounds. Supporters of the bill say the legislation has been adjusted to address those concerns.

Grassley’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Refugee advocates say that by failing to include the act in the omnibus spending bill, Congress is failing the Afghans it vowed to help protect after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the 20-year war in Afghanistan.

“Afghans in the U.S. will remain subject to the anxiety and stress of unnecessary legal limbo,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the president and CEO of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service that offers support and advocacy for refugees in the United States. “The glaring omission of this bill is an epic failure to seize on practical solutions that enjoy broad, bipartisan support.”

Former top military brass and U.S. diplomats argued that not including the Afghan Adjustment Act in the omnibus spending bill would undermine national security. “If Congress fails to enact the [Afghan Adjustment Act], the United States will be less secure,” the former top military officers, including three former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a top NATO commander, wrote in an open letter to Congress on Dec. 17. “As military professionals, it was and remains our duty to prepare for future conflicts. We assure you that in any such conflict, potential allies will remember what happens now with our Afghan allies.”

U.S. lawmakers scrambled in behind-the-scenes, last-minute negotiations to include other provisions for Afghans seeking a way to come to the United States, separate from and despite the setbacks for advocates of the Afghan Adjustment Act. As a result of those negotiations, the omnibus bill includes a provision to expand the number of Afghans allowed into the country through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program by 4,000, from 34,500 to 38,500. The SIV program was set up to give Afghans who risked their lives aiding U.S. war efforts, such as interpreters for the U.S. military, to permanently resettle in the United States. The program has been plagued with bureaucratic backlogs and red tape for years.

“While I’m frustrated that partisan obstruction necessitated an eleventh-hour solution, I’m relieved that we have a deal to extend the authorization of the Afghan SIV program and that this bill provides an additional 4,000 visas,” said Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a lawmaker who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee and who helped negotiate the agreement on SIVs in the omnibus bill. “This is about upholding the vow we made to the brave individuals who risked their lives and the safety of their families for the U.S. mission,” she said.

The omnibus spending bill also includes $2.4 billion in additional government funding for supporting Ukrainian refugees fleeing war in their home country after Russia launched a massive invasion of Ukraine in February. Some 85,000 Ukrainians have fled to the United States since the war began.

[irvinenewshq]

DHS awards deportation amnesty for Ethiopians

Homeland Safety introduced a brand new deportation amnesty for Ethiopians, saying the continuing battle of their house nation means they’ve entry to Non permanent Protected Standing right here within the U.S. The transfer, which immigrant-rights advocates had been demanding, is the newest flex of govt powers by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who in 20 months has granted a deportation reprieve to a whole lot of 1000’s of unlawful immigrants. “Ethiopian nationals at present residing within the U.S. who can’t safely return attributable to conflict-related violence and a humanitarian disaster involving extreme meals shortages, flooding, drought, and displacement, will be capable of stay and work in america till circumstances of their house nation enhance,” Mr. Mayorkas stated. He cited each armed battle and “extraordinary and momentary circumstances” of drought, meals shortage and illness in Ethiopia that he stated make it harmful for residents to return house from overseas. TPS grants an 18-month keep of deportation and entitles recipients to work permits, permitting them to place down roots right here. It’s presupposed to be a brief standing that expires when circumstances in house international locations enhance, although there are a whole lot of 1000’s of people that have been residing underneath TPS for the reason that flip of the century, with subsequent administrations and federal judges ordering the standing be renewed. Democrats on Capitol Hill have additionally superior laws that will convert the momentary standing right into a full pathway to citizenship for long-time TPS holders. Advocates had been pushing for a TPS designation for Ethiopia for months. They prompt there have been racial issues with how the Biden administration was administering this system after Afghanistan and Ukraine had been granted TPS however Ethiopia languished. Homeland Safety didn’t say what number of Ethiopians it expects might be eligible. That data is prone to observe in a full regulatory submitting later. The Washington space is house to a big Ethiopian neighborhood, with a number of sources citing it as the most important neighborhood outdoors of Ethiopia itself. Activists cheered Friday’s announcement. “The transfer is a probably lifesaving reprieve for tens of 1000’s of Ethiopians who’ve already contributed a lot to U.S. communities,” stated Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. Originally published at Irvine News HQ

[newswireml]

In Biden's new refugee resettlement program, private citizens take the lead#Biden039s #refugee #resettlement #program #private #citizens #lead

NPR’s Scott Simon speaks with Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, about the pros and cons of the Biden administration’s new refugee resettlement program. #Biden039s #refugee #resettlement #program #private #citizens #lead

[yasmin-bashirova-brand]

Immigration Activists to Follow

Immigration Activists to Follow https://ift.tt/CdbpPuj Over the past several years, there have been many changes to the immigration system. However, the following experts and influencers have been working to make sense of the changes and find solutions that will benefit everyone. They are committed to making sure that the country’s immigration system is focused on making the most effective possible use of its resources. Juan Escalante In 2000, Juan Escalante and his family fled from Venezuela after the election of Hugo Chavez. Due to the mishandling of their case, the Escalante family lost their immigration status. Juan was eventually able to get back his status through the program known as DACA, which provides temporary protection from deportation. As a member of the national and state advocacy groups for the protection of immigrants, Juan is currently working to advocate for immigration legislation that will benefit everyone. As the Digital Campaigns Manager of a DC-based organization called FWD.us, Juan is working to advocate for criminal justice reform and immigration legislation. Alida Garcia Alida Garcia is a public affairs and political strategist who has experience working with various groups and organizations on issues related to Latino civic engagement. She is currently the Vice President of Advocacy for FWD.us, which was created by Mark Zuckerberg, to push for comprehensive immigration reform. Maz Jobrani Comedian and actor Maz Jobrani has built a successful career in America, appearing in a variety of films, shows, and comedy shows. Using his platform to speak on numerous social issues, Maz has made it a point to speak up on topics such as racism, inequality, and immigration. Having grown up in an immigrant family, Maz utilizes his experiences to bring light to various biases, often using his comedy to do so. Doug Rand Doug Rand is the founder of Boundless, a tech company that helps families navigate the immigration process more easily and economically. For over six years, Doug was a part of the Obama White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy. He was responsible for overseeing the administration’s efforts to promote high-skill immigration, entrepreneurship, innovation, and the commercialization of federal research. Ali Noorani Ali Noorani is an activist who is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of The National Immigration Forum, a nonpartisan advocacy organization that works with various groups to promote the value of immigration. As a teenager growing up in California, Ali was able to forge strong relationships with people from different backgrounds. This has served him well as he has been able to build effective coalitions. Krish O’Mara Vignarajah As the President and Chief Executive Officer of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Krish is dedicated to helping the country’s most vulnerable immigrants. Prior to holding her current title, Krish worked at the White House, where she served as the Policy Director for First Lady Michelle Obama. She also worked at the State Department, where she was the Senior Advisor under Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. When she was a child, Krish and her family fled Sri Lanka due to the civil war. She has since dedicated her life to helping other families who have been forced to leave their homes. The post Immigration Activists to Follow first appeared on Yasmin Bashirova | Entrepreneurship. via Yasmin Bashirova | Entrepreneurship https://ift.tt/axkMCqv December 19, 2022 at 09:12AM

[memecucker]

One day after the Taliban seized control of the Afghan government, the Biden administration found itself struggling to explain why local allies like interpreters, drivers, security guards and fixers had been left behind.

The Biden administration’s justification—that many of the Afghans who had risked their lives to aid the U.S. military actually wanted to stay—left aid workers, refugee advocates and members of Congress gobsmacked.

The truth, those advocates have told The Daily Beast, is simple and stark: that they simply can’t pay for it.

“We don’t know of any SIV recipients that wanted to stay in Afghanistan,” said James Miervaldis, chairman of No One Left Behind, a group that works to aid Afghan and Iraqi interpreters as they resettle in the United States. “The reason they haven’t quote-unquote ‘exercised the right’ is because they don’t have the money.”

That fact was wholly absent from President Joe Biden’s speech on Monday, when he attributed the lack of evacuation to some kind of hopeful, last-ditch Afghan nationalism.

“I know that there are concerns about why we did not begin evacuating Afghan civilians sooner,” Biden said in a speech on Monday that largely laid the blame for the fall of Afghanistan at the feet of the country’s own security forces. “Part of the answer is some of the Afghans did not want to leave earlier, still hopeful for their country. And part of it was because the Afghan government and its supporters discouraged us from organizing a mass exodus to avoid triggering, as they said, ‘a crisis of confidence.’”

Advocates, members of Congress, and nonprofit organizations that work on behalf of translators and interpreters in conflict zones were baffled by the president’s contention, telling The Daily Beast that they had never encountered any successful SIV applicants who turned down a chance to leave the country—thereby escaping potentially deadly retribution from the Taliban—voluntarily.

“The administration’s claim that many Afghans did not want to leave the country earlier is inconsistent with our experience,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, who said that the Afghans her organization was working with were “desperate” to leave Afghanistan and were being blocked by a visa backlog that now tops nearly 70,000 applicants.

“Since the moment that we announced we were fully withdrawing, I have not heard of a single human being that was like, ‘Oh no, I want to stay and hedge my bets with the Taliban,’” said one congressional aide whose boss has been lobbying the administration to bring SIV applicants to safety. “That’s insane.”

There are an estimated 18,000 Afghans seeking a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), which is provided to Afghan nationals who worked on behalf of the U.S. government in Afghanistan or served as interpreters for American military personnel. Of those who have been granted the visa, only half were able to exercise their right to come to the United States before the Afghan government collapsed—mostly, advocates say, because most of them just can’t afford to leave.

Under normal circumstances, once successful applicants for an SIV receive their visas from the U.S. embassy for themselves and their family, they either purchase airline tickets for a commercial flight out of Afghanistan. But those flights can cost upwards of $2,000 per ticket, in a country where the median household income is barely $4,100 per year. Even for a lone SIV applicant, the price of safety is often out of reach. For a family of five, it’s nearly impossible to leave without obtaining a loan—meaning that even upon reaching safety in the United States, they are burdened with enormous debt.

Even American citizens are being stuck with an extraordinary bill upon being airlifted out of Afghanistan. On Aug. 14, as Kabul fell to the Taliban, the State Department’s Overseas Security Advisory Council released a security alert informing Americans abroad that “repatriation flights are not free, and passengers will be required to sign a promissory loan agreement and may not be eligible to renew their U.S. passports until the loan is repaid.”

For successful SIV applicants who cannot afford commercial flights—all of which have now been grounded anyway—they must apply for a seat on flights organized by the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations affiliate that provides migration services for refugees and displaced peoples. That process, Miervaldis said, can take up to five months—and that was before Afghanistan’s government collapsed.

“I guess it’s not enough for this administration to blame Afghans for losing the country because they just didn’t want it badly enough,” another congressional aide said caustically. “Now we have to blame people we fucking left there for us leaving them, too.”

The inability to pay for a flight out of Afghanistan, advocates said angrily, is not the same as choosing to stay—and is certainly different from doing so out of misplaced confidence that the Afghan central government would be able to beat back the Taliban.

[newstfionline]

Friday, September 3, 2021

US faith groups unite to help Afghanistan refugees after war (AP) America’s major religions and denominations, often divided on other big issues, have united behind the effort to help receive an influx of refugees from Afghanistan following the end of the United States’ longest war and one of the largest airlifts in history. Among those gearing up to help are Jewish refugee resettlement agencies and Islamic groups; conservative and liberal Protestant churches; and prominent Catholic relief organizations, providing everything from food and clothes to legal assistance and housing. “It’s incredible. It’s an interfaith effort that involved Catholic, Lutheran, Muslim, Jews, Episcopalians ... Hindus ... as well as nonfaith communities who just believe that maybe it’s not a matter of faith, but it’s just a matter of who we are as a nation,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. The U.S. and its coalition partners have evacuated more than 100,000 people from Afghanistan since the airlift began Aug. 14, including more than 5,400 American citizens and many Afghans who helped the U.S. during the 20-year war.

Hurricane Ida’s aftermath, recovery uneven across Louisiana (AP) In New Orleans, an ongoing power outage after Hurricane Ida is making the sweltering summer unbearable. But in some areas outside the city, that misery is compounded by a lack of water, flooded neighborhoods and severely damaged homes. Four days after Hurricane Ida struck, the storm’s aftermath—and progress in recovering from it—are being felt unevenly across affected communities in Louisiana. In New Orleans, power was restored Wednesday to a small number of homes and businesses, city crews had some streets almost completely cleared of fallen trees and debris and a few corner stores reopened. Outside New Orleans, neighborhoods remained flooded and residents were still reeling from damage to their homes and property. More than 1,200 people were walking through some of Ida’s hardest-hit communities to look for those needing help, according to the Louisiana Fire Marshal’s office.

More than 45 dead after Ida’s remnants blindside Northeast (AP) A stunned U.S. East Coast faced a rising death toll, surging rivers and tornado damage Thursday after the remnants of Hurricane Ida walloped the region with record-breaking rain, drowning more than 40 people in their homes and cars. In a region that had been warned about potentially deadly flash flooding but hadn’t braced for such a blow from the no-longer-hurricane, the storm killed at least 46 people from Maryland to Connecticut on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. In New York, nearly 500 vehicles were abandoned on flooded highways, garbage bobbed in streaming streets and water cascaded into the city’s subway tunnels, trapping at least 17 trains and disrupting service all day. Videos online showed riders standing on seats in swamped cars. All were safely evacuated, with police aiding 835 riders and scores of people elsewhere. The National Weather Service said the ferocious storm also spawned at least 10 tornadoes from Maryland to Massachusetts, including a 150-mph (241 kph) twister that splintered homes and toppled silos in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, south of Philadelphia.

President’s murder inquiry slow amid Haiti’s multiple crises (AP) In the nearly two months since President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, Haiti has suffered a devastating earthquake and a drenching tropical storm, the twin natural disasters deflecting attention from the man-made one that preceded them. Add the constant worry over deteriorating security at the hands of gangs that by some estimates control territory that’s home to about a fifth of Haiti’s 11 million citizens, and the investigation into Moïse’s killing is fast fading from the public consciousness. Even those still paying attention, demanding accountability and pressuring for a thorough investigation give no chance to the crime’s masterminds being brought to justice in a country where impunity reigns. It doesn’t help that Moïse was despised by a large portion of the population. “The hope for finding justice for Jovenel is zero,” said Pierre Esperance, executive director of the National Human Rights Defense Network.

Fancy a beer in Britain? In some pubs, supplies are running low. (Washington Post) Fears are brewing among pint-loving Brits amid reports of a national beer shortage. Some pubs say they are running low on pints of Carling and Coors—the latest victims of the United Kingdom’s supply chain crisis, sparked by Brexit and exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, that has led to headline-grabbing scarcities of items including McDonald’s milkshakes, beloved Nando’s chicken and the polarizing breakfast spread Marmite. “We are experiencing some supply problems,” a spokesman for pub chain Wetherspoons said Tuesday, apologizing for any inconvenience caused to customers. The lack of beer has been attributed to the ongoing shortage of truck drivers to transport goods, a problem sparked by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union following a 2016 referendum that divided the country. The driver shortage has not been helped by the country’s “pingdemic,” in which tens of thousands of workers were forced to self-isolate after being contacted by the National Health Service app for coming into contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus.

Merkel steps down with legacy dominated by tackling crises (AP) Angela Merkel will leave office as one of modern Germany’s longest-serving leaders and a global diplomatic heavyweight, with a legacy defined by her management of a succession of crises that shook a fragile Europe rather than any grand visions for her own country. In 16 years at the helm of Europe’s biggest economy, Merkel did end military conscription, set Germany on course for a future without nuclear and fossil-fueled power, and introduce a national minimum wage and benefits encouraging fathers to look after young children, among other things. But a senior ally recently summed up what many view as her main service: as an anchor of stability in stormy times. He told Merkel: “You protected our country well.”

India locks down Kashmir after top separatist leader’s death (AP) Indian authorities cracked down on public movement and imposed a near-total communications blackout Thursday in disputed Kashmir after the death of Syed Ali Geelani, a top separatist leader who became the emblem of the region’s defiance against New Delhi. Geelani, who died late Wednesday at age 92, was buried in a quiet funeral at a local graveyard organized by authorities under harsh restrictions, his son Naseem Geelani told The Associated Press. “They snatched his body and forcibly buried him. Nobody from the family was present for his burial. We tried to resist but they overpowered us and even scuffled with women,” said Naseem Geelani. As most Kashmiris remained locked inside their homes, armed police and soldiers patrolled the tense region. Government forces placed steel barricades and razor wire across many roads, bridges and intersections and set up additional checkpoints across towns and villages in the Kashmir Valley. Authorities cut most of cellphone networks and mobile internet service in a common tactic employed by India in anticipation of mass protests.

Women and technology in Japan (NYT) Japan is facing a severe shortage of workers in technology and engineering. And in university programs that produce workers in these fields, Japan has some of the lowest percentages of women in the developed world. Up to age 15, Japanese girls and boys perform equally well in math and science on international standardized tests. But at this critical juncture, when students must choose between the science and humanities tracks in high school, girls appear to lose confidence and interest in math and science. In these fields, the higher the educational level, the fewer the women, a phenomenon many blame on cultural expectations. “The sex-based division of labor is deeply rooted,” one young woman said. To help change the trend, two women with science backgrounds co-founded a nonprofit called Waffle, which runs one-day tech camps for middle and high school girls. Asumi Saito and Sayaka Tanaka offer career lectures and hands-on experiences that emphasize problem solving, community, and entrepreneurship to counter the stereotypically geeky image of technology. “Our vision is to close the gender gap by empowering and educating women in technology,” Saito said.

Taiwan Warns China Can ‘Paralyze’ Island’s Defenses in Conflict (Bloomberg) Taiwan warned that China could “paralyze” its defenses in a conflict, a stark new assessment expected to fuel calls in Washington for more support for the democratically ruled island. China is able to neutralize Taiwan’s air-and-sea defenses and counter-attack systems with “soft and hard electronic attacks,” Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said in an annual report to lawmakers seen by Bloomberg News. The document offered a more alarming assessment than last year’s report, which had said China still lacked the capability to launch an assault. While Beijing isn’t believed to possess the transport and logistical capacity necessary for an invasion of Taiwan’s large and mountainous main island, the ministry recommended monitoring Chinese efforts to expand training and preparations for complex landing operations. China already has the ability to seize Taiwan’s surrounding islands, it said.

Those left in Afghanistan complain of broken US promises (AP) Even in the final days of Washington’s chaotic airlift in Afghanistan, Javed Habibi was getting phone calls from the U.S. government promising that the green card holder from Richmond, Virginia, his wife and their four daughters would not be left behind. He was told to stay home and not worry, that they would be evacuated. Late Monday, however, his heart sank as he heard that the final U.S. flights had left Kabul’s airport, followed by the blistering staccato sound of Taliban gunfire, celebrating what they saw as their victory over America. “They lied to us,” Habibi said of the U.S. government. He is among hundreds of American citizens and green card holders stranded in the Afghan capital. Victoria Nuland, undersecretary of state for political affairs, would not address individual cases but said all U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents who could not get evacuation flights or were otherwise stranded had been contacted individually in the past 24 hours and told to expect further information about routes out once those have been arranged.

[minnesotafollower]

Biden Administration Announces Proposed Restrictions on Asylum Applications

On February 21, the Biden Administration announced a proposed rule that would  require rapid deportation of an immigrant at the U.S. border who had failed to request protection from another country while en route to the U.S. or who had not previously notified the U.S. via a mobile app of their plan to seek asylum in the U.S. or who had applied for the new U.S. humanitarian parole programs for…

[eagle-eyez]

In the backdrop of the Taliban making rapid gains in taking over huge swaths of Afghanistan, the Biden administration has announced that it is preparing evacuation flights for Afghan interpreters and translators who aided the US military effort in the nearly 20-year war.

But questions abound about their final destinations and their safety till they actually board the planes that will take them away from peril.

Here's what you need to know about the evacuation efforts, the process, possible destinations, lingering questions and who said what on the troop withdrawal:

How it will work

Afghan interpreters and translators who aided the US government or the US-led forces in Afghanistan from 2001 can apply for visas under the Special Immigrant Visa programme.

An estimated 18,000 Afghans have worked for the US as interpreters, drivers and other positions have applied for visas and await their applications being processed.

The Operation Allies Refuge flights out of Afghanistan during the last week of July will be available first for special immigrant visa applicants already in the process of applying for US residency, according to the White House.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to detail how many Afghans are expected to be among those evacuated in the first flights or where those evacuated will be taken, citing security concerns.

But an official speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters around 2,500 people will be part of the initial evacuation.

The Biden administration is considering a number of locations, including military installations both abroad (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, West Asia or Europe are candidates) and in the United States (possibly territory of Guam), to temporarily house Afghans while their visa applications are considered.

The administration is weighing using state department-chartered commercial aircraft, not military aircraft, according to an administration official, who was not authorised to publicly discuss internal deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

But the Pentagon said no such requests for such assistance have been made by the state department.

Tracey Jacobson, a three-time chief of mission in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kosovo, is leading the state department coordination unit charged with overseeing Operation Allies Refuge. That unit also includes representatives from the departments of defence and homeland security.

Russ Travers, deputy homeland security adviser and former head of the National Counterterrorism Center, is coordinating the interagency policy process for the evacuation, officials said.

Why Afghan translators and interpreters are being evacuated: The Taliban are on the rampage in Afghanistan, having gained control of several strategically valuable districts, particularly along the borders with Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The situation is so dire that US forces vacated Bagram Airfield — the US epicenter of the conflict to oust the Taliban and hunt down the Al-Qaeda perpetrators of the 2001 terrorist attacks that triggered the war — under the cover of darkness and neglected to mention the news to the new base commander.

While Biden has denied that a Taliban takeover in Afghanistan is 'inevitable', the US president has been facing tremendous pressure from lawmakers in both parties to come up with a plan to help evacuate Afghan military helpers before the US troop withdrawal on 31 August. The White House began briefing lawmakers on the outlines of their plans last month.

“The reason that we are taking these steps is because these are courageous individuals,” Psaki said. “We want to make sure we recognise and value the role they’ve played over the last several years.”

Life and death matter: For Afghans who provided any form of assistance to the United States government or US-led forces, not leaving the country in a timely fashion could literally be a matter of life and death. And the White House knows this from experience.

In Iraq, hundreds of interpreters have been murdered by militants and numerous others left facing death threats, assaults and abductions. As per this NBC report, tens of thousands of Iraqis who assisted the United States are still awaiting a final decision on their visas.

The Biden administration's stance also comes as a stark contrast to the previous Donald Trump administration, which basically slammed the door shut on the Iraqis who worked as interpreters for the US military. As per NBC news, The Trump administration in 2018 issued just two visas to former interpreters.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Kabul issued 299 special immigrant visas in March, 356 in April and 619 in May, according to the state department. Biden said last week that the federal government has approved 2,500 special immigrant visas to come to the US since his January inauguration.

Many questions on evac remain: Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said that much about the Biden evacuation plan remains unknown including how the administration will help those in areas outside the capital of Kabul evacuate.

“Unfortunately, there are still far too many questions left unanswered, including who exactly and how many people are eligible for evacuation. ... How will those outside the capital access safety?” said Vignarajah, whose group has helped resettle thousands of Afghans in the US.

“And to what countries will they be evacuated? We have serious concerns about the protection of our allies’ human rights in countries that have been rumoured as potential partners in this effort.”

Who said what on troop withdrawal

Speaking to The Times of India, General David Petraeaus, who previously served as the commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan, warned that the US 'will come to regret' withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. "Without the assurance of American support, Afghan forces would do “what some have already done — desert their posts, flee the Taliban or surrender,”  Petraeaus  added.

“I fear the decision to withdraw has consigned Afghanistan to a bloody civil war, and is likely to produce millions of refugees, cause damage to infrastructure and foist an ultra-conservative theocratic regime over much of the country that curtails the rights of women, democratic processes and human rights,” the ex-CIA chief further told the newspaper.

This, just days after, George W Bush, who launched the war while commander-in-chief, criticised the Western withdrawal in an interview with a German broadcaster released Wednesday, saying he fears for Afghan women and girls as the Taliban regains control of much of the country. “It’s unbelievable how that society changed from the brutality of the Taliban, and all of a sudden — sadly — I’m afraid Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm,” Bush said.

Asked whether he thought the withdrawal was a mistake, Bush replied: "Yes, I think it is. I've spent a lot of time with Afghan women and they're scared. And I think about all the interpreters and people that help not only US troops but NATO troops," he said.

 With inputs from agencies

from Firstpost World Latest News https://ift.tt/3i8qMUQ

[leanpick]

Overcrowded Border Jails Give Way to Packed Migrant Child Shelters

Overcrowded Border Jails Give Way to Packed Migrant Child Shelters

But the Biden administration has yet to solve one of the more troubling bottlenecks in the system at the border: quickly and safely releasing the minors from the shelters to vetted sponsors in the United States. The process is a balance of making sure the children are released to safe situations as well as trying to minimize the time they spend in government custody, said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah,…

[plusorminuscongress]

New story in Politics from Time: Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Executive Order Giving States ‘Veto Power’ to Reject Refugees

(SILVER SPRING, Md.) — The Trump administration can’t give state and local governments the “veto power” to reject refugees from resettling within their borders, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte agreed to block the Trump administration from enforcing an executive order requiring resettlement agencies to get written consent from state and local officials in any jurisdiction where they want to help resettle refugees beyond June 2020.

In his 31-page ruling, Messitte said the agencies are likely to succeed in showing that November’s executive order is unlawful because it gives state and local governments veto power over the resettlement of refugees. The judge issued a preliminary injunction requested by three national agencies that sued to challenge the executive order.

President Donald Trump’s administration didn’t immediately say whether it will appeal Messitte’s decision.

Agency leaders say the executive order effectively gives governors and county leaders a veto in the resettlement process. The agencies also argue the order illegally conflicts with the 1980 Refugee Act.

Messitte concluded Trump’s order doesn’t appear to serve the “overall public interest.”

“Refugee resettlement activity should go forward as it developed for the almost 40 years before the (executive order) was announced,” he wrote.

Church World Service, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and HIAS — a Jewish nonprofit — filed the lawsuit in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Nov. 21. They are three of the nine national organizations agencies that have agreements with the federal government to provide housing and other services for refugees.

Texas, which took in more refugees than any other state during the 2018 fiscal year, became the first state known to reject the resettlement of new refugees. Gov. Greg Abbott said in a letter released Jan. 10 that Texas “has been left by Congress to deal with disproportionate migration issues resulting from a broken federal immigration system.”

The head of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, said the ruling for now puts on hold a policy that was causing “irreparable harm to refugee families and resettlement agency’s already. “ She added that it essentially reopens the door for now to refugees being resettled in Texas.

“It’s a significant day in which the rule of law won,” O’Mara Vignarajah said.

At least 41 states have publicly agreed to accept refugees, but a governor’s decision wouldn’t preclude local officials from refusing to give their consent. For instance, the Democratic mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts, has refused to give written consent for refugees to be resettled in the city.

Trump’s order says the agencies were not working closely enough with local officials on resettling refugees and his administration acted to respect communities that believe they do not have the jobs or other resources to be able to take in refugees. Refugees have the right to move anywhere in the U.S. after their initial resettlement, but at their own expense.

Justice Department spokesman Alexei Woltornist declined to comment on the judge’s ruling. The State Department said it is reviewing the decision and has no immediate comment. John Wittman, a spokesman for Gov. Abbott, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on Wednesday’s ruling.

Ali Al Sudani, chief programs officer for Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, said many refugees were anxious after Abbott’s announcement. One Iraqi man contacted Al Sudani to say that he was in the process of being approved to go to Texas and asked whether he should request another state instead.

“It’s great news, but we don’t want this to polarize different communities even further,” Al Sudani said. “I hope and wish that everyone would come and see the fact that this is the right thing to do.”

During a Jan. 8 hearing, Justice Department attorney Bradley Humphreys said the Refugee Act gives the president “ample authority” to make such a change.

“Why change it now?” Messitte asked. “Is it purely a political thing?”

Humphreys said the executive order is designed to enhance the involvement of state and local officials in the process of resettling refugees. But he insisted it doesn’t give them a veto over resettlement decisions.

Messitte said it “borders on Orweillian Newspeak” for the administration to claim that the order is meant to merely “enhance the consultation” between the federal governments and the states and localities.

“It grants them veto power. Period,” he wrote in his order.

And giving that veto power to the state and local governments “flies in the face of clear Congressional intent,” the judge concluded.

The Trump administration has capped the number of refugee admissions at 18,000 for the current fiscal year. About 30,000 refugees were resettled in the U.S. during the past fiscal year; between 150,000 and 200,000 remain in the pipeline for possible U.S. resettlement while they live abroad, according to Linda Evarts, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys.

___

Associated Press reporter Julie Watson in San Diego and Nomaan Merchant in Dallas contributed to this report.

By Michael Kunzelman / AP on January 15, 2020 at 02:44PM

[lucriasafinancial]

LIRS Disappointed by Texas Governor’s decision to block refugee resettlement

LIRS Disappointed by Texas Governor’s decision to block refugee resettlement

Posted By: Anna Peel Jan 11, 2020, 6:37 pm

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Profoundly Disappointed by Texas Governor’s Decision to Opt Out of Immigration And Refugee Resettlement Resettlement

In response to Governor Abbott’s decision to block refugee resettlement in Texas, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service issued the following…

[ronniebelmont226]

Krish Vignarajah goes public about her breast cancer, hoping to ease ‘stigma and anxiety’ about the disease

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, a former candidate for Maryland governor, recently underwent breast cancer surgery, and said she decided to go public about the experience to help other women cope with the disease.

See original at: https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-krish-vignarajah-breast-cancer-20200611-lhqi3burlfbj3dbdthmom36cfa-story.html#ed=rss_www.baltimoresun.com/arcio/rss/category/maryland/

via Agnes Lives Here

[baltimorecheckbook]

Krish Vignarajah goes public about her breast cancer, hoping to ease ‘stigma and anxiety’ about the disease

Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, a former candidate for Maryland governor, recently underwent breast cancer surgery, and said she decided to go public about the experience to help other women cope with the disease.

from Baltimore Sun

[faithfulnews]

A Lutheran Group Has Condemned Trump’s Plan to Suspend Immigration During the Pandemic

Late Monday night, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that he planned to temporarily suspend all immigration into the United States. Trump said the move will help protect American jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.

“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!,” Trump wrote. It was unclear when the suspension will begin.

Throttling immigration into the U.S. has been a key policy of Trump, who has been frustrated by Constitutional constraints around his ability to seal the country off entirely. Thus far, his attempts to do so by decree have run up against legal realities. This executive order would be a new test on the White House’s reach regarding immigration issues. The Washington Post reports that the order was being drafted and could be signed as soon as Tuesday.

With more than 775,000 instances, the U.S. has far and away the most cases of coronavirus is the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. Spain, which has the second-most cases globally, has just 200,000. The U.S. is also currently leading the world in COVID-19 deaths, with 42,000. Italy has 24,000 and Spain just 21,000.

While most American Christian voters support Trump’s hardline stance on immigration, his restrictionist impulses have been difficult for faith groups, nonprofits and ministries who work with immigrants, many of which have been forced to lay off staff and slash programs in response. Even the number of Christian refugees fleeing persecution in their own country has dropped by 70 percent since 2016.

One group pushing back is the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, which called on the White House to continue to welcome asylum seekers and refugees during the pandemic. “America has always been able to respond to crises while upholding its obligations to the most vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers,” wrote LIRS President Krish O’Mara Vignarajah. “How can we shut our borders at the same time as our leaders openly encourage protests and the reopening of businesses like gyms and bowling alleys? To imply that immigrants are a threat to the vibrance and prosperity of America’s workforce is a xenophobic talking point — proven false time and time again.”

My statement on the forthcoming Executive Order to suspend immigration, on behalf of @LIRSorg. pic.twitter.com/eZLuJGFyL6

— Krish O'Mara Vignarajah (@KrishVignarajah) April 21, 2020

Some groups have mounted legal challenges to the White House in the past, but experts the Post interviewed say the pandemic likely leaves Trump in the clear.

“The president has been opposed to legal immigration for his entire administration,” said Alex Nowrasteh, the director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, who spoke to the Post. “This is an opportunity to close it down entirely, and this is about as legitimate as you can get in terms of a broad justification for doing so.”

The announcement comes as a number of states like Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee are beginning to roll out plans to reopen their economies and ease some stay-at-home restrictions, despite concerns that the curve may not yet be flattened enough to guarantee the safety of their citizens.

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