I hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

TASK FORCE INFORMATION:
            >> IMMEDIATE RESPONSE REQUESTED. On April 30 and May 1, the Knights of Columbus is hosting a two day marathon to package 100,000 meals for Haiti.  This is an activity we should get involved with.  Please let me know asap if you would be interested in working a two hour shift on Saturday, April 30 from 9:30-11:30, Noon-2:00  or from 2;30-4:30.or Sunday May 1, from 9:00-11:00am or 11:30-1:30 The    K o C Hall is located at 1211 Highland Ave, Needham.  Children over 10 years are welcome.  I have to give the names and number by the end of the week.

>> The April 11 monthly zoom meeting was recorded.  The citation will be available shortly.
>> At the last meeting I was asked to prepare a sample letter to send to the President of the MA Senate, the Majority Leader and our State Senator concerning the Work and Family Mobility Bill (drivers license for undocumented)  See attached below.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION NEWS
>> DHS updated its fact sheet on efforts to assist Ukrainian nationals, including information on legal pathways for eligible Ukrainians, such as TPS, humanitarian parole, and student visas.

>> >> ICE issued a memo on April 3, titled Guidance to OPLA Attorneys Regarding the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Laws and the Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion(Doyle Memorandum). The objective of the memo is to direct the agency’s resources to enforcement priorities while also reducing redundancies and achieving fair outcomes. The memo will be effective April 25, 2022. This is a MAJOR change in policy.  For more information read the NY Times article:  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/us/politics/ice-immigration-cases.html
             (FYI: Kerry Doyle is the Principal Legal Advisor at ICE, in charge of the attorneys who represent ICE in litigation.  She practiced here in Boston for years, most recently as a partner at Doyle and Graves, prior to her appointment.) 
 LITIGATION:
>> Bloomberg reports that an Arizona judge ruled on Friday that the U.S. government must face negligence and emotional distress claims by immigrants who say they were traumatized by former President Donald Trump’s policy of separating families at the southern border. This ruling rejected a government request to dismiss a lawsuit filed in 2019 by the ACLU on behalf of a group of migrants.  SEE:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-02/u-s-must-face-negligence-claims-for-separated-migrant-families?utm

>> RollCall published an article about the states of Arizona, Louisiana, and Missouri filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Louisiana requesting that the court vacate the CDC’s Title 42 termination order that was issued last week and enjoin the government from applying it. SEE:  https://rollcall.com/2022/04/01/biden-administration-will-rescind-border-expulsion-policy/?utm_    (Title 42 was the section of the law that Trump used to bar foreign nationals from entering the US during the pandemic to file for asylum). [Aren’t litigants the same people who said the pandemic was false news, that the gov’t had no business in mandating vaccinations and masks?]
NATIONAL NEWS:
>> The Hill reports that the Biden Administration’s decision to lift Title 42, effective May 23, means it must now contend with a bottleneck at the border created over two years as the United States denied migrants their legal avenue for seeking asylum. In a recent House Homeland Security Committee hearing about Title 42, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Policy Counsel at the American Immigration Council, testified that “Title 42 has failed,” noting that the policy does not even serve as a successful deterrent, evidenced by Border Patrol apprehension numbers remaining high. In other Title 42 news, in case you missed it, CBP issued a memo on Title 42 exceptions for certain noncitizens in possession of a valid Ukrainian passport or other valid Ukrainian identity document. SEE:  https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3262913-bottleneck-the-border-problems-left-behind-by-title-42/?utm_

>> NBC News reports that after President Biden announced plans to welcome 100,000 Ukrainian refugees to the United States, African and Caribbean immigrants questioned why so many Black refugees fleeing their conflict-torn countries have been denied similar humanitarian consideration. SEE:  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/african-immigrant-advocates-point-double-standard-ukrainians-receive-u-rcna23092?utm_

>> More on Title 42:  The Hill reports that Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) sent a letter on Tuesday to the Biden administration asking the Director of the CDC to explain the science that was used to justify lifting the Title 42 order, which limits asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border. The administration has insisted the decision to rescind Title 42, the health order that has been used in expediting an estimated 1.7 million deportations, was based on science and not politics. SEE:  https://thehill.com/news/senate/3259989-burr-asks-biden-administration-for-science-behind-title-42-decision/?utm_

 >>.   FORBES reports that the Biden Administration is in a bind about admitting Ukrainian refugees.   “… While he was in Europe, President Biden announced that the United States would be accepting up to 100,000 refugees fleeing from Ukraine. But the U.S. administration is still trying to figure out how precisely it will admit these displaced migrants into the country. Until then, it may be worthwhile to consider what U.S. programs are open to Ukrainian refugees at the moment and what else could be added. …”
        SEE: https://www.forbes.com/sites/andyjsemotiuk/2022/04/10/as-44-million-ukrainian-refugees-flood-europe-us-stalls-pondering–options/?sh=79a15ece2e95

>> CBS News reports that nearly 10,000 undocumented Ukrainians have been processed by U.S. border officials in the past two months, as thousands of refugees displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have traveled to Mexico hoping to request refuge in the United States. See CBP’s memo exempting certain Ukrainian nationals from Title 42 expulsions. To find and share information on how to assist Ukrainian clients, SEE: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-ukraine-us-mexico-border/?utm_

LOCAL NEWS
>> MIRA sent the following: ” In just ten days, the Massachusetts House will begin debating its annual budget. We will be asking state representatives to support funding to build the capacity of state agencies to provide information and services in languages other than English. Stay tuned for our Action Alert during the coming week.”

Stay safe
Gerry Rovner