TASK FORCE INFORMATION:

>>Our next meeting will be held on December 14, 2020 at 7:30PM.  Please email any item you wish to have added to the agenda by noon on Wednesday, Dec 9.

>>As most of you know, Cynthia Ganung is a member of  The Needham Interfaith Clergy Association, as well as one of the stalwarts of the Task Force. During our October meeting we discussed how we could help the Metro West Worker’s Center raise much need funds for its food bank program, CASA.  Well Cynthia carried the day!  As part of its Thanksgiving tape that was sent to members of all the of congregations in Needham by the religious leaders of the Association, donations to the Needham Community Council and the CASA program of the Center was included.

 LITIGATION:

>>The Washington Post reports that on Nov 18, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to halt its practice of “expelling” underage migrants who enter the United States without a parent. The ruling also cast doubt on the broader legality of the emergency public health measures the U.S. government has used since March to impose strict border controls. The judge questioned the entire basis of the Trump administration’s use of a 19th-century public health provision that makes no mention of expulsion authorities.  SEE:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/judge-halts-expulsion-minors-border-covid/2020/11/18/80e58c52-29b8-11eb-b847-66c66ace1afb_story.html?utm

   NATIONAL NEWS:

>>MSNBC published an Opinion piece suggesting that increasing the number of Refugee admissions would be a great place to start undoing some of the damages created by the Trump Administration’s immigration policy, especially since there are already 120,000 individuals already vetted. Trump has set the number at the all-time lowest number of admissions in history, 15,000, for fiscal year 2021.
SEE:  https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/biden-s-refugee-plan-what-america-needs-heal-trump-n1247872?icid=msd_topgrid&cid=eml_mda_20201117

>>It just never stops.  Trump is contemplating issuing an executive order terminating birth right citizenship.  Of course there is the constitutional guarantee contained in the 14th Amendment, Section 1.  The Hill reports that the Trump administration has revived discussions around taking executive action targeting birthright citizenship in its final weeks before leaving office. Drafts of a possible order have been circulating for some time, and there is internal discussion about finalizing it before the Biden administration takes office in January. AILA Director of Government Relations Shev Dalal-Dheini told The Hill that, even if the order fails on legal grounds or is quickly undone by the Biden administration, “That’s going to have a deterrent effect on people who are seeking to come here, who may be present.  SEE:  https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/526950-trump-administration-revives-talk-of-action-on-birthright-citizenship?utm

 >>A breath of fresh air?  The Hill reports that President-elect Joe Biden said that he planned to use his first 100 days in office to take action on an immigration by sending a bill to the United States Senate with a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented people in America.  SEE:  https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/527470-immigration-executive-action-top-biden-preview-of-first-100-days?utm

 >> Time Magazine reports ( https://time.com/5907628/muslim-african-ban ) that President-Elect Joe Biden has promised to revoke the Trump-era travel ban on his first day in office—a commitment that families who have been separated by the ban are desperately hoping he follows through on. Under the most recent version of President Trump’s ban, citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, North Korea, Nigeria, Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan, and Tanzania face varying degrees of visa restrictions. 

LOCAL ITEMS:

>>SiSi Goneconto has sent the following information about a Zoom program entitled “What would our communities look like if we valued essential workers” presented by Smriti Rao and Diego Low on Sunday evening December 13th at 5:00pm. Reservations required:    http://valueessentialworkers.eventbrite.com/    For more information see: atmyneighborstable@gmail.com

 >> I had asked Bev to join presentation about Looking Forward to 2021.  If you wish to view the program, go to https://www.facebook.com/DrivingFamiliesForward/videos/773775943481046/

>>MIRA sent thru the following:  I wanted to encourage you to register for our upcoming Fall Speaker Series discussion, “The New American Integration Program: A Successful Model,” happening on Tuesday, December 8th at 1 pm. This virtual panel will spotlight our New American Integration Program (NAIP), which supports immigrant and refugee communities by providing English language classes, citizenship assistance and job readiness training.

Senior Program Director Christine Ntagengwa and Program Director Suzanne Metro will be joined by NAIP alumni and host site partners to share the impact of their service work. 2020 marks the 10-year anniversary of NAIP, and we look forward to sharing their stories and celebrating the service of those who have made this program so successful. Please register now to join us on Tuesday and spread the word to your friends and family.   (I was a member of the committee that created the original New American Integration program.  This program should be interesting as an update under current conditions that did not openly exist a decade ago.)

 REQUESTS:

 These are very tough times for many.  Georgina has compiled a list of organizations seeking donations for immigrant related organizations to assist those affected by the Covid virus:

            ++To Make Donations to assist immigrants adversely impacted by COVID-19 pandemic… 

List of some organizations assisting immigrants and refugees:

Locally, the    Metrowest Workers Center (http://www.mwc-casa.org  )

                         International Institute of New England ( https://iine.org/donate )

                         COSECHA. (https://www.lahuelga.com/#header-eng )

Other organizations:  

                        Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network  (BIJAN / Beyond),   { https://www.beyondbondboston.org   }

 At the Southern border: RAICES { https://www.raicestexas.org/ways-to-give/donate/  }

                                     Al Otro Lado – { https://alotrolado.org/take-action/donate/  }  

 and National Bail Fund Network { https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory   } of the Community Justice Exchange.

That’s it for now, but better days are ahead.

I hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving and will enjoy the upcoming holidays as well.  Stay safe and be well,

Gerry