Since the tragic attack on two National Guard members last week, Afghan nationals living in the United States are experiencing new levels of fear and uncertainty, reports Miriam Jordan of The New York Times.
After the attack, the Trump administration suspended all Afghan immigration cases and ordered immigration authorities to track down more than 2,000 Afghan immigrants with final deportation orders.
"Every Afghan is worried. They shouldn’t punish all of us because of one person," said Obaidullah Durani, a former fighter pilot who came to the U.S. with his children and now delivers Amazon packages. "I’m here contributing, working, paying my taxes. This is a country of laws and democracy; the man has been arrested."
Michael Williams and Priscilla Alvarez of CNN take a look at the breadth of the administration’s crackdown since the tragedy.
Separately, people of faith have not been spared — while others have been a source of support.
In Stow, Massachusetts, the Saints Tabernacle of Worship community is praying for the return of associate pastor Ruzana Nehonde, reports Lea Skene of The Boston Globe. Nehonde was detained during a regular immigration check-in despite "no criminal record, an adult son with birthright citizenship, a pending green card application, and a long history of compliance with ICE supervision," Skene reports.
Nearby is an unusual nativity scene, per Truman Dickerson of the Globe. And on NPR’s Morning Edition, Tyche Hendricks reports on the support and solace some immigrants are finding in their faith communities.
"Those salient community spaces and cultural spaces and faith spaces are part of the resilience of the community," said Lisa Fortuna, psychiatry department chair at the University of California, Riverside Medical School.
Welcome to Thursday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s VP of Strategic Communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Marcela Aguirre, Masooma Amin, Jillian Clark and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
TOUGH DECISIONS — In Massachusetts, many immigrant parents are preparing legal guardianship paperwork due to fears of detention and separation from their children, reports Sarah Betancourt of WGBH. Debora Ramirez, originally from Guatemala, decided to give her eldest daughter legal authority to care for her younger children. "[A]s a mother, it deeply saddened me … it’s like letting go of a piece of yourself," Ramirez said.
NEW ORLEANS — Charles Maldonado and Richard A. Webster of Verite News offer an on-the-ground update on the immigration crackdown that began yesterday in New Orleans. A Lowe's parking lot was the site of one action. "People are very afraid," said construction worker Israel Puin, adding that enforcement will hurt Louisianians who need home repairs: " ... [W]ho is going to do the job?" Reporting by Eduardo Medina of The New York Times validates that concern.
MINNESOTA — Enforcement actions targeting Somali immigrants in Minnesota have begun, WCCO reports. The station’s coverage includes the continuing response of local leaders to the president’s disparaging comments this week. "We are not backing down, we are not afraid and most importantly for most Somalis, we're citizens. We're not going anywhere," said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
LONG-TERM INTERESTS — The focus on immigration enforcement is threatening the long-term financial interests of older Americans, including many supporters of the president, writes Ronald Brownstein of Bloomberg. Restricting immigration could cause future cuts to programs such as Medicare and Social Security, he notes. And as economist Bedassa Tadesse and nurse practitioner Iftu Dorose write in their op-ed for The Minnesota Star Tribune, immigrants are a vital part of the health care system in Minnesota and across the nation.
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