Trump’s freeze on immigrants and refugees

Excerpts of LA Times editorial:

President Trump … temporarily freezing immigration from seven Muslim nations and halting refugee resettlements from everywhere [provides] just the kind of symbolic act that gives weight to radical Islamists when they argue that the U.S. is an enemy of their faith.

Such efforts to restrict access to the U.S. by people fleeing war-torn parts of the world [is] misguided and inhumane. The Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, reported in 2015 that in the 14 years after the 9/11 terror attacks, 784,000 refugees resettled in the U.S. Yet during that time only three resettled refugees were convicted on terror-related charges — two of them for plotting against an overseas target and the third for hatching “plans that were barely credible,” according to the report.

What’s more, a study by the New America Foundation shows that 80% of the terrorist attacks in this country since 9/11 have been carried out by American citizens (although some of those perpetrators were naturalized citizens).

The U.S. became a wealthy world power in large part through immigration. And its openness has provided a lifeline to the oppressed of the world. … Trump’s actions are not only inhumane, they are a betrayal of what the United States stands for.

Trump’s immigration ban causes shockwaves

The International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian aid and refugee assistance group, called Trump’s decision to suspend refugee admissions “harmful and hasty” and noted that the US refugee program “makes it harder to get to the United States as a refugee than any other route.” Refugees must undergo an extensive vetting process — it typically takes more than two years to be admitted to the US as a refugee.

“In truth, refugees are fleeing terror — they are not terrorists,” David Miliband, the group’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “And at a time when there are more refugees than ever, America must remain true to its core values. America must remain a beacon of hope.”

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, expressed concern about the provision in Trump’s executive order that would prioritize Christians fleeing persecution and conflict in Muslim-majority countries over Muslims fleeing those same countries. “We strongly believe that refugees should receive equal treatment for protection and assistance, and opportunities for resettlement, regardless of their religion, nationality or race,” UNHCR and IOM said in a joint statement Saturday.

Abed Ayoub, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee‘s legal and policy director, said Trump’s executive order has sown “complete chaos.” He said his group has already fielded calls from people around the world impacted by Trump’s executive order, including from students and legal US residents who are citizens of the seven countries banned by Trump and are now stuck overseas.

Democrats also slammed Trump’s executive order, arguing his action establishing a religious test for entry is unconstitutional and un-American.

Jewish groups took particular exception to the day on which Trump signed the executive order: Holocaust Remembrance Day.

[CNN]

Ikea refugee shelter named 2016 Design of the Year

A flat-pack refugee shelter developed by Ikea and the United Nations has been named the best design of 2016.

The modular Better Shelter is made from recyclable plastic, comprises only 68 components, and can be assembled in as few as four hours.

Each structure is large enough to house a family of five, and includes a solar panel to power lights and charge devices. Since production started in 2015, 16,000 units have been delivered to countries around the world including Iraq, Djibouti, Greece and Niger, to be used as homes, temporary clinics and offices.

“Better Shelter tackles one of the defining issues of the moment: providing shelter in an exceptional situation whether caused by violence or disaster,” said juror Jana Scholze, an associate professor of curating contemporary design at Kingston University, in a statement.

“Providing not only a design, but secure manufacture as well as distribution makes this project relevant and even optimistic. It shows the power of design to respond to the conditions we are in and transform them.”

[CNN]

Mexican workers sent home nearly $25 Billion in 2015

Mexicans working abroad, mainly in the US, sent nearly $25 billion in 2015 to their relatives and loved ones back home, Mexico’s Central Bank reports. This is the first time remittances were the most important source of revenue for Mexico since officials started tracking the figure in 1995.

That money is a lifeline for many poor Mexicans, especially when the economy is struggling.

The Trump administration could make it much harder for Mexicans or Americans in the US to send cash to the country by blocking remittances — an idea Trump floated on the campaign trail in a letter to The Washington Post.

In the same letter, the Trump campaign also threatened to cancel visas and raise visa fees as means to either fund the wall or get Mexico to pay for it.

[CNN]

Mosul humanitarian highlights

Three months into the military operation to retake Mosul city from ISIS, civilians continue to have significant humanitarian needs.

• Potentially, up to 1.2-1.5 million people could be affected by military operations.
• Current displacement has risen to 160,000 people. More than 85 per cent of displaced families are in camps and emergency sites, while the remainder are in host communities, sheltering in private settings or public buildings.
• Up to one million people in Mosul city are estimated to remain largely inaccessible to humanitarians, sheltering from the fighting, or waiting for an opportune time to flee.
• There is no humanitarian access to ISIS controlled areas of western Mosul city.
• Humanitarian partners are increasingly able to access more affected people in eastern Mosul city, as Iraqi Security Forces secure greater control over neighborhoods in this area.

[ReliefNet]

Afghanistan’s continued descent into crisis

Afghanistan’s continued descent into crisis is forcing the country to increasingly rely on humanitarian aid that can only provide short-term relief while leaving the underlying problems unsolved, international officials acknowledged on Saturday, even as they launched a request for US$550 million in new funding.

Amid rising violence, economic stagnation, and social upheaval, the United Nations estimates at least 9.3 million Afghans, or nearly a third of the population, will need humanitarian assistance in 2017, a 13 percent increase from  last year.

While praising the humanitarian workers who provide vital care around the country, Swedish ambassador to Afghanistan Anders Sjoberg said the continued reliance on their services is a sign of broader failures. “Let us acknowledge that we’ve been doing this work in Afghanistan for too long,” he said at an event with international and Afghan officials in Kabul on Saturday. “This is a failure in itself. Humanitarian aid is not short-term anymore, it has unfortunately become a band-aid for the unresolved conflict.”

Since even before a U.S.-led military operation toppled the Taliban regime in 2001, international organizations have helped provide both more short-term humanitarian aid designed to address the most pressing and life-threatening problems, as well as long-term development support.

But last year saw record increases in the number of people displaced by fighting, with at least 626,000 additional people fleeing their homes, compared to around 70,000 in 2010, when the international military effort was at its height.

[Reuters]