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An overhaul of the U.S. immigration system could be key to aiding Afghan women find a new life, advocates said during an event Tuesday to mark International Womens Day.

The war for Afghan women is not over, said Ambassador Roya Rahmani, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United States, adding that she worried the international communitys attention span for the plight of Afghan women has expired as the limelight from Afghanistan moves to the rest of the world.

After the U.S. withdrew its last troops from Afghanistan last summer, women living under the Taliban takeover were told to stay home from work, fueling concerns that the regime would reverse progress on womens rights.

In situations like this and around the world, women and children take the brunt of what happens. And once again, women are being forced back into the shadows and back into a life from time gone by, said Cindy McCain, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.

Sen. Jeanne ShaheenCynthia (Jeanne) Jeanne ShaheenAdvocates call for US immigration reform to help support Afghan women Putin's attacks on civilians raise pressure on US, NATO Biden imposes Nord Stream 2 sanctions MORE (D-N.H.) called for comprehensive reform to the U.S. immigration system that would address gaps in current law and provide for refugees from Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Its unfortunate that it has been such a partisan divide for such a long time, Shaheen said.

Critics have said that visas are difficult for Afghan women to qualify for and come by and that the processing time is backlogged and dangerously slow.

Its a bit haphazard right now with certain agencies and certain nonprofits, et cetera. I just think we need to reform the whole idea of this and make sure it works, McCain said.

Rahmani, Afghanistans first female ambassador to the U.S., said that the U.S. in particular has an ethical responsibility to Afghan women because of how the country wielded promises to liberate Afghan women as a justification for the intervention of American troops.

The U.S. should not be either looking at Afghanistan as a security issue, as a place you can experiment containment of terrorism, or a charity basket, Rahmani said.

Hawa Haidari, a member of Afghanistans Female Tactical Platoon, outlined the difficulties for refugees navigating the complex immigration system and applying for asylum in the U.S. without ready access to legal help.

Now living in Washington state, Haidari said that she and her four sisters are struggling to navigate that process in a new country and new language taking English classes and working in restaurants and cafes.

It is not the kind of job that we want, Haidari said. It is still helping us to move forward and live in peace here. I hope we can pursue our education, build our career and do our dream job here in the next few year[s].

Shaheen, the only woman serving on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, assured the audience that senators on both sides of the aisle are continuing to talk about what we can do to support Afghan women.

We really need a hand to help us, not a handout, Rahmani said, because one-time aid efforts create an insecure culture of reliance and dont empower lasting structural change. Rights cannot be also a handout like a bag of wheat. It is something that has to grow and brew from within.

The women spoke as part of Politicos Women Rule series.

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Advocates call for US immigration reform to help support Afghan women | TheHill - The Hill

Bidens First State of the Union Address Touches on Immigration

President Joe Biden gave his first State of the Union Address on Tuesday, addressing the full houses of Congress in the midst of the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and public concerns about inflation and the economy.

Biden touched on immigration during his address, framing immigration reform as both an economic and liberty issue. He called for a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers, and essential workers. He also urged Congress to revise the nations immigration laws so businesses have the workers they need and families dont wait decades to reunite.

White House Grants Temporary Protected Status to Ukrainians in the U.S.

The Biden administration on Thursday offered temporary protection from deportation to Ukrainians in the U.S. amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The White House announced Ukrainians who had been in the U.S. since March 1, 2022 would receive Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. People who are granted TPS are protected from deportation and granted work visas.

In addition to announcements about Ukraine, the Department of Homeland Security also added Sudan to the list of countries currently eligible for TPS and extended South Sudans designation by 18 months.

Koch Groups Launch Campaign For Immigration Reform

The Hill reported this week that mega-donor Charles Kochs political network has released a campaign to encourage Congress to take action on immigration reform. According to the report, Americans for Prosperity and the Libre Initiative are spending millions on digital ads, mailers, and events to encourage senators to push forth immigration reform as well as additional border security.

USCIS Expands Credit Card Payment Program

USCIS announced this week that it will begin accepting credit card payments for almost all form filing fees using Form G-1450. One exception from the program Form I-129. USCIS says it will evaluate the results at the end of the pilot program and work toward next steps to expand it further.

USCIS Updates Income Requirements for 2022

USCIS also updated the green card sponsor income requirements for 2022. The minimum annual income now needed for a household size of 2 is $22,887, up from $21,770 for a family of 2. Income requirements go up based on the size of the family and the amounts are also higher for residents of Alaska and Hawaii. To learn more about green card sponsor income requirements, hit the link in our description.

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Boundless Immigration Weekly News Archive: March 4, 2022 - Boundless - Boundless

Build Back Better, the top priority in the Biden Administrations agenda, is likely to fall through after receiving opposition from across the political spectrum. Nevertheless, there are certain provisions that deserve to be reviewed once again. In particular, Build Back Better offers the first broadly applying immigrant amnesty program since President Reagans administration in 1986.

Immigration remains one of the most fiercely debated topics in the nation and, as such, has avoided major legislation addressing it. Despite the polemics surrounding the issue, the case for amnesty may be clearer than expected. Amnesty for illegal immigrants would solve numerous contemporary political issues for native-born Americans and undocumented residents alike.

First, much to ones surprise, illegal immigrants in our current system are the beneficiaries of de facto unequal legal treatment, relative to legal immigrants and native-born Americans alike. Say, for example, an illegal immigrant were to commit a crime in addition to coming here illegally in the first place. They would have no reason to go to court for their secondary crime. If they did go to court, they would be quickly deported, as their entry to America was a crime in itself. There would be no point in even going before a court to argue any other crimes they had committed, no matter how petty. Furthermore, the government and/or police would have a difficult time tracking them down if they committed a secondary offense, as the illegal immigrant would have no legal documents or registered address.

Not only do these circumstances disincentivize illegal immigrants from appearing before a court, they also create extraordinarily perverse incentives to not report crimes committed against illegal immigrants. For example, a study from The Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University finds that sanctuary policies contribute to a reduced domestic homicide rate among Hispanic women by between 52 and 62 percent and, more generally, increases cooperation between local law enforcement and immigrant communities which helps improve public safety by lowering rates of domestic violence. Amnesty provides even greater legal protections for illegal immigrants and can be reasonably presumed to produce similarly positive effects in crime-reporting as sanctuary policies.

The outlined scenario shows how illegal immigrants are given both unintended advantages and disadvantages in our criminal justice system. This can quickly be remedied by providing documentation for illegal immigrants so they can be held accountable and hold others to account just like legal residents.

On top of bringing about a fairer society in the eyes of the law, providing documentation for illegal immigrants also makes contributing to the American economy much less complicated. While many illegal immigrants still manage to pay taxes one way or the other, a simplified tax filing process, brought about by not having to find loopholes or obtain an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, is bound to have favorable effects on the number of taxpayers. Thus, providing proper documentation for illegal immigrants would increase the benefactors paying into Social Security and other entitlements.

As per the Board of Trustees most recent annual estimate, an increase of 100,000 immigrants would improve the long-range actuarial balance of Social Security by 0.9 percent of taxable payroll. This is especially beneficial when considering the state of Americas aging population, as the United States has a relatively low fertility rate, at 1.7.

When examining the aggregates, similar positive growth is shown following an immigration amnesty program. In a study of a possible 2013 immigration amnesty initiative, GDP was expected to rise by an additional $830 billion over the next decade, with national income rising nearly $500 billion extra in that same span. Such figures do not come as a surprise when one considers that immigrant workers, entrepreneurs, and investors account for about 11 percent of all economic output, as noted by Catos Alex Nowrasteh. Considering more amnesty would be given out today compared to 2013, it can be assumed that these numbers will only rise going forward.

Not only would legalization be a boon to native-born Americans and the macroeconomy, it would behoove illegal immigrants as well. Providing illegal immigrants access to proper documentation and a Social Security number has improved their economic prospects in the past: following President Reagans Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), legalized immigrants saw wage growth of up to 15%, likely due to increased job opportunities in both number and quality. Enhanced wage growth among newly authorized immigrants was also seen proceeding President Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA).

Moreover, such enhanced wage growth for immigrants does not come at the expense of native wages. As Alex Nowrasteh summarizes here: the most negative estimate in the peerreviewed academic literature, immigrants increased native wages by 0.6 percent overall Such prosperity would hold especially true today, as more jobs than ever require E-Verify, leaving even fewer jobs for illegal immigrants.

To go even further, Yale University Professor Zachary Liscow conducted a study in 2017 finding that unauthorized teenagers were about 2.6 percent less likely to be enrolled in school compared to those with a legal immigration status but still born to the same immigrant families. When fewer young immigrants receive an education, we all lose from the entrepreneurship and innovation they would have otherwise produced. As Professors Scheve and Slaughter note in their 2018 article in Foreign Affairs, immigrants comprise 39% of US-resident Nobel prize winners in chemistry, medicine and physics over the past 20 years and have founded 43% of fortune 500 companies.

Build Back Betters amnesty plan would authorize about 8 million illegal immigrants to legally reside in the United States. While Build Back Better is unlikely to pass at this stage, this provision of the bill neednt die. It can and should be brought up as its own separate bill, and each member of congress should be made to vote on it in order for their views to be made public. Such a policy would not only ease many of the stressors dealt with by illegal immigrants, but would lead to quality of life improvements for legal immigrants and American citizens as well.

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The Case for Amnesty: Why It's Time to Explore a Path to Citizenship for Illegal Immigrants | Jack Nicastro, Siddharth Gundapaneni - Foundation for...

Beto O'Rourke said Saturday that his campaign for Texas governor is about the people, not "about the person, the candidate, the party," a lesson he said he learned from his 2020 presidential run.

Driving the news: "This campaign is the volunteers and the people who've signed up to join it. That's what it is," the Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate told Evan Smith, the CEO of The Texas Tribune, at South by Southwest.

The big picture: The former presidential candidate advocated for stronger voting rights, gun control and immigration reform and bashed Abbott's call for abuse investigations into the use of gender-affirming care for transgender children.

One other issue that has room for common ground, according to O'Rourke, is the question over legalizing marijuana.

The bottom line: O'Rourke said the "power is right now" with the people of Texas his campaign volunteers and the voters.

Go deeper: Greg Abbott and Beto O'Rourke to face off for Texas governor

See the original post:
"This one is on us, the people of Texas": Beto makes his case for governor - Axios

With the belated decisions by McDonalds, Starbucks, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to suspend operations in Russia this week, some of the most iconic global food and beverage companies have finally joined the ranks of international corporations delivering both an economic and symbolic blow to Russia.

Russias invasion of Ukraine has given the business community a rare opportunity to align its interests with the concerns of most Americans, particularly younger, more socially active consumers a prized demographic for youth-conscious corporations. In this case, business activism and savvy marketing could turn out to be a win-win for everyone.

McDonalds, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo were consideredbrands of liberation in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, blazing new trails in the former Soviet states and China. Still, for two weeks, these companies dithered in suspending their operations as other companies some with more at stake broke with Russia. Considering their status, it took a remarkably long time for them to close their doors. Possibly it was the shame of showing up on lists like the one created by Yale University professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and his team. Their roster of Companies That Remain in Russia With Significant Exposure has been acutely effective in tracking corporate laggards.

Despite the cost of abandoning major investments and the loss of business, there is a strong reputational incentive to withdraw,wrote Sonnenfeld in aFortunecommentary.Companies that fail to withdraw face a wave of U.S. public resentment far greater than what they face on climate change, voting rights, gun safety, immigration reform, or border security.

This corporate activism is straight out of risk and reputational management bibles, especially when recent surveys show that 75 percent of Americans want companies to close their businesses in Russia. With that kind of evidence, it doesnt require a high level of C-suite leadership and courage to muster a boycott to satisfy consumers and employees.

McDonalds Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski announced Tuesday it would temporarily close its 850 restaurants in the country, although it said it would keep its 62,000 local employees on the payroll during the suspension.Our values mean we cannot ignore the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine, he said in a statement.

Once McDonalds announced its decision, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo quickly followed suit. All this opportune corporate patriotism begs the question of why it took so long to leave Russia, even temporarily. Any further delays and they were inviting serious consequences. Its hard to find a reputational downside for companies that will likely continue to benefit from maintaining their embrace of democratic principles.

Taking the principled high ground poses little moral jeopardy here, but it does present some economic jeopardy and potentially some costs on the ground for employees in Russian cities. Take McDonalds. While Russian operations make up only about 3 percent of its operating revenue, they make up 9 percent of its revenue.

If the invasion continues for months or if it turns into an occupation, corporations will have to make tougher choices. The economic consequences could be substantial if those American restaurants, offices and plants in Russia remain closed. Once the accolades fade, the importance of shareholder value will return to the fore. Additionally, international business may be reaching an inflection point with a realignment of unchecked globalization, where free markets have driven global business policies for four decades.

But none of that may matter for the growing number of Millennials who are dominating the workforce (35 percent) and rising up in the ranks of politics, government and academia. Corporate social responsibility isnt just a good PR move for the Millennials, its a philosophy for life, even if it comes at a cost of higher gas prices or fewer options in the marketplace. Corporations may be forced to pay a tab for their years of well-intentioned but somewhat low-risk corporate social responsibility.

Temporarily closing businesses sends a potent message to Russian leaders, even if it is dismaying for Russian citizens, but the question is whether companies will walk the talk as the price for decency deepens. Thats when activists will find out if corporate America is a fair-weather friend or an ally in the bigger battle to safeguard human rights and defend democracy.

James R. Baileyis a professor of leadership development at the George Washington University School of Business. He is the author of five books and hundreds of articles, and the founder and editor ofLessons on Leadership. Follow him on Twitter@ProfJamesBailey.

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When business aligns with activism | TheHill - The Hill