Their centuries-old faith tradition of nourishing anyone in need has found new energy and purpose in America’s turmoil.

Many Sikh's first arrived in the America as Asylum Seekers starting in the 1980's, and more recently through traditional family and employment immigration routes.

An essential part of Sikhism is langar, the practice of preparing and serving a free meal to promote the Sikh tenet of seva, or selfless service. Anyone, Sikh or not, can visit a gurdwara and partake in langar, with the biggest ones — like the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India — serving more than 100,000 people every day.

The Sikhs’ biggest challenge isn’t keeping up with demand. It’s letting people know that they’re here — without making a big show of it or proselytizing, which is forbidden.

At least 80 gurdwaras in the United States are now providing food assistance. For many, the transition has been quick and seamless.

At many gurdwaras in the United States, most of those who show up for langar meals are Sikhs. Now that they are catering to a broader population, menus have changed to suit different tastes. In the Seattle area, volunteers at the Gurudwara Sacha Marag Sahib are making pasta and tacos in addition to rice and dal.

“The concept of langar is to serve the needy,” Mr. Pal Singh said. Before the pandemic, he said, most people participating in langar were local Sikhs coming more for social and religious reasons than out of need. The drive-through and deliveries will allow them to put meals into the hands of people who struggle to afford to eat.

Read the full article here at the NYTimes...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2020/05/31/in-some-cities-police-officers-joined-protesters-marching-against-brutality/#25e111285edb

As protests sparked by George Floyd’s death entered their chaotic fifth day, social media filled with images and video of police officers using batons, tear gas and rubber bullets to quell crowds⁠—but some squads joined in with Saturday protesters to express their stance against police brutality, and to show solidarity with the anti-racism movement.

“We want to be with y’all, for real. I took my helmet off, laid the batons down. I want to make this a parade, not a protest,” Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson was seen telling protesters in Flint, Michigan, before he joined the assembled crowd to march, eliciting cheers.

Officers in Camden, New Jersey, helped carry a banner reading “Standing in Solidarity,” and seemed to join in with the crowd chanting “no justice, no peace.”

In Santa Cruz, California, Police Chief Andy Mills took a knee with protesters in the pose made famous by Colin Kaepernick, with the department tweeting it was “in memory of George Floyd & bringing attention to police violence against Black people.”

Two Kansas City, Missouri, police officers⁠—one white man, one black man⁠—were photographed holding aloft a sign reading “end police brutality.” 

In Fargo, North Dakota, an officer was seen clasping hands with protest organizers while holding up a sign reading “We are one race... The HUMAN race.”

Officers in Ferguson, Missouri, participated in a nine and-a-half minute kneel in Floyd’s memory, with cheers erupting from the crowd.

Perhaps some within USCIS / ICE / CBP will take a knee next in recognition that many of the current policies they are forced to implement under the current administration are driven by racism and xenophobia? One can hope.

One can hope.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is asking Congress for a $1.2 billion bailout. The agency claims it will run out of money by the end of the summer without aid due to a decline in immigration caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Unlike other federal agencies, USCIS receives almost no taxpayer dollars, and is dependent on fees associated with filing applications for green cards, visas, work permits, US citizenship, and humanitarian benefits such as asylum. The pandemic has already brought on a “dramatic decrease” in its revenue that is only likely to worsen as applications are estimated to drop by about 61 percent through September, an agency spokesperson said. President Donald Trump’s restrictions on immigration, other countries’ restrictions on travel and the fact that necessary government offices aren’t open to process applications have all contributed to this decline.

To mitigate the budget shortfall, USCIS is planning to implement an additional 10 percent surcharge on all applications and sought Congress’s help on Friday, Buzzfeed’s Hamed Aleaziz first reported. The agency has also already limited spending to salary and mission-critical activities, but “without congressional intervention, USCIS will have to take drastic actions to keep the agency afloat,” the spokesperson said.

Why USCIS is facing a funding shortfall

Immigration has come nearly to a standstill over the past two months. The Trump administration has shuttered USCIS offices, closed consulates abroad, shut down the borders with Canada and Mexico and imposed a 60-day ban on the issuance of new green cards. Asylum processing at the southern border has also practically stopped, as Trump administration officials implemented a program to rapidly return migrants to Mexico without so much as a health exam.

While brought on by the pandemic, this kind of decrease in legal immigration is what Trump has long sought. He has railed against what he calls “chain migration,” referring to US citizens or permanent residents who sponsor their immigrant family members for visas and green cards. And he has sought to keep poor immigrants out by proposing to reject those who don’t have health insurance or who might use public benefits in the future. (Courts have blocked the restrictions on immigrants without health insurance from going into effect for now, but the policy affecting immigrants who might go on public benefits went into effect in February.)

USCIS hasn’t released data on how many applications it has received since the pandemic started, but has acknowledged applications are on the decline. The latest available comprehensive data, from October 2019 to December 2019, had actually shown a spike in applications — more than 1.9 million, as compared to 1.7 million in the preceding three months.

Applications dipped in March as compared to the same month last year across several temporary visa categories, including visas for people transferring within a multinational company, those who show extraordinary ability or achievement in particular industries, athletes, entertainers, and religious workers. It’s likely that applications plunged even further in April as the US instituted immigration restrictions and stay-at-home orders, and as economic opportunities dried up.

USCIS’s funding shortfall could be exacerbated as Trump weighs additional restrictions on temporary visa holders in the coming weeks. The New York Times reported that he is considering barring the issuance of new employment-based visas, such as H-1B visas for skilled workers and H-2B visas for seasonal non-agricultural workers, as well as ending a program that allows foreign students to work in the US for up to three years post-graduation.

Find the original article here: https://www.vox.com/2020/5/16/21260966/uscis-bailout-coronavirus-immigration-agency And read more here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/17/us/immigration-agency-uscis-budget.html

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is extending the flexibilities it announced on March 30 to assist applicants and petitioners who are responding to certain:

• Requests for Evidence;
• Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14);
• Notices of Intent to Deny;
• Notices of Intent to Revoke;
• Notices of Intent to Rescind and Notices of Intent to Terminate regional investment centers; and
• Filing date requirements for Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion.

Notice/Request/Decision Issuance Date: This flexibility applies to the above documents if the issuance date listed on the request, notice or decision is between March 1 and July 1, 2020, inclusive.

Response Due Date: USCIS will consider a response to the above requests and notices received within 60 calendar days after the response due date set in the request or notice before taking action. USCIS will consider a Form I-290B received up to 60 calendar days from the date of the decision before it takes any action. USCIS will provide further updates as the situation develops and will continue to follow CDC guidance. 

USCIS is readying offices to reopen on OR after June 4. Employees in these offices are continuing to perform mission-essential services that do not require face-to-face contact with the public while the offices are closed.

While offices are temporarily closed, USCIS will continue to provide limited emergency in-person services. Please call the USCIS Contact Center for assistance with emergency services.

USCIS field offices will send notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments and naturalization ceremonies impacted by the extended temporary closure. 

When USCIS again resumes operations for in-person services, USCIS will automatically reschedule ASC appointments due to the temporary office closure. Individuals will receive a new appointment letter in the mail. Those who had InfoPass or other appointments must reschedule through the USCIS Contact Center once field offices are open to the public again.

Our firm strongly suspects that different offices around the country will open and close on a continual basis for the foreseeable future. Up to date office specific openings and closures can be found HERE.

The President signed a new proclamation banning the entry of a number of new classes of individuals citing the impact immigrants have on the labor market during a period of high unemployment and the need to preserve State Department resources so consular officers can service US citizens abroad. He also alleges that immigrants strain our health care system.

The order is in effect for 60 days and he cites Sections 212(f) as the main authority. He also cites other sections of the US Code that don’t really impact the scope of this order and because 212(f) is the main authority cited, it means the focus is on visas and people entering the US from abroad via Consular Processing. Section 212(f) permits the President to bar the entry of immigrants and classes of immigrants he deems to be detrimental to the United States.

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In other words, this new rule should NOT have an impact on anyone that is already inside the United States, which will come as a relief to many.

It will also mean that almost no cases will be impacted because US embassies have already been closed for weeks now without any new immigrant visas being issued in the first place.

As we suspected, this is Trump making a 2020 Campaign move, not a real policy that is going to have any additional effect on what is already the current state of affairs.

This is merely an attempt to change the news cycle away from Trump's failures. It has nothing to do with protecting "American jobs" as the door remains open to all non-immigrant work visas. 

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Section 1. Suspension and Limitation on Entry. – The section broadly states that the entry into the US of aliens as “immigrants” is suspended. This means people seeking to come in as permanent residents and non-immigrant categories and other categories of entrants are not covered.

Section 2. Scope of Suspension and Limitation on Entry.

The suspension covers people if the following criteria are met:

- They’re outside the US on the effective date of the proclamation (11:59 pm – 4/23).

- They don’t have an immigrant visa valid on the effective date.

- They don’t have an official travel document other than a visa.

The following categories are exempt:

- Any lawful permanent residents (green card holders)

- People seeking to enter the US on an immigrant visa as a physician, nurse, or other health care professional, to perform medical research intended to combat the spread of COVID, or to perform work essential to combating recovering from or alleviating the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, as determined by DOS or DHS.

- EB-5 immigrant investors

- Spouses of US citizens

- Children under 21 of US citizens or prospective adoptees

- People who further important US law enforcement objectives, as determined by DOS or DHS

- Members of the US Armed Forces or their spouses and children

- Special Immigrants (including Iraqi and Afghani translators and religious workers)

- People whose entry would be in the national interest as determined by DOS or DHS. Potentially, this could include EB-2 national interest waiver recipients.

Section 3. Implementation and Enforcement.

The consular officer makes the determination if an individual is eligible for one of the exemptions in Section 2. DOS and DHS may set the procedures to carry this out. People circumventing this through fraud or willful misrepresentation shall be a priority for removal.

This order doesn’t impact people seeking asylum, refugee status, withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture.

Section 4. Termination.

The proclamation expires 60 days from tomorrow, but may be continued “as necessary”. A recommendation on continuing must be provided by the Secretary of Homeland Security (in consultation with DOS and DOL) within 50 days.

Section 5. Effective Date.

11:59 eastern daylight time on April 23, 2020.

Section 6. Additional Measures.

Within 30 days of the effective date, DOL and DHS, in consultation with DOS, shall review nonimmigrant programs and make recommendation to stimulate the US economy and ensure the prioritization, hiring, and employment of US workers.

Section 7. Severability.

If the courts throw out any part, it’s the intention to continue on with the rest or the order.

Section 8. General Provisions.

Boilerplate language regarding complying with budget and other rules.

The birds were chirping in the late afternoon sun. The strong scent of spring was breezing by gently. A young couple stood before me in front of my home and prepared to take a sacred vow of love and companionship, to stand by one another and provide for one another - in sickness and in health - for as long as they both shall live. 

Our ceremony of three was witnessed by the creatures of my garden and by a family playing games in their yard just down the street. Marriage in the time of Coronavirus allows for no other witness. As we safely maintain distance from one another, from young to old, and from family to friend we re-invent our norms, our customs, and ourselves to protect one another.

Why not wait to wed until we can reunite together? Sometimes circumstances compel us to press on. 

Indeed as those in the immigration world know, for many immigration benefits a marriage must be completed within a certain time period or one may need to depart the country and face months or years apart from their loved one before being reunited again. 

Marriage in the time of Coronavirus is no easy task. Simply obtaining a marriage license is tough as our public institution are shuttered, and finding someone that can perform the ceremony is down right improbable - but not impossible! 

So while storm clouds are brewing on the distant horizons, pockets of sunshine can and should be cherished right above us, and we should not be afraid to have a little fun and live our lives. Giving to and supporting others, wearing a smile bravely across our face, embracing love - these are critical to our well being at all times.

And so I found myself yesterday on my own front lawn performing the sacred ritual of marriage to ensure a young couple would live their lives together.

I wore my favorite outdoor farmer hat for our festivities, and warned them upfront that my sermon might not be quite what they'd heard before. And when I asked those assembled to speak now if any thought this couple should not be wed, I winked at the couple and peered briefly into a near by bush to verify that no lurking being was present that opposed their nuptials. 

It brought a strong ray of joy to me to be a part of their marriage that I will cherish during these extraordinary times, and I hope I've provided them at the very least a fun story to tell their grandchildren about one day. A story of our unique ceremony witnessed solely by my garden. 

Carl Sagan said it best, "The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth. We should remain grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides. The sum of all our evolution, our thinking and our accomplishments is love. A marriage makes two fractional lives a whole. It gives to two questioning natures a renewed reason for living. It brings a new gladness to the sunshine, a new fragrance to the flowers, a new beauty to the earth, and a new mystery to life."

On March 18, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services temporarily suspended in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs) to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). USCIS offices will begin to reopen on May 4 unless the public closures are extended further. Employees in these offices are continuing to perform mission-essential services that do not require face-to-face contact with the public. 

USCIS will continue to provide limited emergency services. Please call the Contact Center for assistance with emergency services.  

USCIS field offices will send notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments and naturalization ceremonies impacted by the extended temporary closure. USCIS asylum offices will send interview cancellation notices and automatically reschedule asylum interviews. When the interview is rescheduled, asylum applicants will receive a new interview notice with the new time, date and location of the interview. When USCIS again resumes normal operations, USCIS will automatically reschedule ASC appointments due to the temporary office closure. You will receive a new appointment letter in the mail. Individuals who had InfoPass or other appointments must reschedule through the USCIS Contact Center once field offices are open to the public again. Please check to see if the office in your jurisdiction has been reopened before reaching out to the USCIS Contact Center.    

Education and precautions are the strongest tools against infection. Get the latest facts by visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 website. Continue to practice good health habits, refrain from handshakes or hugs as greetings, and wash hands and clean surfaces appropriately.  

USCIS will provide further updates as the situation develops and will continue to follow CDC guidance. Please also visit uscis.gov/coronavirus for updates. 

In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it is adopting a measure to assist applicants and petitioners who are responding to requests for evidence (RFEs) and notices of intent to deny (NOIDs) dated between March 1 and May 1, 2020.   

For applicants and petitioners who receive an RFE or NOID dated between March 1 and May 1, 2020, any responses submitted within 60 calendar days after the response deadline set forth in the RFE or NOID will be considered by USCIS before any action is taken. 

USCIS is adopting several measures to protect our workforce and community, and to minimize the immigration consequences for those seeking immigration benefits during this time. 

USCIS will provide further updates as the situation develops and will continue to follow CDC guidance. Education and precautions are the strongest tools against COVID-19 infection. Please visit uscis.gov/coronavirus for latest facts and other USCIS updates

On March 18, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services temporarily suspended in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and Application Support Centers (ASCs) to help slow the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). USCIS offices will reopen on April 7 unless the public closures are extended further. Employees in these offices are continuing to perform mission-essential services that do not require face-to-face contact with the public.

USCIS will continue to provide limited emergency services. Please call the Contact Center for assistance with emergency services.

USCIS field offices will send notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled appointments and naturalization ceremonies impacted by the extended closure. USCIS asylum offices will send interview cancellation notices and automatically reschedule asylum interviews. When the interview is rescheduled, asylum applicants will receive a new interview notice with the new time, date and location of the interview. When USCIS again resumes normal operations, USCIS will automatically reschedule ASC appointments due to the office closure. You will receive a new appointment letter in the mail. Individuals who had InfoPass or other appointments must reschedule through the USCIS Contact Center once field offices are open to the public again. Please check to see if your field office has been reopened before reaching out to the USCIS Contact Center.   

Education and precautions are the strongest tools against infection. Get the latest facts by visiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 website. Continue to practice good health habits, refrain from handshakes or hugs as greetings, and wash hands and clean surfaces appropriately.

USCIS will provide further updates as the situation develops and will continue to follow CDC guidance. Please also visit uscis.gov/coronavirus for updates.