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Before he was elected in November, Joe Biden promised that his theory of change for reforming the economy would be ending poverty. He pledged to champion a $15 minimum wage, affordable health care for all and federal action to address systemic racism. In the midst of an economic crisis, a pandemic and an uprising for racial justice, low-income Americans Black, white, brown, Asian and Native voted to overwhelm a reactionary base that President Trump had stoked with lies and fear.

As Democrats have argued about losses in congressional districts that saw a surge of Mr. Trumps base, some have suggested the Biden administrations mandate is to compromise with Republican demands. But Mr. Biden and Ms. Harriss victory depended on the turnout of a diverse coalition that wants economic and racial justice, and deserves bold policy solutions.

At least six million more low-income people voted in this election than in 2016. According to early polls, those with household incomes of less than $50,000 voted for Mr. Biden by an 11.5-point margin a more than 30 percent increase. This surge of poor and low-income voters of all races joined Black, brown and Native voters as well as white anti-Trump voters in the suburbs to meet and surpass the turnout of Mr. Trumps base.

Voters also supported at least 14 ballot initiatives across the country that increase taxes on the wealthy, protect workers, address housing issues and homelessness, bridge the digital divide, fund transportation, confront the criminalization of poverty and limit campaign contributions. Voters across the country demanded health care, living wages, the decriminalization of their communities and a system that taxes those who can afford it most. Sixty-three percent of Americans now say that the government has a responsibility to provide health care for all. Around two-thirds of Biden voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Nevada say that systemic racism is a significant problem, and the same proportion of Americans surveyed last year favored a $15 minimum wage.

Part of the support for Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris is explained by the deep suffering and desperate need that exist in a nation with 140 million poor and low-wealth citizens. Since May, at least eight million people have fallen below the poverty line, tens of millions of Americans may face eviction in the coming months, and families with the lowest incomes have disproportionately lost jobs. Its no wonder so many used their votes to challenge decades of neoliberal trickle-down policies that have not worked for so many.

To fulfill the mandate that the 2020 electorate has given them, Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris must reject the politics of austerity and fulfill their commitment to policies that address human needs and cultivate human capacities. While the Georgian runoffs will determine whether Democrats have a Senate majority, the new administration can take a bold stand now and commit to policies that would lift Americans regardless of their party affiliation. We must have immediate relief targeted to the Black, Native, poor and low-income communities that have suffered most from Covid-19, alongside universal action to address the root causes of inequality by guaranteeing every American access to quality health care, a $15 minimum wage, the right to form and join a union, and access to affordable housing.

To address the political obstruction that has made so many other policy changes impossible, the Biden administration must push to expand voting rights to include universal early voting, online and same-day registration, re-enfranchisement of citizens affected by mass incarceration, statehood for Washington, D.C., and full restoration of the protections of the Voting Rights Act. Real change can be sustained only if the level of voter participation we witnessed this year is sustained.

This administration must modernize the way the government measures poverty so that it accounts for increases in costs of education, housing and transportation. It should begin a federal jobs program, forgive student loans, honor the sovereignty claims of Indigenous tribes, secure quality public education for all and pass meaningful immigration reform.

The economy Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris inherit will have been weakened by the coronavirus pandemic, which will lead many on both the right and the left to caution that we cannot afford to be too ambitious. But the truth is we cannot afford not to. From the Trump administrations tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to the governments relief spending to shore up American corporations this year, we have seen what huge federal investment can do to lift the stock market. Its past time to see what the same level of investment can do to lift the American people.

We are both preachers, and our faith tells us the well-being of any nations soul is tied to the welfare of its most vulnerable people. If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, the prophet Isaiah says, youll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again. That is the nation millions of poor and low-income people voted for this year. It is the America we pray Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris will have the courage to lead toward.

William Barber II (@RevDrBarber) is the president of Repairers of the Breach, a co-chair of the Poor Peoples Campaign and the author of We Are Called to Be a Movement. Liz Theoharis is a co-chair of the Poor Peoples Campaign.

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Link:
Opinion | What Biden and Harris Owe the Poor - The New York Times

Arts & Entertainment

June Bayless: The pandemic may have ended in-person performances by the Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts, but her nonprofit continued to entertain online audiences with virtual performances and entertainment.

Derek James: Clips of the WCCB News Rising hosts snarky takes on pop culture appeared on national television shows. The Matthews resident also took time from his schedule to support local causes, like the Charlotte Nativity Festival.

Lee Anne Moore: She announced in May that the Matthews Alive Labor Day festival was canceled this year due to COVID-19 concerns.

Nanda Jayaseelan: She won the Great Trans-Atlantic Photography Contest with her entry, Artist in Residence, which captures a child decorating a tree trunk with a piece of blue chalk.

Chris Melton: The former Matthews commissioner volunteered with WDZD 99.1, a nonprofit in Monroe that won Radio Station of the Year at the Carolina Beach Music Awards.

Dan Peterson: He created a table out of the remnants of a tree that was downed by a tornado at the Matthews HELP Center. The artwork took him 20 to 30 hours to complete.

Dillon Smith: The Noble Records owner created a niche on YouTube for fans of vinyl records and music in general. Some of his videos have been viewed more than 50,000 times.

Sheryl Smith: She announced Mint Hill Madness would be postponed from May to August due to COVID-19, but the event was ultimately canceled due to concerns about community spread.

Business

Jennifer Adams: She opened Central Bark, a 7,000-square-foot doggy daycare, Aug. 27 near the Matthews-Charlotte border. The former banker was drawn to the franchises Whole Dog Care philosophy.

Jason Bernd: Novant Health promoted him to succeed Roland Bibeau as president and chief operating officer of its Matthews hospital. Bernd presided over the hospitals annual Festival of Trees celebration though it was a virtual event this year.

Roland Bibeau: He ended his 12-year run as president and chief operating officer at Novant Health Matthews Medical Center by earning a key to the town. Under his watch, the hospital expanded intensive and critical care services, as well as added more specialized care for cardiac and female patients.

Collin Brown: Brown represented Cypress Senior Living in a rezoning case that promised to bring a new form of senior living to Matthews. The concept involved unbundling services for a projected 128 apartment units, allowing for more affordable rates.

Michelle Buelow: Despite the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, her company, Bella Tunno, continued to give back through its Buy One, Feed One campaign. It donated more than 100,000 meals to people affected by wildfires in the Northwest.

Whitleigh Cook: The former Carolina Panthers cheerleader not only celebrated the 10th anniversary of Mint Hill Dance Center, but her business also won Best Dance Studio in Matthews-Mint Hill Weeklys Best of the Weekly readers choice campaign.

Kimberly Gossage: Charlotte Media Group recognized the attorney for her community impact in January. As board of the Matthews Chamber of Commerce, she explained to town leaders how local businesses were struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dimitrios Hondro: The Matthews physician was voted by his peers to lead the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians. His goal for the coming year is to support and provide a soundboard for family physicians in his industry.

Joel Madden: The municipal infrastructure specialist was a key cog in a team that secured a contract in September with Mint Hill to update the towns comprehensive plan. Town commissioners thought the teams knowledge of Mint Hill would help in planning smart growth.

Rob & Kim McClintock: The couple received Charlotte Media Groups Small Business Person of the Year Award in January for not only growing McClintock Heating & Cooling into a regional HVAC leader, but also working to educate current and future employees about the industry.

Steve Messer: He said the decision to rename Plantation Estates to Matthews Glen is representative of the values we have always stood for and our larger commitment to be recognized as an open, inclusive and diverse community.

Nicholas Parker: The president of Amicus Partners PLLC convinced Mint Hill commissioners to approve rezoning for McEwen Manor, a 166-house neighborhood fronting Lawyers Road. It would capitalize on the ability to walk to downtown.

Jessica Tullar: She took over as executive director of the Matthews Chamber of Commerce, which organized activities like the Hometown Holiday Scavenger Hunt to get people returning to local businesses.

Community

Arden Boyle: The Independence High School alum organized a Black Lives Matter demonstration in June at Mint Hill Town Hall after attending a similar rally in Waxhaw. Several such rallies were held following the death of George Floyd.

Chi-Liam Cody Brown-Erickson: The Matthews Police Department issued an Amber Alert for the infant on Feb. 21, but Charlotte police found the 6-month-old boys body soon after at Sharon Memorial Park in Charlotte.

Gina Coque: She not only valedictorian of Rocky River High School but she got into Yale University. The first-generation college student is passionate about immigration reform. Both of her parents were immigrants.

Iris DeVore: The community servant passed away in November. She was instrumental in creating The Happy Times Club, Matthews HELP Center and Levine Senior Club.

Carrie Flock: The retired professional boxer spent the latter part of 2020 training for a new title Ms NC Americas United States. She hoped to represent Mint Hill with a pageant platform of mentoring girls and women.

Katherine Greene: The Covenant Day senior was honored at the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards for Katies Kidz, which has collected and donated more than 50,000 gifts for hospitalized children since 2007.

Camille Harvell: The Butler High School grad said during a Black Lives Matter demonstration at Matthews Town Hall that she didnt feel safe when she looked at members of the town police department. She encouraged white people to become allies.

Sherry Liu: The Providence High student launched a mentoring program, Peer2Peer. The free online tutoring program connected students to mentors when support at school wasnt available.

Tim Marshall Sr.: Marshall attended a Black Lives Matter rally in June at Mint Hill Town Hall and had a passionate exchange with Mayor Brad Simmons about police reform. The four-minute clip was viewed thousands of times on our Facebook page.

Adhvik Pradeep: Inspired by Shark Tank, the 9-year-old created a produce and plant stand in his Matthews neighborhood that attracted other young entrepreneurs. He donated a percentage of sales to No Kid Hungry North Carolina.

Bill Stevens: He chaired the Matthews Silver Line Task Force, a citizens group that pored over data to suggest an ideal route for Charlotte Area Transit System to construct a light rail route from Charlotte to Matthews.

Greg & Elizabeth Thomas: The couple decorated their Heritage Woods home for Halloween with Star Wars characters, such as Jabba the Hutt, Baby Yoda, Darth Maul and Han Solo in carbonite. It may be the greatest Star Wars display in the galaxy.

Education

Joey Burch: He retired after six years as principal at Levine Middle College High School, but his impact was felt deeper at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, where he had worked for more than four decades.

Penelope Crisp: She took over as principal of Matthews Elementary School after serving the same role within three elementary schools: Lansdowne (2014-2020), Clear Creek (2010-2012) and Torrence Creek (2008-2010)

Elyse Dashew: She presided over several emergency school board meetings to decide whether schools should be opened or closed due to the fluid conditions of community spread of COVID-19. The board favored keeping kids at home.

Dennis LaCaria: He represented Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools during discussions with Mint Hill commissioners and the planning board to begin construction on an elementary school on the Mint Hill Middle School campus in 2021.

Wil Loesel: The Albemarle Road Middle School educator continued to teach from his hospital bed while fighting cancer, earning his national recognition, including from daytime TV host Ellen DeGeneres.

Rhiannon Polite: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools promoted the assistant principal at Northeast Middle School in February to the principal vacancy at Lebanon Road Elementary.

Bob Sorrell: He had the annual chore of asking town commissioners, on behalf of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, for an extension to keep the nine extra mobile units at Elizabeth Lane Elementary School on campus for another year.

Sean Strain: The area representative on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education pressed administrators to get students back into the classroom as soon as possible. Strain reasoned that time outside of the classroom could be detrimental to childrens growth.

Josh Swartzlander: Queens Grant High School made news across the region for installing a UV light system to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Jenna Tomlinson: The Butler history educator earned Southeast Learning Community Teacher of the Year honors. This made her a finalist for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Teacher of the Year.

Ericia Turner: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools recognized her as Principal of the Year. Turner has led Rocky River High School since 2016. She gave 2020 graduates rocks to remind them they were strong, stable and able to survive.

Earnest Winston: As superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Winston faced scrutiny during the pandemic from parents wanting their children back in classrooms and from staff preferring to work remotely.

Faith/Nonprofits

Mumukshu Brahmbhatt: MB brought together community leaders, including three mayors past and present, to raise $100,000 for the Matthews HELP Center in a campaign called Matthews Helping Matthews.

Andrew Byrd: The lead pastor at Greater Life Church filmed heartfelt video while battling COVID-19. He eventually recovered.

Sandra Conway: Her nonprofit, Matthews HELP Center, saw increased demand for crisis services, such as help paying utility and housing bills. The charity received a $100,000 boost from the Matthews Helping Matthews community campaign.

Bill Helms: He chaired the Matthews Human Service Council board of directors as the group celebrated its 25th year. Helms also provided strategic guidance to the Matthews Historical Foundation.

Dahn Jenkins: The Levine Senior Center started providing weekly drive-by meals in April to boost the morale of older adults during the pandemic. Staff planned a Drive By Holiday Meal and Care Package Event, too.

Jason Michel: The Matthews congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints welcomed him as the new bishop. He replaced Jesse Conn. He described himself as a cog in the wheel of the church

John Munro: The Calvary Church senior pastor was one of several in the area to adapt to weekly sermons going virtual. He told those watching in April they were among viewers from 30 countries around the world.

Ben Pinegar: The Brace YMCA leader appealed to Matthews commissioners for more flexibility with its property since the campus was losing seven acres of field space to a N.C. Department of Transportation road project at the Weddington Road and I-485 interchange.

Natisha Rivera-Patrick: Her organization, Greater Matthews Habitat for Humanity, dedicated its 113th home, which was the first two-story house in the charitys history. She launched the Affordable Housing Alliance, a group of community partners working toward more affordable housing.

Kim Rhodarmer: She saw a surge in demand for crisis support during the pandemic as executive director at The Servants Heart of Mint Hill.

Sue Sproat: The executive director for C.O.S.Kids earned the Nancy Glenn Community Servant Award for her leadership following a tornado and the COVID-19 pandemic. She raised the childcare agencys profile nationally, too.

Barbara Taylor: The Matthews Heritage Museum director helped solve the mystery of gravestones found in the Crestdale Crossing neighborhood.

Mark Tofano: The Matthews resident assumed command of the Hooks Orr American Legion Post 235. The post restored the veterans memorial at Stumptown Park and maintained many of the groups traditional programs in spite of the pandemic.

Chuck Wilson: His friendship with the Rev. Larry Whitley and the collaboration between their churches was the subject of a WSOC programming about improving race relations within the Charlotte region.

Food/Drink

David Andrews: His restaurant, The Hill Bar and Grill, won Matthews-Mint Hill Weeklys Munch Madness: Road to the Final Fork bracket challenge. It shut down March 21 due to COVID-19 concerns and reopened on April 24.

Jay Camp: The Matthews planning director vetted a proposal to allow temporary outdoor seating in downtown so businesses can be more competitive during mass gathering restrictions.

Justin Haas & Justin Hayes: The pair was not fazed by the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on area businesses as they opened Fullwood Market in September. The shop specializes in goods made in the Carolinas.

Rob Jacik: The downtown Matthews supporter merged Carolina Beer Temple and Temple Mojo into one location, retaining the temple name.

Bob Klein: The Stumptown Station owner sought help from Matthews leaders to save his business after Gov. Roy Coopers enacted restrictions that hurt bars.

Frank La Fragola Jr.: A managing partner of Jekyll & Hyde in Matthews, he encouraged town commissioners to support local businesses at a time when the county proposed stricter COIVD-19 restrictions than the state.

Kevin Nelson: The Mint Hill resident took over as owner of Black Chicken Wine Cellar in Matthews. He didnt envision a complete overall, just some tweaks to the downtown wine spot. The restaurant was renamed the Matthews Wine Cellar.

Steven Overcash: The principal of ODA Architecture pitched the idea to Mint Hill commissioners to open a brewery tap room in downtown. The project prompted discussion about whether the town needed to regulate the use to prevent oversaturation.

Chis Sottile: His business, The Loyalist Market, supplied meals to children in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Union County Public Schools during the early days of COVID-19. He raised more than $41,000 through GoFundMe for the effort.

Politics

Bill Brawley: Bill Brawley touted some of his legislative victories in a bid to return to the District 103 seat in the N.C. House of Representatives, but the Matthews resident couldnt overcome incumbent Rachel Hunt in the November election.

Roy Cooper: The governor issued a series of restrictions designed to stop the spread of COVID-19 that closed schools and businesses. He verbally sparred with President Trump over the crowd size inside the Republican National Convention in Charlotte. He was reelected in November.

Barbara Dement: Three months after winning a second term on the Matthews Board of Commissioners, Dement resigned from her seat, citing professional responsibilities.

Renee Garner: The Matthews mayor pro tem played a role in smoothing over friction with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools over House Bill 514. She also called for more training and transparency within the Matthews Police Department following the death of George Floyd.

John Higdon: The Matthews mayor led the effort to improve town relations with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools by committing not to build charter schools. He also was vocal about separating from Mecklenburg Countys harsher COVID-19 restrictions in an attempt to provide relief to businesses.

Rachel Hunt: After earning a second term in the November election, the state lawmaker was receptive toward Matthews town leaders legislative agenda, which sought more local authority and less state overreaching.

Jeff Jackson: The N.C. senator handed over the reigns to his reelection campaign to his wife, Marissa Jackson, after the Army National Guard captain was called in for training.

Ken McCool: He was appointed to replace Barbara Dement on the Matthews Board of Commissioners. McCool called out Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in July for leaving many of the questions he and his colleagues had about the districts Plan B-Plus Remote reopening unanswered.

Jeff Miller: The Matthews commissioner generally supported measures that would help local businesses cope amid COVID-19 restrictions. He offered a specific proposal to support downtown businesses by organizing block parties.

Susan Rodriguez-McDowell: The Democrat won a second term on the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners. She recently met with Matthews commissioners to get feedback on how she can best represent them.

Brad Simmons: The Mint Hill mayor increased his communication with the public beginning in the early days of COVID-19, encouraging them to stay at home. He made progress on goals such as streaming meetings online and updating the towns comprehensive plan.

John Urban: The Matthews commissioner spoke of the urgency in securing a long-term lease for the Matthews Free Medical Clinic.

Larry Whitley: The Matthews commissioner continued to call for the need for more diversity among town staff. He wanted to see police officers go through diversity training to ensure no one on patrol hates black people.

Government

Hazen Blodgett: The town manager sought a 3% raise for town staff after Matthews appeared to have a much stronger budget year-to-date compared to 2019 despite the COVID-19 pandemic. He attributed that to conservative budgeting.

Dena Diorio: The Mecklenburg County manager has not only focused on preventing and stopping the spread of COVID-19, but shes also worked on recovery. She formed a round table of business leaders to get creative ideas.

Gibbie Harris: The Mecklenburg County public health director became a household name locally as she presided over press conferences throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She would not approve of situations in which restaurants or bars could not enforce social distancing.

Corey King: He leads the Matthews Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resource Department, which altered some of its popular programming to fit with state restrictions on gatherings. King also gauged town commissioners feelings on recruiting sponsors to stretch the budget for a future dog park.

Rob Kinniburgh: The Matthews Fire & EMS chief has had daily contact with emergency personnel across Mecklenburg County about COVID-19. He shared monthly updates on coronavirus at town commissioner meetings.

Tim Ledford: The Mint Hill police chief retired this month. He has led the department since 2008. During his tenure, he worked to ensure officers were approachable.

Chris Matthews: The county park and recreation division director of nature preserves and natural resources talked about the fall opening of the Stevens Creek Nature Center. The Mint Hill attraction is the countys fourth nature preserve.

Andy Mock: He served as senior project manager for the Charlotte Area Transit Systems LYNX Silver Line, a project connecting Charlotte and Matthews through 26 miles of light rail. He was the Charlotte Area Transit Systems point man to interact with the community.

Clark Pennington: The Matthews police chief worked to restore local trust between his department and the community following the death of George Floyd. He also pursued grants to reduce collisions on major highways.

Brian Welch: The Mint Hill town manager continued the tradition of conservative spending mid-year when he recommended a general fund of $19.7 million that kept the tax rate at 0.255 per $100 of assessed valuation.

Sports

Read more here:
Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly's 100 Biggest Newsmakers of 2020 - matthewsminthillweekly.com

After years of steadily slashing the number of refugees it will accept, the U.S. can expect to see an increase under the incoming Biden administration.

An eight-fold increase and then some.

President-elect Joe Biden has said that when he enters office next month, he plans to raise the number of refugees who can be admitted to the U.S. to 125,000 from the current cap of 15,000.

The current number was the most recent in an annual series of reductions by President Donald Trump, who inherited a refugee cap of 85,000 from President Barack Obama. Trump has since cut the number steadily, to 50,000 in 2017, then 45,000, then 30,000, then 18,000 for 2020 and, finally, 15,000 for next year.

Refugee groups in Arizona have compared the Trump administrations cuts to the U.S. closing its doors during the Holocaust. The reduction comes despite what the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees calls the largest international refugee crisis since the end of World War II, with almost 80 million people, or about 1% of the worlds population, forcibly displaced.

Other critics said the move harmed the countrys reputation as a world leader, for failing to lead by example.

But defenders of the new refugee ceiling the lowest since the Refugee Act of 1980 said it will protect American jobs during the recession and limit the abuse of the policy by those who are not in humanitarian need.

The admission of up to 15,000 refugees to the United States during FY 2021 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest, Trump said in the Oct. 27 memo to the State Department ordering the cuts.

The memo also said the U.S. would bar refugees from Syria, Somalia and Yemen, calling those countries high-risk areas of terrorist presence or control, with some exceptions based on referrals, family reunification and religious persecution.

Phoenix resident Muktar Sheikh shudders to think what Trumps latest order could have meant for him and his family, which was forced to flee a civil war there.

That cap is putting a lot of families in struggle, especially those whove been waiting a long time and somebody shut the door on their face, Sheikh said.

For refugees looking to find a new home, when they get denied, they feel unwanted, Sheikh said. They feel almost as if theyre not humans.

His own familys path to the U.S. was not an easy one. They escaped to Kenya, then Egypt, living in U.N. refugee camps. After six years as refugees, and repeated rejection by other countries of their request for refugee status, they turned to the U.S.

Sheikhs image of America was formed by his older brothers somewhat limited knowledge. Were going where Rambo is at, he recalled his brother saying.

The family resettled in Arizona where Sheikh said they were welcomed with open arms by the Somali Association of Arizona, where he now works. Its the first time I really had community, he said.

Sheikh is one of more than 80,000 refugees that Arizona has accepted since 1980, according to the Arizona Department of Economic Securitys refugee resettlement program. But the number of resettled refugees has dropped sharply in recent years as the cap on admissions has been lowered.

Besides hitting refugees themselves, the cuts also hurt groups like the International Rescue Committee in Phoenix, whose federal funding is based on the number of refugees admitted each year.

Stanford Prescott, the IRCs community engagement coordinator, said the reductions have hurt the groups ability to provide services like housing, education and medical assistance to refugees, both the newly arrived and those who have been here for years.

This really hampers our ability to help the people who are already here, Prescott said. We are able, through our programs, to serve refugees up to five years after arrival the funding to provide that long-term support primarily comes from new arrivals.

But Ira Mehlman is not convinced that every refugee the policy resettles is worthy of the status of refugee. The policy has loopholes that allow economic migrants into the U.S. who then threaten to take Americans jobs, he said, loopholes that must be closed before raising the refugee cap.

(The 1980 act) has not really changed since then, but the world has changed, said Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

Prescott warns there is a down side for the U.S. closing its doors.

Historically, of the Western nations, we have had the largest refugee resettlement of any third-party country program, he said. Refugee resettlement is a foreign policy tool. It helps to stabilize regions. It helps to demonstrate U.S. values around the globe.

While the Biden administration is expected to reverse Trumps policies, refugees like Sheikh wonder if they will come in time for some. He thinks about his mother who had to feed six children and what it would have meant for her to have to wait for a new administration to change the policy maybe another four years.

Its heartbreaking and I could almost cry when family members come to me and they cant see their son anymore because of Donald Trump, Sheikh said.

But his background wont let him stop loving the U.S.

I always believed things could be better, Sheikh said. You develop that love as a refugee. When youre finding a home, you probably love it more than the people who have long lived in this country because you know what its worth.

Go here to see the original:
After years of lowered refugee admissions, Biden plans sharp reversal - Prescott eNews

December 22, 2020

Covid-19 and its economic impact ranked as the top topic in 2020 affecting the staffing industry. Of course, there was a contentious presidential election, legislative changes and more. SIA took a look back at some of the top stories and trends affecting the industry in 2020; here is what we found.

It starts with the pandemic and economic downturn brought by the shutdown orders.

SIA estimated US staffing industry revenue will be down 17% this year compared to 2019, according to the US Staffing Industry Forecast: September 2020 Update. It noted that Covid-19 brought an abrupt end to sustained growth in the US industry. The staffing industry had grown 3% in 2019 and 4% in 2018. Next year does contain some better news with the industry revenue projected to increase by 12%.

Jobs. At the start of the year, there were reports of staffing employees being furloughed and pay cuts taking place as the pandemic began. The lockdowns hit many industries hard, and the US lost 20.8 million jobs in April compared to March, according to seasonally adjusted numbers from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. The US has added back 12.3 million jobs since then; however, the pace of increases has slowed as of late.

Economy. Looking at the economy, real gross domestic product fell at an annual rate of 31.4% in the second quarter before rising at an annual rate of 33.4% in the third, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Industry growth. Only two staffing segments are forecast to post growth in 2020: travel nursing and life sciences.

Travel nursing was the stronger of the two, projected to grow 10% as healthcare organizations struggle to staff operations amid the pandemic. One healthcare staffing executive said he had not seen this number of job orders before, according to an article last month in theStaffing Industry Review Online Showcase. The surge in Covid-19 is raising demand across the country. In a separate story this week, a state official in Tennessee said staffing firms were maxed out.

Covid-19s disruption continues, but few at the start of the year thought things would turn out this way. Though the severity of the situation became more and more apparent. A Feb. 24 news posting pointed to an article by CNN titled Coronavirus is fast becoming an economic pandemic. It quoted an expert that cautioned the spread of the virus into Italy at the time made it a European issue and possibly a global issue that could upset the supply chain for months or years to come. US shutdowns came in mid-March.

For many workers still on the job, work from home became the new normal and words such as Zoom joined everyday vocabulary. Though words such as burnout are also becoming more common in the latter part of the pandemic. One survey cited 76% of workers are experiencing burnout.

Covid-19 wasnt the only thing on peoples minds in 2020. There was the presidential election and a divided country.

Diversity became more important than ever with the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor making headlines along with the Black Lives Matter protests. Staffing client companies had been concerned about diversity even before 2020, but the events of this year focused their attention on it more tightly,Staffing Industry Review magazinereported.

Independent contractor classification. Independent contractor compliance also made headlines. Californias AB 5 law that gets tough on independent contractor misclassification went into effect on Jan. 1.

Human cloud firms such as Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) and Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ: LYFT) faced questions on whether they would have to reclassify their California drivers as employees. Then the states voters approved Proposition 22 in November, allowing the human cloud firms to continue classifying the drivers as independent contractors.

Separately, the US Department of Labor in September proposed a rule aimed at clarifying who is an employee and who is an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act. A group of 24 attorneys general sent a letter to Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia opposing the rule. As of press time, the final rule has not been issued, though the Trump administration is expected to issue it in its final days.

The legislative front had other events as well.

Joint employment. Final rules on joint employment were released this year by both the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board. The Department of Labors rule, announced in January and effective March 16, updated regulations interpreting joint employment status under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The final rule includes a four-factor test for determining FLSA joint-employer status in situations where an employee performs work for one employer that simultaneously benefits another entity or individual.However, a federal judge in September determined the rule is arbitrary and capricious, vacating the departments new test under the law for determining vertical employment when a worker enters a relationship with one company, such as a staffing firm, but is economically dependent on another employer.

The National Labor Relations Board released its final rule covering joint-employer status in February, reversing the 2015 Browning-Ferris ruling by the Obama-era NLRB. The new rule, which went into effect April 27, applies to issues involving the National Labor Relations Act.

Immigration and work visas. H-1B visas were an issue as well.

The Trump administration this year moved forward with long-touted immigration reform including changes to the program for H-1B visas, which are used to bring in highly skilled workers, such as IT and healthcare professionals, on a temporary basis. Although some of the restrictions remain tied up in the court system, denials for H-1B petitions have remained at high levels.

H-1B actions that faced legal backlash included wages, occupations and itineraries. The Department of Labor issued a rule that required employers using H-1B visas to pay the workers the higher of either the prevailing wage or the actual wage paid to other employees with similar experience and qualifications. In addition, the US Department of Homeland Security enacted a regulation to revise the definition of specialty occupation and also make it more difficult for H-1B professionals to conduct work at third-party customer locations. And US Citizenship and Immigration Services instructed officers to stop applying previous policies that required staffing firms to provide detailed itineraries and job duties for H-1B candidates; a bona fide job offer must exist at the time of filing, and benching remains prohibited except in certain limited circumstances.

However, The US Chamber of Commerce and other plaintiffs filed separate actions opposing both the Department of Labor prevailing wage rule and the Department of Homeland Security specialty occupation rule. These cases were combined into one case and a California federal judge on Dec. 1 set aside the rule, The National Law Review reported.

2020 also saw several large deals in the workforce ecosystem. Here are a few examples:

Human cloud platform Grubhub Inc. struck a $7.3 billion deal to be acquired by Just Eat Takeaway.com. Uber struck a $2.65 billion deal to acquire human cloud firm Postmates Inc. Human cloud firm DoorDash Inc. (NYSE: DASH) had an initial public offering.

In February, healthcare staffing firm AMN Healthcare Services Inc. (NYSE: AMN) struck a deal to pay $475 million to acquire Stratus Video, a provider of video language interpretation services for the healthcare industry.

As 2020 ends, Covid-19 is showing a resurgence even as distribution of a vaccine has begun. Vaccinations will, of course, continue in 2021, but the memories of 2020 will not likely fade soon.

Read more:
Covid-19 jolts the industry, economy, election and more; looking back at 2020 - Staffing Industry Analysts

In the 1990s, Chinese-born Eric Yuan had to apply nine times before his US visa was approved here in America, hed go on to become founder and CEO of Zoom. The immigration process has only gotten more restrictive since. While skilled immigrants have been working tirelessly to build the technology that makes it safe for millions of us to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, to find a vaccine, or to provide essential services, the Trump administration has been busily dismantling legal immigration. In more than 400 executive actions, the Trump administration has remade Americas immigration system based on a worldview of immigration as a security and economic threat to Americans, according to the Migration Policy Institute. During the presidents tenure, legal immigration will have fallen by almost half, the National Foundation for American Policy projects.

Yet public support for immigration has never been higher: For the first time in its 55-year history, Gallups immigration poll found that this year, more Americans supported increased immigration over decreased immigration. Nearly 8 in 10 Americans surveyed said that immigration is a good thing for the country. And now the incoming Biden administration has an opportunity if Congress provides support to fix a broken system.

Trumps policies have proven detrimental to American jobs and the economy. Although one of the most demeaning things about being an immigrant is that your personhood is reduced to your economic worth, there is no denying that immigration is an economic net positive, despite rhetoric to the contrary. Foreign-born workers contribute an estimated $2 trillion to the US economy every year about 10 percent of the countrys gross domestic product. Immigrants are twice as likely as US-born Americans to start their own businesses. Immigrants have started more than half of Americas startup companies valued at $1 billion or more, according to the National Foundation for American Policy, and are key members of management or product development teams in more than 80% of those companies.

These firms, Zoom included, often create thousands of jobs, pay taxes, and rejuvenate local economies. In Massachusetts, where 1 in 5 workers is foreign-born, according to the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition, more than half of the Fortune 500 companies based in the state were founded by immigrants or their children think Biogen or The TJX Companies. And in 2019, more than half of the medical and life scientists in the state were foreign-born, as were 40 percent of health aides and 14 percent of nurses. Now, immigrant doctors and scientists are disproportionately represented on the front line fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

The best way to restore order, dignity, and fairness to our immigration system as pledged by the president-elect on the campaign trail is by changing our system to one that sees immigrants as people and not a problem to be managed.

Reform can start by amending the public charge rule originating in the 1880s that discriminates against low-income immigrants, who are essential members of the US workforce. The law doesnt clearly define the term public charge, but its taken to mean people who are an economic burden on the government. Under Trump, the public charge rule was expanded to deny permanent residency to immigrants based on their legal use of government benefits such as food stamps, housing assistance, or Medicaid. In July, a federal judge blocked Trumps new guidelines after doctors, local officials, and advocates said immigrants fears about jeopardizing their immigration status by seeking medical treatment was hampering efforts to contain COVID-19.

In addition, policies around visas allowing US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations must be reviewed. Denial of new applications for these H-1B visas more than doubled in the first three years of the Trump presidency and continues to climb, according to the National Foundation for American Policy. Facing harsh visa restrictions, American multinational companies offshored tens of thousands of jobs to Canada, China, and India and opened new affiliates there, writes Britta Glennon, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School.

Immigration paperwork must also be streamlined. According to one estimate, if an employer decided to sponsor my green card (which is proof of lawful permanent residency), it would take over 80 years to process due to the current backlog. An estimated 200,000 applicants from India, my native country, could die before they could reach the front of the line.

I worry that immigration reform may be put on the back burner by the new Biden administration. It does not appear as a priority on the transition teams website and the words immigration and immigrants surface rarely, mostly in reference to VP-elect Kamala Harriss immigrant heritage and work in California, in the bios of Cabinet nominees, and just once when discussing the administrations economic policies.

In a pandemic and accompanying economic downturn, rebuilding Americas immigration system cannot wait. Let it start with a vision and framework aligned with economic research that treat immigration not as a burden but as an opportunity for job creation and innovation. President-elect Biden has the chance to undo many of Trumps attacks on immigrants and to build immigration policies that are inclusive and beneficial to both immigrants and US-born Americans.

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Bansari Kamdar is a freelance journalist and researcher in Boston who specializes in South Asian political economy, gender, and security issues. Send comments to magazine@globe.com.

Link:
Immigration reform must be a priority for the incoming Biden-Harris administration. Heres where to start - The Boston Globe