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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) released a statement Monday condemning immigrant activists she says filmed her and students on Sunday using the restroom, calling it “wholly inappropriate.” Over the weekend, a video on Twitter showed activists following Sinema on her way out of a classroom at Arizona State University. The activists followed her into a bathroom after she would not speak with them. An activist tells Sinema about a grandparent who was deported, but Sinema “does not engage with the activists and is seen exiting a stall and washing her hands.” Sinema recently denounced the House’s decision to delay a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, while some Democrats have grown frustrated that she is opposing her party’s $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill without specifying why. NBC News
In other national immigration news…
特朗普若赢得大选，对美墨边境意味着什么?
Colorado Nonprofit Opens New Home to Help People Just Released From ICE Detention
Denver-area nonprofit Casa de Paz, which helps immigrants recently released from immigration detention facilities with shelter, meals, transportation and other assistance, has opened a new, recently-expanded house. Casa de Paz also gives family members of detained individuals a place to stay when they are visiting their loved ones in detention. The house the organization just moved into is close to the Aurora Detention Facility, facilitating work for volunteers there. “We found this home which honestly is absolutely perfect. It’s more than what we wanted, more than what we were hoping for,” said Sarah Jackson, the founder of Casa de Paz. Sentinel Colorado
Sioux Falls Immigration Attorney Runs for City-Wide Office
Taneeza Islam, an immigration attorney in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, announced that she is running for mayor in the city’s April 2022 election. If elected, her office said she would be the first American-Muslim who is a first-generation immigrant to run for a citywide office. She will likely be running against incumbent Mayor Paul TenHaken. Islam has been critical of the city and state’s leadership, and earlier this year wrote a column in the Sioux Falls newspaper detailing how she planned to fight “bigoted bills targeting Muslims, immigrants and refugees instead of supporting bills achieving equity and inclusion in our communities.” Argus Leader
Texas County Sues Biden Administration Over Border Policies
Officials in Val Verde County, Texas, which includes the city of Del Rio, are suing the Biden administration over its handling of migrants at the border. County elected officials voted unanimously to band together with other border counties that are also taking legal action against the administration. At the meeting, officials expressed frustration with the number of migrants crossing the border in recent weeks, specifically citing the thousands of migrants that arrived at the international bridge in Del Rio. Commissioners said that they were “sick and tired of the ongoing immigration crisis” and said that it was time for the counties to “stand up and do something about it.” Border Report
Poll Finds Strong Support for Granting Refugee Status to Afghans Who Helped Americans
A new poll from the The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 72% of Americans favor giving refugee status to Afghans who “worked with the U.S. or Afghan governments during the war in Afghanistan, if they pass security checks.” The poll also found 42% of Americans support giving refugee status to other Afghans who fear living under the Taliban. Resettlement agency officials are also seeing substantial community support for Afghan refugees. Patrick Raglow, a local Catholic Charities executive director in Oklahoma City, said that he is fielding multiple offers from community members who want to assist Afghan evacuees. The Associated Press
