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MARCH 10, 2022 | The Jewish Home
U.S. Gives Protected Status to Ukraine Refugees
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is expected to grant temporary protected status to Ukrainians in the U.S. The Justice Department has also ceased the deportation of Ukrainian nationals who lack U.S. documentation. The move took effect on March 1. In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas re-
marked, “Russia’s premeditated and unprovoked attack on Ukraine has resulted in an ongoing war, senseless violence, and Ukrainians forced to seek refuge in other countries. “In these extraordinary times, we will continue to offer our support and protection to Ukrainian nationals in the United States.” According to the Migration Policy Institute, the move could affect around 30,000 Ukrainians living in the U.S. on non-immigrant visas or without visas. There are over 1 million people of Ukrainian ancestry in the United States, according to 2019 census estimates. Traverse City, Michigan, has become one of the destinations with a large Ukrainian community.
Truck Convoy to Loop Around D.C. A line of trucks, recreational vehicles, and cars on Sunday circled Washington, D.C., in preparation for a week of traffic disruptions to protest COVID-19 restrictions. The “People’s Convoy” includes
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around 1,000 vehicles which plan to drive around the Beltway at minimum legal speed.
The protest takes its lead from a similar, recent protest in Ottawa, Canada, which disrupted trade between the U.S. and Canada for over a week. The U.S. convoy began assembling in California, attracting similarly-minded participants as it traveled eastward across the country. Since the U.S. has already relaxed most of its COVID-19 restrictions, however, the U.S. convoy is demanding more diverse aspirations, though it still demands an end to workplace vaccine mandates. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has warned the truckers’ convoy may hinder emergency services. Organizer Brian Brase told The Washington Post that he is not sure how long the protest would last, but that the drivers “don’t want to shut D.C. down.” “We’re not anti-vaxxers. We’re not,” he assured. “We just want freedom, freedom. We want to choose. We just want the choice. So tomorrow is a basically a show of just how big we are and how serious we are.”
Battling Wildfires in Florida
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Evacuation orders remain in place for around 600 homes in the Florida panhandle, as firefighting crews battled at least four dangerous wildfires over the past few days. On Sunday, the Florida Forest Service said nearly 10,000 acres were ablaze in the Panhandle. Officials added that two major wildfires were burning in Bay County and that additional resources had been deployed. The larger of the two wildfires, the
Bertha Swamp Road fire, had burned about 8,000 acres by Sunday and was only around 10% contained. Another fire, the Adkins Avenue Fire near Panama City Beach, had reached 841 acres and was 35% contained, Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis said. On Saturday, DeSantis expanded the state of emergency declared in Bay County to include two additional counties, Calhoun and Gulf, which were also impacted by the fires. The cause of the Bay County fire is under investigation. A burn ban has been issued for the county. According to Bay County Sheriff Tom Ford, the fire began when someone burned trash in their backyard, and the fire began to spread out of control. Thankfully, there have been no reported fatalities due to the fires.
Minneapolis Teachers Strike
Minneapolis educators began striking on Tuesday after failing to reach a deal with Minneapolis Public Schools, canceling classes for more than 30,000 students. The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT) and Education Support Professionals (ESP) are seeking “a living wage,” “lowering class sizes, and for safe and stable schools,” according to a post on the teachers union’s Facebook page. “We are going on strike tomorrow for the safe and stable schools that our students deserve,” MFT President Greta Callahan said on Monday in a news conference. “We have continued to do so much more with so much less,” Callahan said. “Those at the top of this district continue to hoard power – continue to do so much less with so much more. And if we don’t intervene, we believe that the Minneapolis Public Schools will cease to exist. We are in the fight for strong public schools for our city, for our students.” The district has 31,598 students, 3,266 teachers and 1,223 education support professionals, per its website. In the meantime, all classes for pre-K through 12th grade will be
