Ukraine got it. Afghanistan and Cameroon didn’t.

How race and identity are shaping politics, policy and power.

Mar 15, 2022 View in browser   By Brakkton Booker With help from Rishika Dugyala and Chris Suellentrop Displaced Ukrainians wait to board a Poland bound train in Lviv, western Ukraine on Sunday. | AP Photo/Bernat Armangue What up Recast family! Sen. Joe Manchin announces he's opposed to President Joe Biden's Federal Reserve nominee, Democrat Stacey Abrams ramps up her campaign for Georgia governor and we mark the anniversary of the Atlanta-area spa shootings. But we kick things off with a look at how swiftly the U.S. moved to grant temporary protections for Ukrainians living in the United States.    Russia's assault on Ukraine careens toward its third week. Talks between the two nations continue, but how or when the Kremlin-led bombardment will end remains anyone's guess. The Russian invasion ignited a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, particularly in major population centers receiving the brunt of attacks, including the capital city of Kyiv and the port city of Mariupol. The International Organization for Migration, an arm of the United Nations, estimated the war has created nearly 3 million refugees who have fled the country since the conflict erupted on Feb. 24. Temporary Protected Status, as its name suggests, is a short-term action and in this case will shield an estimated 75,000 Ukrainian nationals in the U.S., as of March 1, from deportation. TPS is designated by the Department of Homeland Security for three main reasons: ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster or extraordinary temporary conditions that would make it impossible for nationals to return to their home countries. "We in the Department of Homeland Security are acting in support of them," said Secretary Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a video posted to Twitter on March 3 announcing the move. "Not just the Ukrainian people living in Ukraine, but also those here present in the United States." While no one can fault the Biden administration for its prompt action for the Ukraninans, many immigration advocates are taken aback by how quickly TPS came: a mere eight days after war erupted there. "This was that aha moment, like OK, so you guys can make this decision in a matter of days," said Haddy Gassama, an attorney based in Washington, D.C. "It should not take yearslong campaigns to establish proof that a certain country is too dangerous to deport people to." Gassama, who also serves as national director of policy and advocacy at UndocuBlack Network, which advocates on behalf of current and formally undocumented Black migrants, says countries like the central African nation of Cameroon also need TPS protections. And after years of pushing, their efforts have yielded little results, which they say is disappointing for an administration that ran on a platform of rooting out inequities in federal agencies and programs. Gassama added: Cameroon is in the midst of a conflict that goes back to 2016. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees from December found there were 1.5 million refugees and internally displaced people in Cameroon. Should TPS be granted by the Biden administration, it would do nothing for those people in Cameroon. But without it, as is the case now, Cameroonian nationals in the United States are at risk of being sent back to the current unstable conditions. Advocates are also pushing for TPS action for Central American nations, including Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Afghanistan is another nation many say should receive TPS protections. The Afghan-American Foundation tweeted it had been more than seven months since Kabul fell to the Taliban after the abrupt departure of the U.S. troops and diplomatic personnel in August. That pullout exploded into a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, one set off by the actions of this country. "I think there's a very important conversation taking place right now, around whether or not we are exercising selective humanitarianism in this country," Joseph Azam, the board chairman at the foundation, told The Recast. While he notes his organization stands in solidarity with the Ukrainians , he also says it's not lost on colleagues that a European country had a far easier time getting protections. "What is that based on? Is it based on race? Is it based on religion?" he asks. "I'm not seeing people talk about terrorism. I'm not seeing people talk about or hearing people talk about security issues when it comes to [the Ukrainians]. Why are there different narratives and different standards?" Others, like Jessica Vaughan , director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, advocate being stricter with TPS. Ukraine certainly qualifies for protected status under DHS criteria, she says, but she argues that the Biden administration is using TPS to loosen immigration standards without congressional approval. "TPS has come to be viewed by those who favor amnesties and immigration increases as a vehicle to enable more people who would not otherwise qualify to stay here, the ability to stay here with a work permit," Vaughan said. It's against this backdrop that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will talk to Congress on Wednesday. He is doing so just days after lawmakers approved some $14 billion in lethal and humanitarian aid to help fend off Russian occupying forces and roughly two weeks after the Biden administration designated Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status. All the best, The Recast Team   Power dynamics are changing. With The Recast, you'll get a twice-weekly breakdown of how race and identity are the DNA of American politics and policy. Was this forwarded to you by a friend? Subscribe to the newsletter here.   ATLANTA SHOOTING ANNIVERSARY Tomorrow the nation marks one year since a gunman went on a shooting spree targeting Atlanta-area spas. He killed eight people, and six of his victims were women of Asian descent: Daoyou Feng, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Paul Andre Michels, Soon Chung Park, Xiaojie Tan, Delaina Ashley Yaun and Yong Yue.   At the time, we at The Recast wrote about the dueling trends in the nation: "The rise in Asian American and Pacific Islander political success — and the rise in violence against the community." Today we reflect on the anniversary with Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), who was recently selected to The Recast Power List , a collection of 40 players influencing conversations around the intersection of race, politics and policy. I get her take on the impact of her Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act that President Biden signed into law last year. Mamadi Doumbouya for POLITICO Part of the law established a position within the Department of Justice that focuses on bolstering state and local hate crime reporting. We start off our chat with what she wants to hear from President Zelenskyy when he addresses Congress on Wednesday. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. THE RECAST: Can I get your thoughts on the upcoming address from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday. What do you want to hear? What do you expect to hear from him? HIRONO: We just approved multibillion-dollar assistance to Ukraine. But I'm sure that as long as his people are being attacked by Putin that he is going to ask for us to institute a no-fly zone, which to most people is a prelude to a much-extended war. So that gives us pause. It's very heartbreaking what's happening. However, he is showing how a true leader acts, unlike another person who got impeached for trying to withhold aid to Ukraine. Ironic as that is. THE RECAST: Let me ask about the issue at hand, the anniversary of a gunman opening fire at Atlanta-area spas where six of the eight victims that he targeted were women of Asian descent. Can you share your thoughts about that day? The phrase that kind of rings in my head about that time is the Georgia law enforcement officer who told reporters the gunman just had a "bad day." HIRONO: I hope that he regrets making that kind of statement till the end of his life. But I think it's also reflective of the fact that hate crimes [are] often not identified as a racially based crime. So first of all, people have to understand what it is. And then they have to report it. And we obviously have a ways to go before all of that happens, especially as it evolves, changing people's attitude, based on race, gender, sexual orientation – all of those what we view as suspect categories. In this March 2021 photo, flowers, candles and signs are displayed at a makeshift memorial in Atlanta. | AP Photo/Candice Choi, File THE RECAST: Attacks against people of Asian descent have been on the rise since the beginning of the pandemic. But having something so violent happen in Atlanta was certainly harrowing for the AAPI community. What goes through your mind as you're reflecting on the anniversary? HIRONO: It was shocking. However, we know that there are other crimes that were based on racial animus toward other people: attacks on synagogues, murders in Black churches. There's so much of this kind of hatred in our country that the FBI has deemed race-based extremism as one of the top domestic terrorism acts that we need to address and do something about. THE RECAST: You also help spearhead legislation that would address some of this. Tell me about the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act that is now signed into law and what you're hoping it will actually do now that it's enacted. HIRONO: In my view, the importance of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Law is to call attention to the fact that the Asian community has often been overlooked. But with the obvious increase in Asian-targeted hate crimes during that period of Covid, it was hard to turn away when you are watching on the news, effectively on a daily basis, Asian people being attacked, totally out of the blue. And that continues to happen. I think that that was an important position for Congress to take – the same Congress … not the same people, but the Congress that had enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act [in 1882 and] that had done nothing to prevent the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. [We] finally got to the point after some debate on the floor … that everybody [except for Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley ] voted for it. It was a very important message to the AAPI community, who for the longest time has been pretty much invisible and always "the other."   ICYMI @ POLITICO Former President Barack Obama speaks during a memorial service in January. | John Locher/AP Photo 44 Tests Positive – Former President Barack Obama announced over the weekend he's tested positive for the coronavirus. POLITICO's Maeve Sheehey reports the 44th president is "feeling fine," other than a scratchy throat. He added that former first lady Michelle Obama, who like him is vaccinated and boosted, tested negative for the virus. Florida: Ground Zero for "Culture Wars" – Florida, the nation's largest battleground state, just wrapped its 2022 legislative session. GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign a series of "culture war" bills into law including the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill banning teachers from conductiong lessons on sexual orientation for students in third-grade and under and a ban on all abortions after 15 weeks. POLITICO's Gary Fineout and Andrew Atterbury write: "The action in Tallahassee is likely an early demonstration of the Republican Party's strategy to win back the White House by focusing on some of the most divisive, hard-right policy bills the nation has encountered in recent times." Why Fentanyl Is Called "Crack 2.0" – As a senator, Joe Biden was the lead sponsor of the 1994 crime bill. It brought in a new era of federal authorities cracking down on crime, and detractors of the law say it disproportionately targeted people of color. As president, Biden backs making permanent a Trump-era emergency order that critics say would have similar impacts and, as POLITICO's Renuka Rayasam writes,  "one that criminalizes thousands of substances, some that haven't even yet been developed, and [would] set a precedent that could eventually extend to other drug categories." No Weed Advancements – It's been 14 months since Democrats took control of Congress. Early on, promises were made by leaders – including by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer – to push for looser federal weed restrictions, but little movement has been made. POLITICO's Natalie Fertig has more.   THE RECAST RECOMMENDS Programming Note: We're holding a live event tomorrow, March 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET. I will be moderating a conversation with two of the people featured on The Recast Power List : Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and tech activist Timnit Gebru.  Make sure to RSVP here. We start off the recs with a remembrance. Emilio Delgado, best known for his portrayal of Luis, the neighborhood Fix-It Shop owner on "Sesame Street," has died. He was 81. More on his life and career here. Emilio Delgado poses for a picture at Kaufman Astoria Studios while filming the 50th season of "Sesame Street," in October 2018. | Zach Hyman/Sesame Workshop via AP In sports news, quarterback Tom Brady unretires and will play a 23rd season in the NFL. Another QB trying to find his way back into the league: Colin Kaepernick. He took to Twitter to post a workout video and look for NFL receivers to toss passes to. He has some takers, Sports Illustrated reports. Two items from the world of music. Lizzo, the hip hop artist and flutist, hinted when her next project will be dropping while she was at SXSW. She also sounded off on the recently enacted anti-trans law in Texas. Spoiler: she's not a fan.  Directing you to this eargasm: "Sweetest Pie" is a new collaboration by two of the hottest artists in the music game: Megan Thee Stallion with the rhymes and Dua Lipa with the hook. TikTok of the Day: Organized? Or obsession? You be the judge.   Follow us on Twitter Brakkton Booker @brakktonbooker Rishika Dugyala @rishikadugyala Teresa Wiltz @teresawiltz   Follow us

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