A new bill that would authorize U.S. border agents to keep expelling swiftly migrants to Mexico after the end of Title 42 was unveiled yesterday by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Arizona) and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News.

If approved, the bill would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to expel migrants "without further hearing or review" and those processed for expulsion would need to be detained until removed, Montoya-Galvez notes.

"Congress blocking asylum seekers cannot be our replacement for the administration blocking them," our president and CEO, Jennie Murray, said yesterday. "Our current challenges at the border have all happened with Title 42 in place. We need broader solutions that ensure our security while also honoring the human dignity of migrants."

Meanwhile, immigration advocates are calling on the Biden administration to reconsider the decision to send nearly 1,500 troops to the southern border, reports Hilary Beaumont of Al Jazeera. (That includes us.) The U.S. is not asking Mexico to do the same, per Francesca Chambers of USA Today.

And in The xxxxxx, our senior fellow, Linda Chavez, shares her perspective following a recent border visit.

Welcome to Friday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Clara Villatoro, Keylla Ortega, and Becka Wall. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].

AT CAPACITY — U.S. Customs and Border Protection says its facilities at the San Diego-Tijuana border are at capacity, including a tent center that was set up three months ago, reports Salvador Rivera of Border Report. Asylum seekers are spending days outdoors without shelter or food.

‘MORE WORKERS NOW’ — "In the face of looming population decline and resulting labor shortages, there is a clear answer staring the U.S. in the face: immigration," writes Gaby Del Valle of Insider. A growing number of experts agree that immigrants could provide immediate help to the economy. "The labor imbalance is already here, and the economy needs more workers now," Del Valle writes.

SMALL VICTORY — The efforts of Florida evangelical pastors helped keep a problematic provision out of Florida’s hardline immigration bill, Heather Sells of CBN News reports. The provision would have made the in-state transport of undocumented immigrants a third-degree felony offense, which pastors and others had argued would go against their religious liberty.

AID NEEDED — More crises around the world and less funding overall could lead to a "very difficult year ahead" for Afghans, reports Michelle Nichols of Reuters. The warning comes from Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Power noted that the U.S. will have to make "very hard choices" this year on global humanitarian aid.

This week in local welcome:

In Tennessee, a group of Afghan female basketball players will make their new home in Knoxville with the support of several organizations and a champion former Lady Vol. (Kristen Gallant, WATE)
Resettlement volunteers with the International Institute of Minnesota (IIMN) convey warmth and welcome for Afghan families. "[I]t’s very symbolic for people to have their own space, in their own home, and to feel like they’re not in limbo anymore," said Micaela Schuneman of IIMN. (Katelyn Vue, Sahan Journal)
In Rochester, New York, local Afghan refugees and families were recognized at the "Road to Resilience" gala, where attendees got an inside look at the life-threatening situation in Afghanistan. (Melanie Higgins, WROC/RochesterFirst.com)

Thanks for reading,

Dan