The hardline immigration law promoted by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) will take effect tomorrow in Florida. From Jacksonville to Bradenton and Lake Worth, among other places, immigrants and advocates have protested around the state in the past few days.   

A week-long work stoppage started on Wednesday. Nearly 1,000 immigrants gathered in Fort Myers to kick-start the initiative, report Eileen Kelley and Andrea Melendez of WGCU.  

"We make the economy move," said Dago Flores, a participant in the march.  

The business sector has expressed its concerns about the economic impact of this new law. The work stoppage itself represents an estimated daily loss of, at least, nearly $260,000 for the state, report Amy Galo and Rachel Murphy of WINK News.  

But Florida could also lose a good part of its workforce. Immigrants will face more hurdles to access basic services, which has increased fear. Starting tomorrow, for example, Florida hospitals will collect data on patients’ immigration status, per Caroline Catherman of the Sun Sentinel. Chris Kenning of USA Today zooms in on some stories of undocumented workers who are considering leaving the state as the implementation of the new law approaches.  

Happy 4th of July! Enjoy and take a chance to reflect on what made the United States a great nation. We’ll be taking a few days and will be back with our next edition on July 6.    

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

PROCESSING HUB — A U.S. Customs and Border Protection large facility built this spring in El Paso is now a hub to process thousands of migrants apprehended throughout other locations, reports Julian Resendiz of Border Report. The "hub" is getting daily migrant flights from Tucson, Arizona, and Del Rio, Texas.  

NEW ACTING DIRECTOR — The Department of Homeland Security has appointed Patrick "P.J." Lechleitner as the new acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), reports Priscilla Alvarez of CNN. ICE hasn't had a Senate-confirmed director since the Obama administration, Alvarez notes.  

KEEPING A PROMISE — More Afghan refugees are arriving at the southern border and many advocates are calling for the U.S. government to expand parole status to them, reports Sanya Mansoor of Time Magazine. "That they are ending up in different legal status situations with varying levels of access to support is another way the U.S. has failed to keep this promise," says Julia Gelatt of the Migration Policy Institute. 

AGING POPULATION — According to new Census data, the Americans’ median age in 2022 was 38.9 years-old, "the highest ever", reports Daniel De Visé of The Hill. In short, the median age is rising because the birth rate is falling, but migration can be the solution, notes De Visé. "Immigrants and their children are younger than the population as a whole," said William Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Thanks for reading,  

Clara 

P.S. This 4th of July many immigrants will take the oath and will become U.S. citizens across the country. In an op-ed for Forbes, Rohit Arora makes a case on how some of them could become Fortune 500 CEOs.