The U.S. Department of Justice took legal action on Monday against the state of Texas over Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) border security actions along the Rio Grande, reports John C. Moritz of the Austin American-Statesman. 

"We allege that Texas has flouted federal law by installing a barrier in the Rio Grande without obtaining the required federal authorization," Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a news release.  

According to Gupta, the floating barrier threatens both public safety and navigation, raises humanitarian concerns and "risks damaging U.S. foreign policy," with Mexico having protested.  

The federal suit came hours after Abbott — who appears to want this fight — sent President Joe Biden a letter saying Texas would continue with its border measures, which include coiled razor wire along the river’s banks and a buildup of National Guard soldiers. 

Here’s the law at issue — and precedent, such as Arizona’s clash with the U.S. more than a decade ago over SB 1070, suggest the governor may face an uphill battle. 

Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Karime Puga, Clara Villatoro, Christian Blair and Ashling Lee. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

LABOR SUPPLY — The Federal Reserve's job of balancing the labor market and combating inflation has been made less painful by an increase in immigration, reports Jeanna Smialek of The New York Times. As pandemic-related restrictions eased and processing backlogs cleared, more immigrants entered the United States, providing a steady supply of workers for various industries. Looking longer-term, by 2040 "America could have more than six million fewer working-age people than in 2022," The Wall Street Journal editorial board writes. "The only way to counter the domestic trend is by attracting workers from abroad."  

CLIMATE AND MIGRATION — Climate change has hurt and probably will keep hurting farmers in Central America, which is contributing to migration especially from Honduras, report Marisa Peñaloza and Joel Rose for NPR. In western Honduras, "Some [people] are trying to adapt to the changing reality of erratic rainfall and extreme weather, while others are simply waiting for the right moment to leave," they write. In our recent collaboration on migration narratives in northern Central America, researchers also found that climate change is influencing people’s decision to migrate — though narratives don’t always reflect this reality. 

COURT BACKLOGS — A new report indicates that a historic backlog of immigration cases is contributing to migration to the U.S.-Mexico border, reports Sandra Sanchez of Border Report. According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, there are 2.4 million backlogged immigration cases. Asylum cases are 40% of immigration court caseloads, and noncitizens wait an average of four years for a hearing on their asylum claims. 

BISHOP’S JOURNEY — Previously we’ve mentioned Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, and now Karen Tumulty of The Washington Post tells more of his story. Once an undocumented immigrant from war-torn Central America, he overcame hardships and relied on faith to become D.C.’s first Salvadoran bishop. His appointment was in keeping with Pope Francis’ more inclusive vision for the church, Tumulty writes. "We cannot say that we love God if we do not love those who are closer to us," said Menjivar. "Empathy, my brothers and sisters. Empathy — putting ourselves in the shoes of others — is to realize our common humanity." 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan