The Forum Daily | Thursday, July 27, 2023
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THE FORUM DAILY

More and more Chinese immigrants are flying to Ecuador and making the
dangerous journey on foot through the Darien Gap and across Mexico to
reach U.S. soil, write Jeong Park and Cindy Chang of the Los Angeles
Times
<[link removed]>. Many
then settle in Los Angeles. 

Recent arrivals, whether traumatized by lockdowns during the pandemic,
escaping oppression or economic hardship, or some combination, are
demonstrating new levels of desperation and willingness to risk their
lives to get here.  

A previous path - fly to the U.S. on a tourist visa, then obtain
lawful status or overstay the visa - "has been largely closed off for
the last few years," Park and Chang note. Many in the L.A. suburb of
Monterey Park say they didn't apply for visas after hearing about long
lines and low success rates.  

Shidong Liang, who crossed the Darien Gap with his wife and three
children, said they risked the journey on foot so his children "can be
independent. And when they grow up, to be able to have their own
thoughts." He is unfamiliar with the asylum process and isn't
optimistic about getting a green card - but hopes he can find good
work and his kids can go to school. 

Welcome to Thursday'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]
<mailto:[email protected]>. 

**SEMICONDUCTORS** - The U.S. semiconductor industry is facing labor
shortages that put expansion plans in jeopardy, Ian King of Bloomberg
<[link removed]>
reports. In the short term, immigration reform is critical, according to
Semiconductor Industry Association CEO John Neuffer. More than half of
students who complete engineering master's degrees at American schools
are citizens of other countries. Of those, about 80% leave the U.S., and
research suggests that by 2030, 67,000 new positions could go unfilled.
"If we aren't able to get our arms around this, our industry in
general will falter," Neuffer said. 

**RELIGIOUS FREEDOM** - A Baptist leader says state laws that crack
down on immigrants and people who serve immigrants threaten to impinge
on religious freedom, Jeff Brumley reports in Baptist News Global
<[link removed]>.
"Churches - my church, your church - should not have to think about
who you can serve or how you can serve based on immigration statuses,"
Anyra Cano of Fellowship Southwest and the Baptist Joint Committee for
Religious Liberty said recently.   

**SOLUTIONS FOR AFGHANS**- Almost two years after the fall of Kabul,
many Afghan allies remain in danger in Afghanistan. Rep. Jason Crow
(D-Colorado), who served in Afghanistan, is helping lead a bipartisan
effort to increase the number of Afghan special immigrant visas
available and tackle backlogs, reports Shannon Tyler of Colorado
Newsline
<[link removed]>.
Tyler also notes that the separate Afghan Adjustment Act would help
resettled Afghans. The Forum
<[link removed]>
and our national security
<[link removed]>
and evangelical
<[link removed]>
partners, among others, have urged Congress to move quickly.  

**AGRICULTURAL CONCERNS** - As farmers rely more on seasonal guest
workers, wage theft and other labor rights violations are an increasing
concern, report Andrea Hsu and Ximena Bustillo for NPR
<[link removed]>.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act, recently reintroduced by Rep. Dan
Newhouse (R-Washington), would increase protections. "I want to make
sure that there are fewer obstacles in front of our ability to produce
food in this country, and to make sure that the American people continue
to have an abundant and safe food supply," Newhouse said.  

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

 

 

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