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]. 

SEMICONDUCTORS — The U.S. semiconductor industry is facing labor shortages that put expansion plans in jeopardy, Ian King of Bloomberg 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. "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. Tyler also notes that the separate Afghan Adjustment Act would help resettled Afghans. The Forum and our national security and evangelical 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. 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