On one hand, we have a labor shortage in the United States. On the other hand, thousands of asylum seekers and other arriving migrants are willing to work. Jasmine Garsd of NPR reports on the challenges that the immigration system poses to those who have the motivation but cannot access a work permit. 

"Outside of periods of crushing recessions, labor is always our biggest challenge," said Scott Grams, executive director of the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association and one of scores of business leaders urging the government to expedite work permits. 

The Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act of 2023, introduced in June, would shorten the work authorization waiting period for asylum seekers from 180 days to 30. That would be a positive step, but backlogs still could be a challenge, as Garsd notes. 

The distress of not being able to work is hard for asylum seekers. Emmanuel Camarillo of the Chicago Sun Times zooms in on some stories. "It is a difficult blow being here and not being able to do anything," said Venezuelan Jessica Davila. 

At the same time, the Fed continues to nod to immigration as important in countering inflation as well as labor shortages, Diccon Hyatt writes on Investopedia. 

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 Clara Villatoro, Jillian Clark, Ashling Lee and Katie Lutz. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

GLOBAL TALENT — With North Dakota’s job vacancies estimated around 40,000, the brand new state Office of Legal Immigration will be looking for global solutions, reports David Olson of Inforum. The new agency is expected to provide legislative recommendations, program development and inter-agency collaboration on issues surrounding immigration and foreign labor.  

BARRIERS TO LEARNING — Undocumented high school students face barriers to accessing dual-enrollment courses for college credit, particularly in states where they are ineligible for in-state tuition, reports Olivia Sanchez of The Hechinger Report. "[W]e’re seeing massive shortages, and we need highly educated, highly skilled people to fill those jobs. And we’re creating these artificial barriers that are preventing those students from accessing those jobs and helping fill those roles," said Sonny Metoki of The Education Trust in Tennessee. 

INHUMANE TREATMENT — U.S. Border Patrol has been violating a federal court order mandating the humane treatment of migrants by detaining asylum-seekers outdoors in harsh desert conditions in Arizona for an extended period, Ryan Devereaux reports in a deep dive for The Intercept. "Management is forcing us to violate these things that they should have — basic human necessities," a CBP official told The Intercept.  

HIGHER RISK — Migrant deaths are just shy of the total number in 2022, reports Salvador Rivera of Border Report. The Mexican National Institute of Migration has counted 38 deaths this year, compared with 39 last year. "A lot of the anti-asylum measures push migrants trying to cross into the U.S. through very treacherous ways, whether it’s mountains or deserts or climbing a 30-foot border wall where the risk of dying is very high," said Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee.  

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

P.S. On my list to try in Boston: One resettled Afghan family’s pop-up dining. If you aren’t hungry before you read Devra First’s story in the Boston Globe, you will be afterward.