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As one example: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey appealed for more funding and, especially, quicker work authorizations, Mike Damiano reports in the Boston Globe. She wrote that the latter would address two challenges simultaneously: "With a historically low unemployment rate, tens of thousands of open jobs across our state are going unfilled." In a new campaign, the Biden administration has begun to focus efforts on encouraging eligible immigrants to apply for work permits, reports Michael D. Shear of The New York Times. For asylum seekers, that’s six months after they arrive. Julia Preston of The Marshall Project writes that the step had been "hiding in plain sight" and takes a powerful look at the real people caught up in the process. "Whatever honest work comes to me, I will do it," said Juan Carlos Bello, a Venezuelan migrant who is now in New York. "No job has ever been a dishonor for me." The administration should do more — and Congress could help, by passing the bipartisan Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act. Also, even as Jonathan Weisman and Nicholas Fandos of The New York Times report on the politics around migration, cities and states should do more to coordinate with one another, rather than use the circumstances for political ends. Not least, leaders from both parties should address these challenges in a way that balances security and order with compassion and human dignity — and unite rather than divide us. Welcome to Monday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Ashling Lee, Clara Villatoro and Marcela Aguirre. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. SCHOOL ENROLLMENT – Some migrant children are facing delayed school enrollment, Gabrielle Emanuel reports for WBUR’s Here and Now. For the 800 migrant families in Massachusetts placed in overflow hotels, lack of access to case workers and translators complicates enrollment. The uncertainty of where families will be living and for how long adds to the challenges. THE GOSPEL’S CALL — "Love must be the motivator for our actions. And love is severely lacking in what the state of Texas is doing to deter illegal immigration," megachurch pastor Ralph West writes in a Houston Chronicle op-ed. West, founder and pastor of The Church Without Walls in Houston, advocates for the bipartisan Dignity Act as a measure "in the interest of both compassion and border security." UNCERTAIN FUTURES — Backlogs in the green card process continue to affect young people who grew up in the U.S. on dependent visas thanks to their parents’ work but now are aging out, Sophie Carson reports in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. People such as Srushti Patil and Pragnya Vella are left in limbo, unable to work, get access to financial aid or secure permanent residency. "All people like me want is to stay in the place that we’ve called home for so long," Vella said. ‘CERTAINTY AND STABILITY’ — Under a class-action settlement, the U.S. government has agreed to speed up the asylum process for around 20,000 Afghan evacuees living in the United States, reports Rafael Carranza of the Arizona Republic. "This settlement will help bring certainty and stability as [Afghans who fled] move forward with their new lives," said attorney Michael Williams. An even better solution than moving asylum applications more quickly? Passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act. Thanks for reading, Dan
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