The Border Patrol has now processed hundreds of migrants who were waiting in an improvised camp at the San Diego-Tijuana border, with many dropped off at transit centers in San Diego County, report Maura Fox and Alexandra Mendoza of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Nonprofit organizations responded quickly, providing migrants with food and shelter. "We’re triaging to see what people’s needs are," said Melissa Shepard of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center. "For the most part, many people have friends or family somewhere in the U.S. and so we’re just trying to see how they can get there."

To shift officers to the processing of migrants, U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporarily closed a border crossing yesterday morning. That affected locals’ commutes and elicited concern from businesses in the area, report Gustavo Solis and Carlos Castillo of KPBS.

Meanwhile, don’t miss Julie Turkewitz’s New York Times exposé (including Federico Rios’s photographs) on the economy that has developed around migrants transiting through the Darién Gap in Panama, with local businessmen, politicians and other community leaders profiting.

Bottom line: We need more orderly legal-immigration pathways, and we need federal, state and local leadership, cooperation and coordination to address very real challenges.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month, and welcome to Friday’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]. 

WINS AND LOSSES — New Census Bureau estimates show a notable increase in the immigrant population last year, reports Joel Rose of NPR. At nearly a million newcomers, many with college or post-college degrees, the growth "isn't huge for a country the size of the U.S.," but is significant after several slow years, Rose reports. But we continue to have competition. Per a National Bureau of Economic Research study out last month, Canada’s startup visa policy led to a 69% increase in the likelihood of U.S.-based immigrants launching startups in Canada, Stuart Anderson writes for Forbes. In July, Canada’s separate new program for U.S. professionals with H-1B visas quickly reached the 10,000-spot limit.

IMPLICATIONS — Recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program keep looking for alternative solutions after a federal judge again ruled the program unlawful this week, reports Rafael Carranza of The Arizona Republic. "[I] think that the uncertainty is having real implications on people’s lives, because then you just can’t plan," said Reyna Montoya, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Aliento. Our policy team unpacks the ruling here.

GRANTED ASYLUM —Former Afghan intelligence officer Abdul Wasi Safi, detained at the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas nearly a year ago, has been granted asylum, Allison P. Erickson reports in the Military Times. Despite months in detention centers and his asylum hearing being delayed multiple times, he can now live with his brother in Houston.

In local welcome news:

Vermont has resettled nearly 300 Afghan refugees since 2021 through support programs facilitated by nonprofits and the support of local host families. (Melissa Cooney, WCAX)
Afghan refugee "Metal Sam," who fled the Taliban's restrictions on music, is now residing in Connecticut and uses death metal music to share a message of hope and peace. (Ray Hardman, Connecticut Public Radio)
A new report from the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) "analyzes the successes and challenges of Afghan resettlement and integration in the two years since the beginning of Operation Allies Welcome." (USCRI)

INSURANCE COSTS — Florida’s new immigration law could lead to larger deductibles and less insurance coverage for property owners, reports William Rabb of Insurance Journal. "Choking off the supply of skilled, experienced immigrant labor is not only counterproductive from an economic perspective – it may also increase property claims severities," said Robert Hartwig, clinical associate professor of finance at the University of South Carolina.

Thanks for reading, 

Dan  