The Forum Daily | Wednesday, October 04, 2023
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

 

THE FORUM DAILY

 

The Justice Department is detaining thousands of undocumented immigrants
as witnesses in smuggling cases for six months or more, report Sarah
Cutler, Steve Eder and Robert Gebeloff of The New York Times
.

Held under a nearly 200-year-old law, the detainees give valuable
information for prosecuting smugglers. But the law "has been
administered haphazardly, often with little regard for due process," the
reporters note.

Witnesses are not charged with a crime but are treated similarly to
criminals while in detention.  As immigration-related crimes become the
center of many federal court dockets, there is no uniform approach to
handling witnesses.

Many material witnesses are not able to apply for asylum because of
limited access to lawyers and other resources. In some cases, they stay
in detention for the same length of time as the smuggler's sentence,
which poses a new risk for them once they are out.

"The good thing is that you're not charged with a crime," said Julio
Garcia, a material-witness lawyer in Laredo, Texas. "The bad thing is
that you'll probably spend more time in custody than if you were." 

Welcome to Wednesday'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, Clara Villatoro and Katie Lutz. If you
have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at
mailto:[email protected] [email protected]
. 

**TALENT**- Employers, universities and international students are
welcoming the news that the Department of Homeland Security is
authorized to expand Optional Practical Training (OPT) in STEM fields,
Stuart Anderson writes in Forbes
.
This week the Supreme Court declined to review a case challenging that
authority. The expansion of OPT encourages students to enroll in U.S.
universities and gives employers a better chance to secure a H-1B visa
for the students, Anderson writes - and that's key to attracting and
retaining international talent.

**INCONSISTENCY** - Many Cuban migrants arriving at the border are
being released with paperwork that makes them ineligible for
citizenship, reports Syra Ortiz Blanes of the Miami Herald
.
Under the Cuban Adjustment Act, Cubans coming to the United States have
been put on a fast track for citizenship, which applies to new arrivals
who are granted parole - but not to those who receive a different
document called an I-220A. "The level of inconsistency they have at the
border whether they approve a parole or not is a practice that makes no
sense. It's a lottery," said John de la Vega, a Miami-based
immigration attorney.

**BUOYS HEARING** - A federal appeals court will hear arguments this
week on whether Texas can keep the 1,000-foot floating barrier installed
near Eagle Pass in July, reports Todd J. Gillman and Aarón Torres for
The Dallas Morning News
.
Last month a lower court ordered the barrier's removal, a decision
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott immediately appealed. The federal governments of
both the United States and Mexico object to the barrier, which has
caused dangerous conditions for migrants.

**IMMIGRANT TEACHERS** -A new World Education Services program will
help immigrants and refugees who want to become teachers in the U.S.,
reports Joshua Bay of The 74
.
With thousands of vacant teaching positions across the country,
organizations in Lincoln, Nebraska; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Chicago are now
finding qualified educators through the immigrant community. Around 150
teachers who have immigrated to the U.S. and were trained in their home
country will be placed at schools in their new communities. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan  

** **

  

 

DONATE

 

**Follow Us**

 

[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

National Immigration Forum

10 G Street NE, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20002

www.immigrationforum.org

 

Unsubscribe from The Forum Daily

or opt-out from all Forum emails.

 

 
_________________

Sent to [email protected]

Unsubscribe:
[link removed]

National Immigration Forum, 10 G St NE, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20002, United States