Some residents of Starr County, Texas — where a new border wall segment is planned — are questioning the need for one, reports J. David Goodman of The New York Times.

Many residents and officials believe the barrier will not affect the number of crossings, as the area has not seen the same kind of increases in migrant arrivals as other border towns. Eloy Vera, the county’s top official, said that to stop unauthorized crossings, the barrier is "being built in the wrong place."

Do border walls help? Nick Miroff of The Washington Post digs into this question, noting that despite 450 miles of new barriers installed under the Trump administration, crossings have increased from 500,000 in 2020 to more than 2 million. Those new barriers cost $11 billion, "one of the most expensive federal infrastructure projects in American history." And almost immediately, Customs and Border Protection saw smuggling groups using regular power tools to saw through the iron and concrete.  

As we’ve argued, physical barriers have their place, including where there are gaps and structural concerns about existing barriers. But they are not the array of solutions we need to address border challenges. The authors of a new white paper from Cornell University Law School — which stems from a February conference in which Jennie participated — agree. They make a compelling case for border management and asylum reform, new worker programs, and solutions for Dreamers.

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

RISKS AND REALITIES — In Camilo Montoya-Galvez's new piece for CBS News, experts help debunk disinformation about people on terrorist watch lists being encountered at the border. Watchlist matches "represent a tiny fraction of all migrants processed along the southern border … and not all those on the watchlist are suspected terrorists," Montoya-Galvez notes. Matches also are likely to be detained amid further vetting.

GUEST WORKERS — With Alabama farmers having trouble finding workers, more are using the H-2A visa program for guest workers, reports Mary Sell of Alabama Daily News. Visas issued to Alabama producers have risen from "just a few dozen" in 2017 to 2,178 in 2022. The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Alabama Farmers Federation have been providing guidance for the lengthy application process.

GROWTH — As U.S. birth rates continue to drop, some experts continue to say that immigration reforms would help, reports Kate Dore of CNBC. In our Room to Grow report, we not only shined a light on the challenges but proposed an evidence-based method for setting "immigration levels that combat the worst effects of demographic decline and protect the nation’s social and economic health."

SAFE HAVEN— Nicholas DiMarzio, bishop emeritus of Brooklyn, explains the legal challenges today’s migrants are facing in an OSV NewsDiMarzio takes a comprehensive look at the history of the system and ends with a clear message: "Absent the passage of a new immigration law by Congress, there is no available solution to the lack of legal avenues for migration in the system, making our country ill-equipped to respond to future labor needs, family reunification, and the need to provide safe haven to the persecuted." Also compelling: Eilis McCulloh’s take in Global Sisters Report on what it means to welcome wi

Thanks for reading,

Dan