Foreign-born workers in the state are filling jobs that would otherwise remain empty. Around the country, labor shortages are especially stark in many rural locations where fewer people want to relocate and unemployment is low.  

Experts agree that increased legal immigration could be a solution to labor challenges in the long run, as Steve Kaelble writes in Area Development, a magazine about corporate site selection and relocation. The H-1B visa process has helped but falls short, he writes — and in competing for foreign-born talent, the U.S. may be falling behind countries such as Canada. 

That has implications as the U.S. looks to expand semiconductor production, as Adriana Belmonte reports in Yahoo Finance. The Semiconductor Industry Association and Oxford Economics found recently that more than 15,000 new jobs expected in the sector by 2030 could go unfilled. 

"It’s incredibly, incredibly hard to imagine that we’re going to be able to build the semiconductor industry in the future if we don’t reform our immigration law," said Todd Schulte, president of FWD.us.  

In an interview with Mark Licea for CNBC, New York University Professor Emeritus of Economics and International Business Nouriel Roubini says evidence contradicts fears that more immigration could lead to job or income losses. "We have a shortage now of labor because of the aging of populations," he said. 

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 [email protected]. 

CHARTER FLIGHTS — Since the beginning of August, an estimated 268 charters have flown migrants from Haiti to Nicaragua en route to the U.S., reports Megan Janetsky of the Associated Press. Experts say Nicaragua may be moving to gain leverage for concessions from the U.S. government on sanctions. 

LAWSUIT — Texas is suing the federal government, claiming that the Border Patrol destroyed state property when cutting through concertina wire, reports Uriel J. García of The Texas Tribune. In the words of a DHS spokesman, "Generally speaking, Border Patrol agents have a responsibility under federal law to take those who have crossed onto U.S. soil without authorization into custody for processing, as well as to act when there are conditions that put our workforce or migrants at risk." 

PROTECTION— A sense of belonging is important for displaced people building a new life, Natalia Pidgorodetska writes in the Courier Journal. She shares her own experience coming to the U.S. with her family in the 1980s as Ukrainian religious refugees. "I believe belonging is the solution to our divided nation. And it starts with a willingness to reach out to those who need us," as many Americans are doing for new Ukrainian arrivals, she writes. "But Congress has fallen short by failing to give these [new] refugees long-term protections." 

ASSISTANCE — Many nonprofits in New York City are helping migrants navigate their new surroundings — and dodge misinformation, reports April Santana of The Journal News. Niurka Meléndez, founder of Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid (VIA), says traffickers and guides often misinform migrants about the asylum process. "It’s very different to escape your country and be a forced migrant than to come here in search of a dream," Meléndez said. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan