Dozens of faith leaders in New York gathered outside the Roosevelt Hotel to demand more federal and state assistance for incoming migrants, reports Natalie Duddridge of CBS News.

As more migrants enter the city, shelters like the one in the Roosevelt are becoming overcrowded. One Venezuelan mother, Caroline, said she tried to register with the shelter but was turned away.

"We had to leave because they had run out of space. We went to sleep on the street until this morning. We returned because it was just too cold," Caroline said.

Access to work permits are among the additional resources faith leaders are requesting as they help those in need.

"We want to help everyone. That’s what the Bible tells us to do. But we just can’t. We’re so overpopulated. We don’t have the funds. That’s why we’re asking the federal government to help us," said Bishop Fernando Rodriguez of the Fellowship of Christian Churches.

Concern for migrants has been a central theme of a Catholic Synod meeting in Rome, reports Kimberley Heatherington of OSV News. "Welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating: this is the work we must carry out," Pope Francis said. Don’t miss U.S. bishops’ words and experiences.

In the Chicago area, the Parish of St. Catherine-St. Lucy and St. Giles is heeding the call but needs more help, as Jessica D'Onofrio of ABC7 reports. And in Boston, Cardinal Sean O’Malley is urging church members across the local archdiocese to act now and help migrant families, reports Nick Stoico of the Boston Globe.

A quick plug: This afternoon our friends with State Business Executives are hosting a webinar on business-led immigration solutions with voices from Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Utah. Learn more and register at the link.

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].

TEXAS BILLS — The Texas House has approved three border-focused bills, reports Uriel J. García of The Texas Tribune. One would allow police officers to send back migrants and make crossing the border illegally a state crime, one would allot more than $1 billion for border wall construction and the third would increase penalties for human smugglers. The Forum addressed concerns about two of the bills in a letter this week. Separately, an open letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, led by Texas evangelical women, recently surpassed 2,000 signatures.

MIGRANT CHILDREN — The Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday addressed incidents of migrant children working dangerous jobs, report Nina Sparling and Nadine Sebai of The Public’s Radio in Rhode Island. The United States’ inability to pass meaningful immigration reform is one reason migrant children end up as workers, sociology professor Stephanie L. Canizales writes in a Los Angeles Times op-ed.

WAIVER REQUEST — Maine’s Department of Labor has asked the federal government to allow asylum seekers to get jobs and support themselves more quickly, reports Randy Billings of the Portland Press Herald. In a letter to DHS and USCIS, Maine Labor Commissioner wrote that a waiver of the federal waiting period for work permits would "provide a tremendous boost to Maine’s workforce and economy now and into the future."

DIFFERENCES — Legal paths to resettle in the U.S. make a difference. Monica Eng of Axios contrasts Chicago’s ability to welcome 30,000 Ukrainian refugees with temporary humanitarian parole with its challenges in welcoming 19,000 Latino migrants within the same time span. First on the list: "Ukrainian refugees have an easier path to resettlement in the U.S."

Thanks for reading,

Dan

P.S. As always, there are lots of interesting immigration-related findings in the Public Religion Research Institute’s 2023 American Values Survey, just released.