Leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to attend a summit with President Biden tomorrow (see our preview here) to discuss economic issues and migration. The U.S. has been working with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to create a new financial platform for higher- and middle-income countries, and it is also planning to expand its contributions to the IDB, Hesson and Shalal note. 

 "We are talking about building competitive regional supply chains that can compete in the market," a senior U.S. official said. The expectation is that better economies elsewhere in the hemisphere could reduce migrant arrivals in the U.S. 

 The summit comes as the mayors of Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York seek to meet with Biden to discuss getting federal support to manage the increase in migrant arrivals, reports Colleen Long of the Associated Press.  

 In a letter, the leaders expressed that while they appreciate what Biden has done so far, much more help is needed, especially for work permits.  

"The crisis is we have folks here who desperately want to work. And we have employers here who desperately want to hire them. And we have a federal government that’s standing in the way of employers who want to hire employees who want to work," said Denver Mayor Mike Johnson. 

 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].  

 SECURITY — Protecting our national security interests requires changing immigration policies to bolster our workforce in the face of adverse labor and demographic trends, according to a white paper published yesterday by the Council on National Security and Immigration (CNSI). "These trends have significant implications for the nation's economic and national security, particularly as we face the growing influence of competitors such as China," CNSI leaders Theresa Cardinal Brown and Margaret Stock write in the paper.  

 CONCERNS — A bill advancing through the Texas legislature that would make entering the country illegally a state crime raises constitutional concerns, The Dallas Morning News editorial board writes. The bill would allow law enforcement officers to arrest migrants who entered Texas illegally, a move that risks abuse of power and racial profiling, the editorial notes. Gus Bova shares similar concerns, and others, in his Texas Observer piece. 

 HIGHER RISK — Data from the full fiscal year confirm a trend we’ve reported previously: Migrant deaths in the El Paso region almost doubled due in part to record-setting heat, reports Julian Resendiz of Border Report. Among 149 migrants who died in fiscal year 2023, nearly 60 perished from heat-related illness, compared with 19 the year before. Most of the fatalities took place across the border in one of the largest corridors for smugglers. Advocates say Texas policies are also pushing migrants to take greater risks.  

 GUATEMALA’S CHILDREN — International humanitarian aid organizations are turning their attention toward children whom the U.S. and Mexico have deported to Guatemala, report Julia Ainsley and Didi Martinez for NBC News. Most children are dropped off in Guatemala City, which in some cases is hours away from their families’ homes. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service has opened a new office in Guatemala to help children return safely. 

 Thanks for reading,  

 Dan  

P.S. Listen to Jennie reframe the migration conversation with a faith focus on "The Common Good," and then, the National Catholic Reporter, read Jesús de la Torre of the Hope Border Institute on how the Catholic Church can continue to assist migrants.