Don’t blink — late last night the Texas Senate pushed through the latest version of its immigration enforcement bill, reports Julián Aguilar of The Texas Newsroom.

The bill, which appears likely to pass the Texas House quickly as well, would make crossing the U.S.-Mexico border into Texas a state crime and would allow county leaders to order migrants returned to ports of entry.

The Forum, including two Texas leaders, weighed in on the bill this morning, expressing concerns and urging federal solutions from Republicans and Democrats. (Don't miss the Texas pastor making a similar appeal in our final item below.)

Elsewhere, a new report by Human Rights Watch concludes that policies the U.S. and other countries in the Western Hemisphere have enacted are fueling the wave of migrants cutting through dangerous routes such as the Darién Gap, reports Syra Ortiz-Blanes of the Miami Herald.

"What is happening in the Darién Gap is the result of a range of failed policies across the hemisphere — and the urgent need for a rights-respecting response to protect people fleeing human rights crises in the region," the report reads.

It recommends that Latin American and Caribbean governments strengthen their asylum systems and reverse visa requirements, among other steps. It also suggests that the United States expand and smooth parole programs.

Welcome to Friday’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].

DIVING IN — A bipartisan group of senators aims to forge a compromise on asylum policy changes as part of a broader security and foreign-aid package, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez for CBS News. Karoun Demirjian of The New York Times offers a walk through the discussions in Congress on immigration taking place ahead of a government funding deadline.

EXCEPTION — Pakistan’s prime minister reassured thousands of displaced Afghans waiting to be resettled in the United States that they would not be a part of the crackdown on undocumented migrants, reports Munir Ahmed of the Associated Press. Nearly 25,000 of our Afghan allies are waiting in Pakistan.

This week in local Welcome:

An Afghan family is now helping welcome others after finding its own welcome when they arrived in Terre Haute, Indiana. (Mark Bennett, Tribune-Star)
Read Shams Erfan’s odyssey in his own words — including the help he received from a group of Canadians and Australians. (BBC)
Organizations in Boston; Boise, Idaho; and Philadelphia are helping keep refugees healthy through different assistance programs. (The Borgen Project)

RESETTLEMENT — October's refugee resettlement numbers, available via the government’s Refugee Processing Center, show a positive trend. The United States resettled 7,354 refugees in the first month of fiscal year 2024, compared with 2,152 in October 2023, our colleague Dan Kosten points out. To reach the cap of 125,000 resettlements for the year, the country would need to average 10,417 per month.

‘CHANGE IS POSSIBLE’ — Immigration reforms would lead to stronger communities and a better economy, pastor Tiffani Harris writes in the Waco Tribune-Herald. "[C]ompassion for migrants and border security are not mutually exclusive," she writes. In a call for solutions, Harris endorses the bipartisan Dignity Act. "When we look beyond party lines and commit together to collaborating on real solutions to the challenges posed by our immigrations system, change is possible." she writes.

Thanks for reading, 

Dan  