The Forum Daily | Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023
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THE FORUM DAILY

Evangelical groups are trying to change the narrative around immigration
and apply messages of mercy and respect for human dignity into public
policies, reports Ken Camp of the Baptist Standard
. 

Faith leaders and immigration experts discussed the humanitarian crisis
at the border and possible policy solutions at an Evangelical
Immigration Table convening Friday in Houston. As Eric Killelea reports
for Chron
,
in the event some pastors encouraged other leaders to speak about the
issue of immigration.  

"In issues that involve people, we should be the first and the loudest
voices, always, and we need to follow up our voices with actual action,"
said Andrea Castaneda-Lauver, a youth pastor and Forum's business
engagement and inclusion programs associate. " ... If we're going to
make real change when it comes to immigration, then we're going to
have to build bridges."  

Separately, after recent trips to the border, Evangelical Immigration
Table coordinator Matthew Soerens writes for Holy Post

about potential solutions to address current challenges and lists
concrete actions Christians can take. 

Using biblical principles, Soerens writes, elected officials can find
solutions by "affirming human dignity, demonstrating compassion for the
vulnerable, maintaining family unity and respecting government's
God-ordained role in maintaining order and restraining evil." 

We hope you have a great Thanksgiving! We will be off - look for your
next Forum Daily on Tuesday. Welcome to today's edition in the meantime.
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]
.  

**'PARADIGM SHIFT'** - In another op-ed in The Hill
,
Theresa Cardinal Brown shares four approaches to address the "paradigm
shift" at the border. The list of suggestions comes from a recently
released white paper

by Brown and other visiting scholars at the Cornell Law School
Immigration Law and Policy Program. Recommendations include prioritizing
the apprehension of smugglers and creating alternative pathways for
people looking to migrate before they reach the border.

**LONG JOURNEY** - Abbas Ehsani had assisted the U.S. and was forced
to flee Afghanistan shortly after the Taliban took control of Kabul,
Amanda Goddard writes in The Herald Journal
.
After a time in limbo in the United Arab Emirates, Ehsani landed in
Logan, Utah, with the help of local resettlement agency Cache Refugee
and Immigrant Connection (CRIC). Now he works for CRIC, helping other
Afghans resettle. 

Recently in local welcome: 

* For resettled Afghans welcomed in Kansas City, weekly informal soccer
matches are an opportunity to connect and improve their English. (Qasim
Rahimi, KCUR
) 

* To the east in Columbia (go Tigers), resettled Afghans are among the
populations most in need of nonprofit City of Refuge's newest
resource: a driving simulator. (Kasey Dunnavant, Columbia Missourian
) 

* U.S. military veterans are helping female evacuees who served in
Afghanistan's military process their pain through art. (Christina
Ruffini and Kerry Breen, CBS News
) 

**DANGERS** - As it becomes increasingly difficult to reach the United
States legally, more migrants will choose dangerous routes including the
train known as "la bestia," reports Jordan Vonderhaar of the Texas
Observer
.
Vonderhaar shares the dangers of the journey in a series of stories and
pictures. One migrant commented on leaving his country instead of
waiting to apply for asylum, "If your house is on fire, you don't wait
inside the house for the fire department to come."   

**GIVING THANKS** - Communities' hospitality and welcoming spirit
are alive and well this Thanksgiving. Just two examples among many: In
Pocatello, Idaho, two groups are teaming up to offer food and welcome to
resettled refugees in the area, reports Stephanie Bachman-West of the
Idaho State Journal
.
In St. Louis, hundreds gather to welcome new refugees at their
traditional Thanksgiving potluck provided by community groups and the
International Institute of St. Louis, as Dana Rieck of the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch

reports.  

Thanks for reading, 

Dan

** **

 

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