Senate Bill 3 includes an additional $1.54 billion toward the construction of barriers along the Texas-Mexico border. It also will provide "up to $40 million for state troopers to patrol Colony Ridge, a housing development near Houston that far-right publications claim is a magnet for undocumented immigrants." 

Senate Bill 4 will allow Texas law enforcement to arrest migrants they believe crossed the border without authorization. The American Civil Liberties Union in Texas already has said it will challenge the law in court, report Valerie Gonzalez and Paul J. Weber for the Associated Press.  

NPR’s All Things Considered picks up Stella M. Chávez’s reporting on the impact. "Immigrants are going to be afraid to go out," said Gustavo Caballero, who has lived in North Texas for 20 years. "If they don't know their rights, they could get into more trouble or take unnecessary risks." 

Welcome to Tuesday’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, Isabella Miller and Katie Lutz. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

SUPPORT — A new effort to launch today as part of Welcome Corps, the refugee sponsorship the Biden administration launched in January, will allow American sponsors to nominate specific people they want to bring to the United States, report Ted Hesson and Mica Rosenberg of Reuters. "This program taps into the tremendous capacity and willingness of our communities to help people arrive in safe, orderly and legal ways with the support that they need, which should appeal to any administration," said Sarah Cross, a State Department deputy assistant.  

MILITIAS — Keegan Hamilton of the Los Angeles Times, in partnership with Scripps News, reports that militias are patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border. "Fueled by right-wing rhetoric about the border being overrun, long-established groups … are enjoying a resurgence, attracting volunteers from across the country and influencing the national debate on immigration," Hamilton writes. Immigration advocates speak of a significant risk these groups pose to the safety and legal rights of asylum seekers.  

DEBT — Debt can become one hurdle among many for young immigrants, reports Nadine Sebai of The Public’s Radio in Rhode Island. Alondra, a 16-year-old originally from Guatemala, came to New Bedford, Massachusetts, with a dream to support her mother and six siblings back home. But debts from her journey to the U.S. loom. With a work permit, Alondra could work legally part-time, but the wait is long. 

HOPE IN CHANGE — Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, has experienced a significant increase in immigration, bringing hope and challenges, reports Jacob Geanous of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Amid migrants’ uncertainty with immigration cases pending, local leaders see potential benefits. "An increase in immigration, legal immigration, would be a big plus for the Pittsburgh regional economy," said Don Smith, president of the Regional Industrial Development Corporation. Related: Our colleague Arturo Castellanos-Canales writes that the census’s newly released American Community Survey "highlighted how foreign-born residents have powered population growth in key states," among other findings. 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

P.S. We’re feeling proud this morning. Johnny C. Taylor Jr.’s suggestions in USA Today on how businesses can help foreign-born employees improve their English include a nod to the Forum’s work "with employers to offer live instruction and virtual English language training programs."