The Forum Daily | Thursday, January 11, 2024
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THE FORUM DAILY

While immigration remains a contentious bargaining chip in the halls of
Congress, history and the economic needs of the country show us how
vital newcomers are, reports Lauren Villagran of USA Today
.  

She points to parallels between today and a century ago, both periods of
significant social change, shifts in the world order and high migration
- and, in the U.S., a trend toward immigration restrictions as
migrants and refugees still place their hopes "on a country they still
see as a beacon of freedom and opportunity." 

Right now we have nearly 9 million job openings, and in a
low-immigration scenario, the Census Bureau predicts that the U.S.
population will begin to decline in the second half of this century.
Both have serious implications for our economic future. 

"We need immigration to make up for the fact that we're having fewer
children and people are living longer and retiring," said David Bier,
associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute. 

The disconnect between labor needs and arriving migrants who want to
work - but are being turned away at the border or admitted but with
long delays for work authorization - "is one of the infuriating
aspects of the conversation," Jennie says in the piece. 

"We are a large and robust country and economy, and to continue to be
economically competitive we need to make sure our labor needs are met,"
she said. 

Let's find legal pathways to serve our labor needs and help all
Americans - and give primarily economic migrants options other than
coming to the border.   

Journalists: Our partners at the Evangelical Immigration Table and World
Relief are hosting a press conference at 2 p.m. today. Faith leaders
from Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina will speak about a
nationwide challenge to presidential candidates to consider a biblical
perspective on immigration. Email [email protected]
for details. 

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, Isabella Miller and Clara
Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community,
please send it to me at [email protected]
.  

**BROADENING** - Sources familiar with the Senate negotiations suggest
that measures for Afghan allies, the children of high-skilled visa
holders, and work permits for asylum-seekers have entered the
conversation, report Camilo Montoya-Galvez and Margaret Brennan of CBS
News
.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas emphasized the need for
broader immigration solutions from Congress during a border visit this
week, as John C. Moritz reports in the Austin American-Statesman
. 

**WHO WINS** - Harsh policies toward migrants are unlikely to
discourage them, but instead fuel underground human smuggling networks,
Council on Foreign Relations fellow Will Freeman writes in a Time
 op-ed.
"Even more urgently than a decade ago, when it was last seriously up for
discussion, the U.S. needs comprehensive, bipartisan immigration
reform," he writes. 

**SCAM RISK** - A backlog of about 1.7 million migrants applying for
humanitarian parole program has left an opening for scammers, Syra Ortiz
Blanes of the Miami Herald

reports. Bad actors have popped up online, offering to fill out
applications and secure sponsors. "It's really difficult to estimate
the pervasiveness of the scams because they are very likely
underreported," said Monna Kashfi of Welcome.US, the online platform
that encourages Americans to sponsor refugees and parole program
beneficiaries.  

**FAITH CALL** - Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso (and a Forum board
member) emphasizes the church's responsibility to advocate for migrants,
particularly as immigration will be a central focus in an election year,
Kate Scanlon reports in the National Catholic Reporter
.
"The church's concern is always with the human person," Seitz said.
"It's always with the person who is vulnerable and in need." 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

 

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