As we continue to see immigration used as a contentious political talking point, some Catholic organizations are urging people to remember empathy, reports Rhina Guidos of the National Catholic Reporter. 

Lisa Buscher of the Society of the Sacred Heart is one of many nuns who work with migrants and refugees in border communities. She urges people to view migration more globally and to remember, "These are ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. It could be any one of us." 

Evangelical leaders, too, are calling for compassion, Aleisa Schat of The N'West Iowa Review is the latest to report. 

Separately, a team at ABC News works to shed light on conditions in some South American countries that are driving migration. 

"Who would want to leave their country, their home? No one. Circumstances force people to make those decisions," said Mileidy Navarro, a Venezuelan woman who moved to Colombia with her family six years ago and now is considering migrating again. 

And for Spectrum News 1, Brooke Reilly presents the story of an Ecuadorian asylum seeker who described a difficult journey not only to the U.S. but after she arrived. The bright spot, in the woman’s words: Once in upstate New York, people "without even knowing me, open their doors, open their hearts to me as a person ... and were able to just make me feel so warm and welcome[,] and that really touched me deeply." 

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

UNCERTAINTY — Although the weeks-long immigration talks in the Senate appear still to be alive, they're at risk. This morning House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote that a deal could be "dead on arrival," Lauren Fox and Manu Raju report for CNN. CBN News reports on other challenges for the talks — followed by our friend Matt Soerens speaking on the perspective border visits provide. The Wall Street Journal editorial board’s take: "[G]iving up on a border security bill would be a self-inflicted GOP wound. ... Cynical is the only word that fits Republicans panning a border deal whose details aren’t even known." 

SEEKING SUPPORT — Community groups and residents are actively supporting 800 to 1,000 migrants who have arrived in Whitewater, Wisconsin, reports Evan Casey of Wisconsin Public Radio. "When I finally got here, I was happy ... I (tried) to find a better place to live, try to feel safe, try to work hard as everyone does," said Byron, a Nicaraguan immigrant who recently settled in Whitewater. To the northwest in Eau Claire, faith-based World Relief is preparing to greet a new group of refugees, reports Tom Giffey of Volume One. 

REUNITED — A family finally has reunited after a 14-year separation caused by immigration hurdles, reports Alisa Reznick of KJZZ’s Fronteras Desk. In 2009, Gloria De La Rosa, an undocumented mother of four, left the U.S. for a green card appointment in Juarez, Mexico. However, due to her undocumented status, she faced a 10-year entry ban to the U.S. Now, Gloria has been allowed to return to the U.S. as a permanent resident. Bill, her son, reflects on the lost time and the pain the family has endured. 

PREPARING WELCOME — More than 300 Afghan refugees arrived recently in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, after a charter flight from Pakistan, reports Hayatullah Amanat of CTV News Saskatoon. They are bound for more than 30 communities across Canada. 

This week in local welcome: