Speaking at a National Governors Association meeting on Friday, President Joe Biden lamented that the Senate’s bipartisan border and immigration proposal failed to move forward and said he is considering executive actions, report Zeke Miller and Seung Min Kim of the Associated Press.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said Biden "didn’t specify what actions he is considering, but ... noted that he was confronting the limits of what he can do without Congress." In The Wall Street Journal, Michelle Hackman and Tarini Parti lay out those limits, among others. And in Semafor, Joseph Zeballos-Roig homes in that fact that reinstating the "Remain in Mexico" policy — which many Republicans are demanding — would require Mexico’s cooperation.
David J. Bier of the Cato Institute writes that the White House already has taken more than 120 actions to limit entries at the border. "[V]irtually every measure of border enforcement currently is, or has at various points been, at a level that is higher than when Biden came into office — often higher than at any point under the Trump administration," Bier writes. Key point: Enforcement-only approaches haven't worked.
Biden’s handling of immigration is frustrating voters in Arizona who want border and immigration solutions, reports Sabrina Rodriguez of The Washington Post.
"I’m pissed off that the people who should be and know better and who should be enacting legislation to alleviate these problems are shrugging off the responsibilities for political gain," said Caleb Campbell, lead pastor at evangelical Desert Springs Bible Church, which includes members who are undocumented. "It’s unrighteous, it’s unjust and you see them doing this for political gain on both sides. Disappointment is not a strong enough word."
Welcome to Monday’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, Darika Verdugo and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
LOCAL SUPPORT — Thanks to our mobilizer Christy Staats, leaders in Cleveland met last week to discuss better ways to coordinate support for arriving asylum seekers and migrants, reports Steven Hernandez of Cleveland 19. Meanwhile, faith communities in Kansas City have started the Heartland Welcome and Support Coalition to help asylum seekers, Bill Tammeus reports in Flatland. It began as a "direct commandment to welcome the stranger," said Jody L. Craig of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church.
VIA CANADA — The U.S. is pressing Canada to reimpose visa requirements for Mexicans to stem unauthorized border crossings from the north, a team at The Wall Street Journal reports. Canadian officials are evaluating strategies to handle the increasing number of Mexicans arriving and hoping to request asylum at the U.S.-Canada border.
SCRAMBLE — The closure of San Diego County’s Migrant Welcome Center is affecting the city, report Matthew Bowler and Gustavo Solis of KPBS. Volunteers are trying to help migrants who now have very limited shelter options. "We asked if there was a plan after closing the center, but we did not get a response, so we took it upon ourselves to come up with something," said Paulina Reyes of the Immigrant
Defenders Law Center.
ANOTHER CALL — The Idaho Senate voted overwhelmingly last week for a resolution that calls for border and immigration solutions from the president and Congress, Andrew Baertlein of KTVB7 reports. " ... Congress has got to act. The president has got to act," state Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Winder (R-Boise) said. The 30-4 vote followed the Feb. 15 release of a University of
Idaho report about the importance of unauthorized workers to the state, on which Baertlein also reported.
