The Forum Daily | Monday, March 4, 2024
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**THE FORUM DAILY**An appeals court ruling this weekend could allow
Texas to start implementing its new immigration law while court
challenges proceed - though not immediately, reports J. David Goodman
for The New York Times
.  

The law would allow the state to arrest individuals suspected of
unauthorized border crossings. The appeals court stayed its own ruling
for a week to allow the federal government the opportunity to appeal to
the Supreme Court. Depending on whether and how the Supreme Court rules,
the law could take effect later this month. 

For additional Texas context:  

* Forrest Wilder of Texas Monthly

analyzes Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) strategy of weaponizing border
narratives when he faces political challenges. 

* Michelle García offers historical background on the narratives around
the border from Texas leaders in a piece for The New York Times
.
 

* In America: The Jesuit Review
,
Kevin Clarke writes about the Texas focal point of threats to the
Catholic Church's work with migrants. "It is hard to imagine what our
country would look like without the good works that people of faith
carry out in the public square," Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort
Wayne-South Bend, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops'
Committee for Religious Liberty, said
.
"For this, we can thank our strong tradition of religious liberty, which
allows us to live out our faith in full."  

And speaking of religious liberty: A bill in West Virginia "could
criminalize faith-based groups that provide assistance to undocumented
immigrants," Laura Harbert Allen reports in 100 Days in Appalachia
.
A similar proposal in Florida's 2023 immigration law was dropped after
faith groups pushed back
. 

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

**DIRE CONDITIONS** - Children are enduring brutal conditions at
U.S.-Mexico border camps that are lacking necessities such as food,
water, shelter and medical aid, report Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken of
CNN
. In
a court filing Thursday, attorneys asked a judge to rule "that the
federal government is legally required to swiftly move these children to
safe and sanitary facilities." Recently, a Colombian girl suffered
convulsions amid harsh weather conditions, the filing notes. 

**DISINFORMATION** - Russian media connected to the Kremlin have
helped spread disinformation surrounding the border in recent weeks,
reports David Klepper of the Associated Press
.
"If your ultimate objective is to reduce support for Ukraine, your
inroad might be talking about how bad things are on the southern
border," said Bret Schafer, senior fellow and head of the information
manipulation team at the Alliance for Securing Democracy.  

**OUR OWN MODEL** - Amid the increase in asylum seekers crossing the
U.S.-Mexico border, Abdallah Fayyad of Vox

suggests the government take a look at its own refugee resettlement
program for guidance. "The only model we have for something like this is
the refugee model, which acknowledges that that's a national
challenge," said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration
Policy Institute. One key to the refugee resettlement program's
success, Fayyad notes: "a high level of coordination." 

**MIGHTY** - Children of immigrants in Philadelphia are sending
support for migrant children at Casa del Sagrado Corazon, a temporary
shelter in El Paso, reports Phaedra Trethan of USA Today
.
Sending migrant children what they're calling "mighty bags," the
children are a part of a Philadelphia-based nonprofit called Mighty
Writers, an organization that began with afterschool and literacy
programs for children in underserved communities. 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

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