Business groups across industries keep urging Congress for immigration solutions that fulfill the labor market’s need for workers, report Enda Curran and Augusta Saraiva of Bloomberg. 

"It’s really a shame that politics gets in the way of something that everybody agrees is a problem," Edwin Egee of the National Retail Federation. 

Trade associations and business groups want legal immigration paths to address labor shortages and support economic growth, including (but not limited to) changes in employment-based visas and new measures to grant work authorizations, Curran and Saraiva note. 

In Forbes, Stuart Anderson writes that recent changes in the H-1B visa program for professional workers aim to offer a fair process for all companies but will not solve "a fundamental shortcoming" in country’s immigration law. "The H-1B annual limit is too low for America’s size and an economy that relies on technical talent to grow and innovate," he writes. 

Concerns in the nursing home sector, just one that is facing severe labor shortages, are alarming (especially to someone with older parents). In a recent survey, two-thirds of nursing homes "are concerned that escalating workforce challenges may force them to close their facility," reports Josh Henreckson of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News.  

The sector is trying to secure a higher number of immigrant nurses and therapists. Already, "immigrant certified nursing assistants have already been one of the few points of stability," Henreckson notes.  

The Forum has addressed how immigrants can help meet the needs of a neighboring sector: home health care workers. 

Welcome to Wednesday’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]. 

OUR VALUES/NOT OUR VALUES — On Monday the Forum released "A Better Way Forward: 2024 Immigration Principles" to shine a light on the values-focused conversation we need in the midst of a tense election year. (Don’t miss the videos.) In contrast, candidate and former President Donald Trump has escalated his anti-immigrant rhetoric by comparing migrants to the fictional character Hannibal Lecter, as Megan Lebowitz and Jake Traylor of NBC News report. According to new polling last week, voters still want cooperation and solutions — and, by a 35-point spread, say dehumanizing language about migrants contradicts American values. 

SIDE EFFECTS — Some members of Congress have expressed concerns about the "catastrophic situation" in Haiti and its repercussions on migration to the United States, report Matt Berg and Nahal Toosi of Politico. The crisis in Haiti has reached a new level this week after criminal gangs tried to take control of the main international airport, reports a team at ABC News. 

STATE LEGISLATION — Iowa’s Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would make unauthorized migration a state crime, reports Robin Opsahl of the Iowa Capital Dispatch. Similar to Texas’ SB 4, which is currently held up in court, the Iowa bill would allow state law enforcement to arrest undocumented immigrants. It now moves to the Iowa House for consideration. 

ID CARDS — In Florida, Republican lawmakers are supporting a bill that targets community programs’ identification cards provided to undocumented immigrants, reports Syra Ortiz Blanes of the Miami Herald. The IDs can make life easier — and safer. "In Miami-Dade, the IDs can ... help law enforcement identify victims and witnesses of crime," Ortiz Blanes notes. "ID holders can also use them to pick up children from school and go to doctor’s appointments. The community IDs cannot be used to vote, drive or receive social welfare benefits." 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

P.S. Check out artist Josué Baltézar's murals, meant as a message of support for immigrant communities. Lisa Deaderick of the San Diego Union-Tribune has the story.