The Forum Daily | Friday March 22, 2024
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**THE FORUM DAILY**The construction industry continues to feel the
effects of labor shortages and is urging Congress to help, reports Tami
Luhby of CNN
. 

"We're losing business. There's no doubt," said Eddie Martin, CEO
of Tilson Custom Home Builders in Texas. "So many of those skilled
workers are aging out. There's nobody replacing them." 

Construction groups are advocating for an expansion of the H-2B visa
program to help fill jobs in the sector. Projections indicate an
increase in demand for homes, infrastructure and commercial development
in the upcoming years, Luhby notes. 

"The reality is the biggest fix to this is us being able to hire
immigrants," said Shane Wegner, vice president at Midlands Contracting.
"We're getting all this infrastructure money, but I don't have the
people to do it. [W]e just can't [do it] unless we can get more legal
immigration."  

Wall Street is bullish on immigration's benefits: Goldman Sachs
recently raised its GDP growth forecast with immigration data in mind,
report Augusta Saraiva and Enda Curran of Bloomberg
. And
HSBC's global chief economist wrote to clients that, in Saraiva and
Curran's words, "No advanced economy is benefiting from immigration
quite like the U.S." 

By strengthening the American workforce, immigrants have helped our
economy excel compared with Asian competitors, report Nathaniel Taplin
and Megha Mandavia of The Wall Street Journal
.
 

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

FUNDING - The government funding agreement Congress released
yesterday includes monetary increases for CBP and ICE and cuts for
governments and nonprofits that care for migrants, Ellen M. Gilmer of
Bloomberg reports. The
agreement reflects some concessions from both sides, but it fails to
balance compassion with security - and is not the bigger-picture
solution we need, as Jennie alludes to in an interview with Kimberly
Adams of Marketplace
this
morning. 

MIRRORS - A bill that would make unauthorized migration a state
crime in Iowa is on its way to Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who said she'll
sign it, reports Stephen Gruber-Miller of the Des Moines Register
.
The bill mirrors Texas' SB 4, currently held up in court. As David W.
Chen of The New York Times

analyzes other states' interest in following Texas' example, we'd
note that such bills are not in line with principles

focused on long-term, balanced solutions. (You can sign on to the
principles here
.) 

LEGAL AID - Migrants are at a disadvantage because of a shortage of
immigration lawyers, including in Wisconsin, as Sarah Lehr of Wisconsin
Public Radio

reports. Nearly 20,000 pending cases in immigration courts are from
Wisconsin, and local nonprofits' resources are limited. 

A BLESSING - The International Institute of St. Louis is welcoming
more refugees and migrants from all over the world, reports Elizabeth
Barmeier of Spectrum News
. Arrey
Obenson, the institute's president and CEO, calls it a blessing and
says, "They are reigniting the workforce here in St. Louis." 

Elsewhere in local welcome: 

* In Wisconsin, driving lessons from the Hanan Refugees Relief Group are
helping Afghan women achieve independence. (Sophie Carson, Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel
) 

* Meet Terry Symula, a Massachusetts woman who welcomes and supports
resettled Afghans in her community. (Jarmila Gorman, Points of Light
) 

* Asif Rahimi is among the Afghans a group of volunteers in
Whistler, Canada, has helped resettle. Now the group will welcome
Rahimi's wife, Arezo - and their 10-year-old daughter whom Asif has
never met in person. (Roisin Cullen, Pique Newsmagazine
) 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

P.S. Check out Gaby Velasquez's compelling photos from last night's
"Do Not Be Afraid: March & Vigil for Human Dignity" in El Paso, Texas.
They're in the El Paso Times
. 
 

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