In her meeting yesterday with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that U.S. initiatives to address causes of Central American migration have generated $5.2 billion in commitments from the private sector, report Colleen Long and Chris Megerian of the Associated Press.  

The goal of these initiatives is to stem migration by providing more economic opportunity. "The problems, of course, did not occur overnight, and the solutions will not be achieved overnight," Harris said. 

Meanwhile, Michelle Hackman and Tarini Parti of The Wall Street Journal offer insight into why border and immigration solutions have failed to move forward, and for so long. 

Congress’ inaction and different presidential administrations’ conflicting, and sometimes court-blocked or court-limited, efforts have resulted in fragmented enforcement, as Migration Policy Institute President Andrew Selee points out. Now cities and states are attempting to step in. 

"If you ask me who’s setting immigration policy right now, more than anyone I’d say it is the courts," said Theresa Cardinal Brown of the Bipartisan Policy Center. "And the consequence is, from day to day, the people in charge of managing the border don’t know what the rules are." 

Our note: Americans, including evangelical Christians, still want the kinds of immigration and border solutions that only Congress can provide.  

Welcome to Tuesday’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]. 

TAXPAYERS WIN — Research indicates [again] that American taxpayers come out ahead with higher levels of immigration, Stuart Anderson writes in Forbes. "In our projections, the deficit is also smaller than it was last year because economic output is greater, partly as a result of more people working," per Phillip L. Swagel, director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Those same projections foresee a larger labor force — with attendant GDP growth of about $7 trillion and revenues of about $1 trillion — "mostly because of higher net immigration."  

POLICY PLANS — As Donald Trump discusses his plans to deport millions of people should he win back the White House, Los Angeles Times columnist Doyle McManus talks to legal experts who say he could actually carry out those plans. Trump’s chief immigration advisor, Stephen Miller, says Trump would "assemble ‘a giant force’ including National Guard troops to seize undocumented migrants, transport them to camps in Texas and expel them." The human impact would be severe, especially in California, McManus writes: "Many undocumented migrants are members of families that include legal residents and U.S. citizens, including children."

DISORDER — Texas’ Operation Lone Star appears not to be contributing to order at the border, reports Adam Powell of the El Paso Times. State agencies enforcing Operation Lone Star do not have the same training as the Border Patrol to handle the nuanced problems that may arise while overseeing migrants, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) points out.  

ARIZONA— A bill that would have mandated the use of E-Verify in Arizona did not proceed after Senate President Warren Petersen (R) cited "concerns from the business community," reports Ray Stern of The Arizona Republic. A separate border bill similar to Texas’ SB 4 could go before voters in the fall after Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed it during the legislative session, Stern reports.  

Thanks for reading,  

Dan