President Biden and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador discussed migration within the Western Hemisphere and agreed to the implementation of a plan to further lower the number of unauthorized crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, reports Rafael Bernal of The Hill.
"In the short term, the two leaders ordered their national security teams to work together to immediately implement concrete measures to significantly reduce irregular border crossings while protecting human rights," reads a joint statement released after the leaders’ Sunday call.
With 2024 an election year in both countries, migration policy will remain crucial. In the United States, border security remains a top concern among voters, reports Ryan King of the New York Post.
A newly released poll from Public Opinion Strategies and Americans for Prosperity includes some other interesting findings. Not least: 87% of respondents expressed support for solutions-focused policy that would address security; global competitiveness; and clarity, transparency and accountability in our immigration system. All of which is sounding familiar.
In Politico, Myah Ward looks at talk of reviving the bipartisan-crafted border and immigration solutions that failed to proceed in the Senate in February — and at the administration’s consideration of acting on its own. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) is among those upset that the provisions didn’t move forward, Ward notes.
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].
HAITI — Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami called the restart of Haitian deportations "unconscionable" as chaos in Haiti has continued, reports Peter Pinedo of the Catholic News Agency. "If a house is on fire, you don’t force people to run back into the burning house," Wenski said. Meanwhile, among those welcoming Haitians and other migrants to Lowell, Massachusetts, are long-settled
Cambodian Americans, reports Daniel Kool of The Boston Globe. "Nobody wants to leave their home country," said Vanna Howard, who fled the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. "The decision to leave their home country — it has to be so bad that you are willing to risk your life to flee."
RESCUE — The United States Coast Guard rescued a group of migrant children from the Rio Grande last week, reports Victoria Lopez of My San Antonio. The rescue occurred as the group was attempting to cross the river on a raft. As the Coast Guard approached the raft, the adult smuggler deflated it and jumped overboard, abandoning the children. All eight children made it to shore unharmed.
FLYERS — As New York City rolls out new outreach to steer migrant children away from selling candy in the city, advocates are urging greater investment in helping migrants land on their feet, reports Elizabeth Kim of Gothamist. Administration officials say the persistence of candy selling " ... underscores the need for federal work permits allowing migrant adults to work legally and better provide for their families," Kim writes.
IMPACT — Immigration will continue to boost the economy in everything from the labor market to the housing market, reports Molly Smith of Bloomberg. Smith provides several data sets that help explain experts’ optimism. "I think we’ll continue to see the impact ... in the years to come as [migrants] assimilate, as they get credit cards, get approved, have children, and hopefully we’ll get some population growth
out of that," said Yelena Shulyatyeva, senior U.S. economist at BNP Paribas.
