The Forum Daily | Wednesday, May 8, 2024 ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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**THE FORUM DAILY**

Yesterday, Western Hemisphere nations that signed the 2022 Los Angeles Declaration reiterated that they would continue to offer legal immigration pathways, help the populations most affected by displacement and organize a coordinated response to migration in the region, reports the Associated Press . ??

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken commented on the efforts in a press conference with Guatemala President Bernardo Ar??valo. "At the core of our efforts is the message that individuals should take advantage of lawful pathways rather than make the dangerous journey north," Blinken said.??

Separately, as the number of unauthorized crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border drops, thousands of migrants are waiting in Mexico, report Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Suvro Banerji and Costanza Maio of CBS News .????

As many wait for an appointment through the CBP One app, conditions can be untenable. "We don't have food. We don't have water," said one Venezuelan woman in Ciudad Ju??rez. Some stop waiting and cross the border without authorization, braving razor-wire barricades, the reporters note.??

"The U.S. is the greatest country in the world," said Karina Breceda, who manages shelters in Ciudad Ju??rez and El Paso. "We're able to have, I think, policy that treats this situation with dignity."??

Just under way this morning: a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Dreamers. Read yesterday's statements from the Forum and the Evangelical Immigration Table .??

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

**CBP WORK** - Steve Inskeep and Ally Schweitzer of NPR put a human element to U.S. Customs and Border Protection in an interview with Ryan Riccucci, a 17-year agency veteran and now a division chief in the Tucson Sector. Riccucci describes having saved migrants' lives - and hints at frustrations around the work. "I wish that there were more opportunities to tell our story," Riccucci said. A day earlier, Inskeep, Schweitzer and team??explored the realities for migrants at the border in a separate piece .??

**BANNED** - For Claudia Gonz??lez of Houston, trying to follow legal advice as she applied for her green card has resulted in a 10-year ban from returning to the United States, reports Uriel J. Garc??a of The Texas Tribune .??Gonz??lez??came to the U.S. as a teen and later was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Her husband and 15-year-old son, Gerardo, are U.S. citizens and remain in Houston. "My mom is really a good person and I don't think that she deserves any of this, or that we deserve any of this," Gerardo said.??

**PREPARING** - In Oklahoma, immigrant communities and advocates are preparing for House Bill 4156 to take effect July 1, reports Adam Kemp for PBS News . The law will make staying in Oklahoma without authorization a state crime. Angelica Villalobos of Immigration Connection Empowerment is helping those in her community prepare and stay safe. "All I ever wanted was that shot at the American dream and to stop being afraid, I want that for my community," Villalobos said.??

**SOLUTIONS FOCUS** - Republican megadonor Woody Hunt has teamed up with Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) to urge Congress and the Biden administration to expand work authorization for undocumented immigrants who are a spouse or parent to U.S. citizens, reports John C. Moritz of the Austin American-Statesman . "These are already American families," the two wrote in a Dallas Morning News op-ed.??"They just need the federal government to let them live like families."????

Thanks for reading,??

Dan??

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