The Biden administration is expected to make an announcement regarding the asylum process today, report Daniella Diaz, Myah Ward and Nicholas Wu of Politico.
According to sources close to the administration, the new proposal would give immigration officials the ability to deport migrants who do not meet asylum requirements earlier in the process, especially those who could be ineligible because of reasons regarding national security, public safety, or other statutory bars. Officials familiar with the plan said additional proposed changes are possible in coming months.
The devil will be in the details, of course.
Separately, three nonprofit groups filed a lawsuit against the federal government for more information regarding the CBP One app, reports Sandra Sanchez of Border Report.
Al Otro Lado, the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, and the Texas Civil Rights Project are requesting information related to alleged discrimination against asylum seekers with disabilities in the use of the CBP One app.
For a closer look at what asylum seekers who use the CBP One app are undergoing, Patrick J. McDonnell reports on several people's experiences in his story for the Los Angeles Times. With pictures by Robert Gauthier, the piece dives into the ins and outs of entering the United States with an appointment as an asylum seeker.
Welcome to Thursday’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].
DREAMERS — In yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Dreamers, witnesses spoke about the "urgent need to protect immigrant youth," reports Nicole Acevedo of NBC News. In a letter signed by 1,636 undocumented young people, nonprofit TheDream.US urged Congress to "provide us with the opportunity to pursue a path to U.S. citizenship naturalization." Other organizations, including the Evangelical Immigration Table, also sent letters of support [and see the Council on National Security and Immigration’s statement]. Members of the committee showed interest, though GOP leaders said they want first to prioritize border issues, Acevedo notes.
‘DEMOGRAPHIC DILEMMA’ — West Virginia is the only state with a smaller population than it had in 1940 but is resistant to bringing in immigrants, Paul Kiernan reports in The Wall Street Journal, with photos by Alyssa Schukar. Among the business leaders calling for a different state strategy to attract workers is Steve Roberts, president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce: "We should avoid sending messages, either overtly or
through our actions, that this is not a good place to come if you’re willing to work."
AI TRAINING — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is weighing the idea of using artificial intelligence (AI) to train officers on speaking to refugees, reports Jeffrey Dastin of Reuters. A pilot program will use the technology in training that usually involves senior personnel. The program is part of a larger AI initiative DHS announced earlier this year. AI will not make any decisions itself, per
DHS.
WIDER RANGE — In their op-ed for The Hill, Kristie De Peña and Claire Holba of the Niskanen Center urge officials to send incoming migrants to a wider range of cities to reduce pressure on a few. "Cities across the country indicate they want and need to grow; for this, welcoming work-authorized people to live, work and raise families in their cities is vital," De Peña and Holba
write.
