"[The system] needs to have an upgrade … some of the rules that are in place, they’re not flexible enough, especially for the dairy industry," said Dave Daniels, WFBF Board Member, in a recent interview with WisconsinsEye Newsmakers. "The immigrant labor has an important role, not only in the dairy industry but in the food sector and food security for not only Wisconsin but our nation too."  

In Michigan, farmers are facing challenges to keep their farms running because of labor shortages. Stephen Henderson, host of WDET’s Created Equal, discussed the complex issues surrounding the H-2A Visa Program and the pressures Michigan farms are facing with guests Grant Schwab, a reporter for The Detroit News, and Gonzalo Peralta of the Michigan Immigration Rights Center.  

"So many migrant workers who work in food industries, in agriculture, are essential workers. They’re crucial to allowing our basic well-being," said Peralta.  

Separately, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) and Senior Policy Analyst for the Mountain States Policy Center, Madi Clark write on the need for passing legislation that offers solutions for farmers in a piece for The Idaho State Journal.  

"We need legislation that allows the physical hard work of agriculture to continue unhindered by complex and redundant bureaucracy," Simpson and Clark write. "[R]eforming the H-2A visa program for temporary workers is critical for protecting the future of American agriculture." 

Welcome to Tuesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Clara Villatoro, the Forum’s strategic communications senior manager, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Dan Gordon and Ally Villarreal. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].  

WORK AUTHORIZATION — In an op-ed for The Portland Press Herald, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) discusses the great need for more workers, while advocating for her bipartisan bill, the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act. The bill would change the waiting period for asylum seekers looking to work from 180 days to 30 days, "putting them on the path to economic opportunity, filling critical job openings, and freeing up public resources."  

SEEKING UNITY — Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Guatemala President Bernardo Arévalo met Friday along the Mexican border to discuss issues of shared interest, including immigration, reports Edgar H. Clemente of the Associated Press. "We want a border that unites, a border that unites our people, the Mexican people and the Guatemalan people, a border that allows us to develop and grow together, with reciprocal benefit, trust, enthusiasm and collaboration," said Arévalo during the meeting. 

BORDER BILL — Yesterday, the Biden administration endorsed the announcement of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) to revive a border security package this week, even when the legislation is unlikely to pass, reports Samantha-Jo Roth of the Washington Examiner. "This bipartisan border legislation would deliver the significant policy changes, resources, and personnel needed to secure our border and make our country safer," said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement. "We strongly support this legislation and call on every Senator to put partisan politics aside." 

RESILIENCE — Recent research analyzed the interaction between resilience and migration intentions on young Hondurans. Maria Estela Rivero Fuentes, one of the authors and a senior researcher at the University of Notre Dame, dives into the results in a piece for The Conversation. Work can be done to retain young talent in their homeland, Rivero Fuentes notes, by developing programs that offer support to these young people and allowing them to see a future in their country. 

Thanks for reading, 

 
Clara