It’s been a busy week, and it’s only Tuesday...
President Biden is expected to sign an executive order today that would block the right to seek asylum between ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border if daily migrant encounters between ports reach an average of 2,500, report Seung Min Kim, Stephen Groves and Colleen Long of the Associated Press.
Lawmakers received information from the White House indicating that requests for asylum would be allowed to start again once average daily encounters were down to 1,500. The executive order is expected to partly mirror aspects of the Senate’s bipartisan border package that has failed to advance.
At least five mayors from towns along the Texas border traveled to Washington, D.C., ahead of the announcement, reports Sandra Sanchez of Border Report.
"Long-term solutions require legislation, including funding the personnel and other resources a secure, compassionate border response requires," Jennie said in our statement yesterday.
"There’s a blueprint for such solutions, and new polling underscores huge support across the political and
ideological spectrum for them. Ultimately, even if this proposed executive action succeeds in reducing border encounters in the short term, it’s only a Band-Aid without action from Congress."
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].
DOCTORS NEEDED — The United States has a serious physician shortage, and immigration could be the solution, Jonathan Wolfson of the Cicero Institute writes in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. Some states are already passing bills "to create a pathway for doctors practicing abroad to become fully licensed without completing unnecessary post-medical-school ‘residency’ training in the U.S.," Wolfson notes. Such measures could save the U.S.
from "the looming catastrophe of patients losing access to care."
CONSEQUENCES — Mass deportations would have big consequences for Texans, the Austin American-Statesman editorial board writes. Immigrants are crucial to the Texas economy, bringing in millions of dollars each year, the board notes. "Texas needs workers who are decently treated and decently paid and who can keep Texas growing, storm after storm," the board concludes. Wall Street Journal columnist William A. Galston writes that mass deportations "can’t be conducted without mass detention" and would "hurt the economy, leave many employers with jobs they can’t fill, trigger legal resistance and throw the country into chaos."
ARIZONA MEASURE — An Arizona proposal to make unauthorized entries a state crime could go before voters in November, reports Jack Healy of The New York Times. The Arizona House is expected today to approve putting the measure on the ballot. "We’re going [backward]," said Irayda Flores, a Phoenix businesswoman and immigrant [and a Forum board member]. "The immigrant community, we pay taxes, we bring a lot to the table." Latino leaders in Arizona
are considering boycotts if the bill becomes law, Arizona Republic editorial columnist Phil Boas writes.
THE HEAT — In Juárez, Mexico, some migrants are experiencing heat-related illness as they are forced to spend days in high temperatures while waiting to cross the border, reports Julian Resendiz of Border Report. Sergio Rodriguez, Juárez’s Civil Protection Office director, told reporters that migrants are being encouraged to go to shelters where they can find air conditioning and other necessities.
P.S. After never feeling smart enough for college, Elmer Hernandez found motivation and strength in his immigrant family, reports Yesenia Robles of Chalkbeat Colorado. He recently graduated from the Community College of Aurora and plans to continue his studies at the University of Colorado Denver.
