The Forum Daily | Tuesday, August 13, 2024 ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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**THE FORUM DAILY**

The federal government is processing citizenship requests at the fastest rate in a decade, reports Miriam Jordan of The New York Times [link removed].????

The application processing pace is now in line with what experts saw in 2013 and 2014, with the wait time down significantly - from an average of 11.5 months in 2021 to 4.9 months in the current fiscal year.??

Green-card holders are eligible to become citizens five years after gaining lawful permanent resident status - or after three years of LPR if married to a United States citizen. Taking the oath of allegiance follows passage of a background check, health exam, interview and civics test.?? ??

Read more about the Forum's citizenship-related work [link removed]. And speaking of new citizens, congratulations to MLB Hall of Famer Rod Carew, who is set to naturalize Aug. 2 at age 78. Dan Hayes has the story in The Athletic [link removed]. "I love this country," Carew said. "It has given me everything and more."??

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, Joanna Taylor, Ally Villarreal and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected] mailto:[email protected].??

**SOUTH DAKOTA GROWTH** - South Dakota's immigrant population grew 45.5% between 2010 and 2022, compared with a national increase of 15.6%,??Mariia Novoselia reports for South Dakota News Watch [link removed]. Immigrants from Asia and Africa make up a growing share of these new arrivals, says state demographer and South Dakota State professor Weiwei Zhang, who cites job opportunities, housing supply and existing community ties as the state's key pull factors.??

**DEPORTATION CASES** - Removal cases are rising in Massachusetts and nationwide, report Danny McDonald, Yoohyun Jung and Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio of The Boston Globe [link removed]. That's exacerbating a severe court backlog - one that could slow a second Trump administration's mass deportation plans, Dan Gooding of Newsweek [link removed] reports. "Due process is embedded in the Constitution and it applies to everyone in the United States," said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration attorney and law professor at Cornell University. " ... [Y]ou can't just round [people] up and send them across the border." ??

**'A CHANCE'** - Some Republicans are wary of calls for mass deportation, reports Stephen Groves of the Associated Press [link removed]. Lauren B. Pe??a, a Republican activist from Texas, is drawn to former President Trump but worries about some of the rhetoric she hears regarding immigrants. "I feel like we need to give these people a chance," Pe??a said. In The Washington Post [link removed], Le??n Krauze writes about??what a mass deportation program could??look like for Latinos.??

**KEEPING THE AMERICAN DREAM** - Around 82% of Americans [link removed] are dissatisfied with our immigration system - and this common ground is the perfect opportunity to highlight immigrant contributions and forge solutions that benefit all Americans, writes Justin Longo of the Independent Center [link removed]. From strengthening our workforce to embracing the American dream, as the Forum's expert Arturo Castellanos Canales put it, "America is uniquely positioned to demonstrate, once again, that immigrants are the solution, not the problem."??

**COME ON DOWN** - Imagine: You sponsor a refugee family with the help of a local church. Almost 50 years later, you see a member of that family - on "The Price Is Right," where he thanks you and the church. Then you're able to reunite. This is real life for retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. James E. Benhke and Ted and Anh Nguyen, as reported by Renee Romo of KOLD [link removed].??

Thanks for reading,??

Dan??

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