To the news ... economists say the data remain clear: On the whole, immigrants help the job market and economy, reports Greg Iacurci of CNBC. 

"Overall, the consensus is very strong that there are not significant costs to U.S.-born workers from immigration, at least the type of immigration we have historically had in the U.S.," said Alexander Arnon, director of business tax and economic analysis at the Penn Wharton Budget Model.  

Immigrants who fill jobs in the U.S. also spend money and start businesses, which ultimately creates new jobs. According to the Congressional Budget Office, immigrants are expected to add about $8.9 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product over the next decade.  

"That creates jobs, that raises pay, that is an increase in the size and complexity of the U.S. economy," said Michael Clemens, an economist and professor at George Mason University. 

In a piece for Foreign Policy, Julian E. Zelizer, a professor 0f history and public affairs at Princeton University, looks at the economic story of immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. The takeaway: "Immigrants can be a solution to economic decline and malaise."  

The recent rhetoric around migrants in Springfield "is an important reminder that the politics of exclusion will erode the very people who have been a backbone to the nation’s economy and culture," Zelizer reflects. 

In a similar vein, new research underscores that without immigrants, many states would see their populations decline, reports Mark Wingfield of Baptist News Global. 

Welcome to Monday’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, Soledad Gassó Parker, Camilla Luong, Ally Villarreal and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

NEW PATHS — Colombia and Panama plan to create a "single, organized route through the jungle" for migrants headed to the United States, reports Matthew Bristow of Bloomberg. The new route would replace the dangerous paths that organized crime groups currently control. "We want to open a route that is calm, efficient and controlled by the authorities of both countries," Colombia President Gustavo Petro said after a meeting with Panama President Jose Raul Mulino.  

CAMPAIGN TRAIL — Vice President Kamala Harris’ border visit Friday "shows how much her strategy has changed," Tal Kopan of the Boston Globe reports. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump is misrepresenting new statistics from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding immigrants and crime, reports Daniel Dale of CNN. During the weekend, Trump framed statistics covering decades as having comprised just the past four years — among other distortions. And Trump used dehumanizing rhetoric about immigrants during an event in Wisconsin, as Mike Allen reports in Axios.  

IN GOD’S IMAGE — Pope Francis urged Catholics to encounter the divine in the vulnerable among us in his message for yesterday’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees. In the National Catholic Reporter, Anna Gallagher of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network reflects on the meaning of the pontiff’s message. "By welcoming migrants and refugees into our communities, we are not merely offering them a haven," she writes. "We are inviting them to enrich our lives and expand our understanding of God's boundless love and mercy." 

NEW LESSONS — El Concilio California, a nonprofit in Stockton, is helping migrant children with their education, report Irene Gonzalez and Dominic Garcia of CBS 13 News. Santurnino, 2, is learning English at the center’s preschool, making him trilingual — he already speaks Spanish and K'iche'.   

Thanks for reading,  

Dan