As immigration remains the No. 1 issue for many American voters, Will Weissert of the Associated Press visits Nevada to explore nuances and contradictions among people who employ, work with, and care about the immigrants in their communities. 

Janille and Tom Baker rely on immigrant labor to produce 10,000 tons of hay each year. "In any industry, everybody’s trying to find help," Janille Baker said. "So this anti-immigration stance doesn’t really make sense to me. If everyone needs workers, how are you planning to fill those jobs?" 

Policies such as mass deportation would further imperil the state’s economy, including hotels and casinos, Weissert reports. 

Others are highlighting economic realities, too: 

Welcome to Monday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP. 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].  

CHILLING RHETORIC — A dehumanizing phrase former President Donald Trump has employed multiple times — and that is gaining traction in some quarters — is a disturbing echo, Russell Contreras reports in Axios. Meanwhile, addressing misinformation about immigration, Rebecca Gomez of the Arizona Mirror looks at the realities regarding border numbers, fentanyl, crime and public benefits, among other topics. And, in The New York Times, Linda Qiu writes that by blaming immigrants, politicians are "peddling a raft of specious claims that underline the extent to which nativist sentiment has become central to their campaign." 

WALL | | BORDER — In South Texas, expanding border barriers would leave upward of 100 square miles of U.S. land — including farms, homes, churches and whole neighborhoods — "essentially cut off from the rest of the United States," a team at The Washington Post reports in an interactive piece. Although the Rio Grande is the border in Texas, barriers are built as far as two miles away. Cesar Ortiz, 75, talks about life between the wall and the river: "We’re kind of abandoned here."  

U VISA — Survivors of certain crimes who help law enforcement can apply for U visas. Seventy-five children who survived the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida did so — and are still waiting for relief, reports Deborah Sontag of The New York Times. "It was a massive event that took a real toll on us, but it also, like, truly bonded us forever — to each other and to this country," said Bruna Oliveira, who was 14 at the time and is now eyeing medical school.  

BALLOT MEASURE — Voters in Arizona will decide on Proposition 314, which would allow local law enforcement the power to detain and question anyone they suspect of crossing the border without authorization, reports Ximena Bustillo of NPR.  "It's a bill that is born out of sheer exasperation and frustration with our federal government," said David Rhodes, president of the Arizona Sheriff’s Association. " ... It is absolutely not the best solution to this problem." 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

P.S. The arrival of English-language learners in schools can have positive effects for existing students, Ileana Najarro of Education Week reports.