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THE FORUM DAILY
School districts with increases in migrant students have challenges — and opportunities.
In Albany, New York, schools have adjusted as migrant families have integrated in the past year, and many are celebrating increased diversity, reports Kathleen Moore of the Times Union.
"We are the most diverse district in terms of languages spoken and a growing (English as a New Language) community, I’d say, outside of Rochester. It’s a blessing and an opportunity," said Superintendent Joe Hochreiter. " ... Superintendents would love to be dealing with enrollment growth. A lot of districts across the state are talking about merging, closing elementary schools, finances, lack of efficiency due to enrollment decline."
That’s not to discount challenges. In West Springfield, Massachusetts, limited resources are causing strains, Beth Teitell, John Hilliard and Christopher Huffaker report in the Boston Globe.
"The schools, and much of the wider community, have rallied around the new families," they report. But meeting needs "takes time and expertise, which costs money," and amid generosity, some in the community are expressing discontent.
Sneha Puri of the Niskanen Center brings objective data to the balance sheet. Regardless of parents’ and guardians' legal status, a significant majority pay their share or more in taxes that help fund public schools.
"Notably, in 40 out of 50 states, undocumented immigrants pay a higher percentage of their income in state and local taxes than the top 1% of households," Puri writes.
Welcome to Friday’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].
‘TASTIER’ — The Migration Policy Institute is out with a new explainer on immigrants and the U.S. economy. Bottom line: "[I]mmigrants on balance are net contributors." In The Washington Post, columnist Philip Bump writes that former President Donald Trump’s mass deportation promise raises extensive moral and economic flags. And on Inequality.org, Ernesto Castañeda and Edgar Aguilar of American University put immigrants' economic contributions at $2.2 trillion, not counting "their human, cultural, culinary, and creative contributions. Immigrants don’t just grow the size of the pie — they make
it tastier."
PRIDE IN COUNTRY — Immigrants’ pride in our society appears to be why they are more willing to "fight for the country" than native-born Americans, reports Patrick Tucker of Defense One. A recent study indicates that immigrants also are more inclined toward public service. "Recruitment shortfalls plaguing prominent Western militaries employing the all-volunteer force model raise concerns about the maintenance of force size and readiness," the researchers wrote. "Faced with aging populations, many developed nations will increasingly rely on immigrant youth to address recruitment shortfalls."
POWER — The upcoming election could help decide the fates of 70,000 resettled Afghan allies living in the United States, University of North Texas political science professor Idean Salehyan writes in The Conversation. Humanitarian parole, which covers many, is only temporary and leaves recipients "in legal limbo, unable to fully move forward in their lives," Salehyan writes.
Recently in local welcome:
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In Flint, Michigan, a military veteran helped a former translator and his family come to America. (Courtney Bennett, Michigan Now)
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A pingpong tournament at a church, with 21 co-sponsors, benefited two Afghan families and a Congolese family in Helena, Montana. (Sonny Tapia, Independent Record)
MUTUAL SUPPORT – "Most newcomers are just looking to build the best lives they can while becoming active members of their community," Thomas Thompson, chief of police at Sinclair University in Dayton, writes in the Ohio Capital Journal. In light of recent negative narratives surrounding immigrants in Ohio, Thompson encourages people to "focus on supporting each other" and "have the courage to recognize the value of our neighbors regardless of where they were born."
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