In Southeastern states, efforts to rebuild after the recent hurricanes depend on migrant workers. And builders are anxious that the core of their workforce could be at risk if plans for mass deportation go forward, report Jarrell Dillard, Enda Curran and Augusta Saraiva of Bloomberg.
"The labor that is needed to rebuild and restore these homes, I don’t even know where to begin," said John Anglin of Branch, a construction near Asheville, North Carolina.
"The immigration policy we really need is one that recognizes that and institutionalizes these workers, gives them a way to stay in this country and contribute to our ongoing adaptiveness and resilience to the disasters we know are coming," said Saket Soni, executive director of nonprofit Resilience Force.
Schools are also preparing should mass deportation take place, reports Kalyn Belsha for Chalkbeat. Studies show that for children in communities who experience immigration raids, post-traumatic stress disorder is common.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Santana of the Associated Press and Miriam Jordan of The New York Times share the continuing effects of family separations at the border. Jordan shares the story of José, now a middle schooler, who remembers being separated from his parents when he was 5.
While José is now thriving in school and reunited with his mother and father, the trauma of separation still affects him. "I don’t trust anybody," he said. "I just trust my mom and dad."
Welcome to Tuesday’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, Clara Villatoro and Marcela Aguirre. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
LABOR — Pennsylvania’s economy relies on migrant workers, reports Marcia Moore of The Daily Item. Many companies sponsor workers through federal programs such as H-2A and H-2B visas and depend on their experience and labor, Moore notes. "We would not have a farm without them," said Brad Hollabaugh, president of the Hollabaugh Brothers farm. "If we don’t have a farm, people can’t eat."
STATESMANSHIP — We need more of the statesmanship that some state and local Republican leaders showed following dehumanizing rhetoric about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, writes John T. Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, in the Chicago Tribune. Elsewhere in the immigration-solutions realm, our Senior Fellow Linda Chavez joins John Avlon’s "How to Fix It" to talk about paths forward.
RHETORIC — The politicization of their son’s tragic death in a bus accident in Springfield has caused Nathan and Danielle Clark additional anguish, Eli Saslow of The New York Times shares, with photos by Erin Schaff. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump’s rally Sunday included at least seven false claims related to the border and immigration, Daniel Dale of CNN reports. In the Forward, columnist Rob Eshman homes in on Stephen Miller’s concerning promises, Sunday and previously.
BEYOND STEREOTYPES — Victor Begg, a Muslim, a Republican and a naturalized citizen, urges politicians to see the value of immigrants in his op-ed for TCPalm. He writes of the American dream he was able to pursue and still believes in. At the same time, "Today, I’m deeply saddened by the demonization of immigrants, used as a political football in a hyperpartisan political climate," he writes. " ... Learning about each other beyond the vicious stereotypes I found to be a solution."
P.S. A social services organization in Philadelphia is offering ESL courses to resettled Ukrainians, helping them contribute and thrive, reports Justin Udo of KYW Newsroom.
