Wisconsinites are receiving a study in contrasts when it comes to immigration: a narrative of chaos vs. reality of many communities’ rejuvenation thanks to newcomers, Alfredo Corchado and Dudley Althaus report in the San Antonio Express-News.
Even as politicians’ rhetoric influences some, small towns across the state are seeing revitalized economies thanks to incoming migrants, they report.
"The harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric versus reality on the ground are two different things. But here, they suddenly somehow coexist," said Armando Ibarra, an immigration expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In Appleton, a faith community of resettled Congolese refugees is concerned about former president Donald Trump’s plans for the refugee resettlement program, report Kristina Cooke and Ted Hesson of Reuters.
While Congelese Pastor Robert Mutombo worries about the former president’s derogatory remarks, he also has seen a wide outpouring of support from other faith leaders, including a local evangelical pastor. Hundreds of evangelical leaders nationwide sent a letter this month asking both presidential candidates to stop using "dehumanizing" language towards newcomers, Cooke and Hesson note.
Pastor Marcio Sierra of Madison, an immigrant and now a U.S. citizen, shares why he signed the letter in a Madison 365 op-ed.
"We only need to think with hearts of compassion and understand that immigrants, like all human beings, have been created with a purpose, and we, as a nation, have the opportunity to help fulfill that purpose," Sierra writes.
Welcome to Wednesday’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 Becka Wall. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
VOTING — Texas’ efforts meant to stop noncitizens from voting have swept up at least 10 citizens, a team from ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and VoteBeat reports. State leaders’ efforts stem from the unfounded belief that significant numbers of noncitizens are trying to vote in U.S. elections, the team notes. Such efforts likely will continue: Some states’ ballot measures would make it more difficult for citizens to vote, too, reports Patrick Marley of The Washington Post. Our resource addresses the realities of the laws that prohibit noncitizen voting.
DIFFERING SOLUTIONS — Some are urging the next administration to further export responses to migration, while "others say it’s time to stop ‘exporting suffering’ and facilitate legal migration instead of trying to criminalize those who flee oppression, poverty and crime," reports Julian Resendiz of Border Report. A point of agreement: The current system is pushing people to trust smugglers with their lives, a topic María Verza of the Associated Press addresses in detail.
ASYLUM SYSTEM — Regardless of election results, our asylum system probably never will be the same, report Jazmine Ulloa and Hamed Aleaziz of The New York Times. They interview two dozen immigration lawyers, former federal officials and other experts to paint the picture. Earlier this year, partners including the Forum made suggestions regarding asylum and border updates. Meanwhile, organizations such as Dayspring Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, continue to assist migrants as they take their first steps toward asylum, reports Calli Keener of Baptist Standard.
