The pending closing of a glass factory will be a blow to Charleroi, Pennsylvania, but migrant workers leaving other industries in town would be a bigger one, reports Oliver Morrison for 90.5 WESA.

Former President Donald Trump has targeted Charleroi, which has experienced an increase in Haitian residents who have temporary protections and work authorization. Trump’s promises to deport such migrants concerns business leaders in Charleroi who depend on them.

In Worthington, Minnesota, immigrants have reshaped the community for a reality that looks very different from election-year rhetoric, reports Giovanna Dell’Orto of the Associated Press. There are growing pains, but many community members, including local law enforcement and church communities, are welcoming newcomers.

"We want people to be comfortable approaching us," said Worthington Police Chief Troy Appel. "It all comes down to awareness from both sides."

Pastors and advocates elsewhere continue to highlight the Christian value of welcome, particularly after Trump referred to the United States as "a garbage can for the rest of the world" last week.

"Candidates need to know that evangelical Christians are: a) against hateful and unhelpful rhetoric towards immigrants and refugees; b) for securing our borders; and c) against separating families," Scott Venable, lead pastor at Northwood Church in Keller, Texas, writes in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram op-ed.

And American Values Coalition head Napp Nazworth writes in Baptist News Global, "[I]f you care about solutions to our border crisis, [Trump's] sort of language harms efforts to build a necessary consensus."

Welcome to Friday’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].

MASS DEPORTATION — Nearly a million Floridians could be removed under former President Trump’s mass deportation plan, reports Syra Ortiz Blanes of The Miami Herald. That’s per a new American Immigration Council report. Kimberley Heatherington of the Catholic Standard analyzes legal and moral questions around mass deportation and notes that noncitizens "have specific rights under the Constitution," including access to legal representation.

NEW VOTERS — "Newly naturalized citizens have a wide range of political beliefs shaped by our experiences. What unites us is a profound love for our new country," our own business engagement and inclusion programs associate Andrea Castaneda-Lauver writes in the Houston Chronicle. Don't miss the photo from Andrea’s naturalization ceremony. In a UNHCR blog post, former refugee Methusella Rwabose writes that being able to vote is "a victory. I’ve lived in places where democracy was a distant dream, where the powerful made decisions for the powerless."

RESETTLEMENT — The recent increase in U.S. refugee resettlement may be temporary, reports Addie Offereins of World. Former President Trump allowed in far fewer refugees during his term and has said he would again, she reports, while noting that many refugees are Christians fleeing persecution. Meanwhile, a recent survey from the Refugee Advocacy Lab and its partners indicates that getting to know refugees personally increases Americans’ propensity to welcome.

Speaking of welcome:

English classes at a church through the Ladies Let’s Talk nonprofit is helping resettled Afghan women empower themselves. (Bridget Grumet, Austin American-Statesman)

An Afghan evacuee shares how the Louisville, Kentucky, community has welcomed him. (Shaiqullah Subhan, Courier Journal)

In Canada, a group at Wilfrid Laurier University helped provide full scholarships to 43 Afghans and other newcomers. (Terry Pender, Waterloo Region Record)

THEY’RE RUNNING — Former Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients Cindy Nava of New Mexico and Luis Mata of Tennessee are seeking public office and laying the foundations for more immigrant elected officials, reports Tina Vásquez of Prism. "I believe in representation that not only looks like us, but representation that looks out for us — and that’s what I hope to be for people in Tennessee," Mata said.

Thanks for reading,

Dan

P.S. In Forbes, Court Stroud writes about Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, an immigrant and law enforcement officer who worked to protect democracy on Jan. 6, 2021.

THE FORUM DAILY