In case you missed it, Jennie weighed in yesterday: "Immigrants are essential to our social fabric. The National Immigration Forum will remain steadfast in our support not only of immigrants’ human dignity, but also of the American communities who rely on and welcome them. 

" ... Now that the election is over, we urge the president-elect to reconsider unworkable and costly policies he touted in the campaign, particularly mass deportation, which would separate families and damage our communities and our economy."  

The Trump campaign’s narrative around immigration resonated with some voters, as Miriam Jordan of The New York Times reports. Anna Flagg, David Eads and colleagues at The Marshall Project note that Trump made thousands of false claims, particularly in connecting unauthorized immigrants to crime. 

Using the public database Factbase, the organization analyzed 12,000-plus statements Trump made during the campaign. The most repeated falsehood this year was that other countries intentionally released inmates and patients from prisons and asylums and sent them to the United States.  

Flagg and Eads point to moments in the nation’s past when similar false premises led to actual policy changes. "None of [these policies] delivered the increased public safety that was promised," said Charis Kubrin, a professor of criminology, law and society at the University of Washington. "Why? Because immigrant criminality was not a problem to begin with." 

Welcome to Thursday’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 – Experts say that President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportation could have a higher chance of moving forward in his second term than similar plans in his first, reports Jeanine Santucci of USA Today. Hundreds of judges the president-elect put in place during his first term in office may be more friendly toward his plans, and Trump also could use executive powers to ignore protections for immigrants, Santucci notes. The Miami Herald editorial board writes that consumers in Florida (and elsewhere) could see a huge economic hit from the president-elect’s mass deportation strategy.

MEXICO – Mexico again will find itself affected by the Trump administration’s plans, report Simon Romero and Emiliano Rodríguez Mega of The New York Times. The president-elect vowed to increase border security along the U.S.-Mexico border, to potentially impose up to 100 percent tariffs and to use military force against cartels. Along with these promises, Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, will have to reform the diplomatic bonds of her predecessor, Romero and Rodríguez Mega note.  

SETTLEMENT – A judge has given final approval to a $6 million government settlement benefiting migrant families who were separated at the border under the Trump administration’s "zero tolerance" policy, reports Quinn Wilson of Bloomberg Law. 

REAFFIRMATION — Faith groups that work with migrants are reaffirming their commitment to helping and protecting the humanity of all, reports Aleja Hertzler-McCain of Religion News Service. "We’ll be doing all we can to encourage President-elect Trump, who has positioned himself as a defender of Christians against persecution, to ensure that the U.S. remains a refuge for those fleeing persecution on account of their faith or for other reasons recognized by U.S. law," said Matt Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief. 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

P.S. St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, has found joy in helping two refugee families resettle, reports David Paulsen of Episcopal News Service. "When we said yes to this ministry, it has been daily, weekly miracles," church volunteer Cynthia Ramseur said.