The House this week passed a bill that would help evacuate and resettle additional Afghans who assisted the U.S. and now are threatened, Siyar Sirat of Amu TV reports.
"The passage of the CARE Authorization Act of 2024 further underscores the commitment made by the U.S. government to safeguard those who served shoulder-to-shoulder with our personnel," Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada), who sponsored the bill, said in a statement. The bill passed in strong, bipartisan fashion, 334-63.
Permanence in the U.S. for our Afghan allies — and stronger security vetting — still waits, even though legislation such as the Afghan Adjustment Act also has support from Republicans and Democrats.
That’s not stopping local communities from continuing their welcome efforts. They’ve paved the way for designer Sarwat Najib to re-create her fashion business to support refugees in Wisconsin, reports Ali Khan of Wisconsin Life. Najib previously opened doors for women to work safely from home in Afghanistan.
Her work combines culture, tradition, and activism. "My business slogan was that I’m not running a brand, I’m running families," she says.
Bayliss Wagner and Nicole Villalpando of the Austin American-Statesman share an opportunity to help the family of Mir Shamsi, who worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Afghanistan until the Taliban took over.
And in Connecticut, an Afghan family has reunited after three years with the help of a local nonprofit, Sandra Diamond Fox of The New Milford Spectrum reports.
Elsewhere in recent local welcome:
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, Clara Villatoro and Becka Wall. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
DAILY ECONOMY ALERT — The incoming Trump administration might further restrict foreign-born high-skilled individuals in the U.S., reports Jon Hamilton of NPR. Half of doctoral-level scientists and engineers in the country are foreign-born, hired under H-1B visas, he notes. Rafael Bernal of The Hill has more on the likely slowing of legal immigration. "[Y]ou’re very likely to see American consumers not able to get some of the services they want to be provided," said Stuart Anderson, director of the National Foundation for American Policy. Elsewhere:
- Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal is the latest to report on anxieties in the agriculture industry — and Bre Holbert zooms in on the industry in AgDaily.
- Fear among workers, not just in ag, already is running high, Alicia Wallace reports for CNN.
LATIN AMERICA — The incoming Trump administration is likely to adopt a tough strategy with Latin America, Priscilla Alvarez of CNN reports. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is preparing, Elías Camhaji of El País reports.
UNDER THREAT — Fear is increasing among Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients currently protected to live, study and work in the U.S., Sophie Carson of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The specter of DACA ending "feels more real this time," said registered nurse Yareli Suarez, 23. "Now we really have to think about any possible outcome."
FAITH SUPPORT — Iowa’s Catholic bishops have written a letter of support to immigrants in the state, Stephen Gruber-Miller reports in the Des Moines Register. "We write to you with hearts full of compassion and a deep desire to express our solidarity with you during this stressful time," the bishops wrote. " ... We will advocate for your just treatment and dignity within the framework of the law." In Pasadena, California, All Saints Church is working to help immigrant parents take precautions for their American-born children should the parents be deported, Pasadena Now reports.
