The Forum Daily | Wednesday, December 18. 2024https://immigrationforum.org/

**THE FORUM DAILY**

For those who crossed the border legally by using the CBP One app, their future is unclear. Many were granted parole status - however, they could be at risk of deportation under a new Trump administration, reports Anna-Catherine Brigida of the Houston Landing [link removed]. 

The Suárez are just one family among nearly eight million Venezuelan migrants who made their way to the U.S. in the recent years as their country was thrown into economic and political turmoil. 

"We’re starting a new story from zero, because here we came with nothing to give [our children] a better future," said Yasmin Escobar who came to the U.S. with her two children to reunite with her husband, José Suárez. 

Should the Trump administration shut down the CBP One app, which the Suárez family used to be reunited, many migrants are unsure if they will ever be able to apply legally for asylum in the U.S., reports Gustavo Solis of KPBS [link removed]. The president-elect vows to "terminate" the app.  

Separately, a Human Rights Watch’s report outlines how the first Trump administration implemented family separation policy and warns about how it could be replicated, reports Paola Nagovitch of El País [link removed].  

"It’s chilling to see, in document after document, the calculated cruelty that went into the forcible family separation policy," said Michael Garcia Bochenek, senior child rights adviser at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. "A government should never target children to send a message to parents." 

Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Clara Villatoro, the Forum’s strategic communications Assistant VP. The great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Dan Gordon, Soledad Gassó Parker, and Becka Wall. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. 

**CAVEATS** — When it comes to mass deportation, even Americans who support it express some caveats. There is a strong interest in prioritizing violent criminals and those with final orders of removal rather than a broader group of individuals without legal status, reports Fiona Harrigan of Reason [link removed]. Separately, in an op-ed for Deseret News [link removed], Robert Griffiths outlines the costs of harsh immigration policies and urge policymakers to develop "a well-thought-out immigration policy, we can be proud of."  

**ELEVATE** — In Grand Island, Nebraska, immigrants are now able to take a crash course in civics which encourages them to take part in the workings of their community, reports Natalia Alamdari of Flatwater Free Press [link removed]. The course, called "Elevate," aims to help integrate the 18.5% of the Grand Island population that is foreign-born. "It’s kind of life-changing for a lot of participants," said Eric Garcia-Mendez, a city’s school board member. "...We are deciding to include and value community members who have historically just been left in the dark."  

**COMPLEXITY** — Jaime Cachua, a DACA recipient married to a U.S. citizen, embodies the anguish and anxiety of thousands of immigrants in similar circumstances that fear of being deported under the upcoming Trump administration, reports Eli Saslow of The New York Times [link removed]. "There’s nothing to stop them from rounding me up once he takes office," Cachua said. Many of his family members and friends in Georgia voted for Donald Trump, now they are trying to understand the complexity of the immigration system, as Cachua struggles to stay in the country. 

**CHRISTIAN COMMITMENT** — In an interview with NPR [link removed]’s Michel Martin, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference Samuel Rodriguez speaks to the future of immigration reform under the Trump administration and his commitment to it. "[I]mmigrants are a blessing to America. We want them to come here legally. There will be immigration reform, hopefully in the first two years. I'm going to personally fight for that," Rodriguez said. Meanwhile, for some Evangelical and Catholic congregations this year, Christmas services will involve unpacking the migration story of the Holy Family amid deportation fears, reports Russell Contreras of Axios [link removed].   

Thanks for reading,  

Clara 

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