Shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border have assisted with large numbers of migrants, but such operations could be at risk under the incoming Trump administration, reports Valerie Gonzalez of the Associated Press.
As a part of the incoming administration’s agenda, "border czar" Tom Homan has said he will review the role of nongovernmental organizations. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, on tap to work on cutting government spending, has called them a "waste of taxpayer dollars."
But local officials say these nonprofits are crucial to their response when migrants arrive. "In McAllen, we would have been lost without them," said Mayor Javier Villalobos (R).
In Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum suggested her country potentially could accept non-Mexican migrants deported from the U.S. — though Mexico is not in favor of such an approach, the Associated Press reports. "There will be time to speak with the United States government if these deportations really happen, but we will receive them here, we are going to receive them properly and we have a plan," Sheinbaum said.
Mexican communities along the U.S. border are troubled by what an immigration crackdown could mean for their families and economies, reports Mary Beth Sheridan of The Washington Post.
Over the past few decades, remittances sent from the United States have made it possible for some Mexican communities to thrive. Irregular migrants have "not only become critical to sectors of the U.S. economy, such as agriculture and construction," Sheridan writes. "They’ve grown into an engine of development and a social safety net for villages back home."
Laura Alegria’s siblings have lived in Oregan for 30-plus years and have sent money home. "If we can’t turn to them, life here can be very cruel," she said.
Welcome to Monday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Marcela Aguirre, Jillian Clark, Soledad Gassó Parker and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
ONGOING PLANS — President-elect Donald Trump’s team continues to look at employing military bases as part of migrant detention and deportation efforts, report Tarini Parti and Michelle Hackman of The Wall Street Journal. Homan called the military a "force multiplier" that could help with the logistics of mass deportation.
CONTRADICTIONS — Two pieces dive deeper into the potential pitfalls of mass deportations on specific industries: shipbuilding, as Nicole Foy at ProPublica reports, and the agricultural sector, per Camille Von Kaenel of Politico. Meanwhile, ongoing arguments about visa programs shed light on the tension between the cultural and economic sides of immigration, writes David L. Nevins of The Fulcrum.
LETTERS — Local officials in coastal Lincoln County, Oregon, received anonymous letters urging them to collect information on individuals they believe may be in the country without authorization, Ashley Koch of KGW initially reported. "I'm a proud American veteran. And this country does not stand for that," said Toledo, Oregon, Mayor Rod Cross. Lincoln County Sheriff Curtis Landers called the letter’s appeal "harmful, divisive, and inconsistent with the values we uphold as public servants and community members," Praveena Somasundaram of The Washington Post reports.
GUIDANCE — Catholic leaders along the U.S.-Mexico border are preparing migrant communities for the upcoming Trump administration, reports Aleja Hertzler-McCain of Religion News Service. Her conversation with San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller also is worth a read. In Arizona, faith leaders are anxious that federal officials may allow immigration enforcement actions in churches, reports Kimberley Heatherington of OSV News. "We find it unacceptable that undocumented persons might be intimidated from going to a church and thereby exercising their right to the practice of religion," they wrote in the Arizona Republic.
P.S. Amid a severe shortage of childcare, Louisville, Kentucky, has had success helping immigrant women open businesses, Roberto Roldan of Louisville Public Media reports.
