The Forum Daily | Thursday, January 16, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

**THE FORUM DAILY**

Bookmark it: We've updated our immigration principles, a strong foundation as we navigate the waters ahead. In Jennie’s words, "These principles lay a balanced foundation for American workers and families to thrive. By wide margins [link removed], Americans want immigration policy reforms that not only ensure strength and security, but also protect family unity and human dignity." 

Meanwhile, the prospect of large-scale deportations is causing economic concerns in communities around the country.  

"States like North Carolina that rely on immigrants both to pay taxes and to contribute to important economies … stand to lose a lot economically," Becca O’Neill, co-founder of the Carolina Migrant Network, told Nora O’Neill of The Charlotte Observer [link removed]. 

Impacts on Iowa’s agricultural industry could have ripple effects nationwide, report Donnelle Eller and Kevin Baskins of The Des Moines Register [link removed]. "[W]e rely on immigrant labor," said Chad Hart, an Iowa State University agricultural economist. "We learned during COVID-19 that even slowing production down can have dramatic impacts that are felt by consumers across the nation." 

Regarding so-called "high-skilled" fields, a new paper [link removed] from the Economic Innovation Group underscores that immigration can increase native-born citizens’ wages and boost the economy, reports Neil Irwin of Axios [link removed]. 

"Designed well, immigration policy can make our workers more productive, make American industry more globally competitive, spark new growth in left-behind parts of the country, and improve living standards nationwide," write the report’s authors.  

But some immigrant tech workers are taking precautions before possible changes in their visa programs, reports Sharon Goldman of Fortune [link removed]. 

For a deeper dive into immigration and the economy, take a look at Augusta Saraiva’s explainer in Bloomberg [link removed]. 

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 Marcela Aguirre, Jillian Clark, Soledad Gassó Parker, Broc Murphy and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. 

**TOUGH DECISIONS** — An Iowa family with undocumented parents and three U.S.-born children is considering its options as Donald Trump prepares to take office, reports Catherine E. Shoichet of CNN [link removed]. "We have to think very hard about whatever decision we make, because it’s going to be very drastic for our children," the mother says. "They were born here. They only know life here." Some immigrants already are "self-deporting," report Christopher Sherman and Olga R. Rodriguez of the Associated Press [link removed]. 

**LOGISTICS** — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) laid out details of severe immigration policies he wants the state legislature to take up as he promised "maximum participation" in Trump’s deportation plans, reports Hunter Geisel of CBS News Miami [link removed]. A team at The Washington Post [link removed] analyzes how mass deportation could unfold, and Bernd Debusmann Jr. and Mike Wendling of the BBC [link removed] cover reactions across the U.S. to Trump’s immigration promises. As a reminder, we’ve analyzed potential initial actions [link removed].  

**DALE** — Under a program known as Deferred Action for Labor Enforcement (DALE) undocumented immigrants can stay in the United States and work if they help with investigations of labor violations. But DALE’s future is in jeopardy, reports Andrea Hsu of NPR [link removed]. "Predominantly, there's fear of putting people in harm's way if the future of the program is in question," said Bliss Requa-Trautz, executive director of the nonprofit Arriba Las Vegas, which supports DALE recipients.  

**FLAVORS** — Téa Ivanovic, founder of Immigrant Food in Washington, D.C., shares entrepreneurial wisdom with Emily Washcovick of Entrepreneur [link removed]. Meanwhile, in the Bronx, Faby Cedeno, an immigrant from Ecuador, has advanced from line cook to manager of operations at food warehouse Kommissary, reports Eric Feldman of Spectrum News [link removed].. The operation prepares more than 10,000 meals a day. 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

**P.S.** Some of our key policy resources are now available in Spanish [link removed]. Please share them, and big thanks to team members Clara and Soledad for translating! 

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