National Immigration Forum | Friday, January 24, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

**THE FORUM DAILY**

The Trump administration is empowering Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to quickly deport immigrants who entered the country legally under Biden-era programs, reports Hamed Aleaziz of The New York Times [link removed]. 

According to an internal administration memo the Times obtained, ICE officials now can expel migrants who entered through the CBP One app or humanitarian parole [link removed], among others. The group comprises about 1.4 million immigrants who entered since the beginning of 2023, and experts worry it could be used against Afghans and Ukrainians.  

In Jennie’s words, "These immigrants followed the rules and obtained authorization to be in the country temporarily. It is unfair and inhumane to use their cooperation against them so they can be deported without notice, even as the administration scales back these programs going forward. 

"The effects are particularly stark if this applies to Afghan allies who fought the Taliban alongside us, and Ukrainians whose country remains under attack. 

"People who followed the law should not be the focus of deportation efforts, as Americans, including Republicans, clearly agree [link removed]. Moving forward, we need Democrats and Republicans in Congress to provide certainty on these types of programs — and for recipients, their employers and their schools." 

We’ll be bringing you headline-focused shortened editions of the Daily from Monday through Wednesday this coming week. Welcome to Friday's edition. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s strategic communications VP, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Soledad Gassó Parker, Broc Murphy, Clara Villatoro 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]. 

**BIRTHRIGHT** — A federal district court judge temporarily has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order [link removed] to end birthright citizenship, reports Daniel Barnes of NBC News [link removed]. After 25 minutes of argument yesterday, the judge, a Ronald Reagan appointee, delivered his order from the bench. Further proceedings could block the executive order indefinitely while the case proceeds. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order," the judge said. Should the executive order eventually take effect, it would affect H-1B visa holders’ children — and employers, reports Andrew Kreighbaum of Bloomberg Law [link removed]. 

**A REMINDER** — Some experts question whether the Trump administration’s immigration policies truly will improve public safety, reports Chip Mitchell of WBEZ Chicago [link removed]. San Diego State University political scientist Benjamin Gonzalez O’Brien reminds us, "Research has found that immigrants, both documented and undocumented, actually offend at lower rates than the native-born population, including when it comes to violent crime." The Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force [link removed] would agree.  

**INTERRUPTED PLANS** — Afghans who risked their lives to help the U.S. military are pleading with Trump to spare them from his order suspending refugee resettlement in the United States, reports Munir Ahmed of the Associated Press [link removed]. An estimated 15,000 Afghan evacuees in Pakistan are awaiting resettlement under a U.S. government program. Meanwhile, people already here are worried for their family members still waiting abroad, as Sarah Betancourt of WGBH [link removed] reports.  

This week in local Afghan welcome: 

* In Des Moines, Iowa, community leaders are raising money for a new mosque and cultural center for resettled Afghans. (Lee Rood, Des Moines Register [link removed]) 

* The Champlain Housing Trust and U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants are helping Afghan families find housing in Vermont. (Adiah Gholston, Vermont Public [link removed]) 

* Americans’ support for resettled Afghans, Ukrainians and others has been heartening, writes Bob Elston, who assists with resettlement via the Ethiopian Community Development Council. (USA Today [link removed]) 

**CHURCHES, SCHOOLS...** — Religious leaders in Tulsa, Oklahoma, are fearful and disappointed after the Trump administration enabled immigration arrests in churches and schools, reports Elizabeth Caldwell of Public Radio Tulsa [link removed]. "Our sacred spaces may be invaded whenever the government wants. And that reality should disturb all Americans," said Gary Peluso-Verdend, executive director of Phillips Theological Seminary. North Texans share similar concerns as a team at The Dallas Morning News [link removed] reports. 

**... AND HOSPITALS** — Health care facilities are prioritizing patients, not immigration questions, report Vanessa G. Sánchez and Daniel Chang of KFF Health News [link removed]. "We don’t want people to avoid care and worsen because they are concerned about immigration questions," said Carrie Williams, a spokesperson for the Texas Hospital Association. Meanwhile, a new Massachusetts law could help internationally trained doctors fill labor gaps, reports Maren Halpin of The Boston Globe [link removed]. 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

**P.S.** A new book explores FDR Labor Secretary Frances Perkins’ extraordinary efforts to help Jewish refugees escape from Nazism despite strict U.S. immigration policies, reports Sara Georgini of Smithsonian Magazine [link removed].  

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