The Forum Daily | Wednesday, February 12, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

**THE FORUM DAILY**

Brandon J. Mendoza is taking the long view on immigration as he looks to build on Erie, Pennsylvania’s, success resettling refugees, reports Jim Martin of Erie Times-News [link removed]. 

"Unlike some places in the country, we are introducing folks in our community really well," said Mendoza, the new CEO of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership in Pennsylvania. "Many of our members have seen refugees and immigrants as lifelines for their workforce needs." 

Meanwhile, the temporarily halted executive order to end birthright citizenship for many immigrants is affecting the way skilled workers view coming to the United States, reports Miriam Jordan of The New York Times [link removed].   

Shraavya and Sumukh, born in India, are in the United States on long-term work visas as engineers and are awaiting the birth of their first child. "You already have a lot of things to be stressed about," Shraavya said. "Then this came into the picture." 

" ... [N]obody in their right mind would want to come here on a work visa if they thought their kid born here would be undocumented," said Margaret Stock, an immigration lawyer and expert on birthright citizenship (and also a Council on National Security and Immigration leader [link removed]).   

The order was once again blocked by a federal judge yesterday, this time in New Hampshire, Bart Jansen reports in USA Today [link removed]. And Amy Qin has more on the legal precedent around birthright citizenship, also in The New York Times [link removed]. 

Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Dan Gordon, the Forum’s VP of strategic communications, 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]. 

**WORSHIP** — Twenty-seven religious organizations filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its decision to allow ICE officers into sensitive spaces, reports David Crary of the Associated Press [link removed]. "We cannot worship freely if some of us are living in fear," said the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. Most Americans oppose immigration enforcement going into sensitive locations, including schools as well as churches, reports Robin Hattersley of Campus Safety Magazine [link removed].  

**FEAR** — Venezuelans in Miami who supported the president during his campaign are feeling betrayed following last week's cancellation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), report Sabrina Rodriguez and Reshma Kirpalani of The Washington Post [link removed]. In Massachusetts, Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio of The Boston Globe [link removed] shares one family’s fear about returning to Venezuela, where political and economic insecurity remain. Those who lose TPS protections can try to seek visas, but that will be impossible for many, Agustina Vergara Cid writes in Real Clear Politics [link removed].     

**WHOSE PRIORITIES** — Even as immigration enforcement ramps up, the administration is running into some limits. Its response at the moment is to remove two top ICE officials, reports Nick Miroff of The Washington Post [link removed]. But here’s the thing: A strong majority of Americans [link removed] — including many who voted for the president [link removed] — want deportations to focus narrowly [link removed] on public-safety threats and people who have had due process.  

Local examples that run counter to this principle continue to emerge: 

* In southern Texas, Jose Luis, a Mexican father of five, faces deportation and his family’s future is uncertain. (Richard Hall, The Independent [link removed]) 

* While enforcement is up in South Dakota, misinformation and resulting anxiety may be up more. (Bart Pfankuch, KTIV [link removed]) 

* Enforcement in California, has swept up churchgoing farmworkers and children and parents on their way to school. (Wendy Fry, CalMatters [link removed]) 

* Immigrants with legal authorization are also facing fears about their future as new policies threaten their status. (Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times [link removed]) 

**RESILIENCE** — A mother and her two children who fled from gang violence in Venezuela are trying to survive in Tijuana, Mexico, after their CBP One appointments to seek asylum in America were canceled last month, reports Julie Watson of the Chicago Tribune [link removed]. They now stay in a shelter near the border, and the mother has applied for a work visa in Mexico while they wait for the asylum programs to resume. "We just have to start over, start over again," said Margelis Rodriguez, the mother. 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

**P.S.** Immigrant-owned restaurants are bringing new life and flavor to Iowa City’s food scene, reports Genevieve DiChiara of The Daily Iowan [link removed]. 

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