The Forum Daily | Thursday, March 27, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

**THE FORUM DAILY**Employers of seasonal industries like landscaping and hospitality across the country are concerned about the challenges their businesses could face without H-2B workers, as the visas remain stalled, reports Andrew Kreighbaum of Bloomberg Law [link removed].  

By March 5, American companies seemed to hit a cap for visas assigned for the second half of the fiscal year, as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stopped accepting visa petitions, according to immigration lawyers. Many companies are still counting on the 32,000 supplemental visas put in place by the Biden administration last year to fulfill their labor needs, but the silence coming from USCIS on the issue is raising concerns, Kreighbaum notes.  

Separately, in Florida, a bill that would loosen child labor laws is advancing amid labor shortages and stricter immigration enforcement, reports Chelsea Jones of CBS News [link removed].  

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) supports the bill which many interpret as a sign of backing his broader objective to reduce foreign-born labor in the state, Jones notes. 

In his op-ed for WLRN [link removed], editor Tim Padgett points out that expecting teenagers to address the state labor needs created by deportations isn’t a feasible solution. Citing data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Padgett writes that in Florida, "there are only 53 available workers for every 100 open jobs, particularly in sectors undocumented (and taxpaying) workers help keep afloat, like agriculture, construction and hospitality." 

Welcome to Thursday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Clara Villatoro, the Forum’s assistant VP of strategic communications, and the great Forum Daily team also includes Jillian Clark, Soledad Gassó Parker, Dan Gordon and Broc Murphy 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].     

**PROTECTIONS LOST** – The Department of Homeland Security posted a notice [link removed] announcing a 30-day period for 530,000 immigrants from of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to leave the country after losing their parole status, report Morgan Rynor and Ted Scouten of CBS News Miami [link removed]. Meanwhile, Catholic groups are urging the administration to reconsider, reports Simone Orendain of National Catholic Reporter [link removed]. "They are neighbors of U.S. citizens, and they provide critical work that benefits U.S. citizens," said Randy McGrorty, executive director of Catholic Legal Services in Miami. 

**VISA REVOKED** – Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Ph.D. student at Tufts University, was detained by federal immigration authorities after her name was listed on a website of supposed anti-Israel college students, reports Alyssa Lukpat of The Wall Street Journal [link removed]. The student's lawyer, Mahsa Khanbabai, said the government hasn’t filed any charges against Ozturk. But the university was informed that the government revoked her student visa, Lukpat notes. 

**FILLING IN GAPS** — In Des Moines, Iowa, community members are trying to fill gaps left behind in school programs for young refugees after the sudden cancellation of funding from the federal government, reports F. Amanda Tugade of the Des Moines Register [link removed]. Separately, in Missouri, community leaders discuss their work supporting immigrant communities in times of uncertainty, reports Marta Mieze of Springfield News-Leader [link removed].  

**CHOOSE LOVE** — In an op-ed for the Lewiston Sun Journal [link removed], Sister Anne-Marie Bourque and Sister Patricia Pora of the international Catholic religious order Sisters of Mercy write about their experience assisting immigrants and refugees in Maine. "For Maine and New England to continue to flourish, immigrants must not be driven away by Trump’s inhumane immigration policies," write the religious sisters. "Regardless of your political or religious views, we invite you to choose love over fear and to raise your voice in any way you can." 

Thanks for reading,  

Clara 

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