The Forum Daily | Friday, May 16, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

THE FORUM DAILY

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is requesting more than 20,000 members of the National Guard to help with immigration enforcement, report Hamed Aleaziz and Eric Schmitt of The New York Times [link removed].  

If the request to the Department of Defense is approved, it will be the first time the National Guard is used to enforce immigration policy. It follows the president’s call a week ago for DHS to add 20,000 officers, as Aleaziz reported [link removed]. 

Separately, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem commented earlier this week that she believes the levels of unauthorized immigration could provide legal reasoning to suspend habeas corpus, reports Ted Hesson of Reuters [link removed]. 

Suspending habeas corpus would mean taking away an individual's right to challenge their arrest in court. Noem stated that while she is "not a constitutional lawyer," she believed it would be an appropriate move by the federal government to speed up deportations.  

Meanwhile, although crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped significantly over the past year, asylum seekers are still making their way to the United States. For those who make it to the border, a confusing and quickly changing landscape of laws and restrictions awaits them, reports Tim Sullivan of the Associated Press [link removed].  

A police chief and two national security leaders will join us at 2 p.m. Eastern on Monday to talk "Security and Rule of Law." Register here for this next webinar [link removed] in our "Security and ..." campaign. 

Welcome to Friday’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 Marcela Aguirre, Jillian Clark, 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]. 

**BIRTHRIGHT ARGUMENTS** — During oral arguments Thursday, the Supreme Court appeared at least slightly divided over the president's executive order on birthright citizenship, reports Nina Totenberg of NPR [link removed]. Justices had some tough questions for the U.S. solicitor general, Totenberg reports. One question before the court is lower court judges’ use of nationwide injunctions, such as those blocking this order while court challenges proceed. 

**AFGHAN TPS** — As the administration ends Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for Afghans, advocates continue to say Afghanistan is not safe for return, reports Dan De Luce of NBC News [link removed]. "Many Afghans would face dire risks of persecution if they are forced back into the hands of the Taliban," said Eleanor Acer of Human Rights First. Separately, Haris Tarin, a onetime Afghan refugee who has lived in the United States for 30 years, speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition [link removed]. And don’t miss Rekha Basu’s column in the Des Moines Register [link removed]. 

More on support for Afghans: 

* Advocates in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, rallied in support of our Afghan allies. (Libbie Randall, KCRG [link removed]) 

* St. Cloud State University in Minnesota celebrated 10 graduating Afghan students during commencement. (Zach Dwyer, SCSU Today [link removed]) 

* In Fredericksburg, a military town in Virginia, the community is concerned about the future for their Afghan friends and neighbors. (Tiffany Stanley, Associated Press [link removed]) 

**REFUGEES** — An appeals court’s directive has led a district court judge in Seattle to vastly lower the number of approved refugees the Trump administration must admit, reports Monique Merrill of Courthouse News Service [link removed]. Plaintiffs had identified and estimated 12,000 refugees "conditionally approved and set to travel," but the government narrowed its scope to comprise only 160. The bigger picture, in our view: The administration should restart the Refugee Admissions Program [link removed]. 

**UNCERTAINTY** — For international students graduating from the University of Southern California (USC) this year, their celebration is tempered by their uncertainty and fear for their futures in the United States, reports Tom Wait of KCAL News [link removed]. International students contribute around $44 billion to the nationwide economy and make up about 25% of USC students. 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

**P.S.** Liz Rothaus Bertrand of The Charlotte Observer [link removed] shares where locals with international roots go to find familiar flavors. 

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