A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, report Lindsay Whitehurst and Hallie Golden of the Associated Press. 

The 2-1 ruling from a three-judge panel affirms a lower court decision blocking the executive order and brings the measure one step closer to the Supreme Court, Whitehurst and Golden report. 

Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has directed its personnel to dramatically expand the use of GPS ankle monitors, report Douglas MacMillan and Silvia Foster-Frau of  The Washington Post. 

ICE spokeswoman Emily Covington said ankle monitors are being used as an "enforcement tool"and that increased accountability is expected. 

Separately, the administration instructed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials this week to offer unaccompanied immigrant teenagers the option of returning to their home countries, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News.  

Montoya-Galvez notes that a longstanding policy has required CBP to transfer all unaccompanied minors into the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, where they stay in government-overseen shelters until they are placed with a U.S. sponsor, typically a relative. The agency says it will facilitate the self-deportation of teens 14 and older who opt to return to their home countries. 

Welcome to Friday’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 Marcela Aguilar, Jillian Clark, Callie Jacobson, and Broc Murphy. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].  

WORKFORCE IMPACT — A group of health care workers are sharing concerns about the impact of immigration enforcement on their industry, reports Oscar Margain of NBC 10 Boston. At a rally in Burlington, Massachusetts, doctors, nurses and advocates warned that recent immigration raids are causing fear among immigrant patients and immigrant coworkers. Meanwhile, in California, childcare is another affected industry as 39% of the states childcare workers are immigrants, reports Mallika Seshadri of EdSource. 

STRUGGLES — Many Afghan refugees who worked for the U.S. government in Afghanistan feel betrayed as the administration blocks pathways for those seeking to come to the U.S. and cancels legal protections for those already in the country, reports Alexei Koseff of CalMatters. Marwa, an Afghan woman who worked for the U.S. back in Afghanistan, has been waiting for years to reunite with two of her children here in the United States. Despite her efforts she keeps finding dead ends. “My soul is dying,” she says.  

More news on refugees: 

SOLIDARITY — Archbishop José H. Gomez was joined by several Los Angeles business leaders to announce a new fund that helps families affected by recent immigration raids, reports Pablo Kay of Angelus News. “This program will provide direct support to families who are suffering financial hardships because of the current climate of uncertainty and fear,” said Archbishop Gomez. Additionally, Philadelphia’s archbishop Nelson Pérez issued a letter calling for support for immigrants, reports Evgenia Anastasakos of The Philadelphia Inquirer.  

COMMUNITY CARE — Amid a shortage of resources, a new organization called Mental Health Education & Legal Code for Refugee Rights (MELCORR) is offering language services, mental health counseling, and orientation to newcomers in Rochester, New York, reports Erin Mahon of News10 NBC. The center is helping many refugees who will soon be cut off from food assistance and health insurance programs after recent policy changes, Mahon notes. The center was founded by former refugee Hani Ali, who dreamed of opening a refugee center since arriving in the U.S. as a teenager. 

Thanks for reading, 

Clara