The Forum Daily | Thursday, August 28, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

**THE FORUM DAILY**

The Florida Everglades detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” is emptying after a federal judge ruled last week that the site must be closed, reports Lori Rozsa of The Washington Post [link removed]. 

A federal judge in Miami ordered the state to end operations in the facility after environmentalists and the Miccosukee Tribe filed suit against the government for building it without previous environmental assessments, Rozsa notes. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice announced a policy shift allowing temporary immigration judges who lack previous experience in immigration law, report Luke Barr, Laura Romero and Armando Garcia of ABC News [link removed].  

The rule change comes after the firing or departure of 100 immigration judges, the team at ABC notes.   

Separately, new guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) restrict the support to undocumented immigrants from states and organizations that receive government funds, reports Brianna Sacks of The Washington Post [link removed]. The new rule also requires groups to cooperate with immigration enforcement operations, she notes. 

Disaster assistance groups say that the new requirements for Federal Emergency Management Agency grant funding will make it harder for nonprofits to provide shelter, food, housing and mental health support to those who are most vulnerable after disasters.  

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 and Dan Gordon. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. 

**A DREAM TAKEN AWAY** — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick commented that the United States should focus on granting permanent residency to applicants who have higher salaries, reports Billal Rahman of Newsweek [link removed]. Meanwhile, Natalia Arcos Cano shares her thoughts on increased immigration enforcement as a naturalized U.S. citizen in her piece for The Fulcrum [link removed]. “I grew up idealizing life in the U.S., dreaming about moving here and making a life, a dream I’m lucky enough to have fulfilled, and which feels like it is getting ripped out of my hands by force. So yes, maybe I will go back to where I came from,” Cano writes.  

**DACA RECIPIENTS** — The vulnerability of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals’ (DACA) recipients amid current immigration enforcement actions continues, reports Maanvi Singh of The Guardian [link removed]. Singh recounts the case of Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago, a DACA recipient who has been detained for over three weeks without a clear legal argument, according to her family. For more on the status of DACA, check this Forum explainer [link removed]*19ok0fx*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3NTA5Njk3MDUuQ2p3S0NBanczX1BDQmhBMkVpd0FrSF9qNHY4RnNwVnRWSXU4Sk1mUkVCdXlOYzE2NU9RclhkMHZ5dmNSWW5hVEJISVh4N2hRWXFsbnFCb0M0YmdRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*NzE2NzAxMzQyLjE3NTYzMDU2OTQ.*_ga*OTMzMTQ1NTI4LjE3MTYyMDUyNTY.*_ga_J7EVPKRV10*czE3NTYzMjcyOTgkbzQ3NiRnMSR0MTc1NjMyNzMwNiRqNTIkbDAkaDA.. 

**FOREIGN STUDENTS **— A newly proposed rule from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would make foreign exchange students subject to a four-year limit on their stay in the United States before they had to reapply, reports Andrew Kreighbaum of Bloomberg Law [link removed]. Under current rules, F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors can stay in the United States as long as they are actively pursuing a full-time course of study, Kreighbaum notes. Meanwhile, despite the tension, international students arrive on campuses for a new school year, reports Elissa Nadworny of NPR [link removed].  

**A HOPEFUL STORY** — Mariya Manzhos of Deseret News [link removed] recaps the story of an Afghan family of seven that, after a harrowing escape from Afghanistan in 2021 and a long journey, finally made it to the United States. In March 2025, a welcoming community in Beverly, Massachusetts, opened its arms to embrace them despite challenges amid recent policy changes. “We got our hope back — the hope for life,” said Haafiz, the father of the family. Many groups keep advocating for support for Afghan allies; in a statement [link removed]- early this week, the Council on National Security and Immigration (CNSI) urged Congress to pass bipartisan legislation offering solutions for this group. 

Thanks for reading, 

Clara 

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