The Forum Daily | Friday, September 5, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

**THE FORUM DAILY**

Agencies that have not been involved in immigration enforcement are being drawn in. 

Example 1: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), intentionally kept separate from immigration enforcement in the past, is now slated to form its own police force, reports Michelle Hackman of The Wall Street Journal [link removed].  

The past wall between enforcement and the agency responsible for issuing visas, green cards and citizenship has made immigrants more comfortable sharing their information and attending interviews, Hackman notes. 

“It’s totally unnecessary. It’s a solution in search of a problem,” said Doug Rand, a former USCIS official. 

Example 2: The State Department’s law enforcement arm is now working alongside immigration enforcement agents, reports Vittoria Elliott of Wired [link removed]. “It’s sort of like having IRS agents investigate espionage in NASA. They do not have legal authority to do so,” a DSS employee said. 

Example 3: Local law enforcement recruitment for federal immigration purposes. That’s causing friction with some sheriffs, reports Sam Levin of The Guardian [link removed].  

Recently, after local law enforcement provided an email list of deputies being trained partner with ICE, the latter used it to recruit officers away.  

“You took government documents that we filled out to help you, to recruit our people that we trained on our dime to support you. That’s low-rent,” said Grady Judd, the sheriff of Polk County, Florida. 

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 Masooma Amin, Jillian Clark 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]. 

**WORKERS, NOT CRIMINALS** — Immigration agents raided a Hyundai plant in Georgia yesterday, a CNN [link removed] team reports. The 450 apprehensions make it “one of the largest ICE raids at a single site in the 22-year history of the agency,” the team notes. A food manufacturing plant in upstate New York was the site of another raid yesterday, reports Finn Lincoln of Syracuse.com [link removed]. Enforcement and other onerous policies have companies worried about workforce instability, reports Drew Hutchinson of Bloomberg Law [link removed]. A reminder that in a poll last December [link removed], 60% of Republicans and 67% of voters overall said enforcement should prioritize violent criminals and people with final orders of removal, not “all individuals without legal status.” 

**MILITARY FAMILIES** — A group of lawmakers is investigating why military family members are landing in immigration detention, reports Rebecca Kheel of Military.com [link removed]. Noncitizen members of the military and family members traditionally have been protected, Kheel notes. Seeking answers, the legislators have sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials. 

**CITIZENSHIP TEST** — The Trump administration is planning to make the citizenship test more difficult, reports Eric Bazail-Eimil of Politico [link removed]. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the changes could include "an essay outlining what becoming an American would represent to [applicants]” and said a more standardized format is possible. 

**AFGHAN TRANSLATOR** — Basir Sediqqi, an Afghan former combat interpreter for U.S. special forces, and his family are still searching for a safe and legal way to enter the United States, reports Chris Boccia of ABC News [link removed]. Sediqqi is now making his case from Rwanda, alongside a handful of other U.S. allies. 

On Afghan welcome: 

* U.S. military veterans continue to speak out for Afghan allies left behind. (Yasmeen Ludy, ABC San Diego [link removed]) 

* Local and state officials in Indiana who helped welcome Afghans are among those invited to tomorrow's Afghan Annual Cultural Festival. (Elizabeth Gabriel, MirrorIndy [link removed]) 

* With support from judges in Australia and internationally, Mahtab Fazl is rebuilding her legal career in Melbourne, Australia, after fleeing Afghanistan because her career as a judge made her a target. (Melbourne Law School [link removed]) 

Thanks for reading,  

Dan

** **

[link removed]

[link removed]    [link removed]    [link removed]    [link removed]

[link removed]

Unsubscribe from this email list [link removed] or opt out from all Forum emails [link removed]

Forum<br>10 G St NE<br>Suite 500<br>Washington, D.C. 20002<br>United States
www.immigrationforum.org [link removed]