The Forum Daily | Friday, October 24, 2025https://immigrationforum.org/

**THE FORUM DAILY**After conversations with business and community leaders in the San Francisco area, the president called off an anticipated increase in immigration enforcement operations in the Bay Area, reports Carolyn Jones of CalMatters [link removed]. 

"Great people like (Nvidia president) Jensen Huang, (Salesforce chief executive) Marc Benioff and others have called saying that the future of San Francisco is great. They want to give it a ‘shot.’ Therefore we will not surge San Francisco on Saturday," the president wrote on Truth Social. 

The decision follows several tense days in the Bay Area, marked by protests throughout the city. "[W]e would welcome continued partnerships with the FBI, DEA, ATF, and U.S. Attorney to get drugs and drug dealers off our streets," San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie wrote regarding his conversation with the president. "But having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery." 

Meanwhile, even among Colorado residents who support efforts to deport those in the country without authorization, many are uncomfortable with the federal government’s tactics, reports Stephanie Rivera of Colorado Public Radio [link removed]. 

"I have no problem with deporting those convicted of felonies, but ambushing families is despicable," a woman in Grand Junction said in a CPR survey. "Deport criminals not workers," said a respondent in Durango. 

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, 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]. 

DHS AUTHORITY— The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is directing $10 billion through the U.S. Navy to help complete construction of immigrant detention centers across the U.S., report Natasha Bertrand and Priscilla Alvarez of CNN [link removed]. Meanwhile, answering a question posed by a federal judge, a government lawyer stated that the Homeland Security secretary has the power to send immigrant detainees awaiting deportation to any U.S. military base in the world, reports Carol Rosenberg of The New York Times [link removed].  

FARM LABOR — For Wisconsin farmers, the changing policies around H-2A visas are making the program even more confusing, reports Paul Kiefer of Wisconsin Watch [link removed]. Navigating the H-2A application process can be a costly and time-consuming ordeal, one that farmers must repeat every year, Kiefer notes. The Trump administration’s proposed changes include a new $250 fee, with implementation processes unclear, he reports.  

**ILLINOIS** ENFORCEMENT — A landscaper working for Chicago Public Schools was detained by federal immigration agents while on school property, reports Emmanuel Camarillo of the Chicago Sun-Times [link removed]. The arrest, reported earlier this week, raised concerns for the community as to the safety of students and parents on school property. Meanwhile, in Cook County, home to Chicago, an administrative order issued last week bans federal law enforcement from courthouses, reports Carrie Shepherd of Axios [link removed].

FAMILY DISPERSED — For one Afghan family, the pause to the U.S. refugee program and any resettlement efforts led to their family separation, pushing them to different countries across the globe, reports Megan Janetsky of the Associated Press [link removed]. "I’ve lost everything," said Amir Hussaini. "You lose hope in life." Meanwhile, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, refugee families are living in fear, reports Joe Tomlinson of The Oklahoma Eagle [link removed].  

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

P.S. A Catholic priest made a 50-day pilgrimage from Chicago to New York City in hopes of highlighting the plight of migrant families, reports Simone Orendain of OSV News [link removed]. 

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