An anticipated immigration crackdown in New Orleans is under way today, Jack Brook of the Associated Press reports.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is pausing all immigration applications for individuals in the United States from 19 countries banned from travel earlier this year, reports Rebecca Santana of the Associated Press.

The pause was outlined in a memo posted on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website on Tuesday. The new policy stops immigrants from the selected countries from completing immigration processes such as green card applications and naturalization ceremonies, among others.

Also yesterday, the president made disparaging comments about Somali immigrants, report Michelle Hackman, Natalie Andrews and Jack Morphet of The Wall Street Journal.

In Minnesota’s Twin Cities, residents are preparing for immigration enforcement operations targeting the Somali population, reports Greta Kaul of The Minnesota Star Tribune.

"It seems to many of us, the darker skinned the immigrants who come to our country are, the more posture on immigration as a country has shifted," St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said while speaking about the area’s longtime standing as a beacon for immigrants. "That’s un-American. That’s concerning."

Welcome to Wednesday’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].

INDUSTRIES IN NEED — As the Trump administration attempts to make it easier for farmers to hire foreign guestworkers, other industries are coming forward with their own labor concerns, reports Tim Henderson of Stateline. Across Texas, construction projects remain incomplete as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to arrest migrant workers, reports John Salazar of Spectrum News 1. "In the last few months, when all of this started, we’ve seen the residential sector of our business has definitely declined substantially," said Victor Garza of VMK Concrete Company.

PARENTS AND GUARDIANS — In Florida, federal enforcement agents in partnership with local law enforcement are working to arrest more parents and guardians of unaccompanied children, reports Patricia Caro of El País. While authorities say the plan is a part of an effort to fight against human trafficking and protect children, critics say it will only endanger families. The Department of Homeland Security says the statewide plan is set to be expanded nationally, Caro notes.

SECOND-GRADER — In Winooski, Vermont, the local community is coming together as a second grader and his mother after immigration authorities apparently detained them in Texas, reports Auditi Guha of the VT Digger. "We’ve had caregivers be detained and deported here in Winooski but we’ve never had one of our children be taken into custody by ICE," said Superintendent Wilmer Chavarria.

For more stories on the impact on communities and people:

• Idris Demirtas, who’d fled religious persecution in Turkey, was working legally in San Diego when he was arrested at a routine immigration check-in. (Wendy Fry, CalMatters)
• A reporter shares her experience visiting former Milwaukee resident Yessenia Ruano and her family after their deportation to El Salvador. (Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

‘MAGIC SCHOOL BUSES’ — In Chicago, communities stepped up so children could get to school safely amid enforcement actions, report Sarah Karp and Amy Qin of WBEZ. "We call ourselves magic school buses," said Baltazar Enriquez, part of a local community council that has been getting more than 60 kids to school every day. Meanwhile, in Boston, parents are stepping in to counter a dearth of bilingual teachers for students who need them, reports Mariana Simões of The Boston Globe.

Thanks for reading,

Dan