The Forum Daily | Monday, January 5, 2026https://www.forumtogether.org

Despite concerns following the United States’ capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is defending the administration’s decision to end Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for Venezuelan migrants, reports Andrew Pantazi of Axios [link removed].  

For many Venezuelans in the United States, Maduro’s ousting creates a new set of uncertainties, a team at The Washington Post [link removed] reports. While many migrants who came to the United States from Venezuela seeking safety do want to return home, whether that will be possible remains unknown.  

"There is pain and happiness, but above all, worry," Marcano Santelli, who now lives in Miami, told Jazmine Ulloa of The New York Times [link removed].  

Elsewhere, the lead is as stark as the story: "Across the United States, someone is missing," write Lydia DePillis and Campbell Robertson, also of the The New York Times [link removed]. 

The pair cover how the administration’s increased enforcement and other policy changes "will profoundly alter daily life for millions of Americans." 

"If you zoom back, the bigger problem is that we’re tarnishing the brand of America," said Dan Simpson, chief executive of fast-casual Greek chain Taziki’s, who also addressed immigration in a November op-ed in The Hill [link removed].  

In her Bloomberg [link removed] column, Patricia Lopez looks at how the administration has gone beyond what many Americans want — as our recent polling also underscores [link removed]. 

Happy New Year and, from a native of Normal, Illinois, Go Redbirds [link removed]. Welcome to Monday’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 Jillian Clark, Nicci Mattey and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. 

Forgive our longer-than-usual collection today as we catch up: 

**Looking Back, Looking Ahead** 

* Five important immigration stories from 2025 to keep an eye on in 2026 [link removed] (Gloria Rebecca Gomez, Arizona Mirror) 

* Trump canceled temporary legal status for more than 1.5M immigrants in 2025 [link removed] (Ariana Figueroa, Stateline) 

* The Trump administration's plan to close a 'huge loophole' in legal immigration [link removed] (Myah Ward and Eric Bazail-Eimil, Politico) 

* Trump administration wants to set quota for denaturalizing American citizens [link removed] (Lilly Quiroz, NPR) 

* The Most Important Immigration Stories of 2025 [link removed] (David J. Bier, Cato Institute) 

* DHS pauses immigration applications for an additional 20 countries [link removed] (Ximena Bustillo, NPR) 

**Business and the Economy **

* In Washington orchards, immigration crackdown sows fear and uncertainty [link removed] (Hal Bernton, Washington State Standard) 

* Immigration raids linked to significant California job losses, analysis finds [link removed] (Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times) 

* Trump administration moves to overhaul how H-1B visas are granted, ending lottery system [link removed] (Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press) - See the Forum’s newly updated, related resource: Explainer: H-1B Rule Replaces Random Lottery System with a Weighted Selection Lottery [link removed] 

* Immigration lawyers say the H-1B chaos is forcing tough business calls [link removed] (Pranav Dixit, Alex Nicoll, and Melia Russell, Business Insider) 

**Enforcement and Its Effects **

* ‘Many are justifiably afraid’ amid Ohio ICE raids, officials say [link removed] (Sydney Dawes, Dayton Daily News) 

* DHS detained these three immigrants until judges ordered them released. Why they are the tip of an iceberg. [link removed] (Whitney Wild, Norma Galeana and Rachel Clarke, CNN) 

* Exclusive: She survived ICE custody; her husband died during detention [link removed] (Jeff Abbott, USA Today) 

* ICE is deporting some immigrants so quickly, their attorneys are left scrambling [link removed] (Beenish Ahmed, NPR) 

* Gov. Walz, other leaders decry "targeting" of citizens in federal immigration crackdown [link removed] (Cole Premo and John Lauritsen, CBS News) 

**Faith Communities **

* 'All faiths stand for human dignity': South Florida religious groups unite against immigration enforcement abuses [link removed] (Jimena Romero, WLRN) 

* How the clergy has rallied against the Trump administration's immigration policies [link removed] (Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service in collaboration with NPR) 

* U.S. faith leaders supporting targeted immigrants brace for a tough year ahead [link removed] (a team at the Associated Press) 

* Bishop: To welcome immigrants is to follow God’s ‘divine command’ to care for the stranger [link removed] (Rick Snizek, OSV News) 

* San Diego’s new Pope Francis Center will serve immigrants impacted by Trump deportation campaign [link removed] (Gustavo Solis, KPBS) 

**Court Rulings **

* Trump Unlawfully Axed Migrant Relief for Thousands, Judge Finds [link removed] (Andrew Kreighbaum, Bloomberg Law) 

* Judge temporarily stops DHS from ending deportation protections for South Sudanese [link removed] (Zach Schonfeld, The Hill) 

* Trump admin can share immigrants’ Medicaid data with ICE, judge rules [link removed] (Tyler Katzenberger, Politico) 

* Federal judge in Tacoma finds immigration detention of U.S. Army vet unlawful [link removed](Peter Talbot, The News Tribune) 

**Help and Support** 

* Senior living community aids immigrant workers in citizenship journey [link removed] (Kimi Fleming, WJLA) 

* Share the Spirit: Immigration Institute of the Bay Area makes citizenship goals a reality [link removed] (Jason Mastrodonato, East Bay Times) 

* Meet the Iowans behind immigration advocacy group Escucha Mi Voz [link removed] (Ryan Hansen, Iowa City Press-Citizen) 

* Underground mutual aid group helps feed Hillsboro’s immigrant families in hiding [link removed] (Holly Bartholomew and Alejandro Figueroa, Oregon Public Broadcasting) 

Thank you for reading, 

Dan 

[link removed]

[link removed]

[link removed]

[link removed] target=

[link removed]

[link removed]

Donate [link removed]

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

Forum
10 G St NE, Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20002
United States
forumtogether.org [link removed]
_________________

Sent to: [email protected]

Unsubscribe:
[link removed]

Forum, 10 G St NE Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20002, United States