Border "czar" Tom Homan said yesterday that the administration is open "to seek solutions" on the immigration operations in Minnesota, as Samantha Fischer of KARE 11 reports.
Homan’s comments got the attention of former Customs and Border Protection public liaison Tim Quinn, who called them a positive step during a press call we hosted yesterday. Sheriff Clarence Birkhead of Durham County, North Carolina, also joined and emphasized the need for federal immigration enforcement to recalibrate.
"What we've seen in Minneapolis is not how immigration enforcement should work, and it's not how the vast majority of Americans want it to work," Jennie said during the call. Read more and find the audio link here.
Two former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials lay out a similar argument in an op-ed for The Denver Post. Current tactics threaten the rule of law, Eric Balliet and Elizabeth Neumann write. (Neumann also chairs the Forum board.)
"Law enforcement deserves respect; society cannot function without it," the duo write. "But enforcement that treats the public as the enemy and abandons constitutional limits does not make us safer. It puts the entire system at risk — legally, operationally, and morally." ICYMI, see the Council on National Security and Immigration’s take, too.
Perla Trevizo and Gerardo del Valle of ProPublica and The Texas Tribune analyze the impact of one year of mass deportation efforts. And Joshua Barajas of PBS News reports that this month’s fatal shootings in Minneapolis "are not the only encounters with federal agents that resulted in death since the start of Trump's second term."
Meanwhile, a Fox News survey shows that nearly 60% of voters now think Immigration and Customs Enforcement is being too aggressive, up 10 percentage points since July, as Dana Blanton of Fox News reports.
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 Jillian Clark, Nicci Mattey, Malaika Onyia, Luisa Sinisterra and Clara Villatoro. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected].
OK GOVERNOR — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) emphasized in an interview that the federal government’s approach to immigration is "not working," report Addison Kliewer and Alejandra Briones of KOCO News. Stitt highlighted the need for immigration reforms and pathways for immigrants already contributing to the country. Oklahoma residents also are expressing their concerns on immigration, with advocacy groups delivering more than 650 letters to the governor's office, reports Carla Hinton of The Oklahoman.
HEALTH CARE STRAIN — The end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians will further strain the U.S. health care workforce, reports Miriam Jordan of the New York Times. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that Haitians fill more than 100,000 positions in the sector. "These folks are filling jobs that are some of the hardest for us to keep staffed," said Clark County, Ohio, Health Commissioner Chris Cook. Local faith leaders Matt Bevere and Viles Dorsainvil call for protections for their Haitian neighbors in an Ohio Capital Journal op-ed.
RELIGIOUS WORKERS — A recent federal policy adjustment that eases restrictions on religious worker visas is offering significant relief to Catholic priests in Atlanta and across the country, report Natalia Duron and Andrew Nelson of the Georgia Bulletin. "This change recognizes that our foreign-born priests are essential to the good of society," said Atlanta Auxiliary Bishop Bernard Shlesinger. For more information on the change, check out our explainer.
DACA BILL — Bipartisan Wisconsin lawmakers are addressing labor shortages in multiple sectors through a bill that would make Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients eligible for professional or occupational licenses, reports Abril Preciado of Fox 6. "These are real vetted people that have been paying taxes, and it just makes no sense at all for us not to allow them to stay in Wisconsin and get these licenses," said Republican state Rep. Joel Kitchens.
