The Forum Daily | Tuesday, September 1, 2026https://www.forumtogether.org

The bill for heightened immigration enforcement and restrictions is starting to come due in the form of labor shortages, a smaller workforce and sluggish growth, reports The Economist [link removed]. 

The outlet also notes, as we have [link removed], that America's demographics are challenging. "The long-term impact on America’s economic dynamism will be severe," it says. 

Further visa restrictions and slowdowns the administration announced last week are likely to exacerbate economic challenges, Lauren Kaori Gurley reports in The Washington Post [link removed]. Separately, the Post's editorial board [link removed] writes that the restrictions undermine legal immigration — and, in turn, the administration's "fight [link removed] to curb illegal immigration." 

On the local level, recent enforcement actions in Connecticut are hurting the local economy, Tony Aiello of CBS New York [link removed] reports. And Latino businesses are still struggling months after enforcement actions in cities including Houston, Los Angeles and Chicago, reports Elizabeth Trovall of Marketplace [link removed].   

The reports come as Americans' approval of the president's immigration policies has fallen to a new low, per Sam Stevenson of Newsweek [link removed]. Taken together, recent findings suggest that voters want leaders to "control illegal immigration, maintain legal routes and enforce the law without tactics voters regard as excessive." 

That resonates with our recent findings [link removed].  

Happy September and welcome to Tuesday's edition of The Forum Daily. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to [email protected] mailto:[email protected]. 

**MAN RETURNS, WOMAN STUCK** — The federal government has allowed Brian José Morales García, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen, to return after his deportation to Mexico, reports Alejandro Serrano of The Texas Tribune [link removed]. Morales García was deported in April after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) disputed his citizenship following a traffic stop in central Texas. Meanwhile, a woman is stranded in Guatemala after being told she could leave the U.S. and return to complete her visa process, reports Teo Armus of The Washington Post [link removed]. 

**RESPONSIBILITY **— DHS should establish its own guardrails as it spends $72 billion in immigration enforcement funds, Council on National Security and Immigration (CNSI) leader Janice Kephart writes in a new blog post [link removed]. The former border counsel to the 9/11 Commission offers four priorities for the agency as it uses funds from the Secure America Act that come with no congressional oversight. Separately, the CNSI raises concern [link removed] about the administration's proposed $103,265 H-1B visa fee and the potential for "real harm to American competitiveness." 

**AFGHANS** — Afghans were among more than 100 people the U.S. has deported to countries in Africa with which they had no previous connection, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News [link removed]. Meanwhile, the United States' hardened stance is part of a worldwide loss of options for displaced Afghans, Ana Martín Gil of Rice University's Baker Institute [link removed] writes. The U.S. can reverse this trend and "pursue its initial commitments to safely relocate Afghans through concrete policy changes," she argues. 

**ON PAPER** — A confidential memo confirms that since April 2025, National Guard troops have been authorized to conduct immigration enforcement, reports Eric Bazail-Eimil of Politico [link removed]. The document allows a sidestep of a law barring the military from carrying out law enforcement, he reports. The Supreme Court has since limited the administration’s ability to employ the Guard for immigration enforcement. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

P.S. A pastor and other community members in rural Long Prairie, Minnesota, are coming together to support their immigrant neighbors, Mathew Holding Eagle III of Minnesota Public Radio [link removed] reports.

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