As we continue to watch with horror Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration is deploying the immigration system as a tool.  

Our friend Stuart Anderson writes in Forbes about a legislative request by the administration to "eliminate the need for Russians with a master’s or doctoral degree in a STEM field to obtain an employer sponsor or be placed in backlogs for permanent residence (green cards)." 

Brian D. Taylor, a Syracuse University political science professor and author of "The Code of Putinism," told Anderson, "If Russians with the right educational backgrounds will be able to emigrate to the U.S. without even finding an employment sponsor, that will look like an attractive option to many." 

This is the kind of strategic approach the administration should utilize for a number of countries. 

Welcome to Monday’s edition of The Forum Daily. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. And if you know others who’d like to receive this newsletter, please spread the word. They can subscribe here. 

DEMS IN DISARRAY — Internal discord over how to address migration at the U.S.-Mexico border has left Democrats at a stalemate over broader reform, per Politico’s Marianne Levine, Sarah Ferris, and Laura Barrón-López. Disagreement over how to wind down Title 42 and other border questions have complicated the party’s aspirations for broader reform — but as Team Politico notes, a bipartisan group of senators last week restarted talks on permanent immigration solutions. The Alliance for a New
Immigration Consensus has some ideas ... 

GRIM STATISTIC — Per a U.N. refugee agency report, more than 3,000 migrants died or went missing trying to reach Europe by sea in 2021 — nearly double the 2020 number, Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath reports for Axios. The agency cited pandemic-related border restrictions, continued political instability, economic challenges, and climate change as drivers of the increase, and warned that these conditions will continue to provoke risky journeys in hopes of a better life. Gottbrath notes that the agency has "launched an appeal for $163.5 million to assist and protect thousands of refugees and others" and has urged European and African nations to provide alternatives to these dangerous journeys.  

TWO SYSTEMS — Afghans and Ukrainians seeking refuge in the U.S. face substantial hurdles — and advocates say the process is much stricter for Afghans, Dan De Luce writes for NBC News. Per advocates and government statements, in contrast to Afghans, Ukrainians "don’t have to pay a $575 administrative fee, don’t need to show proof of vaccination and don’t need to have an in-person consular interview with a U.S.
representative." While the Biden administration has defended its Afghan resettlement efforts, advocates are less than satisfied. "There are clearly two refugee systems — one for Ukrainians and one for Afghans," said Matt Zeller, an adviser to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "Afghans are our longest wartime ally ever — you’d think we’d want to do right by them." 

Locally: 

Yasin Amiry; his wife, Sema Salari; and their infant daughter, Maryam, are among the more than 1,700 Afghans who have resettled in Michigan in the past year. "Coming to a new country means like starting a life from zero, from nothing at all," said Amiry, who now lives in Lansing with his family. " ... I would thank everyone. All the community friends we have here. Everyone who has helped the new arrivals." (Alyssa Burr, MLive) 

After adopting an Afghan refugee family nearly six months ago, Chicago-area resident Madhu Krishnamurthy shares her experience spending Ramadan with them for the Daily Herald: "Amid mouthfuls of [Afghan] delights and sipping green tea afterward, our conversation meandered from the commonalities of our cultures, cuisines and customs of hospitality, to the importance of cricket and soccer, to ultimately how new Afghan refugees lack the support they need here." 

ABBOTT UPDATE — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) border antics continue. As J. David Goodman and Edgar Sandoval report for The New York Times, Abbott is now "weighing whether to invoke actual war powers to seize much broader state authority on the border." By officially declaring an "invasion" (a particularly loaded term when it comes to immigration), Abbott may be able to
authorize state police to arrest and deport migrants, powers that are constitutionally limited to federal authorities. It is important to note that the political space in which Abbott operates is created by Tucker Carlson. Over the weekend, the Times also published a multi-part investigation of Carlson’s strategy and noted (among many other things) that "[a]mbitious Republican lawmakers now echo [Carlson’s] embrace of the ‘great replacement’ conspiracy theory, once relegated to the far-right fringe, that Western elites are importing immigrants to disempower the native-born." 

Thanks for
reading, 

Ali