Friday, July 8
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THE FORUM DAILY

On Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) authorized state entities,
including National Guard units, to apprehend unauthorized immigrants and
return them to ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border.  

As our policy expert Laurence Benenson told Paul J. Weber of the
Associated Press
,
immigration policy is a core responsibility of the federal government
- as the Supreme Court recently affirmed
.
"There is a recognition that we don't want to open the flood gates to
having states set 50 different immigration enforcement policies,"
Benenson said. 

Weber notes that the order raises several other questions, including how
widely and under what circumstances it will be employed and whether and
how state forces have been trained to detain and transport migrants. 

Policy solutions

to create a more orderly border already exist. But it's up to Congress
and the Biden administration to enact them. As we noted yesterday
,
Abbott's order is likely to face court challenges. 

Speaking of Abbott, the Justice Department is now investigating his
multibillion-dollar Operation Lone Star initiative for possible civil
rights violations, Perla Trevizo reports in a story co-published by The
Texas Tribune

and ProPublica
.
It's the latest in a raft of problems that have emerged with the
initiative in place.  

Welcome to Friday's edition of The Forum Daily. I'm Dan
Gordon, the Forum's strategic communications VP. If you have a story
to share from your own community, please send it to me at
[email protected]
.  

**STATE CONVERSATIONS** - In South Carolina and Ohio, business leaders
and others are calling for meaningful immigration reforms. Down South, a
conversation this week focused on immigrants brought to the U.S. as
children, Stephen Pastis reports in The State
.
"We look to South Carolina Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham to help
lead the way in finding solutions for our 'Dreamers,' their
communities and their employers," said Yahel Flores, a DACA recipient
and the Carolinas state director of the American Business Immigration
Coalition. Meanwhile, in Ohio, faith and business leaders came together
Thursday to talk immigration solutions including the Farm Workforce
Modernization Act
,
Tyler Thompson reports for WOSU
.  

LABOR BOOST - USCIS is working to issue 280,000 work-based green cards
before the current fiscal year ends Sept. 30, which could help address
labor shortages, Andrew Kreighbaum reports in Bloomberg Law
.
Last year, more than 66,000 employment-based green cards went unused
because of pandemic-related delays and capacity limits. "When you move
people from temporary visas to green cards, you can be sure that the
American economy and working Americans will benefit," said Bruce
Morrison, a former House Judiciary immigration subcommittee chair.
Across the pond, Germany is addressing labor shortages by allowing an
estimated 130,000 resident foreigners to regularize their immigration
status, creating incentives for skilled workers to enter the country and
work, per Reuters
. 

CORPORATE LEADERSHIP - At the GE Appliances factory in Louisville,
Kentucky, a big hiring push in the next 18 months has a "secret
weapon": a new program to recruit Afghans, other refugees, and people
learning English, Amy Feldman reports in Forbes
.
Forty Afghans have been hired for manufacturing jobs at the plant since
the program started in February, including Edris Akseer. The former
translator for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan has become the plant's
"go-to person," helping translate for Afghans in need of support. Said
Yaron Schwartz, associate director of the nonprofit Tent, "When
companies invest in refugees, refugees are very loyal and grateful for
the work opportunity and often stay at the company and often take on
leadership roles."  

More local stories: 

* A $20,688 grant from the Indiana Department of Education will be used
to support Afghan students at Fort Wayne Community Schools with services
"including interpreters for the students and their families as well as
supplemental instructional materials." (Ashley Sloboda, The Journal
Gazette
) 

* New York's Cazenovia College partnered with Cazenovia Welcomes
Refugees (CWR) and InterFaith Works to turn a college-owned building
once used for administrative offices and storage into a home for an
Afghan family. Reconstructing the building took nine months. (Daily
Sentinel
) 

TPS

**DEADLINE** - The Biden administration has until Monday to decide
whether to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans,
reports Joe Gorchow of CBS Miami
.
Members of the Florida legislature sent a letter this week to the Biden
administration, urging it to do so and "continue to provide the
much-needed support and safety to displaced Venezuelans seeking a better
life." Said Adelys Ferro, executive director of the Venezuelan American
Caucus, about her home country: "You are living in extreme poverty ...
No food.  No money.  If you get sick, you are dead." For more on TPS
for Venezuelans, see Sabrina Rodríguez's piece in POLITICO
. 

**BILL PROVISIONS** - Caroline Simon of Roll Call

follows up on several immigration-related amendments to the fiscal 2023
defense authorization bill, which could get a vote next week. Among them
is a measure to protect so-called "Documented Dreamers" that has had
bipartisan support in the past. Other amendments would streamline the
application process for Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans, exempt visa
holders with advanced STEM degrees who are working in national security
from visa limits, and more. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

 

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