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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced Tuesday the new launch of the ambassador initiative, tapping eight advocates and community leader volunteers "to encourage millions of green card holders to apply for citizenship," reports Suzanne Monyak of Roll Call. The goal of the program is to have ambassadors from across the country — most of whom are naturalized citizens themselves — partner with local field offices to improve and expand outreach strategies to immigrant communities, notes Monyak. As part of the program, they’ll receive agency citizenship process training. "The initiative," per a USCIS statement, "is designed to make a personal and local connection to the more than 9.1 million lawful permanent residents who may be eligible to apply for naturalization and who otherwise may not have access to or knowledge of the naturalization process." Nam Loc Nguyen, an ambassador who previously served as the director of the immigration and refugee department at Catholic Charities in California and a former Vietnam refugee, said: "We are the community leaders...They know us, and I think naturally, they’re looking for someone that they trust." Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of The Forum Daily. I’m Becka Wall, the Forum’s digital communications VP. If you have a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at [email protected]. COOPERATION — In Tuesday’s meeting, Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador agreed to invest $1.5 billion over the next two years to improve "smart" border technology, report Will Weissert and Zeke Miller for the Associated Press. "Borders that are more resilient, more efficient, and safer, will enhance our shared commerce," Biden and López Obrador said via a joint statement. "We are committed like never before to completing a multi-year joint U.S.-Mexico border infrastructure modernization effort for projects along the 2,000-mile border." Both leaders agreed to other important immigration-related promises, including tackling root causes of migration across the Americas, expanding the quota for work visas in the U.S., welcoming additional refugees, and more. ‘REMAIN IN MEXICO’ — Thousands of asylum seekers remain vulnerable to the dangerous conditions in Mexico as they wait for the Biden administration to completely end the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols or the "Remain in Mexico" policy, reports Daniella Silva of NBC News. "Our perspective is not if they’re going to be victimized when they are in Mexico, but when," immigration attorney Taylor Levy said. "We’re constantly fielding calls about horrific things." While the Supreme Court ruled on June 30 that Biden could officially end the program, the administration said it would need "several weeks" to do so, per Tal Axelrod at ABC News. ‘WRONG APPROACH’ — Law Enforcement Immigration Task Force member Sheriff Javier Salazar of South Texas’ Bexar County is calling on sheriffs to stop the negative rhetoric around migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, following the recent tragedy in Texas, per Jacob Beltran of San Antonio Express-News. Deterrence is not the answer, Salazar notes. Border solutions like providing resources to what he describes as "hub jurisdictions," areas where migrants are hidden in transit, in addition to requesting a grant to combat transnational crime would help. "Until we find a way to [manage migration] … holistically, we’re not going to have success," Salazar said. "Fifty-three people died in my county, and that’s extremely heartbreaking," he added. "I’m not just going to sit quietly by while I feel like we’re taking the wrong approach." VETO — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (R) recently vetoed an immigration bill for a second time in four years that would force North Carolina sheriffs to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE), reports Will Doran and Avi Bajpai of The News & Observer. "This bill is unconstitutional and weakens law enforcement in North Carolina by mandating that sheriffs do the job of federal agents, using local resources that could hurt their ability to protect their counties," Cooper said. Added Rep. Ricky Hurtado of Alamance County (D): "Bills like this make it harder for folks on the ground to do their job, and it puts us backwards in our ultimate goal of keeping everyone safe." ‘STILL IN AFGHANISTAN’ — "Physically, I am here, but mentally, I am still in Afghanistan," said Homeira Qaderi, a single mother and writer who, like many other Afghan evacuees, "is torn between opportunities in the USA and the horrors she left behind," reports Fatema Hosseini for USA Today. Qaderi wrote the book "Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to Her Son," about "the injustice that Afghan women experience in a patriarchal and misogynistic society," putting her at risk under the country’s new Taliban government. She fled to the U.S. wanting to build a life as a writer and educator, but to protect her family, she tries to maintain a low profile. She is currently on a fellowship at Harvard University, writing another book. Today’s local stories:
Thanks for reading, Becka |
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