Thursday, July 14
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THE FORUM DAILY

At the U.S.-Mexico border, waiting lists widely used during the Trump
era are still in place and causing confusion, reports Elliot Spagat of
the Associated Press
.
Often, migrants don't know how to sign up or even that lists
exist.  

While the Biden administration says it is prioritizing the most
"vulnerable" migrants, the criteria continue to be "vague and mysterious
for many," Spagat explains. Shelters and other nongovernmental
organizations are helping, but there's only so much they can do.
Misinformation can drive migrants to the wrong place in hopes of getting
on a list. 

"It's a lucky roulette," said Kenia Carcamo, who was expelled under
Title 42 and had never heard of the list.  

CBP is exploring ways to create a more orderly system at the border if
and when Title 42 comes to an end, Spagat reports. The sooner the better
on both counts. Lasting border management solutions

- from Congress and the administration - can reduce the need for
asylum wait lists, not to mention more desperate measures to which some
migrants are turning. 

Welcome to Thursday'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]  

**AMENDMENTS' FATES** - An amendment to the National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) to fast-track green cards for immigrants with
advanced STEM degrees was blocked from advancing the House Rules
Committee on Tuesday, per Ellen Gilmer of Bloomberg
.
The measure had the support of national security leaders
.
Some lawmakers are striving to include immigration-related STEM measures
elsewhere. Meanwhile, an amendment that would protect "documented
Dreamers" aging out of coverage from their parents' visas advanced,
with bipartisan support in the House and reported openness among some
GOP senators. Stuart Anderson of the National Foundation for American
Policy has more on these and other recent developments in Forbes
.  

**'BRILLIANT INSIGHT'** - Speaking of STEM, Miranda
Dixon-Luinenburg at Vox

writes that to maintain the United States' historic role as a global
leader in innovation, the U.S. must work to fix an outdated H-1B visa
process so American companies (especially in STEM fields) can hire more
of the workforce they need. By heavily restricting "skilled"
immigration, the U.S. "risks losing its position to others like the U.K.

or Canada
,
which have made recent immigration reforms aimed at attracting and
retaining high-skilled young people," she writes. Says economist David
Bier of the Cato Institute, "The big picture is that our ability to
recruit talent is directly related to our economic success as a country.
We don't know which [immigrant] is going to have the brilliant insight
that totally transforms the economy over the next 20-30 years."  

**CEO ON DREAMERS** - "[T]he labor shortage is awful," Russell Molina,
CEO of three Texas businesses, writes in a Houston Chronicle

op-ed, "... but there's a solution: allow businesses to hire more
immigrants, especially the millions of young people who came to this
country as children and still lack permanent legal status known as
Dreamers." Molina, who is also a member of Texans for Economic Growth,
advocates for a permanent legal solution for Dreamers from Congress.
"This fall, we will need additional employees, and I don't want to
have to scale back my operations, turn to third-party vendors or
outsource work abroad," he writes. "... More than 200,000
Dreamers call Texas home, and I would be thrilled to consider them for
hire if I could legally do so."  

**AGRICULTURAL REFORMS** - Several House Republicans are urging the
Senate to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act
,
which the House passed last year, Ellen Gilmer of Bloomberg

reports. "American farmers and ranchers are woefully under-equipped to
meet the workforce demands of modern production agriculture," said Rep.
Jim Baird (R-Indiana). In new research , a
trio at Texas A&M International University found that more H-2A
agricultural visas correlate with reduced inflation and unemployment and
higher minimum wages, suggesting "a stable agricultural workforce is
good for the U.S. economy." 

**ICE SHORTFALL** - Immigration and Customs Enforcement is short $345
million and will deplete its funds before the fiscal year ends -
unless DHS reallocates millions of dollars from other programs, Stef W.
Kight reports in Axios
.
New policies, court decisions such as a forced restart of the Migrant
Protection Protocols (MPP), and border trends are among the reasons
expenses have ballooned. "It's not clear how much of the problem stems
from a low early estimate of needs at the border versus management of
funds," Kight reports. Reallocated funding, which requires congressional
notification but not approval, could come from within ICE, as well as
from the Coast Guard budget.  

**CONTINUED STRUGGLE** - With help from the office of the U.S.
Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), Afghan Anisa Naseri and
her daughters (a freelance journalist and former lawyer) have resettled
in a two-bedroom apartment in Albany, New York. Yet they "continue to
struggle with the trauma of their evacuation and the plight of refugees
trying to settle into a new country and culture," as they navigate new
jobs and a new language, reports Paul Grondahl for the Times Union
.
"The local Afghan community has stepped up in a big way to assist her
family," said Derek Martin, director of career services at Bryant &
Stratton College, where one of her daughters is taking a course. "We
work with many immigrant and refugee families. It takes a village to
lift them up." 

Elsewhere locally: 

* United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County in Nebraska recently
extended its donation deadline in hopes of reaching a goal of $400,000
for a Lincoln resettlement fund, which will focus on "expanding
transportation support, child care and additional case management" for
Afghan, Ukrainian and other refugees in the area. (Evelyn Mejia, Lincoln
Journal Star
) 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

 

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At the U.S.-Mexico border, waiting lists widely used during the Trump
era are still in place and causing confusion, reports Elliot Spagat of
the Associated Press
.
Often, migrants don't know how to sign up or even that lists
exist.  

 

While the Biden administration says it is prioritizing the most
"vulnerable" migrants, the criteria continue to be "vague and mysterious
for many," Spagat explains. Shelters and other nongovernmental
organizations are helping, but there's only so much they can do.
Misinformation can drive migrants to the wrong place in hopes of getting
on a list. 

 

"It's a lucky roulette," said Kenia Carcamo, who was expelled under
Title 42 and had never heard of the list.  

 

CBP is exploring ways to create a more orderly system at the border if
and when Title 42 comes to an end, Spagat reports. The sooner the better
on both counts. Lasting border management solutions

- from Congress and the administration - can reduce the need for
asylum wait lists, not to mention more desperate measures to which some
migrants are turning. 

 

Welcome to Thursday'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]  

 

AMENDMENTS' FATES - An amendment to the National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) to fast-track green cards for immigrants with
advanced STEM degrees was blocked from advancing the House Rules
Committee on Tuesday, per Ellen Gilmer of Bloomberg
.
The measure had the support of national security leaders
.
Some lawmakers are striving to include immigration-related STEM measures
elsewhere. Meanwhile, an amendment that would protect "documented
Dreamers" aging out of coverage from their parents' visas advanced,
with bipartisan support in the House and reported openness among some
GOP senators. Stuart Anderson of the National Foundation for American
Policy has more on these and other recent developments in Forbes
.  

 

'BRILLIANT INSIGHT' - Speaking of STEM, Miranda Dixon-Luinenburg
at Vox

writes that to maintain the United States' historic role as a global
leader in innovation, the U.S. must work to fix an outdated H-1B visa
process so American companies (especially in STEM fields) can hire more
of the workforce they need. By heavily restricting "skilled"
immigration, the U.S. "risks losing its position to others like the U.K.

or Canada
,
which have made recent immigration reforms aimed at attracting and
retaining high-skilled young people," she writes. Says economist David
Bier of the Cato Institute, "The big picture is that our ability to
recruit talent is directly related to our economic success as a country.
We don't know which [immigrant] is going to have the brilliant insight
that totally transforms the economy over the next 20-30 years."  

 

CEO ON DREAMERS - "[T]he labor shortage is awful," Russell Molina, CEO
of three Texas businesses, writes in a Houston Chronicle

op-ed, "... but there's a solution: allow businesses to hire more
immigrants, especially the millions of young people who came to this
country as children and still lack permanent legal status known as
Dreamers." Molina, who is also a member of Texans for Economic Growth,
advocates for a permanent legal solution for Dreamers from Congress.
"This fall, we will need additional employees, and I don't want to
have to scale back my operations, turn to third-party vendors or
outsource work abroad," he writes. "... More than 200,000
Dreamers call Texas home, and I would be thrilled to consider them for
hire if I could legally do so."  

 

AGRICULTURAL REFORMS - Several House Republicans are urging the Senate
to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act
,
which the House passed last year, Ellen Gilmer of Bloomberg

reports. "American farmers and ranchers are woefully under-equipped to
meet the workforce demands of modern production agriculture," said Rep.
Jim Baird (R-Indiana). In new research , a
trio at Texas A&M International University found that more H-2A
agricultural visas correlate with reduced inflation and unemployment and
higher minimum wages, suggesting "a stable agricultural workforce is
good for the U.S. economy." 

 

ICE SHORTFALL - Immigration and Customs Enforcement is short $345
million and will deplete its funds before the fiscal year ends -
unless DHS reallocates millions of dollars from other programs, Stef W.
Kight reports in Axios
.
New policies, court decisions such as a forced restart of the Migrant
Protection Protocols (MPP), and border trends are among the reasons
expenses have ballooned. "It's not clear how much of the problem stems
from a low early estimate of needs at the border versus management of
funds," Kight reports. Reallocated funding, which requires congressional
notification but not approval, could come from within ICE, as well as
from the Coast Guard budget.  

 

CONTINUED STRUGGLE - With help from the office of the U.S. Committee
for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), Afghan Anisa Naseri and her
daughters (a freelance journalist and former lawyer) have resettled in a
two-bedroom apartment in Albany, New York. Yet they "continue to
struggle with the trauma of their evacuation and the plight of refugees
trying to settle into a new country and culture," as they navigate new
jobs and a new language, reports Paul Grondahl for the Times Union
.
"The local Afghan community has stepped up in a big way to assist her
family," said Derek Martin, director of career services at Bryant &
Stratton College Martin, where one of her daughters is taking a course.
"We work with many immigrant and refugee families. It takes a village to
lift them up." 

 

Elsewhere locally: 

* United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County in Nebraska recently
extended its donation deadline in hopes of reaching a goal of $400,000
for a Lincoln resettlement fund, which will focus on "expanding
transportation support, child care and additional case management" for
Afghan, Ukrainian and other refugees in the area. (Evelyn Mejia, Lincoln
Journal Star
) 

 

Thanks for reading, 

 

Dan 
_________________

Sent to [email protected]

Unsubscribe:
[link removed]

National Immigration Forum, 10 G St NE, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20002, United States