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writes that to maintain the United States’ historic role as a global leader in innovation, the U.S. must work to fix an outdated H-1B visa process so American companies (especially in STEM fields) can hire more of the workforce they need.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

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

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."