Tuesday, July 19
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

 

THE FORUM DAILY

Since 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has spent
millions of dollars on cellphone location data "to track the movements
of both Americans and foreigners inside the U.S., at U.S. borders and
abroad," reports Julia Ainsley of NBC News
.
That's according to a report
 published
Monday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). 

In 2020, The Wall Street Journal

reported that ICE and CBP were using such data for immigration
enforcement purposes, but the ACLU's latest report reveals other
pertinent details, including how long the agencies have done so and the
extent of the data collection. 

"These records teach us even more about how federal law enforcement and
immigration agencies in the U.S. are exploiting sensitive location
history of millions of Americans inside the U.S.," said Nathan Wessler,
deputy director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.
"They are taking advantage of the lack of strong privacy protections in
U.S. law and making us all vulnerable to being tracked at some
government employee's whim." 

Welcome to Tuesday'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] . 

AG IMMIGRATION REFORM - Bipartisan senators are working to iron out
details of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act
,
per Ximena Bustillo of NPR
.
Right now, a focal point is a provision that would allow workers on H-2A
visas to sue their employers if they feel labor laws have been
broken. "I am living proof that you can actually go out and talk about
immigration and win an election," said Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson (R)
during a GOP-led press conference last week. "It's not as toxic as
some people think ... We need immigration reform, this is one part of
it: ag immigration reform." For more bipartisan immigration solutions
that hold promise, see Samantha Manning's report for Cox Media Group
. 

**ECONOMIC POTENTIAL** - Immigrants, including Dreamers, are crucial
to the Tampa Bay area economy in Florida, reports Heather Leigh of WFTS
.
"Thirty percent of Tampa Bay businesses are owned by immigrants, but
only 17% of Tampa Bay residents are immigrants, which means they're
highly entrepreneurial, and they're creating hundreds of thousands of
jobs with the businesses they set up," said Steve Maggi, the founder
of SMA Law firm in St. Petersburg. Considering the data, Maggi has
urged Congress to pass a permanent solution for Dreamers, which could
help alleviate labor shortages.  

**UNDERREPORTING** - As we reflect on the devastating loss of 53
migrants in Texas last month, The Dallas Morning News editorial board
writes

that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has not been reporting
deaths along the border since 2020. After the Government Accountability
Office provided CBP recommendations on this issue in April, CBP pledged
to count and report migrant deaths, but those numbers are pending. In
the meantime, "migrants continue to die at the U.S.-Mexico border,
usually of drowning, dehydration, exposure, or falls from the border
wall, with a frequency that seems unprecedented," per the
nonprofit Washington Office on Latin America. This is a prime example
of why we're among dozens of organizations urging Congress to pass
border solutions

that balance compassion, security and human dignity. 

AFGHAN MOTHERS - Welcome news: As Reuters

reports, DHS announced Monday

that it is simplifying the application process for Afghan Special
Immigrant Visas

by consolidating the required paperwork into one form. On welcome
efforts stateside, several Afghan mothers - including some in the
classroom for the first time - are flourishing in English literacy
classes at the Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts, reports
Anne-Gerard Flynn for MassLive.com
.
"Everyone loves the class and everyone is learning," said Mastora, a
22-year-old Afghan refugee with two children. The class, which meets
three times a week, continues to bring the local community and families
together, Flynn writes. 

Today's local welcome stories also include: 

* In Iowa, Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Des Moines has helped
resettle about 300 Afghan refugees, assisting migrants with "housing,
healthcare, English lessons, and employment." (Taj Simmons, WHO 13 News
) 

* In Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo, Ohio, local organizations are
pairing up with nonprofit US Together to co-sponsor Afghan and Ukrainian
refugees. The local groups "essentially act as community-level
resettlement agencies," per Lee Columber II, community engagement
manager at US Together. (Becky Raspe, Cleveland Jewish News
)
 

**COMMUNITY TRUST** - In a letter to the editor of The Charlotte
Observer
,
Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden applauded North Carolina Gov.
Roy Cooper's (D) recent decision to veto a bill that would have forced
sheriffs in the state to work with ICE. "When police chiefs and sheriffs
are forced to step in [on immigration enforcement], trust among our
communities erodes. My community is safer when all members are able to
assist law enforcement with investigations and report crimes without
fear of repercussions as severe as deportation," McFadden writes. "...
Cooper's veto supports safe communities, responsible government, and
keeping immigration enforcement where it belongs." 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan  

 

DONATE

 

**Follow Us**

 

[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

National Immigration Forum

10 G Street NE, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20002

www.immigrationforum.org

 

Unsubscribe from The Forum Daily

or opt-out from all Forum emails.

 
_________________

Sent to [email protected]

Unsubscribe:
[link removed]

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