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