‘DOCUMENTED DREAMERS’ — The Senate should permit "documented Dreamers" to stay in the country, as an amendment to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act would do, Bloomberg’s editorial board writes. "Failing to do so would harm not just legal immigrants and their families but the country as a whole," they write. "America’s long-term growth prospects require that the country bring in more knowledge workers from abroad, particularly in the sciences and technology. Ensuring the children of those workers can stay and build lives in the U.S. is critical to winning the war for talent — and is a necessary a step toward creating the immigration system the country needs." 

AMBASSADOR FOR CITIZENSHIP — USCIS recently announced a "citizenship ambassador" program meant to help eligible permanent residents navigate the naturalization process, and Myriam Mézadieu is the first such ambassador for South Florida, Isabel Olmos reports in the Miami Herald. Mézadieu, director of operations for Catholic Legal Services of the Archdiocese of Miami, immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti and submitted her own citizenship application on Sept. 11, 2001. "I feel humbled because we [ambassadors] have to explain that more than 200 years after our founding as a nation, naturalized citizens are still an important part of American democracy," Mézadieu said. "Citizenship is the common thread that connects all Americans. The United States is a nation bound not by race or religion, but by the shared values of freedom, liberty and equality." 

COMMUNITY TRUST — The Arlington County Board in Virginia has passed a trust policy that limits county cooperation with federal immigration officials, reports Teo Armus of The Washington Post. The policy is "meant to encourage undocumented residents in the Northern Virginia suburb to seek help from police and use other government resources." The policy directs that county resources not be used for immigration enforcement and prohibits police and other county employees from asking people’s immigration statuses, but it does not block police from working with ICE altogether. 

BOOK CLUB — In a piece adapted from former Forum president and CEO Ali Noorani’s latest book, "Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants," The Deseret News gives us a snapshot of how Idaho’s dairy farm industry might point to immigration solutions. "While national leadership certainly matters, durable solutions to the politics of immigration do not start at the top," Ali writes. "Institutions and leaders at the local level, who are deeply enmeshed in the culture and values of their community, are critical. ... [I]n Magic Valley, where locals began working alongside their newest neighbors on dairy farms dotting the expanse of central Idaho, something uniquely American occurred: they found human solutions to some of the nation’s more pressing immigration issues." 

BOOK-TO-STAGE CLUB — A limited viewing of the Broadway adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling novel, The Kite Runner, opened Thursday night, reports Jeff Lunden of NPR. Hosseini’s novel, released in 2003, sold more than 7 million copies and was later adapted into a movie. The novel follows the main character Amir’s escape from Afghanistan to America after the 1979 Soviet invasion of the country. "The best thing about this whole experience for me is that people have walked away from this book with an appreciation for the plight of Afghan people, for the plight of refugees and displaced people," Hosseini said.  

In local welcome:  

Thanks for reading, 

Dan