Border Patrol agents are forcing Sikh men to remove their turbans, and then disposing them, reports John Washington of Arizona Luminaria, in partnership with The Intercept.  

In a letter to Border Patrol on Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona documented dozens of such instances, explained the significance of the turban, and said the actions "blatantly violate federal law," agency policy, and religious freedom protections in the U.S. 

"They told me to take off my turban. I know a little English, and I said, ‘It’s my religion.’ But they insisted," one Sikh man said last month via an interpreter. 

According to the ACLU of Arizona and the Phoenix Welcome Center, Yuma’s Border Patrol has confiscated at least 64 turbans this year alone. With many asylum seekers fearful to register a complaint, the number likely is much higher, notes Maria Jose Pinzon, a program manager for Phoenix Welcome Center.  

"The turban is sacred to Sikhs," said Deepak Ahluwalia, a private immigration attorney and advocate for Sikh rights in San Jose, California. "... It can be weeks and even months before these young men or women can cover their head — which is not only part of their faith, but part of their identity." 

Welcome to Wednesday’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].  

PRODUCE PRICES — Immigration reforms will help combat labor shortages in the ag sector and reduce prices of produce, Rachel Spacek reports in the Idaho Statesman, following last week’s Alliance for a New Immigration Consensus press conference. "It is absolutely critical that we empower the beginning of the supply chain, the farmers, to improve their efficiencies, because their efficiencies result in the affordability of goods all the way downstream to households like yours and mine," said Lori Taylor, one of the speakers and founder and CEO of the Produce Moms of Indiana.  

FAITH ADVOCACY — Jeff Brumley of Baptist News Global has more on the letter which over 450 faith leaders and groups signed this week, pushing for more funding from Congress to help families previously separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. "The family separation policy violated the sanctity of family and failed to live up to our nation’s values," the letter reads. "… Now, we urge Congress and the administration to do more to heal those harmed by family separation. Without additional services, many families cannot and will not be successfully reunited." In a separate letter, faith and other organizations are asking the president to end the so-called Migrant Protection Protocols, a.k.a. "Remain in Mexico."  

IMMIGRATION VOTES — As the Senate considers a revamped budget reconciliation package, Republicans are likely to force votes on tough immigration- and border-related amendments, reports Caroline Simon of Roll Call. One possibility is a vote on whether to codify pandemic-era Title 42 expulsions as border-management policy. "Adoption of amendments that would end access to asylum or expand Trump’s border wall will not repair our broken immigration and will put reconciliation at risk," Sen. Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) tweeted on Monday. 

TPS BACKLOGS — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is behind on processing applications for Temporary Protected Status, leaving thousands of Venezuelans with few options to work and support their families, Andrew Kreighbaum reports in Bloomberg Law. While DHS recently extended Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan and Syrian nationals, the lengthy processing times "threaten to undercut the Biden administration’s expanded use of such programs" — and does little to help first-time applicants. "Hopefully, Congress will realize that people cannot live from renewal to renewal every 18 months," said Juan Escalante, digital campaigns director at FWD.us. "In the meantime, we need the government agency who carries out this program to take it seriously." 

CHIP INDUSTRY — The U.S. needs continually to attract and retain more foreign talent if it wants to compete with China and solve labor shortages in the semiconductor industry and STEM fields, writes Esther D. Brimmer, executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, in an op-ed for The Hill. "With the efforts to pass a comprehensive U.S. competitiveness and innovation legislative package falling short, the time is now for the United States government to leverage the vast potential of international education to fully assert its global competitiveness" by advancing immigration reforms that increase the talent pool, she writes. The New York Daily News’ Editorial Board sounds a similar theme. 

AFGHAN STUDENTS — Schools, churches and neighborhood organizations are among the local groups who have helped welcome nearly 1,500 Afghans in the Dallas area in the past year, and The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board is pushing for the welcome to continue. About half of the new arrivals are children, and the Dallas Independent School District says it is planning for more arrivals. Support for refugee students continues for five years after their arrival in the U.S. and includes helping families with the transition and training teachers on cultural and religious practices. "Refugee children have many challenges before they come to the United States, and when they come here they have a new set of challenges," said Zeljka Ravlija, coordinator of the refugee services program and a onetime refugee from the former Yugoslavia. "But despite these challenges, they progress amazingly even within the short span of one year." 

Also locally:  

• Maryland-based Homes Not Borders recently organized a benefit concert for Afghan families in need of support. "The consciousness goes away sometimes as other things — other world events — eclipse the things going on in Afghanistan," says Melinda Baird, who performed at the concert. "But the need is still there." (Héctor Alejandro Arzate, DCist/WAMU)