Wednesday, August 31
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THE FORUM DAILY

We need more workers and lower food prices. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday
that the number of job
openings increased by nearly 200,000 in July, to 11.2
million, per Eleanor Mueller of POLITICO Pro
.
The number of workers hired was only 6.4 million. 

That's a huge gap that immigration could help fill - and Americans
want immigration reforms that could help make it happen. In our new poll

in partnership with Americans for Prosperity and The Bullfinch Group, a
large majority of respondents said they support immigration reforms

**this year** that address labor shortages, as well as food prices and
the border. 

According to the survey this month of 1,200 adults, including 1,000
registered voters, more than 70% want Republicans and Democrats to work
together on legal immigration options that could address labor shortages
and reduce pressures at the border. And close to 80% support reforms
that could help lower food prices by ensuring a legal, reliable
workforce for America's farmers and ranchers. 

Regarding food prices, food banks are feeling the pinch, as Marty
Schladen reports in The Ohio Capital Journal
.
That's also true for ministries trying to feed the hungry, as
Christianity Today

and the Catholic News Agency

have reported recently. 

Immigration reforms could help. Americans want them now. It's up to
Congress to act.  

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] .  

**AFTERMATH** - Some veterans of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
are still grappling with the tragedies they encountered and struggling
with their mental health, reports Haley Britzky for Task and Purpose
.
Britzky interviewed 15 soldiers, airmen and Marines directly involved
with the evacuation and heard some common themes: The military "wanted
to move on as quickly and quietly as possible from the withdrawal," and
many said their commands have downplayed their continuing
trauma. Meanwhile, veterans continue to face a slow and frustrating
process in trying to help Afghan allies left behind reach the U.S.,
Carson Frame reports for Texas Public Radio

as part of The American Homefront Project
. 

Local: 

* Thanks to Catholic Charities, former Afghan Air Force pilot Abdul was
able to start a new life in Chicago. Now, he is helping fellow Afghan
evacuees by serving as a Catholic Charities case manager. (Will Jones,
ABC7
) 

* Leaders of the Community Collaboration Initiative spoke this week
about their efforts to help Afghan evacuees by bringing together 22
Muslim American nonprofits, many of which are based in Chicago. (WTTW
) 

**DEPORTED VETERAN, NOW CITIZEN** - U.S. Army Veteran Luis was
deported to Nicaragua following a drug-related crime 23 years ago that
he attributes to depression and PTSD. In March, he became a citizen
thanks to a Biden administration initiative to bring some deported
veterans back to American soil, reports Justo Robles of NBC News
.
"I've cried over sadness before and problems I had in my life, but
crying over happiness? That was the first time," said Luis, identified
by his first name to protect his family, recounting when he was sworn
in
 as
a citizen. In June, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) guidance
instructed agents to affirmatively ask immigrants about any military
service and to consider it before potentially deporting them, "a policy
shift that could have changed the course of Luis' life" earlier on,
notes Robles.  

**'THIS IS CRUELTY'** - Last week, U.S. Border Patrol agents
rescued an infant and a toddler who were abandoned by human traffickers
in western Arizona's Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, reports
Steve Warren for CBN News
.
"[S]mugglers left two young children ... in the Sonoran Desert to die,"
said Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief John Modlin. "This is not just
another example of smugglers exploiting migrants for money. This is
cruelty. And it is gut-wrenching. I commend our agents for their quick
response to this dreadful incident and to every incident in which
migrant lives are at stake." Both children received medical attention
and were released back to Border Patrol custody.  

**CUBAN EXODUS** - Cubans are fleeing their homeland in the largest
numbers in over four decades, "choosing to stake their lives and
futures on a dangerous journey to the United States by air, land and sea
to escape economic and political woes," reports Gisela Salomon for the
Associated Press
.
Border authorities stopped Cuban migrants from entering the U.S. almost
155,000 times between January and July alone. "I never thought it would
take so much work to arrive," said Rolando José Cisneros Borroto, a
Cuban migrant who sold his house, furniture and television for his
36-day journey to the U.S. "What one goes through along the way I do
not advise anyone, but Cubans prefer to die on the way before staying in
Cuba." 

**WORKERS' RIGHTS** - The Mexican consulate in Atlanta unveiled a
free weeklong initiative that kicked off Monday to raise awareness about
worker rights among its Mexican and Spanish-speaking immigrant
populations, reports Lautaro Grinspan for The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
.
"[Mexican workers] assume that because they're immigrant workers,
their rights aren't real. But that's not the case," said consul
general Javier Díaz de León. "Regardless of whether you speak English
or not, or whether you have legal status or not, you have rights, and
you can't be subject to abuse." The initiative, dubbed the Worker
Rights Week, is in-person and online, with the goal of "cement[ing]
partnerships between Mexican consular authorities in Georgia and local
offices of U.S. government agencies" engaged in worksite enforcement. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

 

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