Monday, September 12
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THE FORUM DAILY

An evangelical pastor, an imam and a rabbi walk into an immigration
debate ...

No joke. The three have come together to form the Multi-Faith Neighbors
Network , whose "coalition is a model for how faith
leaders can find common ground and create change for good despite
significant differences" - with immigration front and center. 

"In a time of polarization that seems to be tearing America apart, faith
communities can show our political leaders how to bridge our stark and
very real national political divides, especially on an issue where we
need bipartisanship the most: immigration," writes Bob Roberts Jr.,
senior global pastor at Northwood Church in Keller, Texas, and
co-founder of the network, in an op-ed for The Dallas Morning News
. 

He cites recent bills with bipartisan support, including the Bipartisan
Border Solutions Act
,
the recently introduced Afghan Adjustment Act

and the Dream Act
. 

"[J]ust as faith leaders can collaborate for the good of our
communities, I hope our own Sen. [John] Cornyn will continue to lead in
the bipartisan effort to strengthen America by doing good for the
immigrants who call America their home," Roberts Jr. concludes.  

Welcome to Monday'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] . 

THANKFUL FOR BUSING - Politics may motivate Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R)
to bus migrants to Washington, D.C.; New York City; and Chicago, but for
immigrants themselves, the taxpayer-funded trips are a boon, Jasmine
Aguilera reports in TIME Magazine
.
Migrants Aguilera interviewed were thankful for the transportation and
unaware of the political overtones. "[T]hank God they're helping us
with this," said Jhason, last name withheld for the safety of family
still in Venezuela, who said he traveled through seven countries over 43
days to get to the border. "If it weren't for the politics...then yes,
[busing is] a solution," said Theresa Cardinal Brown of the Bipartisan
Policy Center. Meanwhile, speaking of interfaith efforts: "Gratitude,
warmth and a renewed sense of collective responsibility are the
responses I have seen as D.C.-area organizations and faith communities
(and, most recently, its government) have stepped up to welcome and
support newcomers," Gary Sampliner writes in a Washington Post

op-ed.  

GRATITUDE, FEAR - While Afghan allies "Ahmed" and "Mohammed" have
gratitude for resettling in the U.S., they fear for their families left
behind, reports Susan Young of the Bangor Daily News
.
Both men now live in Lewiston, Maine, working for Maine Immigrant and
Refugee Services. "They are suffering," Mohammed said of his wife and
children, who remain in hiding while he works to bring them to the U.S.
So far, the Maine offices have helped resettle more than 100 people from
Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Brian Osgood of Al Jazeera

breaks down what the Afghan Adjustment Act would mean for Afghan allies
already in the U.S. and those still waiting to come here.  

On local welcome:  

* Navy veteran Shawn VanDiver is among the San Diegans who have been
welcoming Afghan allies and are now pushing for the Afghan Adjustment
Act. (John Carroll, KPBS
) 

* Afghan Zianawaz Anjwazkhan was able to achieve his lifelong dream of
opening his store, Bins and Wins, thanks to financial literacy help and
support from US Together in northeast Ohio. (Mike Brookbank and Claire
Geary, News 5 Cleveland
) 

SUPPORT FOR REFORMS - In a recent poll

covering nine states, including Pennsylvania, a strong majority of
voters support Congress protecting Dreamers and passing reforms that
would help stabilize the agricultural workforce and address food prices,
reports John L. Micek of The Pennsylvania Capital-Star
.
Voters in these states "continue to strongly support pro-immigrant
solutions, including protecting our nation's Dreamers, farm workers,
[Temporary Protected Status] holders and undocumented immigrants," said
Sergio Gonzales of the Immigration Hub, which commissioned the poll by
Hart Research Associates and BSP Research.  

UKRAINIANS RETURN HOME - An estimated 6 million Ukrainians have
returned to their homes from abroad or places of refuge within the
country, per Martin Kuz in the San Antonio Express-News
.
That's out of an estimated 14 million who were displaced, 7 million of
whom had left Ukraine. More could return home as they hear reports of
Ukraine's successes on the battlefield. "The reverse migration attests
to national pride, the bonds of family and the refugees' desire to
regain a measure of control over their lives after struggling to start
over," Kuz describes. "Why should we be the ones to go? This is our
home," said Svitlana Swirsky, whose family returned to their Kyiv suburb
in May. "We want our sons to live in the country where they were
born." 

INDIANA - Logansport, Indiana, has become home for Mang Hau, pastor at
Burmese-Zo Christian Church, reports Kirsten Adair of the Pharos-Tribune
.
A onetime refugee from Myanmar, he moved to Logansport more than a
decade ago and began working as an interpreter and then diversity
trainer at Tyson Fresh Meats. "Tyson paid me to do the job that I loved
for the people I cared (about)," Hau said. "Since I left there, I became
a full-time pastor in my congregation. I'm not good at preaching,
I'm not good at teaching, but God gave me talent to assist people, so
that's what I did." Hau now supports other former refugees as they
rebuild their lives.  

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

 

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