Passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act continues to hit legislative roadblocks, despite support among bipartisan senators and ongoing advocacy from military veterans and Afghan allies, reports Luke Broadwater of The New York Times. 

As some cite concerns about initial vetting — which was robust, as the Council on National Security and Immigration has underscored — here’s a key point, per the Times: "The bill would allow evacuees who pass an added layer of security checks to seek permanent authorization to stay in the United States without wading through the yearslong bureaucratic burdens of applying and being approved for asylum. It is meant to address security concerns about the Afghan evacuees."     

In other words, the Afghan Adjustment Act is the solution, not the problem.  

It’s a solution we need in order to do right by our allies: Most of the estimated 82,000 Afghan allies evacuated to the U.S. in the past year-plus do not currently have a clear path to permanent residency, which the bill would provide. They, and others still trying to come here, continue to remain in limbo, uncertain about their futures.  

"It’s an atrocity that it is taking so long to get this simple thing done," said Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran and the founder of the group AfghanEvac. "This shouldn’t be controversial. I wish we could show up for them like they showed up for us." 

Moved to advocate with your own representatives? We have an opportunity. 

With some of our team out Monday for a holiday — L’Shana Tova to those celebrating — there will be no Forum Daily that day. We’ll see you Tuesday. In the meantime, welcome to Friday’s edition. 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]. 

MIGRANT TRANSPORT — Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus says that in some cases, GOP governors from Texas, Florida and Arizona are "lying" to migrants about what opportunities might await them in the cities they’re being transported to, report Julia Ainsley and Didi Martinez for NBC News. "People that are coming into our custody here are then processed, and many of them are seeking asylum. So if some of them are released into the country, they’re doing so legally, they still have a date to appear for an asylum hearing," said Magnus. Added DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: "When a governor acts unilaterally and refuses to coordinate with other government officials, that is when problems arise. And that is when we deplore political stuntsmanship when we’re dealing with the lives of vulnerable individuals."  

DREAMERS, FARMWORKERS — DACA recipients are preparing to learn their fates in a forthcoming 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, reports Marissa Armas of CBS Colorado. Amid the fear and uncertainty, some are holding on to hope. "I have faith in a higher power, I have faith in those that have put such goodwill into this program," said Christian Pérez, a college student. Meanwhile, Luis Cortez Romero, an immigration lawyer and a DACA recipient himself, keeps working to protect others, Chris Stewart reports in Newsy. "I get a lot of questions about it, like why don’t you just apply [for citizenship]? If there was a way to apply, we would apply," explained Romero, who arrived in the U.S. when he was a baby. On the farmworker front, read Greg Cardamone’s letter to the editor in The Charlotte Observer. Cardamone is General Manager of Eastern Vegetables at L&M Companies, a produce sales and farming company. "I urge Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr to strongly and swiftly support new agriculture workforce solutions," he writes.  

MISTREATMENT — Asylum-seeking Haitians face mistreatment and abuse at the southern border, reports Jacqueline Charles of The Miami Herald. For a new report, Amnesty International interviewed 24 Haitians in U.S. custody before they were expelled under Title 42. For many, "the treatment they experienced in U.S. detention facilities — which included a harsh combination of lack of access to food, healthcare, information, interpreters and lawyers — quickly reached the threshold of ill-treatment," the report reads. Amnesty International says the findings "point to the urgent need for an investigation into systematic anti-Black racism within the immigration system." Elsewhere regarding Title 42, The Washington Post’s Philip Bump has a look at how the policy inflates numbers of encounters with migrants at the border. And here’s our own reminder that there are better alternatives.  

GREEN CARDS — Although U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is on pace to process a record number of employment-based green cards this fiscal year, the pace won’t last without legislation and significant backlogs remain, reports Suzanne Monyak of Roll Call. USCIS’s work this year could help alleviate labor shortages for companies searching for skilled workers in health care and other industries. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) has proposed related legislation and said he sees hope for it following the midterms, together with measures to address border security. Said David Bier of the Cato Institute, "This problem is not going anywhere unless Congress changes the employment-based green card caps." 

‘HOW FAITHFUL … PEOPLE ARE’ — More today from Sharon Phillips of 2 News Oklahoma on the good work of Brenda Kirk, our south central regional mobilizer who recently led faith leaders on a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border. "One of the things that really struck my heart was that as I asked to pray with an elderly woman, she wanted to pray for me, and you just don’t think about how faithful these people are," Kirk said.