Welcome (back) to Jennie Murray, the Forum’s new president and CEO, who starts today! 

On to some must-reads as more details emerge about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) sending of asylum seekers from San Antonio (not in Florida, last I checked) to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. 

A team at The New York Times reports that the use of state funds [i.e. taxpayers’ money] might have violated Florida law that allocated funds "to facilitate the transport of unauthorized aliens from this state." That’s in addition to earlier reports that not even Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) knew about the "clandestine" operation. 

The story also has more on the mysterious "Perla" who helped recruit migrants: Apparently, she is a former U.S. Army combat medic and counterintelligence agent.  

The flights were from a Texas city with a longstanding tradition of welcome and acceptance, Samantha J. Gross reports in the Boston Globe. "The dignified welcome offered by so many San Antonio residents amid the demonization of those crossing the border by some in the Republican base captures the duality of America’s immigration debate," Gross writes. "[San Antonio is] a city that is facing the direct repercussions of a lack of federal immigration reforms and an effective border policy, while defining itself as a welcoming place." 

Speaking of the need for reforms: "By using asylum seekers as pawns in an attempt to divide Americans for political gain, everyone loses; migrants suffer more uncertainty, the American people feel betrayed and progress on passing meaningful immigration reforms is further delayed," advocates Marlon Hill, Gloria Romero Roses and Enid Weisman write in the Miami Herald. "... The American people — and the immigrants who call our communities home — need Congress to stop getting distracted by political attempts to weaponize immigration and come together in a bipartisan manner to deliver immigration reform this year." 

For more context on the transport of migrants between states, read our FAQ.  

Meanwhile, in The Washington Post, Fareed Zakaria widens the lens to warn of the potential consequences if President Biden doesn’t lead the way to restore a sense of order to our immigration process: further strengthening of the far right.  

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]. 

HUMAN DIGNITY — It’s a blessing to be connected with Sami DiPasquale, whose organization, Abara, is doing God’s work along the border in El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico. In a great Q&A with Emily Belz of Christianity Today, DiPasquale shares his perspective and talks about how churches far from the border can help. Meanwhile, Venezuelan migrants are finding shelter and spiritual support from Catholic Charities, reports Matthew McDonald of the National Catholic Register. "Putting aside all the political side of migration, look at the human condition of these people: how they are desperate for survival, for a future, and we need at least to give them a little bit of a sense of recognition of their dignity," said Bishop Edgar da Cunha of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts.  

REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT — Last week the Biden administration set the refugee "ceiling" to 125,000 for the fiscal year that began Saturday, "a benchmark that would require processing about 100,000 more people than last year," Rebecca Beitsch reports in The Hill. "The administration was tackling understandable challenges between the pandemic and multiple crises," said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. "In terms of setting the [presidential declaration] once again at 125,000, I suppose we could view this as a do-over. Last year we understood why that target was ambitious. This year we hope it’s viewed as a real target to hit, and I think that’s where this year the administration has to rise and take full ownership."  

WELCOME BLUEPRINT — While the U.S. has a long history of welcoming and integrating immigrants, our support systems and services are severely limited, policy counsel Rebekah Wolf of the American Immigration Council writes in a Boston Globe op-ed. "This leaves many of the most vulnerable new immigrants to their own devices, forcing them to figure out our complicated humanitarian protection system on their own," she writes. But the U.S. already has a blueprint to aid recent arrivals, and organizations prepared to jump in, were Congress to provide funding. Already, Congress has authorized a DHS pilot program centering on service and case management, Wolf notes. 

DETENTION COMPLAINTS — Migrants held by U.S. authorities at the private Torrance County detention facility in New Mexico are experiencing retaliation after reporting unsanitary conditions at the jail on Wednesday, Morgan Lee of the Associated Press reports. With support from a coalition of civil rights advocates, a public letter with at least a dozen migrant signatories "describes broken plumbing, insect infestations, insufficient access to medical care and rationed bottles of drinking water," Lee writes. "The conditions are inhumane. I’ve suffered from verbal mistreatment and psychological torture," Orlando de los Santos Evangelista, a 39-year-old construction worker from the Dominican Republic, said. "We ask that you listen to us."  

‘TENEMOS DERECHOS’ — A new campaign that offers information on rights to housing, the workplace and interactions with police or immigration officials was launched by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Nebraska, reports Cindy Gonzalez of the Nebraska Examiner. Billboards are displaying a message that starts with the Spanish words "todos tenemos derechos" (we all have rights). "It is important that immigrant Nebraskans understand they are essential to the fabric of our communities and that their rights must be respected and defended," said Rose Godinez, ACLU’s senior legal and policy counsel.  

Thanks for reading, 

Dan