Prayers also for Haiti, where "[a]nger has been boiling over as gang violence has spiraled out of control, disrupting shipments of fuel and food," as Vanessa Buschschlüter of BBC News reports. 

We’ll be watching to see whether these events spur increases in migration. That’s what political repression in Venezuela already has done — it’s the source of one of the largest forced migration crises in the world.  

On Tuesday, news emerged of a potential shift in how the Biden administration will respond. 

The administration is considering a temporary parole program to allow Venezuelan migrants with ties to the U.S. to enter via ports of entry, instead of unlawfully crossing the border before [legally] requesting asylum, reports Priscilla Alvarez of CNN. The program would be similar to one that has allowed Ukrainians to seek temporary refuge in the U.S. 

In August alone, 55,333 migrants encountered at the border were from Venezuela, Cuba or Nicaragua, a 175% increase from August 2021, per DHS data. The plan is "intended to serve as an expanded and more orderly process," notes Alvarez. 

On the flip side, Mexico would be slated to take in other Venezuelan migrants via Title 42, which quickly expels migrants and blocks them from seeking asylum at the border. This raises questions: Will all Venezuelans who are not eligible for the new parole program be expelled to Mexico under Title 42 to Mexico? If so, then what — will they continue to try to cross into the U.S.?  

As our policy expert Danilo Zak wrote on Twitter, "Allowing more orderly, humane asylum processing at ports of entry is smart policy — and we know it works to reduce irregular flows. Ramping up Title 42 does the opposite." 

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].  

DREAMERS — Former Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller (R) writes in The Indianapolis Star of Dreamers’ contributions to his state and the need for Congress to pass a permanent solution. Indiana’s DACA recipients and other Dreamers "are valuable members of our workforce and a catalyst to growth for our state. They generate over $26.7 million to the local tax base annually, fill essential jobs in the workforce and create jobs that provide new opportunities for Hoosiers," writes Zoeller, who is also a Forum board member. "… [L]osing their contributions will only worsen the struggles our families and businesses are already experiencing as a result of high inflation and ongoing labor shortages." For more on the impact of last week’s court ruling on DACA, watch our latest video.  

RE-UPPING EFFORTS — Immigration advocates are ramping up efforts to provide legal protections for Dreamers, Afghan evacuees, migrant farmworkers, high-tech workers and Temporary Protected Status recipients as the deadline for a must-pass annual defense bill nears, reports Ellen M. Gilmer of Bloomberg Government. So-called documented Dreamers and others are also among the immigrant populations whom advocates are urging Congress to permanently protect. "Once one thing starts moving, then other things start moving as well," said Kerri Talbot, deputy director of the advocacy group Immigration Hub. A friendly reminder that Americans strongly support these kinds of reforms this year — and that we’re part of a coalition working to make them happen. 

BIPARTISANSHIP — "The reality is that both Democrats unwilling to secure the border and Republicans playing political games with migrants by transporting them to cities governed by Democrats are treating human beings as pawns in a game no one is winning," Ericka Andersen writes in an op-ed for RealClearPolicy. Instead, the parties should focus their energy on the several bipartisan immigration policy solutions on which they already have agreed to work together. "[J]ust because you’re for border security doesn’t mean you’re against legal immigration or legal access to immigration," said Daniel Garza, president and founder of The LIBRE Initiative. "Just because you’re for legal access for immigration doesn’t mean you’re against border security." 

MIGRANT SMUGGLING — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has seen a 500% increase in migrant smuggling arrests, reports Ali Bradley of NewsNation. Many of the migrants involved are from Mexico or Central American countries and believe smuggling is their only option of getting into the U.S., given strict border policies such as Title 42. This is one reason we need better border solutions — ones that do not encourage secrecy and benefit smugglers. 

HOME HEALTH CARE — Immigrants can continue to help care for our aging U.S. population if the U.S. expands its immigration opportunities for caregivers, reports Stuart Anderson for Forbes. "Currently, immigrants play a disproportionate role in caregiving and household services, particularly in roles that may be crucial complements to aging in place," write researchers Kristin F. Butcher, Kelsey Moran and Tara Watson in their latest findings. Our home health care paper also offers some policy recommendations, taking a look at the industry and how immigration can help solve labor shortages.  

Thanks for reading,  

Dan  

P.S. José Luis Adriano of The Dallas Morning News has an interesting look at how Indigenous Guatemalans in Dallas "rely on each other to work, build businesses and rebuild their lives in a faraway country. "