Friday, October 14
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THE FORUM DAILY

Immigrant advocates are calling the new humanitarian parole program for
Venezuelans "too limited in scope" to fully address the
significant increases of migrants from the country, reports Suzanne
Monyak of Roll Call
. 

The idea is to reduce unlawful crossings between ports of entry by
creating a lawful channel for some Venezuelan migrants. But thousands of
Venezuelan migrants will now be denied access to asylum at the border
and instead expelled via Title 42, notes Monyak. 

"What strikes me about it is that it's kind of an enforcement policy
to stop Venezuelan migration, and then secondarily there's a small
access to protection," said Yael Schacher, director for the Americas and
Europe at Refugees International.  

With thousands of Venezuelan migrants already heading to U.S.-Mexico
border to seek refuge, Schacher says it's unlikely that many have
heard about the new parole initiative - and if they arrive between
ports and get expelled, they're disqualified altogether.  

"[I]t does raise concerns about whether the administration really is set
on ending this policy that is really causing a lot of harm to
migrants," our policy expert Danilo Zak told Alisa Reznick of KJZZ's
Fronteras Desk
.
 

On Twitter
,
Griff Jenkins of Fox News shared footage of the first group of
Venezuelans being expelled back to Mexico via Title 42. 

Meanwhile, faith-based refugee resettlement groups are offering a mixed
review of the new program, highlighting that it should not replace
asylum protections, nor take away from refugee resettlement, report
Emily McFarlan Miller and Paul O'Donnell of Religion News Service
. 

Switching gears, here are a couple of good reads before Hispanic
Heritage Month concludes tomorrow: 

* Luana Munoz of WESH2-TV

reports on the economic contributions of Hispanic-owned businesses in
Orlando, Florida. "I was a new, young, budding entrepreneur. I had a
vision or a dream, but I didn't know how to put everything together,"
said Phillip Rosado, originally from Puerto Rico and owner of Educe
Salon. 

* A team at the Smithsonian has put together a blog post
featuring "Six
Latinas to Know" in U.S. history. 

Welcome to Friday'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] .  

'LIFE AND DEATH'- Army veteran James Powers of Canton, Ohio, was
among a small group of veterans and Afghans from across the U.S. who
gathered at Sen. Rob Portman's (R) office Tuesday to underscore the
importance of passing the Afghan Adjustment Act
,
reports Danae King of The Columbus Dispatch
.
"We don't leave fallen comrades," Powers said, in reference to not
leaving any Afghan ally behind. "Those creeds, those oaths we stand by,
they've got to matter." Passing the Afghan Adjustment Act "isn't
political," added another Army veteran, Matt Zeller. "This is literally
a matter of life and death." 

CRIME

**VICTIMS** - Bexar County, Texas, Sheriff Javier Salazar certified
that the nearly 50 migrants flown to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts,
were victims of a crime, reports James Barragán of The Texas Tribune
.
As a result, these groups of migrants can apply for a U visa, which is
reserved for (and protects) victims or witnesses of a crime. Rachel
Self, a Massachusetts attorney who has been involved in the case, is
already working on the applications, according to George Brennan of The
Martha's Vineyard Times
.
"All of these victims are now protected from removal while their U visa
application is pending," Self said. 

H-2B VISAS - The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday

that it will issue the maximum number of H-2B visas for seasonal
workers, for a new total of more than 130,000, reports Michelle Hackman
of The Wall Street Journal
.
The U.S. will set aside 20,000 of the additional visas for workers from
Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The remainder will be
allocated for returning workers, Hackman notes. "While this is welcome
news ... Congress needs to do more to provide added certainty and
predictability for seasonal businesses that are struggling to fill their
job openings," said Jon Baselice, vice president of immigration at the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 

**MENTAL HEALTH** - New data collected in northern Mexico along the
U.S. border, by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
(CBF) and LUCHA Ministries Inc. , notes
that 61% of migrants there show symptoms that parallel those of
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reports Jeff Brumley of Baptist
News Global
.
"They are just trying to escape the torture they experienced in their
home countries and on their journeys to the United States. These kinds
of experiences leave deep scars on people," said CBF social worker Sue
Smith, who conducted the mental health screenings. The data also suggest
that 39% of migrants have signs of other anxiety disorders. Smith noted
that mental health screenings could "be used in American legal
proceedings to establish the credible fear required to achieve
asylum." 

**CLIPS TO NOTE** - A few more stories before you go: 

* Marty Schladen of the Ohio Capital Journal

has more on the Ohio farmers who are calling on the Senate to pass
the Farm Workforce Modernization Act

to help address dire labor shortages, ease inflation and strengthen
national security. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the
nation's agricultural imports are slated to exceed the exports next
year for the first time.  

* An estimated 130,000 migrant children entered the U.S. government's
shelter system in fiscal year 2022, a record, reports Camilo
Montoya-Galvez of CBS News
. 

* On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated

that the U.S. would pull visas belonging to current and former Haitian
government officials involved with gangs and other criminal
organizations, as well as their immediate family members - and send
assistance to Haiti, per Dánica Coto of the Associated Press
. 

Have a great weekend, 

Dan  

 

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