I was not a math major, but that seems like a pretty huge gap. 

To address labor shortages — and supply-chain issues over the long term — we need immigrations reforms, Bloomberg columnist Thomas Black writes: "Demographics show that improving our home-grown workforce won’t be enough. … The need of the hour is for politicians on both sides of the aisle to step back from the ledge of their parties’ extremes and cut a deal on immigration that allows for an orderly, legal inflow of workers." 

We agree. And let’s make sure we’re making it possible for immigrants already here and working legally to reach their full potential. 

Lower birthrates and an aging population are among a myriad of factors that have exacerbated these workforce challenges, Richard Stradling of The News & Observer points out. Also on the list are an increasing number of young people continuing their education and pushing back their entry into the workforce, and, yes, low immigration rates. 

I can’t think of a better time to solidify the workforce contributions of people whose work authorization is temporary and/or tenuous, including immigrant farmworkers and recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status. While we’re at it, let’s address challenges at the border, including with better legal immigration channels. Americans want these changes — this year. 

Apologies to David Tobenkin for misspelling his name in Friday’s edition, and 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]. 

CLINICA HOPE — The nonprofit Hope Border Institute in El Paso, Texas, recently launched a medical clinic in partnership with the Mexican government and migrant shelter "Leona Vicario" in Juárez, John Lavenburg reports for Crux. At Clinica Hope, volunteer doctors and medical professionals from El Paso will help migrants in need. "This new program represents our commitment to address the recent increase in arrivals to the border, including Venezuelans, and to show that as one binational community, we can respond with humanity and compassion," said Dylan Corbett, the organization’s executive director. See his moving Twitter thread on clinic’s launch, including the participation of our board member Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso. 

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY — With midterm elections around the corner, the ensuing lame-duck session may be Congress’s best opportunity in at least the near future to provide Dreamers with permanent protections, writes Bloomberg’s editorial board. "Years of congressional inaction have left these migrants subject to capricious court rulings that threaten to force some of them to leave the only country they’ve known — which is why President Joe Biden needs to press lawmakers to make a deal to protect the Dreamers now," they write. The board suggests that adding border reforms could get a solution across the finish line in the Senate. Stay tuned for more in coming weeks on the push for reforms. 

MISINFORMATION — New University of Texas research reveals how WhatsApp and WeChat are being used to target Asian American communities in Texas with political misinformation as the midterms approach, report Elizabeth Trovall and Yilun Cheng of the Houston Chronicle. "We know that diaspora communities are a prime target for bad actors," researcher Katlyn Glover said. Lin Chen, a program manager at the Chinese Community Center in Houston, added that some immigrants in her community "don’t know English well, and most of their social circles are limited to other Chinese immigrants. They can only get information from WeChat articles or word of mouth, and that’s when inaccurate information comes into play."  

THIS YEAR’S VOTE — A new poll indicates that 73% of voters in five states with close Senate races support giving undocumented immigrants living in the country an opportunity to earn lawful status, reports Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News. Also in the survey of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin voters, 74% said they will vote for a candidate who offers Dreamers a path to citizenship. Separately, Charles Lane, Linda Chavez and host Mona Charen discussed the diversity among Hispanic voters on last week’s "Beg to Differ" podcast from The xxxxxx. "The lesson we should all take from this is don’t overgeneralize," Lane said.   

WELCOME AND SUPPORT — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has asked the federal government to provide aid amid an increase in asylum seekers arriving to the state, reports Lisa Kashinsky of POLITICO. "Massachusetts is proud to welcome individuals and families seeking asylum and refuge and is dedicated to helping families live with dignity, but additional federal support is required," he wrote. Baker also called on the Department of Homeland Security and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to expedite and streamline work authorizations for eligible new arrivals, among other requests. 

Thanks for reading, 

Dan 

P.S. In August, poet Christopher Soto, co-founder of the Undocupoets Campaign and Writers for Migrant Justice, published a collection of poetry called Diaries of a Terrorist in his family’s native country of El Salvador. In an Atlantic Magazine interview with Nicole Chung, Soto sits down to discuss his work, experience, border narratives and literary traditions.