Tuesday, November 8
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THE FORUM DAILY

Happy Election Day!  

No matter what happens today: Americans have made it clear
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that they want Democratic and Republican lawmakers to work together on
key immigration reforms - and want action this year.  

Bipartisan, meaningful reforms that Americans support include
legislative solutions which strengthen border security, create a pathway
to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as
children, and ensure a legal, reliable workforce for farmworkers and
ranchers.  

So, the question remains: "Can Republicans and Democrats Find a Way
Forward on Immigration?" That's the headline from The New York
Times'
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Eileen Sullivan as we head into the midterms today. 

Anti-immigrant rhetoric in election campaigns this year has made it
especially challenging for "the Biden administration to secure any
meaningful immigration reform after the midterm elections, especially if
the G.O.P. controls at least one legislative chamber," Sullivan notes. 

"But even if Republicans win control in Congress and want to advance
their immigration policies, particularly on border security, they will
have to find some compromise with Democrats to overcome the 60-vote
filibuster threshold in the Senate - something that has been elusive
for years, regardless of party control." 

Bipartisan work to pass reforms is necessary. There is no doubt about
it. 

As our new President and CEO Jennie Murray laid out a couple weeks ago
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"Make no mistake, this fall and winter will be pivotal in determining
whether Dreamers get to keep their protections, our farm workforce is
brought into the 21st century, and we tackle challenges at the border in
a constructive and humanitarian way." 

Congress can act now, there is no reason to wait. As Jennie said,
"Americans, immigrants and the U.S. economy stand to lose a lot over the
next few months if Congress fails to move immigration policy reforms
forward before the end of 2022." 

Welcome to Tuesday's edition of The Forum Daily. I'm Clara
Villatoro, the Forum's strategic communications manager. If you have
a story to share from your own community, please send it to me at
[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>. 

TALKS IN CUBA - The State Department's Assistant Secretary for
Consular Affairs Rena Bitter and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services Director Ur Mendoza Jaddou are heading to Havana, Cuba, this
week, reports Nora Gámez Torres of the Miami Herald
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This comes just a few days after a speedboat with Cuban migrants
crashed, killing seven, including a 2-year-old. Survivors said a Cuban
Coast Guard struck their vessel. During the visit, both U.S. officials
plan to discuss the "full resumption of immigrant visa processing in
early 2023 and the recent resumption of Cuban Family Reunification
Parole processing at the U.S. Embassy in Havana," with the Cuban
government, notes Gámez Torres. 

**THE PLIGHT OF VENEZUELANS** - A record number of Venezuelans seeking
asylum are heading 6,000 miles north - through the dangers of the
Darién Gap - to just get stuck in bureaucratic limbo in the U.S.,
reports Marcela García of the Boston Globe
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Thousands of them were admitted into the U.S. before the new parole
program
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launched by the Biden administration. But until their asylum cases get
processed - which can take months - their work permits will not
be issued, notes García. "We left because, as a parent, I realized
that I couldn't meet my kids' basic needs: health care, education,
food," Francys Suinaga told García. "Life in Venezuela is just not
normal." Border expulsions under Title 42 - part of the Biden
administration's new policy approach
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- has also "had the unintended effect of trapping many Venezuelan
families on opposite sides of the U.S.-Mexico border," report The New
York Times
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Miriam Jordan and Brittany Kriegstein. 

* Meanwhile, a federal government review has begun after Border Patrol
violated policy by not returning personal, important documents to some
Venezuelan asylum seekers before releasing them in New York City,
reports a team at CBS News
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'OUR HUMANITY' - With current court challenges
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against Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the futures of
over 30,000 North Texas residents continue to "hang in the balance,"
reports David Silva Ramirez of Fort Worth Star-Telegram
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"To still be here, like in the same spot, just constantly renewing, it
makes me sad a little bit," said Diana Rodriguez, who first applied for
DACA at 16. "But the fact that we still have it, I'm very grateful for
that." Today there are more than 600,000 DACA recipients in the country,
with over 100,000
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of them residing in Texas, per U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services. "... Our humanity is not defined by our status in the country.
Our humanity is defined by who we are," Rodriguez added. Over in
Columbia, Missouri, DACA recipient Ivonne Ramirez, has a similar
message, per Claudia Rivera Cotto of the Columbia Missourian
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NEW AMERICANS LEAD - Since 2018, Columbus, Ohio's, free and
nonpartisan immigrant-focused New American Leadership Academy (NALA)
"has trained around 100 participants
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several of whom have since won elected office or been appointed to city
positions," reports Peter Gill of The Columbus Dispatch
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"NALA gave me the education and resources so I can serve for my people,"
said Kawther Musa, an alum of the program, who is now part of the
Northeast Area Commission. "Somalis like me are from a country where
there was no government at the time I was growing (up)." And over in
Nevada, "newly naturalized" immigrants are not only excited to vote -
but will play a huge role in the outcome of the midterms, according to a
new report
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per Jeniffer Solis of the Nevada Current
<[link removed]>. 

Thanks for reading, 

Clara  

**P.S.** "There are people in life who just want a better world. But
they need access to things like education, fair treatment and
immigration reform." - That's the chorus of a new song called, "Mi
Sueño" or My Dream, produced by a local
<[link removed]>Charlotte, North Carolina
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nationally at the Official Latino Film and Arts Festival in California
next month, reports WFAE
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Kayla Young, in partnership with La Noticia. Do yourself a favor and
watch the entire music video!

 

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