Wednesday, November 9
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌


 

THE FORUM DAILY

With votes still being counted, who will have control in the new
Congress, come January 2023, remains unclear. But it appears that on the
whole, Americans voted less for the extremes and more for candidates who
want to talk about solutions. 

So, let's talk about immigration and border solutions. 

Nothing about the election changes the fact that food prices are high,
labor markets are in turmoil, and we need more order and compassion at
our southern border. These are all problems that focused immigration
reforms can help address - and strong majorities of Americans want
Congress to address them now
<[link removed]>.
 

Take reforms that would help America's farmers and farmworkers. NPR
<[link removed]>'s
Joel Rose has the latest report on farmers' hopes that Congress will
pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act
<[link removed]>,
which has had bipartisan support. 

"It's not everything we need by any stretch of imagination, but it is
a good first step about ensuring us a stable workforce," said Kenny
Barnwell, an apple grower in western North Carolina and a
Republican. "We need to get this done while we've got this narrow
window." 

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) told Rose he thinks the bill will help
relieve pressures at the border, too: "I don't think we'll have as
many people coming across because these people will be here legally.
They'll be able to come and go." 

In an op-ed for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
<[link removed]>,
Richard Ebert, president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, summarizes
what's at stake: "There's a direct line between sticker shock at the
grocery store and the lack of farm workers. Without sufficient labor,
farmers raise less, supply dips, and prices go up. And our national
security is harmed. ... a nation that cannot feed itself is not
secure." 

We'll be tackling what's next on immigration in a constructive way
at our annual Leading the Way convening next week - in person for the
first time since 2019. Nearly 200 moderate and conservative advocates
will meet with members of Congress and urge action in 2022, as well as
hear from elected and appointed officials and national security, faith,
law enforcement and business leaders. (Reporters, if you're
interested, please contact me
<mailto:[email protected]> for more details.) 

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] <mailto:[email protected]>.  

THE JOURNEY - A global pandemic, climate change, conflicts
<[link removed]>
and rising inflation have created "a seismic shift in global migration,
sending millions of people from their homes," reports Julie Turkewitz,
with photographs by Federico Rios, in The New York Times
<[link removed]>.
And for many, getting through the dangerous Darién Gap jungle is the
crux. At least 215,000 people have made that journey since January -
nearly double the number from 2021 and almost 20 times the annual
average from 2010 to 2020, Turkewitz notes. "Things have gone from bad
to worse," said Dayry Alexandra Cuauro, who was a lawyer in Venezuela.
"I decided to take this journey for the future of my daughter."
Turkewitz and Rios traversed the 70-mile route in September and October
to better understand the journey, and the stories they tell are
gripping. 

**INSUFFICIENT SUPPORT** - With no room at federal holding facilities
or nonprofit shelters, an estimated 600 migrants were released to the
city's streets from Friday through Monday, reports Cindy Ramirez of El
Paso Matters
<[link removed]>.
The area has been averaging more than 1,650 migrant encounters per day.
El Paso leaders recently stopped sending buses with migrants to other
parts of the country and have requested $3 million in federal funding
for a temporary processing center. They say migrants will have to pay
for their own transport elsewhere. Meanwhile, the fire department in
Sunland Park, N.M., is also looking for more funding as they conduct
hundreds of emergency border rescues in desert terrain every year,
reports Fidel Moreno-Meza of KFOX14
<[link removed]>.
 

**HOME HEALTH**- Home health care workers can help care for our aging
population at senior homes across the country, reports Kathleen Steele
Gaivin of McKnights Senior Living
<[link removed]>.
Reforms that increase immigration and offer higher wages also would help
solve labor shortages in the industry, per a new research brief
<[link removed]>
by the Brookings Institute and the CATO Institute. "The presence of
immigrants appears to change the mix of caregiving services in a way
that enables aging in place," the authors write. Our policy expert Dan
Kosten highlights similar themes and solutions in this paper
<[link removed]>. 

**AFGHAN RESETTLEMENT** - To help resettle Afghan military members in
the U.S., U.S. Navy veteran and former Afghan refugee Lyla Kohistany
co-founded the nonprofit Honor the Promise
<[link removed]>, reports Korie Wilkins of the Military
Times
<[link removed]>.
Kohistany collaborated with the nonprofit Give IT Get IT
<[link removed]> to provide families in need with laptops.
Over at Current Publishing
<[link removed]>
in Indiana, Ann Marie Shambaugh chronicles how retired U.S. Marine Anna
Lloyd also jumped in to help with Afghan evacuation and resettlement
efforts. "It is important to keep Afghanistan current in our
conversations, because it's not over," Lloyd said. "We may have
withdrawn, but it's not over." 

On Afghan welcome (and one story of joy and hope in Afghanistan): 

* Later this week, nonprofits Welcome.US <[link removed]> and REACT
DC <[link removed]> will host a two-day Newcomer Hiring Fair
<[link removed]> in Sacramento,
California, for Afghans and Ukrainians who have resettled in the area.
(Ayaana Williams, ABC 10
<[link removed]>) 

* After fleeing Afghanistan last year, interpreter Zar Mohammad
Stanikzai and his family now call Rochester, New York, home after the
organization Keeping Our Promise <[link removed]>
helped them evacuate. (Patrick Moussignac, News10NBC
<[link removed]>)  

* Without access to school in Afghanistan, teenage sisters Bahara and
Najma are teaching other girls circus skills they previously learned in
class. (EFE
<[link removed]>)
  

Thanks for reading,  

Dan 

 

DONATE
<[link removed]>

 

**Follow Us**

 

[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

National Immigration Forum

10 G Street NE, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20002

www.immigrationforum.org <[link removed]>

 

Unsubscribe from The Forum Daily
<[link removed]>

or opt-out from all Forum emails.
<[link removed]>

 

 
_________________

Sent to [email protected]

Unsubscribe:
[link removed]

National Immigration Forum, 10 G St NE, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20002, United States