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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. Take reforms that would help America’s farmers and farmworkers. NPR’s Joel Rose has the latest report on farmers’ hopes that Congress will pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, 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, 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 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]. THE JOURNEY — A global pandemic, climate change, conflicts 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. 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. 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. 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. Reforms that increase immigration and offer higher wages also would help solve labor shortages in the industry, per a new research brief 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. 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, reports Korie Wilkins of the Military Times. Kohistany collaborated with the nonprofit Give IT Get IT to provide families in need with laptops. Over at Current Publishing 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):
Thanks for reading, Dan |
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